Top 10 Conservative Idiots #13-1: The Unbearable Weight Of Excessive Force Edition

[Top 10 Idiots]

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #13-1: The Unbearable Weight Of Excessive Force Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! So what's up, Santa Ana, how are you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Great! We are back, everybody! We are back! We are baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! And whew, it feels good! We are tanned, we are very well rested, and we are ready to go to tackle the end of this batshit crazy year that is 2022! We’ve tidied up the set here at the Observatory OC, we upgraded all the home office computers using our COVID money, and we’ve got some new monitors. So I can show you things like more hilarious clips and GIFs! And reaction shots! Oh come on, we don’t need a Tucker camera here, do we? Come on now… my camera guy is laughing at me. So we are in primary season everybody, and you might be wondering where the primary coverage is? Well, I can assure you, we’ve got plenty of it. SCOTUS really tore America a new asshole and that could make or break the primaries in November. So you will be seeing a lot of it, so much that we didn’t really feel the need to make the 10th slot dedicated to the primaries this time around. But rest assured that we’ve got you covered! OK now that we’ve got all of that out of the way, we’re not going to do our little thing this week. Don’t be sad, audience! We’ve got 20 editions ahead for you! So enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to this week! But first John Oliver is back and he does a deep dive into the topic that’s on everyone’s minds and draining everyone’s wallets – inflation!

So where to begin with this week? Well we’ve been gone almost two whole months, people! And as usual whenever the Top 10 is off for an extended period of time, we like to play catch up on stuff we missed (1). Yes, we already have covered the Insurrection hearings and the overturning of Roe V Wade, but we have only just begun to scratch the surface on those two topics! There’s so much stuff we missed that it’s spilling over into a second slot (2) because we, again, were gone two whole months! In the third slot this week is more news covering the January 6th hearings (3) because last week the Committee ran some “outtakes” which included Mr. Insurrection Instigator himself Josh Hawley (Q – Batshit) running away from the mob that he incited! You really can’t make this stuff up! In the number 4 slot this week is That Former Guy (4). I don’t know if you’ve been following the controversy surrounding the Saudi backed LIV professional golf organization, but guess who decided to host a tournament? That’s right – because he always has the wrong answer to everything! In the number 5 slot, speaking of wrong answers, is the Uvalde Police (5). Well, things have gotten ridiculously weird surrounding this terrible tragedy since we last checked in on what has been going on regarding the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. And it also refutes a number of NRA talking points that we've been force fed the last 20 years. Taking the number 6 slot this week of course is our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6), and this week our resident pastor has some theories on why people are leaving church attendance behind. It may have something to do with the embrace of Christian nationalism, or it may not. But it is the shrinking of the pews! In the number 7 slot this week we have a brand new feature debuting and I’m really excited about this one – it’s Top 10 Presents: Late Stage Capitalism! That’s right, when corporations that already make billions attempt to squeeze every last dime they can out of you, that’s when we’ll be there to cover it! And in the number 8 slot this week is an all new Conspiracy Corner (8)! So this week we’re going to introduce you to a victim of what happens when conspiracy theories go too far – Ray Epps. This is a guy who went to the insurrection, Trump called him a “rogue agent” on his social media app, and he got harassed out of oblivion. It’s insane. In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week, we have a new People Are Dumb (9) because of course they are! Finally it’s time to begin our World Tour 2022 (10)! And this week, what better way to kick things off than by visiting our home base in the good ol’ state of California, USA! So come on, sing it with me! California knows how to party… California knows how to party! Plus we got some live music from our good friends, The Offspring! Really buy their new album “Let The Bad Times Roll” or you are no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Catch Up On Stuff We Missed Pt. 1
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So as usual, I promised that whenever the Top 10 is gone for an extended period of time, we like to play catch up on stuff we missed. And we were gone two whole months, people! That is a long ass time to be gone, especially as something historic like the overturning of Roe V Wade happened while we were off, even though we knew it was going to happen. So where do we begin? Actually I know where I want to start, I want to start with yet another horrible and uniquely American problem – mass shootings. And this particular one happened at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois. An otherwise very wealthy suburb of Chicago. But what really makes this one stand out is the shooter himself. He violated a number of Illinois’ Red Flag laws, was a fervent Trump supporter who regularly attended his idiot rallies, and frequented the darker corners of the internet. And how was this guy able to get a gun? Well, the American way – legally!

Police on Monday captured a person of interest associated with a shooting that killed six people and wounded more than 36 when a man with a high-powered rifle opened fire from a rooftop at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, according to a local NBC television station.

Reuters could not independently verify the NBC report.

Police had previously identified a person of interest in the shooting, 22-year-old Robert E Crimo III, who was from the area. They said he was driving a silver 2010 Honda Fit automobile.

"He is considered armed and dangerous," sheriff's department spokesperson Christopher Covelli told journalists, adding that people should not approach him if they see him. Officials said a rifle was recovered from the scene.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/shooting-reported-july-4th-parade-route-chicago-suburb-county-sheriff-2022-07-04/

And don’t worry this one gets weirder the more you look into it, and trust us we will be there with the details as the case unfolds. But as you know we always like to examine the classic cause and effect outcomes here on this program. Because as you may or may not know, there are a record number of new gun sales at an all time high in this country. And there’s also a record number of deranged lunatics out there. But that didn’t phase Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson (Q – Batshit) from attempting to run a campaign ad about mass murder. Oh no. That happened!

“THE LATEST MASS murder in America didn’t involve guns,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a recorded campaign radio ad slated to appear on July 6. But when the Highland Park, Illinois, shooting took place on July 4, killing seven and injuring 46 others, the campaign scrambled to keep the ad from hitting the airwaves, according to emails obtained by The Intercept.

The campaign ad, approved by Johnson and paid for by his Senate campaign committee as he seeks reelection, laid blame for the “latest mass murder” on President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. “Fifty-three people, including five children, were murdered by human traffickers because Joe Biden’s open border policy is facilitating the multibillion-dollar business model of some of the most evil people on the planet,” the ad continued, referencing an abandoned truck trailer recently discovered in San Antonio, Texas. “Human, sex, and drug trafficking are out of control because of Democrat governance.”

The day after the shooting, an executive from one of the companies contracted to produce the campaign radio ad, Katz Radio Group, frantically notified colleagues to suspend it. The following emails were provided to The Intercept by a source close to the Katz Radio Group on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisal.

In an email bearing the subject line “URGENT: Ron Johnson orders,” a vice president of sales at Katz Radio Group wrote, “they need the creative pulled ASAP. … If you listened to the spot it talks about mass shootings which obviously is not good creative after this past weekend (especially in Chicago).”
https://theintercept.com/2022/07/07/mass-shooting-guns-ron-johnson-campaign/

That facepalm was an absolute unit! Let’s switch gears and talk about January 6th. To me, the most fucking insane thing about this entire thing is that the people who participated in the angry mob on Trump’s side were actively convinced that they would get a full presidential pardon for murdering half of Congress. But we’ll save that for later in this edition. Instead I want to talk about Rudy Giuliani for a second. Look… look. Here’s the thing Rudy, we followed the Brett Kavanaugh situation. If you have to convince people that you’re not drunk, you were probably drunk. Just these people are nuts.

Jan. 6 Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Monday that former President Trump was urged by his campaign advisers to not declare victory on Election Day, that he knew before the election that the counting of mail-in ballots would not be complete until days after the election, and that he declaration of victory came at the urging of a drunk former mayor.

“President Trump rejected the advice of his campaign experts on Election Night, and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani to just claim he won and insist the vote-counting stop, to falsely claim everything was fraudulent,” Cheney said in previewing the day’s testimony. “He falsely told the American people the election was not legitimate. In his quotes, ‘a major fraud.’ Millions of Americans believed him.”

