Spreadin' Ted

Look who came down with COVID-19, just months after he said the global outbreak was "not a real pandemic" and a "scam".

None other than Ted "Shit Pants Chicken Hawk" Nugent. His authoritarian arrogance and swollen ego finally got him something worse than Cat Scratch Fever. 

"I have had flu symptoms for the past 10 days. I thought I was dying...I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days".

Poor thing. Although I'd be more compassionate if Spreadin' Ted wasn't a threat to human life.

The radical Right, wrong again.

It's not complicated.

Socialized health care saves lives. Radical Right lies kill people.

A Lesson from Don the Con

 From the New York Times: 

Supporters of Donald Trump who thought they were sending a single donation were charged over and over by his campaign operation.

A Times investigation found that the charges were part of an intentional scheme to boost revenue to Mr. Trump’s struggling presidential campaign. Recurring online donations were set up by default, and a fine-print disclaimer and opt-out language became increasingly hard to find.

Demands for refunds spiked, and complaints to banks and credit card companies soared. The magnitude of the money involved is staggering for politics: All told, the Trump campaign and the Republican Party raised $1.2 billion with WinRed, a for-profit donation processing service, and refunded roughly 10 percent of it.

In effect, the overcharges were an interest-free loan — eventually paid off with some of the tens of millions of dollars Mr. Trump raised after the election under the guise of pursuing his unfounded claims of election fraud.

Don the Con can’t help himself. He is what he is. And they are what they are.

How unfortunate. 

But wait. Maybe there's a lesson here...

I believe I have finally discovered true Republican "value$" and am inspired to send an appeal to my fellow patriots and to their patriotism.