Cheney’s comments were followed by video testimony from former Trump aide Jason Miller, who said Giuliani was “definitely intoxicated” when he spoke with Miller, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, and others on Election Night. Miller said he couldn’t speak to Giuliani’s state when he spoke with Trump. “Mayor Giuliani was saying, ‘We won it. They’re stealing it from us. Where did all the votes come from? We need to go say that we won,'” Miller added.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jan-6-committee-hearing-trump-giuliani-drunk-election-night-1367083/

How many Diet Pepsis did he drink? So fucking weird. The last random thing I want to talk about for this entry is the pandemic. Did people forget about the last two years or something? Look the last year has been terrible, I get it. We’re in a war, there’s record inflation, there’s supply chain issues all over the globe because of COVID. But now that people are getting back into the swing of things, did they forget that the reason why gas prices were at record lows in 2020 was because of COVID? Of course they did, that’s what happens when you let Fox News do your thinking for you. But I’m sure that the reason why we had sky high gas prices is because of this. Hold your boos.

Wall Street analysts sharply increased their Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) second-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, after the largest U.S. oil producer projected it could almost double its first-quarter earnings.

Exxon's preview, released on Friday, signaled strong results ahead by oil companies and refiners and brought renewed criticism from the White House and fresh calls for a windfall profit tax by U.S. lawmakers under pressure from voters feeling pain at the pump.

"This would be one of the strongest quarters in Exxon's history," said Credit Suisse analyst Manav Gupta in a note. The disclosures indicated an operating profit of about $16.8 billion, a historic quarterly peak. Official results are due July 29.

U.S. President Joe Biden and lawmakers pointed to the soaring profits as evidence the oil industry is putting profits ahead of customers, contributing to inflation. Exxon, Biden said last month, was making "more money than God".

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/wall-street-pushes-up-exxon-forecasts-refining-margins-soar-2022-07-05/

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[font size="8"]Catch Up On Stuff We Missed Pt. 2: The Strange Adventures Of SCOTUS

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As I said, there’s so much stuff that we need to catch up on that it’s spilling over into a second entry this week! Look… look… I know everyone is tired. And I know that we had maybe one of the most historic Supreme Court decisions in our entire lifetime just completely erased. And I wanted to use this space to actively talk about protesting. And the right’s hysteria over it. But while we were gone ,we missed the absolute hysteria and fearmongering over the raging nutcase waving a gun outside Brett Kavanaugh’s house. So if you extrapolate their logic, Brett Kavanaugh was “attacked” (he wasn’t even at home at the time) and must be protected. But 19 children gunned down in Texas? They’re expendable. It shall not be infringed, motherfuckers! Yeah the more you dig into what the GOP’s logic behind this is, the more insane it sounds when they’re making kids wear bulletproof backpacks and have classes in bomb shelters.

The Justice Department has charged the man who was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh's house in Maryland early Wednesday with attempting or threatening to kidnap or murder a US judge.

The man, Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, had called emergency authorities saying he was having suicidal thoughts and had a firearm in his suitcase, leading to his arrest, according to the criminal complaint.

He told law enforcement he had traveled from California to kill "a specific United States Supreme Court Justice," according to an FBI affidavit filed Wednesday. The affidavit said Roske was upset about the leak of the Supreme Court opinion related to abortion rights, an upcoming gun control case and the school shooting last month in Uvalde, Texas.

"Roske indicated that he believed the Justice that he intended to kill would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws," the FBI agent wrote. "Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice" after breaking into his home. Roske planned to kill himself as well, the affidavit added.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/08/politics/man-arrested-near-brett-kavanaugh-home/index.html

OK… OK…. You know how we love to examine cause and effect here on this program? Wait until you hear how quickly the GOP attempted to pass a bill that would provide stronger security for their SCOTUS justices. I know that I can’t say this enough, and I probably overuse this phrase, but it’s criminally fucking insane how low they will go. They’re desperate to hang onto power and they really want a guy who prided himself on getting wasted and coined the term “boofing” deciding the future of women’s and minority rights.

Republicans are calling on the House to pass a stalled bill aimed at expanding security protection to the families of Supreme Court justices after police arrested an armed man near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh early Wednesday morning.

The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent last month, soon after publication of a leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. The leak sparked protests outside the homes of Chief Justice John Roberts, Kavanaugh and Justice Samuel Alito, who penned the draft opinion.

But the legislation has stalled in the House, where top Democrats have said that protection should also be extended to judicial clerks and staff.

The 26-year-old man California man who traveled to Kavanaugh’s house told a detective that “he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,” according to an affadavit.
https://thehill.com/news/3516633-gop-push-for-scotus-security-bill-after-arrest-outside-kavanaughs-house/

OK I need to stop hitting my head! But it gets weirder – so much weirder! Brett Kavanaugh went out for some fine dining in DC and went to Morton’s Steak House. Where, and it’s not surprising, he was met with some protestors. See, they may forget that we live in the internet age. If you’re a public figure, there’s no such thing as running and hiding anymore! So if you’re one of the radical six religious right figures who overturned the most significant advancement in women’s rights in the last 50 years, you need to watch out. Because we’re coming for you, and it’s not going to be pretty.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ducked out the back door of a steakhouse in Washington, D.C., when a group of demonstrators gathered outside to protest his vote to jettison Roe v. Wade, Politico and activists reported.

Kavanaugh was dining Wednesday night at Morton’s restaurant in downtown Washington when protesters showed up out front, according to Politico. They called the manager to tell him to kick Kavanaugh out — and later tweeted that the justice soon slipped out the back, which Politico confirmed.

Kavanaugh hasn’t commented on the incident, but Morton’s was furious.

“Honorable Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh and all of our other patrons at the restaurant were unduly harassed by unruly protestors while eating dinner at our Morton’s restaurant,” a representative said in a statement to Politico.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brett-kavanaugh-roe-protesters-mortons-steakhouse_n_62c8926be4b0359fa47b6389

Hey Morton’s, shut up! You knew the job was dangerous when you took it! So once again you know how we love to examine cause and effect on this program. And this is why I love the internet. So Morton’s really fucked up. They knew that hosting Kavanaugh was a dangerous situation but they went through with it anyway. And *THEN* they doubled down by saying that the protestors had no right to be on their property. So with that being said, the protestors doubled down on their attacks against Morton’s and unleashed a firestorm of fake reservations and one star reviews. Ah, the internet. Sometimes you love it, sometimes you hate it.

Thousands of people have been making fake reservations at Morton's steakhouse after the restaurant defended conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade last month.

Abortion rights protesters in D.C. learned that Kavanaugh was having dinner at Morton's and gathered outside the restaurant on Wednesday night, forcing the Supreme Court justice to exit out a back door.

While the court has yet to comment on Kavanaugh's behalf regarding the incident, a representative for Morton's wrote in a statement to Politico: "Honorable Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh and all of our other patrons at the restaurant were unduly harassed by unruly protestors while eating dinner at our Morton's restaurant. Politics, regardless of your side or views, should not trample the freedom at play of the right to congregate and eat dinner. There is a time and place for everything. Disturbing the dinner of all of our customers was an act of selfishness and void of decency."
https://www.newsweek.com/mortons-restaurant-defending-kavanaugh-causes-fake-reservations-spike-1723040

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[font size="8"]January 6th Hearings: The Outtakes
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So did anyone see Thor: Love And Thunder in theaters? I did. And here’s why I love the movie’s director – Taika Waititi. So the movie runs about 2 hours, which is the shortest Marvel film since the original Iron Man flick. Someone asked Mr. Waititi whether or not there was a director’s cut of the movie in the works and he said “I watch director’s cuts of a lot of other directors. They suck.”. But did they mention anything about outtake reels? Well the outtake reel for January 6th is absolutely spectacular. And it really says a hell of a lot more than what you see on camera. I mean come on, Trump is a guy no matter how many times you tell him he’s wrong, will always convince you that he’s right. You could tell him that 2+2=4 and he’d respond with “No, 2+2 = 3.99999999, and I know, I have the best math! Nobody knows math better than I do!”. Well it’s truly insane what he’s done to this country and I don’t expect it to get any better any time soon.

In testimony shown on Thursday, former White House aides described extended, exhausting efforts to persuade President Donald J. Trump to record a video on Jan. 6 telling his supporters to leave the Capitol, and another on Jan. 7 condemning the violence.

But even more telling were Mr. Trump’s asides in the second recording session, captured in previously unseen outtakes.

The video showed Mr. Trump’s body language exuding distaste: He wrinkled his face, shot an annoyed glance and slapped his lectern in frustration.

He read one scripted line cleanly: “I would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack yesterday,” adding, “And to those who broke the law, you will pay.”

Then he started to break.

“‘You do not represent our movement, you do not represent our country. If you broke the law’ — can’t say that,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not going to — I already said ‘you will pay.’”

“‘The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defied the seat of,’” he went on, before realizing he had misspoken and slamming the both hands on the lectern. “It’s ‘defiled,’ right? See, I can’t see it very well,” he said, shading his eyes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/us/trump-outtakes-video-jan-6.html

Yeah and they say Biden has cognitive problems. Shut up. But now we have to talk about what may be one of the funniest things to come out of the hearings so far. Josh Hawley (Q – Nazi) after he made that famous fist pump motion and then was seen actively running away from the mob he incited? Yeah let’s think of this as the MAGA version of Angry Birds. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! Angry MAGAs: Friends edition, that’s what we will call it! Ah I love our graphics department! You know what? Before we get into the story can we roll the clip?

And you know what? Here it is with the Benny Hill theme song added for comedic effect:

A week before the Jan. 6 attack, as Senate Republican leaders implored their members not to object to the results of the 2020 presidential election, Sen. Josh Hawley ignored the pleas and announced he’d do it anyway.

The next day, as regular readers may recall, the Missouri Republican started raising money off his anti-election scheme, encouraging donors to reward his hostility for democracy with cash.

Two days ahead of the assault on the Capitol, Hawley appeared in conservative media and suggested to the Republican base that there was still a chance Donald Trump would remain in office. It would "depend on" what happened on Jan. 6, the GOP senator said in a message many radicals no doubt noticed.

Shortly before the insurrectionist violence began in earnest, Hawley raised his fist in solidarity and signaled his support for the rioters — and then sent out another fundraising appeal, seeking more financial rewards for his anti-election plans.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/home-state-paper-calls-hawley-fleeing-coward-laughingstock-rcna39790

Just… wow. Holy shit. I need to see that clip again!

I could seriously watch that all day long! OK enough funny stuff aside, here’s where it gets weird and of course you knew it was going to. Apparently what you didn’t see behind the scenes is that Trump actually attempted to make a videotape to call off his angry mob. But how can you actually call off your own mob? Especially when you might be in on the whole thing yourself? I’ve seen enough crime dramas in my life that you know that you’re never supposed to leave incriminating evidence behind! So how could he tape his own message and get away with it? We may never know.

A day after an angry mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, President Donald Trump filmed a three-minute video in the East Room of the White House condemning the violence. It took him nearly an hour to tape the message.

In outtakes shown during the House select committee’s primetime hearing on Thursday night, Trump is seen on camera on Jan. 7, 2021, struggling to condemn the rioters for the deadly siege that had occurred the day before.

Speaking from a teleprompter in the East Room, Trump is seen stopping and starting multiple times, complaining to Ivanka Trump, who was off camera, that he could not see some of the prepared text.

“I’d like to begin by discussing the heinous attack yesterday,” Trump said at one point in a video shown by the panel. “‘Yesterday’ is a hard word for me.”

“Just take it out,” Ivanka Trump replied.
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-video-outtakes-jan-6-hearing-election-over-ivanka-white-house-030543867.html

OK that was not an image I needed in my head. Just… ew. OK moving on. Anyway between this damning new evidence against Trump and Josh Hawley playing a game of chicken with an angry mob that he incited, is it any wonder whether or not these people are fit to lead the country? Hell, I wouldn’t trust them to lead a convenience store at this point! We need more coffee cups on aisle 7 next to the vending machine! Anyway, as you can imagine, Josh Hawley became the butt of the jokes in his hometown newspaper. Is it any wonder why the MAGAs hate the free press? Now you know!

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas insists that he hasn't watched the January 6 committee's recent raft of public hearings, even when a one-time intern of his — former White House official Cassidy Hutchinson — offered bombshell testimony about former President Donald Trump's conduct on the day of the Capitol riot.

But Cruz is still an avid Twitter user.

And much like the rest of Twitter, he was not able to avoid coming across a clip of security camera footage released by the committee showing Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri fleeing the Capitol just hours after pumping his fist at the mob.

"I think it's Democrats and the corporate media trying to play gotcha politics," Cruz told Insider at the Capitol on Tuesday. "The Capitol Police evacuated the Capitol, and so Josh left the Capitol, as did the rest of us."
https://news.yahoo.com/ted-cruz-calls-video-josh-171836413.html

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[font size="8"]Bedminster Golf Course
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Most of you who know me know that professional golf isn’t my thing. I’d personally rather get a root canal than watch the Masters tournament. But that being said, I have been following the huge split between the American backed PGA association and the newly emerging LIV golf association, which happens to be unfortunately backed by Saudi Arabia. And in case you’re wondering, yes, this controversy is 100% political. Because it’s forcing people to take sides. Of course, the one guy who literally ruins everything he touches, took the wrong side. Yes that’s right, you know exactly who I am talking about! The guy that was at one point our 45th president. So while the whole professional golf world is shaken and courses are pulling out of the LIV tournament, guess what he wants to do? Sigh, this is why we cant have nice things, people!

The LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Trump National Golf Bedminster is still a week away, but the former U.S. president just couldn’t wait to stir the pot.

Donald Trump signed on to Truth Social on Monday and implored golfers to take the guaranteed money now and join the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded series.

“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote on the social media platform. “If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.”

It’s important to note a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is not currently on the table.
https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/07/19/donald-trump-liv-golf-money-pga-tour-bedminster/

Sigh… this is why we can’t have nice things. Trump is a guy who you cannot tell him what to do, and he’ll spend hours convincing you that doing that thing is the right thing to do. “Hey Trump, 2+2=4!” “No it isn’t! 2 + 2 = 3.9999999999! I know this, I have the best math. Nobody knows math better than I do, and everyone else who doesn’t is a hateful loser!”. But as much as I hate to admit it, and this might be one of the very few times - he’s really not wrong here - the battle between the LIV and the PGA is another one of those things where money talks and bullshit walks. Although remember what I said about him ruining everything that he touches? Well guess what?

A family member of a 9/11 victim said Donald Trump's peace offering had "little to no value" ahead of a planned protest near the former president's Bedminster golf club as it holds a tournament that is part of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour.

Brett Eagleson, who founded the group 9/11 Justice, has criticized the former president for hosting the competition at his New Jersey club, noting how Saudi terrorists were among those who committed the 2001 terror attacks in New York.

The group also claimed that recently unclassified intel also suggested the Saudi government gave support to the hijackers.

Earlier this month, 9/11 Justice sent a letter to the former president describing their "extreme pain, frustration and anger" over the upcoming event at the Trump National Golf Course.
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-liv-golf-bedminster-911-vaule-1727659

See 9/11 families? This is why you don’t vote for conservatives! They care about you… until they don’t care about you. But they will pretend to be your best friend until they no longer need you. But we can’t deny how terrible the Saudis are and that this whole LIV split is something that people should be caring more about. Because while you may or may not care about professional golf, the fact that there are that many professional golfers defecting to the LIV tells you that their allegiance not to their own country, but to the almighty dollar. And that says a lot. In fact this isn’t as much of a tournament as it is a Trump campaign stump and it’s bought and paid for by the Saudis.

The LIV Golf Invitational set to begin this week at Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey is “a multi-billion dollar public relations stunt bought and paid for by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and should be canceled, families of 9/11 victims said Tuesday.

“It’s exhibition golf, and it’s paying golfers to do their dirty work and cleanse their reputation,” Terry Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United, said at a gathering of survivors and families outside the public library in Bedminster, a few miles from the golf course.