Perhaps this will move them to expand their party and power.

~~~~~~~~~~~

To my Fellow Patriots, 

America needs more Republicans. 

You know this, and I know this. 

What do we do about it? It begins with you and me.

Inspired by Donald Trump, I am very close to joining your patriotic party. I have learned the Republican Party is the party the founders envisioned to protect America from the evils of fake news and socialism. 

Socialism must be crushed and Capitalism must be defended. 

You know this, and I know this.

In this knowledge, I appeal to you, my fellow true and faithful Americans, to allow me to join your sacred cause to protect and defend Capitalism, just like the Constitution tells us. 

You know this, and I know this. 

I am honored to offer my contribution to our struggle to preserve freedom. I'm announcing my conversion to Republican Value$, Capitalism, and the Free Market.

But freedom isn't free. Socialists are stealing our freedom AND the election!

$top the $teal!

We must stand shoulder to shoulder, and pay the cost for freedom, and to serve Capitalism. It's in the Bill of Rights!

Donald Trump's Value$ are American Value$. And he told us to $top the $teal!

You know this, and I know this.

It begins here and now. For your modest consideration, I pledge my loyalty and service to making America even greater.

I'm now accepting donations towards my campaign to become a Republican. If enough good Republicans send me $500 donations every week for the next year, I will vote for a Republican county drain commissioner.

Buh-lieve me.

If you love freedom, (and I know you do,) send those checks today.

$top the $teal!

USA! USA! USA!

"Q" And A

 

As informed and reasonable people of conscience know, Trump and his followers fit every definition of a cult. His fanatic followers see him as a supreme infallible leader sent by God to save us, and would still support him even after he incited insurrectionists to attempt a violent coup for him to stay in power.

Even worse for our Republic, Trump’s cult has an extremely dangerous sub-cult of people even more deranged than his usual rabid followers.

"Q" signs flashed throughout Trump's rallies. Many of Trump’s terrorists wore the letter “Q” when they stormed the Capitol. “Q” is the online identity of an individual or persons who anonymously post wild conspiracy theories and pro-Trump hysteria.

Just as the white supremacist Proud Boys took Trump’s words to “Stand back and stand by” as their cue to be ready for war, Q took its cue from Trump’s “calm before the storm” remark.

QAnon quoted it and went with it. The insurrection would be their storm. They would arrest and kill all those who opposed Trump. They declared they were saving the world from “Satan-worshiping pedophiles and cannibals plotting against Trump”.

In other words, Democrats. And they had “the plan” to stop them.

Remember “Pizzagate”? That was a QAnon hoax that claimed Democrats were blood-drinking baby-eaters running a child sex trafficking ring out of the basement of a pizza place. One crazed cultist with a gun was arrested while taking it upon himself to investigate. Maybe he should have first learned the pizza place had no basement.

Not that a cult cares about facts.

Republican QAnon cult fans Boebert and Greene are now US Representatives. Witnesses and evidence indicate they gave pre-insurrection tours for their friends and supporters.

Rudy Giuliani has re-tweeted posts with actual QAnon hashtags.

On Parler, Trump henchman Devin Nunes of California, directed people to The Dirty Truth, where QAnon-related conspiracies were spread. Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale also re-tweeted content from The Dirty Truth.

Trump’s criminal crony and traitor Mike Flynn swore and oath to Q on camera.

Eric Trump posted a giant “Q” on Instagram, as well as the hashtag version of the community’s slogan: “Where we go one, we go all.”

And Trump digs Q. On July 4th he re-tweeted QAnon supporters 14 times.

When asked about the Q conspiracy he responded, they “appreciate” and “like me very much,” adding that “these are people that love our country.”

“I do know they are very much against pedophilia, they fight it very hard.” Trump reportedly said that QAnon supporters “basically believe in good government.”

Well, then. They are “very fine people” indeed. Followers believe Q is a secret Trump operator with a "Q-Level Security Clearance” in his administration. Some believe it is Trump himself. But they all believe the misinformation and lies with the fervor of Moonies and Scientologists.

No wonder. QAnon is a cult within a cult. Q uses all of Trump’s favorite fear-inciting trigger words like “deep state”, "fake news" and “radical leftists”. Any kind of white nationalist rhetoric and fascist lies are tools of hate in the 8chan/Q shop of horrors. 

Media Matters reported “During his presidency, Trump amplified QAnon-promoting Twitter accounts at least 315 times”.

“Trump has repeatedly amplified QAnon Twitter accounts. The FBI has linked the conspiracy theory to domestic terror.”

Maybe you’ve seen film maker Cullen Hoback’s HBO documentary series "Q: Into The Storm". If you saw it, you’ll know who is behind the great scam and QAnon cult. The mystery has been solved. If you dislike spoilers, you may want to view this documentary before reading further. Be advised it is 6 hours long and is on HBO for several content related reasons. 

8chan is the notorious internet gathering site of creeps, perverts, Nazis, Trumpers, and other racists who like to express their “free speech” anonymously online. 8chan has published three manifestos that were suspected to have been written by mass shooters, including the racist perpetrator of the El Paso massacre. 

It is owned by a racist creep named Jim Watkins, who ran a porn site during his time in the US Army. He became a "pig farmer" in the Philippines, and comes across as a slimeball role-playing a super villain. 

Watkins claims he is "not political", but ran a Trumpian site called "The Goldwater". A woman known as "Red Pill" claimed she was fired when Roger Stone discontinued his financial support. She later refused to discuss the matter after being threatened by an unnamed source.

Fredrick Brennan, the founder of 8chan, sold it to Watkins and is no longer connected to the site. "Do the world a favor and shut it off," he told the Washington Post. "Once again, a terrorist used 8chan to spread his message as he knew people would save it and spread it. The board is a receptive audience for domestic terrorists."