The LIV Golf Invitational, set to take place Friday through Sunday, has drawn fierce criticism from 9/11 groups who object to former President Donald Trump’s private golf club hosting an event by the new Saudi-backed golf organization given Saudi Arabia’s ties to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

LIV Golf said Tuesday the event will go on as scheduled despite the objections from 9/11 family groups.
https://www.nj.com/news/2022/07/liv-golf-event-at-trump-national-is-tainted-with-blood-money-and-should-be-canceled-911-families-say.html

Sigh… and OK you know how I always say that Trump has the wrong answer to everything? Well while the rest of the golf world is horrified that golfers are choosing to defect to Saudi Arabia to make money over protecting their integrity by sticking with the USA, he says that it’s OK to take Saudi money! There’s nothing wrong here! Move along, nothing to see here! Shit, even a broken clock is right twice a day, Trump is wrong 24 hours a day and he’s wrong about everything. Including this! Seriously, he wants to be president again? Insane.

As attention turns to next week’s LIV Series event at Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course in New Jersey, the former US president has urged players to join the Saudi-backed tour despite criticism from the families of 9/11 victims.

On Sunday, 9/11 Justice, a group that advocates for victims of the 11 September terrorist attacks, sent a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider his support for the LIV tour. 9/11 survivor groups have long alleged the Saudi government was complicit in the attacks, although no definitive link has ever been proven.

“The Saudi nation is largely responsible for the death of our loved ones and for the horrific attack on America. And you know it,” 9/11 Justice said in the letter.

Brett Eagleson, whose father died in the attacks, told CNN that the FBI has recently investigated reports that Saudi officials offered logistical support to the 9/11 hijackers.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jul/19/donald-trump-urges-golfers-to-take-liv-money-despite-protests-from-911-groups

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[font size="8"]Uvalde Shooting
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You know when we last left, the horrifying and tragic mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Ulvade, Texas had just happened (see: Idiots #12-16 ) and it didn’t take long for the usual group of douchebags like Ken Paxton, Greg Abbott, Wayne La Pierre, and Tucker Carlson to devolve into gun nut conspiracies about guns being taken away and of course the usual gun nut denial that the murder of 3 teachers and 19 students –all children – did not happen. But it’s gotten completely weird and off the rails since then. And this is one of those stories that I always say is like peeling an onion – the more layers you peel back, the more it stinks, and the more likely you are to cry as a result of it. And by the way gun nuts who happen to be lurking here – do you realize that this one shooting nearly single handedly defeats all of your favorite talking points? Oh yes it does!

On Sunday, a Texas House committee released the most exhaustive account yet of the shooter, his planning, his attack and the fumbling response he provoked.

The 77-page report, reviewed by The Texas Tribune, provides a damning portrayal of a family unable to recognize warning signs, a school district that had strayed from strict adherence to its safety plan and a police response that disregarded its own active shooter training.

It explains how the gunman, who investigators believe had never fired a gun before May 24, was able to stockpile military-style rifles, accessories and ammunition without arousing suspicion from authorities, then enter a supposedly secure school unimpeded and indiscriminately kill children and adults.

In total, 376 law enforcement officers — a force larger than the garrison that defended the Alamo — descended upon the school in a chaotic, uncoordinated scene that lasted for more than an hour. The group was devoid of clear leadership, basic communications and sufficient urgency to take down the gunman, the report says.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/17/law-enforcement-failure-uvalde-shooting-investigation/

Holy shit!!! They literally had a small army of police officers and army personnel there – all supposedly good guys with guns (as the NRA likes to say) – and none of them could handle this guy. Like the NRA loves to say that the good guy with a gun is the solution to stopping a bad guy with a gun. Well guess what geniuses? That didn’t work. For the sake of this piece, let’s call it “Gross misuse of excessive force to stop an AR-15 problem”. Nah, it needs more zing. “The Unbearable Weight Of Execssive Force”? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Great one! Starring Nicholas Cage of course! But it gets weirder! So much weirder!

Nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to a mass shooting at a Uvalde elementary school, but “egregiously poor decision-making” resulted in more than an hour of chaos before the gunman who took 21 lives was finally confronted and killed, according to a damning investigative report released Sunday.

The nearly 80-page report was the first to criticize both state and federal law enforcement, and not just local authorities in the South Texas town for the bewildering inaction by heavily armed officers as a gunman fired inside two fourth-grade classrooms at Robb Elementary School, killing 19 students and two teachers.

Altogether, the report and more than three hours of newly released body camera footage from the May 24 tragedy amounted to the fullest account to date of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. Some families blasted police as cowards and demanded resignations.

“At Robb Elementary, law enforcement responders failed to adhere to their active shooter training, and they failed to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety,” the report said.
https://apnews.com/article/shootings-texas-education-violence-school-31aa135678f8118ed96d893ea77cf8ea

Holy shit again! Let’s think about this here for a minute – 100 shots were fired before anyone could even enter the building! That just goes to show you the inherent danger that these weapons possess. If you have 376 police in a building and none of them could take the shooter down, the problem isn’t that we need more police. The problem is the fucking guns! It’s always been the fucking guns! And by the way, in case you’re wondering where Greg Abbott has been this whole time? Well, it turns out that he doesn’t give a shit. See – republicans care about you – until they don’t.

Gov. Greg Abbott did not attend a single funeral for any of the 19 children or two teachers killed mass shooting at Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, according to his schedule, which was obtained through an open records request by ABC News.

Abbott's schedule from May 25 to June 14 indicates that his last visit to Uvalde was on June 5 to attend a community worship event at the Uvalde County Fairplex. However, missing from the schedule is any mention of Uvalde victim funerals. The last funeral held in Uvalde for victims was on June 16, when 11-year-old Layla Salazar was laid to rest.

In a Monday interview with MSNBC, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, criticized Abbott for not returning to the South Texas town, and alleged that Abbott has not been back since May 29 when President Joe Biden also visited a public vigil in Uvalde, rather than June 5 as the governor's schedule suggests.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Gov-Greg-Abbott-did-not-attend-funeral-for-any-17312174.php?t=56eb7383ed

Well so much for saying that you care about children, Greg! Because this clearly showed what a heartless asshole you really are. And by the way you think I’m kidding about the usual group of assholes’ plans to make things worse? Guess what? Each time there’s a shooting in America, which seems to be an every day occurrence now, they always make excuses. Whether it’s bulletproof backpacks, or bookcases, or whatever the fuck this thing is:



Yeah that’s real! Oh don’t think we’re not letting this one slide! Yeah that looks like a death trap if I ever saw one. But here’s the thing gun nuts – you’re only making things worse! Just stop it already!

A new belt-fed AR-15 military-style assault rifle can fire rounds as fast as fully-automatic machine guns -- and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) says that a legal loophole means that the gun is perfectly legal in the United States.

CNN reported this week that Texas-based Slide Fire's new SFS BFR semiautomatic rifle would be available this fall for $6,000. The weapon can potentially hold thousands of round of ammunition because it is fed by a belt instead of a traditional magazine.

And according to Shooting Times, the company's special stock uses the rifle's recoil to trigger the next round, resulting in a possible fire rate of 800 rounds per minute.

"It sprays like a fire hose," Slide Fire sales and marketing manager Brandon Renner told CNN. "We recommend no more than 30 rounds on the belt, but one person could make it as big as they want."

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/legal-loophole-allows-new-belt-fed-ar-15-spr

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[font size="8"]Holy Shit:
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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! It’s been too long since we last spoke. Two months to be exact! But we are tanned, we are rested, and we are ready to go! We are also preparing for the Holy Shit 5th Anniversary Special on August 11th! But enough promos for now. This week, I was alerted to this by my parishioners because this is something that we need to talk about. We need to talk about how church attendance is declining at an alarming rate. But is it really that alarming? Or has society had enough of the radical right evangelical’s sinister agenda? An agenda that is beginning to preach some massive hatred and bigotry on a mass scale. But this isn’t the first time that the church has seen such a rapid drop in audience participation. However, it may also signal why the church is getting desperate to hang onto the power that they once had. And why this country is going in an extremely dangerous direction. Both of these things may have something to do with each other.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.

U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937 and remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21st century.

As many Americans celebrate Easter and Passover this week, Gallup updates a 2019 analysis that examined the decline in church membership over the past 20 years.

Gallup asks Americans a battery of questions on their religious attitudes and practices twice each year. The following analysis of declines in church membership relies on three-year aggregates from 1998-2000 (when church membership averaged 69%), 2008-2010 (62%), and 2018-2020 (49%). The aggregates allow for reliable estimates by subgroup, with each three-year period consisting of data from more than 6,000 U.S. adults.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx

But now we may have different versions of the devil because my version goes more like this. And I think that I might have a theory as to why church attendance is so down. Have you seen the rhetoric that’s being passed around by so called members of the church? It’s getting extreme. And it’s the opposite of what the good LAWRD JAYSUS had intended! And I can see why the youth of today don’t want to be associated with extremists. Let’s take a look at what our old friend Marjorie Greene (Q – Batshit) is saying. I mean seriously, when you start saying that America is Christian nationalist, wouldn’t that basically imply Nazi?

Three men, eyes closed and heads bowed, pray before a rough-hewn wooden cross. Another man wraps his arms around a massive Bible pressed against his chest like a shield. All throughout the crowd, people wave "Jesus Saves" banners and pump their fists toward the sky.

At first glance, these snapshots look like scenes from an outdoor church rally. But this event wasn't a revival; it was what some call a Christian revolt. These were photos of people who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, during an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The insurrection marked the first time many Americans realized the US is facing a burgeoning White Christian nationalist movement. This movement uses Christian language to cloak sexism and hostility to Black people and non-White immigrants in its quest to create a White Christian America.

A report from a team of clergy, scholars and advocates — sponsored by two groups that advocate for the separation of church and state — concluded that this ideology was used to "bolster, justify and intensify" the attack on the US Capitol.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/24/us/white-christian-nationalism-blake-cec/index.html

Yes, all you sinners stand up and sing hallelujah! Because it seems like the youth does not want to be associated with this fire and brimstone brand of religion! Because it’s not what the good LAWRD JAYSUS would want now, is it? That’s where this is heading. That’s the bullshit that the US has been putting up with since the Southern Strategy was implemented! It’s all because the US is going to go full Nazi in an election cycle or two. The country that starts banning books because a news network told them to is about to do some seriously evil shit. As evidenced here:

Speaking at an event for young conservatives on Saturday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, argued that Republicans should embrace being "Christian nationalists."

The congresswoman appeared at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit this weekend in Tampa, Florida. Among the many things she discussed while onstage, she discussed the label of "Chrisitan nationalist" that critics have often given her. She argued that being a Christian nationalist is a positive thing, and urged the young conservatives in attendance to more prominently mix Christianity with politics.

"That's not a bad word," Greene said. "That's actually a good thing. There's nothing wrong with leading with your faith...If we do not live our lives and vote like we are nationalists—caring about our country, and putting our country first and wanting that to be the focus of our federal government—if we do not lead that way, then we will not be able to fix it."

Greene repeated that sentiment over the weekend during a video interview for a conservative online show, a clip of which was shared on Twitter by prominent left-wing pundit and former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski.
https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-gop-we-should-christian-nationalists-1727445

Actually it’s Marjorie that needs JAYSUS and she actually needs to go back and really read the Bible, not just pretend to read it for a campaign photo op! So is it any wonder why there’s a decline in religious attendance and all of a sudden there’s a huge increase in nationalist rhetoric? It doesn’t take a Biblical scholar to figure that one out! And come on, do we really need the Dark One going there? A man so disgusting, foul, and vile that his name DARE NOT be spoken in my church? Oh yes, he’s going there, and the fact that the most foul man on earth is even daring to paint himself as a GAWD should alarm anyone who’s not a member of the MAGA cult!

Former President Donald Trump said during a speech on Saturday that "Americans kneel to God" alone, as the concept of Christian nationalism continues to gain traction among conservatives.

Trump made the comment while speaking at an event in Tampa, Florida, held by Turning Point USA, a student conservative group, and posted a clip of it on his Truth Social account.

"We will not break, we will not yield, we will never give in, we will never give up, we will never, ever, ever back down. As long as we are confident and united, the tyrants we are fighting do not stand a chance," Trump said. "Because we are Americans and Americans kneel to God, and God alone."

Former President Donald Trump said during a speech on Saturday that "Americans kneel to God" alone, as the concept of Christian nationalism continues to gain traction among conservatives.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-americans-kneel-to-god-christian-nationalism-grows-in-gop-2022-7

Hey Dark One! GTFO out of religion! You are the very definition of tyranny and your movement wants a tyrant leader. That’s why church attendance is in decline – no one wants to be associated with your people anymore! Sigh… I need to go back on vacation. Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]Top 10 Presents: Late Stage Capitalism
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Unchecked and unregulated capitalism have escalated corporate greed to unprecedented new heights. This is:



Welcome everybody to our new segment Top1 0 Presents: Late Stage Capitalism! Because unchecked and unregulated monetary gains have ruined the entire world. We have mega billionaires like Tesla’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Virgin’s Richard Branson, all vying to become the world’s first trillionaire. And we wonder why the masses haven’t risen up as one and slayed them yet. But that’s another topic entirely. This segment is focusing on one thing and one thing only: Excessive corporate greed on a mass scale! And this week, we’re taking a look at the world of microtransactions. Yes, they’re getting more frequent, and yes, they’re coming for your every last dime. And we’re going to start with this appalling and controversial plan by BMW to introduce a “connected app store” to its’ cars and it’s already testing this feature in some countries with plans to roll it out worldwide. Now wait a minute – hold your boos. Because of this concept, you’re basically paying for features on your new vehicle that should be standard everywhere else. And the scary thing is, don’t tell other auto manufactures about this yet!

Love it or hate it, connected cars are here to stay. Buying a new vehicle today means downloading a companion app, regularly updating software, and contending with sometimes finicky controls. Taking advantage of this constant connectivity (again) is BMW, no stranger to blowback over random subscription charges. The automaker’s South Korean arm rolled out several new subscription services that require additional payments for popular features like heated seats.

Owners can purchase the features through BMW’s ConnectedDrive Store, and in case you’re wondering how a software update can add physical features to the car, it might anger you to know that the hardware is already there. You just don’t have access to it without paying more.

BMW South Korea charges $18 per month for heated seats, but buyers can opt to pay for a year at $176 or three years for $283. If you want the feature forever, BMW will sell it to you for $406. Want a heated steering wheel? If you don’t want to pay $222 for permanent access, get ready to shell out $10 per month, $92 per year, or $161 for three years. Wireless Apple CarPlay costs $305, and the ConnectedDrive store features several other added-cost upgrades.

Remember that this is not BMW’s first rodeo with subscription services. In 2019, the automaker made waves with its decision to stop selling Apple CarPlay as a $300 option and start offering it for $80 a year or $300 for 20 years. While those aren’t outrageous costs, being asked to pay for a service that others get for free feels like a slap in the face, especially at the prices new BMWs sell for. The uproar led BMW to reverse course, and it quickly resumed offering the tech for free, refunding anyone unlucky enough to have paid for the service.
https://www.autoblog.com/2022/07/11/bmw-subscription-services-south-korea/

Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Hey car makers, we don’t want to pay more money for features that should come standard! Next up – video games! Yes, video games have come under fire for being notorious about in app purchases but that’s only just the beginning. Blizzard, on the other hand, is taking in app purchases to strange new heights with their latest Diablo game on Android / Apple. So wait until you hear how much it costs to fully develop your character. If you’re not booing and throwing things at the TV, then well you’ve probably got enough money to cover it!

Obtaining the required amount of Diablo Immortal’s legendary gems, and “awakening” your gear to create one of the best Diablo Immortal builds, could cost you around $540,000 in microtransactions, claims one player, who has shared their findings via Twitter and Reddit.

Andrew Dice, who uses the Twitter handle @SpaceDrakeCF, posted a thread claiming that in addition to the potential cost of upgrading five legendary gems to level ten, “awakening” these gems – which you do by purchasing a material called a dawning echo, and speaking to Vic the master jeweller in Westmarch – creates six more gem slots attached to each legendary gem, which then themselves have to be upgraded before your character is truly at max strength.

In order to obtain legendary gems, players have to complete exclusive quests called elden rifts. At the end of these quests, legendary gems are awarded with varying probabilities – Reddit user BullHorn7 previously speculated that the chances of getting a ready-made, fully upgraded five star legendary gem, at the end of an elden rift, is less than 1%. Players can increase their chances of receiving these gems, however, by using items called legendary crests prior to entering the elden rift. There are various ways to obtain these crests, but the most straightforward is to purchase them using real money. For a better chance of receiving a fully-upgraded legendary gem, you can equip ten legendary crests before an elden rift. Each crest costs $2.50, for a total of $25 per rift – if you want the best chance of one of those top legendary gems.
https://www.pcgamesn.com/diablo-immortal/builds-costs

So, Jimmy, you can have a college education which will provide you for your entire future, or you can have a really kick ass level 52 Orc! Why am I not surprised that Jimmy is choosing the Orc? Very disappointing, Jimmy. But here’s the thing people – put up or shut up! You can’t keep complaining about this kind of stuff and then go give them money. Because that’s exactly what they want. So wait until you hear how much money Blizzard is raking in and why it won’t be the end of microtransactions. Yeah you complain but in the end you shut up and give them their money like the good gamers that you are, because this is happening. It’s classic cause and effect.

Despite backlash from some players, Diablo Immortal's free-to-play, microtransaction-laden game design seems to be working out just fine for Blizzard's bottom line. Using data from mobile analysis firm Appmagic, MobileGamer.biz estimates that the iOS and Android versions of the game brought in $49 million in earnings from just over 10 million mobile downloads in the versions' first 30 days of availability.

Those estimates, based on public charts provided by the mobile platforms, don't include the PC version of the game and, thus, may be underselling the scale of its financial success. With PC players included, Blizzard announced that Diablo Immortal hit 10 million installs after just over a week, well ahead of the mobile download pace estimated by Appmagic.

By comparison, Diablo III took nearly six months to sell 10 million copies after its troubled launch in 2012. But that game sold for $60, making it hard to compare directly to a free-to-play game that has brought in an estimated average of less than $5 in earnings per download, according to Appmagic.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/07/diablo-immortal-is-bringing-in-over-1-million-a-day-in-microtransactions/

Yeah that’s pretty much what the bosses at Blizzard are doing right now! But if you want to know where all your money is going, it’s because we’re soon headed for an entire universe of microtransactions. Just wait until we’re all on the metaverse and using VR headsets to communicate with each other. It’s going to get worse. Diablo: Immortal and BMW are just the beginning. Just wait until you see what Mark Zuckerberg is going to have in store for us. You think Bezos, Musk, and Branson are vying to be the world’s first trillionaire? Well, Zuckerberg may have them all beat. It’s eventually going to be Elysium, folks. And we’ll be living in it.

NFTs are the best technical solution for a more open metaverse, according to author and venture capitalist Matthew Ball.

In an interview with Decrypt following the launch of his book, "The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything," Ball shared his thoughts on the definition of the metaverse, who will rule it, whether cryptocurrencies will play a part, and how NFTs—unique blockchain tokens that signify asset ownership—could solve its biggest problem.

Ball is a former Amazon Studios executive whom Mark Zuckerberg, Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney, and Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong have looked to as a key thought leader for all things metaverse. He told Decrypt that the metaverse is, at its core, a “parallel virtual plane of existence.”

When it comes to cryptocurrencies and crypto’s role in metaverse environments, Ball sees a place for it, but thinks the public hasn’t been properly educated. That lack of education has led to stigma, confusion, and has ultimately stifled adoption.
https://decrypt.co/105615/nfts-crypto-key-open-metaverse-matthew-ball-amazon

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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
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Hello and welcome to our segment that explains the unexplainable, Conspiracy Corner! We are coming to you live from our underground doomsday shelter deep within the heart of the New Mexico badlands, undisclosed location of course! Let me just adjust my tin foil hat for maximum government interference – and there we go! So this week we’re going to show you what happens when conspiracy theories go way too far. And one man who was caught in the middle of some batshit insane mudslinging. That man is Ray Epps. He’s just your average everyday Capitol rioter. But this guy’s story is different because he got pegged by Trump as an ANTIFA operative. That’s right – he got pegged for being on the other side, and the MAGAs ripped him to shreds like the disgusting vultures that they are. So here’s everything that we know so far. And this is why conspiracy theories are dangerous and why you don’t want to go poking that bear. Never ever do that.

Up a winding country road, in a trailer park a half-mile from a cattle ranch, lives a man whose life has been ruined by a Jan. 6 conspiracy theory.

Ray Epps has suffered enormously in the past 10 months as right-wing media figures and Republican politicians have baselessly described him as a covert government agent who helped to instigate the attack on the Capitol last year.

Strangers have assailed him as a coward and a traitor and have menacingly cautioned him to sleep with one eye open. He was forced to sell his business and his home in Arizona. Fearing for his safety and uncertain of his future, he and his wife moved into a mobile home in the foothills of the Rockies, with all of their belongings crammed into shipping containers in a high-desert meadow, a mile or two away.

“And for what — lies?” Mr. Epps asked the other day with a look of pained exhaustion. “All of this, it’s just been hell.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/us/politics/jan-6-conspiracy-theory-ray-epps.html

Oh come on, Ray! You knew the job was dangerous when you took it! And if you’ve been following us the last five years, you know that Trump is the kind of unhinged psychopath that would turn on his own followers if they so much as gave him the stink eye! But let’s also digress the fact that Mr. Epps is the kind of person who bought into the cultish hype surrounding Trump and his cult of personality that he’s built over the last 5 years. Like you wonder how average, everyday people got roped into doing Hitler’s evil bidding? Look no further than victims of the Jan. 6th Insurrection, like Mr. Epps or Ashlii Babbitt.

The Justice Department is compiling information to share with defendants about Ray Epps, an Arizona man who has been the focus of Jan. 6 conspiracy theories pushed by former President Donald Trump, his allies in Congress and right-wing media figures.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Rochlin said in court on Tuesday that she intended to provide a “disclosure” about Epps, a former Oath Keeper, in response to requests by Jan. 6 defendants accused of leading the breach of police lines — including Ryan Samsel, who briefly huddled with Epps before charging the barricades.

Epps, who was seen on video on Jan. 5, 2021, urging Trump supporters to go “into the Capitol” — adding that they should be “peaceful” — became the focus of conspiracy theories pushed by right-wing media outlets.

Epps, they noted, was not arrested despite being toward the front of the riotous crowd. And although his face initially appeared on a list of unidentified suspects, it was removed months after the breach. That led to unsupported claims that Epps was a government informant.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/29/feds-prepare-disclosure-on-figure-at-heart-of-pro-trump-jan-6-conspiracy-theory-00021570

So why didn’t Mr. Epps get prosecuted by the FBI? Well there’s tons of theories out there. But the fact that the MAGA movement attracts questionable people and has-been celebrities just further proves how unhinged this movement is. But the fact that this story got picked up by our old buddy Tucker Carlson just tells you all that you need to know. This is why you don’t live in an echo chamber and stay off the social media grid as much as possible. Because it leads you down things like this and that’s dangerous and scary!

The removal of other images from the FBI's website has already sparked conspiracy theories. The most infamous case is that of Ray Epps, a Trump supporter from Arizona who was among the first to be added to the FBI's website after the Capitol attack. Epps, No. 16 on a list that now tops 500, was identified soon after the attack, and spoke to the Arizona Republic in its immediate aftermath.

His removal from the list without being charged has prompted rampant conspiracy theories that he was acting as a plant to stoke the crowd.

It was understandable that investigators would want to talk to Epps: He's at the front of the police line (although never appears to engage physically with the police), and was seen the night of Jan. 5 telling a crowd of Trump supporters they needed to go "into" the Capitol ("peacefully," he added).

But it also makes sense that the Justice Department would decline to prosecute Epps: There were thousands of people who, like Epps, were unlawfully on the restricted grounds of the Capitol; prosecutors, however, have focused their resources on individuals who either entered the Capitol building or assaulted officers outside. There's no public evidence that Epps did either, and his speech declaring that Trump supporters should "peacefully" go "into" the Capitol would be protected by the First Amendment. (Epps, for his part, told the House Jan. 6 select committee that he "has never been an informant for the FBI or any other law enforcement agency.&quot
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jan-6-suspect-died-now-fbi-prep-conspiracies-rcna14271

Yeah probably! Now here’s where it gets weird. You know that the right wing has an absolutely massive propaganda arm which encompasses some 2,500 radio stations across the US. Not to mention a near monopoly on local TV thanks to Sinclair Broadcasting’s shady deals. And here’s one thing if you plan on courting that crowd, never turn against them. Because the conservative blacklist is worse and deeper than Hollywood’s. Right now because Trump owns that side, there’s MAGA and “Ultra MAGA”. And here’s where our friend Mr. Epps landed on the subject!

Zoom in: Right-wing media outlets, including Revolver News, compiled selectively edited videos in an effort to show Epps as a secret government agent who was responsible for provoking the riot, per the Times.

Trump, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) all elevated the conspiracy theory.
"I am at the center of this thing, and it’s the biggest farce that’s ever been,” Epps told the Times. "It’s just not right. The American people are being led down a path. I think it should be criminal."

Revolver News, an obscure right-wing media outlet, published its first article about Epps in October, almost immediately setting off a flurry of death threats, trespassers at his home and family members and friends turning on him.

In January, Epps received a letter from someone who claimed to have been brought into the country by a Mexican drug cartel who warned that some members discussed killing Epps, per the Times.
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/13/ray-epps-jan-6-capitol-riot-conspiracy-theory

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[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
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Hit it!

Of course you know by now that people are people, and people are dumb! And of course I always want to preface People Are Dumb by defining exactly what makes a People Are Dumb story. So let’s put it this way – a guy who burns his house down? Not a People Are Dumb story. But a guy who burns his house down because a leprechaun voice in his head tells him to and he was probably on crystal meth at the time? Now that’s a People Are Dumb story! Who’s dumb this week? Well I want to start with this story out of Osaka, Japan. Look, look. I’ve been on many a bender in my life. And one thing I’ve learned is that if you’re going to go out on a bender, maybe don’t bring valuable items with you. Especially one that might, I don’t know, contain data on every resident in the city! And as we’ve learned on this program, no one no matter where you’re from, is immune from stupid people. But this might be one of the dumbest things we’ve seen yet!

Losing a wallet after a night out on the town is annoying. But losing a flash drive containing the personal information of about half a million residents? That’s nothing short of a headache, as one Japanese man would find.

The unnamed man in his 40s had stored the USB stick in his bag when he went out for drinks at a local restaurant in Osaka prefecture’s industrial Amagasaki city on Tuesday. After several hours of boozing, the IT worker fell asleep on the street and by the time he woke up, the bag containing the flash drive was gone, local media reported.

Though the flash drive was encrypted, it contained the personal data of Amagasaki’s 465,177 residents, including their dates of birth, addresses, bank account numbers, and tax details. His company, BIPROGY, was hired by the city’s government to find out who in the city was eligible for tax exemptions.

“We deeply apologize to the citizens of Amagasaki, the city of Amagasaki, and all concerned for the inconvenience caused by the loss of important information entrusted to us,” the company said in a statement to local press.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxn88x/japanese-man-lost-usb-drive-entire-city

Next up – we have got a lot of great Florida stories in the news for you. Starting with this resident out of Florida who thought it would be a great idea to do yard work in the nude! That’s right – you read that correctly! Yard work… in the nude! OK look if there’s going to be one activity you should never do while naked, it’s work with weed whackers and pesticides! And come on, it’s Florida. Why wouldn’t you expect something like this happens on a regular basis? Well not if you’ve been following our little program for the last few years!

People who live in a Stuart neighborhood say their neighbor does yard work and walks around his property naked. They say they’ve called the sheriff's office, but deputies say, there is nothing they can do.

"I came out Sunday night to put the trash out, and I look over and he is bent over, winding up his hose, and I'm like that is my view of the neighborhood,” says Melissa Ny, a neighbor.

Concerned neighbors want to crack down on this naked truth, the man who lives at the end of their street is a nudist.

"He works on his car, and he does it naked and everyone has called the police, he is just out there doing his yard work, whatever he needs to do outside, naked," says Ny. .........(more)

https://www.wpbf.com/article/stuart-neighbors-upset-about-man-doing-yard-work-in-the-nude/23310164#

Next up – we go to this story out of Oklahoma! You know we always give Florida a hard time about being the crazy state, but there’s crazy people literally everywhere! Of course that’s what happens when you have a president who shut all of the nation’s mental hospitals and literally let the inmates out of the proverbial asylum! But like we said in the beginning, we don’t really joke about murder on this program, because it’s usually nothing to joke about. But we can joke about murder if Bigfoot is involved, right? I mean right? Of course we can.

Larry Sanders, 53, stands charged with first-degree murder after allegedly admitting first to a family member and later to police to killing his noodling fishing partner Jimmy Knighten, who Sanders claimed wanted him dead by the hand of the mythical monster Bigfoot. Noodling is a popular fishing technique used in the southern United States to catch a fish by sticking one’s hand in its mouth.

The local sheriff, John Christian, told local media that Sanders “appeared to be under the influence of something” when he told police he had struck, strangled, and then drowned Knighten.

“So, his statement was that Mr. Knighten had summoned ‘Bigfoot’ to come and kill him, and that’s why he had to kill Mr. Knighten,” Christian told local reporters.

Christian said that the confession “always makes it easier,” but that the difficulty came in trying to find Knighten’s body, which had floated on the river currents and was not discovered until more than 24 hours after the deadly incident.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/oklahoma-man-says-bigfoot-made-him-kill-his-fishing-partner-police-say/ar-AAZtNqV?ocid=U146DHP&li=BBnb7Kz

Oh and by the way the people who sent that article made sure that I had to acknowledge that this guy’s name is Larry Sanders. OK moving on… street hot dog vendors! Yes, if you’ve ever attended any event here in Southern California, you might be aware of these people selling bacon wrapped hot dogs on the streets after the game. But of course then you go to Florida, where street hot dog vendors attack the cops – and that’s something you should never do under any circumstance! That cop might also want to clean his uniform after being doused with dirty hot dog water.

A New Port Richey man was arrested on a felony charge Saturday after authorities said he threw a hot dog at an officer who was warning him of violating a city ordinance, arrest documents said.

Officers said Jason Stoll, 47, of New Port Richey ignored the warnings and continued to sell hot dogs in the roadway Saturday around 12 a.m. after his street closure permit ended.

Stoll was asked to put the hot dog down but authorities said he continued his attempt to sell it.

Stoll then became “extremely upset” before he intentionally threw the hot dog at the officer, documents added. ...............(more)

https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/florida-man-charged-for-throwing-hot-dog-at-st-pete-officer/

Finally this week – you know Disney has been in the news a lot this week and that’s mainly because of the way that conservatives are trying to attack the corporation for incorporating more LGBT friendly programming into their lineup and the way they denounced Ron DeSantis. But that being said, people still work at and go to Disney despite the conservative threats. Of course , Disney World Epcot Center being in Orlando, it does attract the occasional Florida man to the park. And if you’re going to apply for a job in, I don’t know, park security, maybe don’t steal an R2-D2 droid? We don’t serve your kind here!

A man was caught and arrested for impersonating a hotel guest and a Cast Member as he took a gold necklace and an R2-D2 droid worth about $10,000, according to sheriff’s reports detailing the man’s scheme that unfolded across Disney property this year.

Proudfoot caught security’s attention last month as he pushed a cart on Epcot Resorts Boulevard to Walt Disney World Swan Reserve. He wore a Disney World name tag that said “David” and a bright orange safety vest.

The security officer “noticed the behavior as (suspicious) and offered to assist the male with the cart onto the property. The male appeared confused about the location of loading docks or proper procedures of the Swan Reserve. Security then called deputies to respond,” the arrest report said.

Proudfoot claimed to be David Rodgers and said he was a Walt Disney Company employee stationed at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort’s receiving division. ...........(more)

https://wdwnt.com/2022/06/florida-man-poses-as-cast-member-steals-10000-r2-d2-droid-in-supposed-attempt-to-earn-a-job-in-disney-world-security/

That’s it this week for:

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[font size="8"]World Tour 2022 Destination #1
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Part of our mission statement here at the Top 10 Conservative Idiots is that we view conservative idiocy not just as a uniquely American problem. No, it’s a global problem and conservatives are ruining everything they touch all around the world. Which is why we present to you:



Welcome to our World Tour, 2022 everybody! It’s finally here at last! So the way this works is that we’re going to tell you about our destination and then rank it on a scale of four different aspects and give it an overall grade. So as you can see by the schedule, we’re starting in our home country, the good ol’ United States Of America, and then we are ending in South America! We are also hitting all 6 continents with some new destinations! Here’s the schedule:



[font size="4"]Destination #1: California, USA [/font]





We need some music for this one!

California knows how to party… California knows how to party… in the city of LA! OK that’s enough of that. So the reason why we picked California for our first stop of this World Tour is that for one it’s our home base. We holed up in the green room of a Burbank comedy club for the better part of a year during COVID. Now we’re at the Observatory OC in Santa Ana. So California is in our blood. And conservatives love to blast California as being the liberal bastion of the United States. So let’s examine that for a bit. California is currently led by governor Gavin Newsom, who won a recall attempt in the most laughably one sided election in California history. It’s the home of many major sports teams like the LA Lakers, the Dodgers, the Angels, the Giants, the Clippers, the Kings, the Ducks, the Sharks, the Golden State Warriors, and universities like USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, San Diego State, I could go on and on. It’s also the home of the electric automobile as companies like Tesla and Lucid manufacture here , and it’s also the home of fast food like In-N-Out and Jack In The Box. So why do conservatives hate California so much? Well it could have something to do with this.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill into law that allows private citizens to bring civil action against anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports or imports assault weapons or ghost guns, which are banned in the state.

California Senate Bill 1327 is modeled after a Texas law that allows private citizens to bring civil litigation against abortion providers or anyone who assists a pregnant person in obtaining an abortion after as early as six weeks of pregnancy. The US Supreme Court in December allowed Texas' six-week abortion ban to remain in effect, which prompted Newsom, who has been supportive of abortion rights and pro-gun control, to say he was "outraged" by the court's decision and direct his staff to draft a similar bill to regulate guns.

Under the California law, a person would also be able to sue a licensed firearms dealer who "sells, supplies, delivers, or gives possession or control of a firearm" to anyone under 21 years old. It allows citizens to sue for a minimum of $10,000 on each weapon involved, as well as attorney fees.

Newsom, a Democrat, on Friday acknowledged that the law would likely be challenged in court.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/104029640

And by the way, Newsom is on a warpath against the gun industry in a much needed breath of fresh air in the fight against these merchants of death. Everything from marketing to kids to suing gun manufacturers in the event of death is on the table. Although even living in one of the greatest states in the US, we still aren’t completely immune from conservative idiocy. There’s that little pocket in central California known as Tulare County, which is home to Fresno and Modesto. Yes, it is known as the home of Russia’s most favorite security expert Devin Nunes. Thank you, random person in the back of the audience! Yes, while this state is mostly blue in general there are some very deep pockets of red, like North Orange County, Tulare County, Bakersfield, and Newport Beach. And this is what you get.

A Stanislaus County resident is demanding answers after she and hundreds of others received an official tax letter in the mail stamped with “Lets Go Brandon.”

“Our office is completely nonpartisan,” said County Assessor Don Gaekle. But, he continued, “We didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Gaekle says there was no political agenda behind the message. He says ABS Direct, a contractor, printed the envelopes in error and has since apologized. Gaekle says the county not only doesn’t condone such messages, but he says they don’t belong on official government business.

“We’re a nonpartisan government office doing the taxpayer’s business, and we apologize that this mistake offended taxpayers, and we want to make sure that it never happens again,” said Gaekle.
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2022/07/15/lets-go-brandon-mistakenly-stamped-on-hundreds-of-official-tax-letters-in-stanislaus-county/

You know things are bad when Captain Picard gives you the facepalm. There is another downside to living in this state. That is extreme heat and a crippling drought that has been plaguing the state for the last 25 years. And there does not seem to be an end to the devastation that the drought has wrought anytime soon. Just look at the Colorado River, for instance. Hey conservatives – you think it’s all fun and games denying climate change and looking like an asshole about it, just wait until your weekend boating outings at the Colorado River and Lake Mead are affected. It’s all fun and games until it affects you!

California and six other Western states have less than 60 days to pull off a seemingly impossible feat: Cut a multi-way deal to dramatically reduce their consumption of water from the dangerously low Colorado River.

If they don’t, the federal government will do it for them.

A federal Bureau of Reclamation ultimatum last month, prompted by an extreme climate-change-induced drop in water levels at the nation’s largest reservoirs, reopens years of complicated agreements and political feuds among the communities whose livelihoods depend on the river. The deadline represents a crucial moment for the arid Southwest, which must now swiftly reckon with a problem that has been decades in the making.

Despite the oppressive dryness that has plagued the region for more than 20 years, California has, in large part, avoided reductions to its usage of the Colorado River. But now that reservoir levels have fallen drastically, the Golden State may be forced to use less water, a prospect that would only further strain a state that is already asking residents in some regions to stop watering lawns and take shorter showers.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/06/colorado-river-drought-california-arizona-00044121

But hey people, here’s the thing. California is one of the best states to live in, in the USA simply because we elect people who know what they are doing. If you want to see the opposite of California, just wait until we hit next week’s destination – Texas. It’s like the classic Goofus and Gallant comic. Gallant is the smart one, and Goofus is the stupid one. In this case, California is Gallant, and Texas is Goofus. So if you elect smart people, of course your taxes and cost of living will be higher. But if you do decide to leave California, it might be wise to research where it is you’re going to be living. Because it’s causing some problems.

Fernando Bustos Gorozpe was sitting with friends in a cafe here when he realized that — once again — they were outnumbered.

“We’re the only brown people,” said Bustos, a 38-year-old writer and university professor. “We’re the only people speaking Spanish except the waiters.”

Mexico has long been the top foreign travel destination for Americans, its bountiful beaches and picturesque pueblos luring tens of millions of U.S. visitors annually. But in recent years, a growing number of tourists and remote workers — hailing from Brooklyn, N.Y., Silicon Valley and points in between — have flooded the nation’s capital and left a scent of new-wave imperialism.

The influx, which has accelerated since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and is likely to continue as inflation rises, is transforming some of the city’s most treasured neighborhoods into expat enclaves.

In leafy, walkable quarters such as Roma, Condesa, Centro and Juarez, rents are soaring as Americans and other foreigners snap up houses and landlords trade long-term renters for travelers willing to pay more on Airbnb. Taquerias, corner stores and fondas — small, family-run lunch spots — are being replaced by Pilates studios, co-working spaces and sleek cafes advertising oat-milk lattes and avocado toast.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-07-27/americans-are-flooding-mexico-city-some-mexicans-want-them-to-go-home

[font size="4"]Scorecard: [/font]

Tourism: A
Culture: B+
Political Spectrum: B+
Liberal Appeal: A+

Overall: A-

Change from 2017: No change

[font size="4"]Next Week: [/font]

California may be the liberal bastion of the United States, but next week we’re going to head to the land of cowboys, guns, and the Alamo – the exact opposite of California, Texas!



[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]The Offspring[/font]



Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest has a great new album called “Let The Bad Times Roll”, you can see them actually tonight at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa! Playing the title track from their album “Let The Bad Times Roll”, give it up for the Offspring!

Thank you Santa Ana! We’re off to Oxnard next! See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
The Offspring Appear Courtesy Of: Concord Records
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Constellation Room at Observatory OC, Santa Ana, CA
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo

[malaise]

1. K & R

You are amazing