And of course, 8chan is also the home of Q, Writing analysts have noted a shift in Q writing styles in 2018. It would seem the torch was passed.

The sleaze doesn’t ooze far from the sleazebag. Jim Watkins’ son Ron "Code Monkey" Watkins is the administrator of 8chan. This means he has total control of the content. He said he knew Trump's former white nationalist agitator Steve Bannon "was Q from the beginning". 

So there we have it. That's a mighty deep secret to pop into the narrative, but why would an ardent Trump supporter lie?

 Ron bragged on camera about his work on "Q Research" to Cullen Hoback.

“Yeah, so thinking back on it, it was basically three years of intelligence training, teaching normies how to do intelligence work. It’s basically what I was doing anonymously before... but never as Q.”  

A second's pause later he flashed a grin. Another pause. Then Watkins started laughing, “Never as Q. I promise. ‘Cause I am not Q, and never was”.

This was from the character who claimed he is the only person who “Q” chooses to communicate with directly.

As the Q cult likes to say, “There are no coincidences”.

Right.

And there are no cults, racists, liars, fascists, sociopaths, Republicans and Trumps.

Do Something Or Do Nothing

 

During a major cholera epidemic in 1854 London, Dr. John Snow mapped the locations of victims killed by the disease. The deadly bacteria wasn’t widely identified at the time, but he sourced the contagion to a water pump on Broad Street. This is how the disease was discovered to be water-borne. The common sense solution was to shut down the pump and stop the spread at the source. So they did.

“Shut down the pump” was the pro-life, logical, practical and effective solution that saved lives. Let’s remember this line of reasoning.

Despite the covid pandemic, the US has been suffering an unabated mass shooting epidemic, with a growing number of Americans killed by AR style weapons. Armalite (AR) designed a weapon of war for the foot soldier to kill as many people fast as possible. The M-16 was the military model that became a standard automatic/semi-automatic select fire rifle for the US military in Vietnam. AR-15 was the Colt Manufacturing Company’s designation for their civilian version of the weapon after the auto-semi option was removed. Since aimed semi-auto fire is more deadly than sweeping automatic fire, the AR-15 would prove to be as lethal as an M-16. With a bump stock, an AR-15 was equal to machine gun fire on the concert crowd at the Las Vegas massacre.

A partial list of the mass shootings involving AR style/compatible weapons leaves a disturbing body count.

Boulder: 10

Orlando: 49

Parkland: 17

DC Sniper Attacks: 17

Las Vegas: 60

Aurora, CO: 12

Sandy Hook: 26

El Paso: 22

Wilkes-Barre shootings: 13

Waffle House: 4

San Bernardino: 16

Midland/Odessa: 7

Poway synagogue: 1

Sutherland Springs: 26

Geneva County shootings: 10

Tree of Life Synagogue: 11

And we know for certain there WILL be more, for as long as the tyranny of the minority prevails.

We have a choice in the matter. Do something, or do nothing. In fact, most gun owners, myself included, favor more regulation and background checks for purchases.

The “Do Nothing” crowd is louder, and better financed by the weapons industry than the “Do Something” people that make up the vast majority of Americans.

“The Post-ABC poll finds 86 percent of Americans support implementing “red flag” provisions allowing guns to be taken from people judged to be a danger to themselves or others. And 89 percent support expanding federal background checks to cover private sales and gun-show transactions. Both measures are supported by at least 8 in 10 Republicans, white evangelical Christians, members of gun-owning households and other traditionally conservative groups.”

Sadly majority rule is the exception rather than the rule in US government and politics. Those who most oppose gun control also want to control who votes. Democracy and the public’s wishes  are not welcome in the debate. The minority over-represented by half the Senate will obstruct any and all gun regulations.

The loud minority opposes expanded background checks and banning large capacity weapons like the AR-15. They equate ownership of these deadly weapons to freedom itself. Never mind most of us who don’t have one are just as free as those who do. We were all just as free before the mass marketing of these weapons as we are today.

In fact the thousands of American who have been killed, wounded or lost family members from the muzzles of these weapons are NOT as free as they used to be. Their blood, lives, grief and loss are the price society pays so gun nuts, militia nuts, racists, and the mentally ill can carry on with their idea of “freedom”, “revenge”, and lately “Second Amendment remedies” to elections they lost. The “Do Nothing” crew accept all of these deaths, and all future deaths, as the price others must pay for their so-called “freedom”.

Imagine the militias and other civilian combatants in war-torn countries with their Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers. Are they “more free” than Americans? Only by a gun nut’s definition.

Some will claim the weapons are for “sport”, but it would only be sporting if there was a right to arm bears. If sport, and not outright slaughter, was their game, they’d be happy to hunt with muzzle loading, lever-action, or bolt action rifles. The more trigger happy hunters have hunted with 10 round semi-automatic rifles. Before the mass marketing of AR style weapons, hunters never demanded 30 round magazines to satisfy their sporting desires.

If the first shot misses, chances are the next 30 rounds won’t bring down the fleeing game. In 2009, the term "modern sporting rifle" was coined by the The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a national trade association for the firearms industry. It is based in Newtown, Connecticut, home to families and children of the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Then there’s the “home protection” and “self-defense” argument. Never mind guns are more likely to kill family members than violent criminals or intruders. And again, nobody has ever needed 30 rounds to deter a burglar. If anyone runs across an incident of self-defense that required that 30th round, please let me know. I’ll wait. 

We'll hear their argument that handguns kill more Americans than AR style weapons. Yes, and they kill more Americans than Jihadist terrorism too. But we did something about that, didn't we? Now what do we do about radical Right domestic terrorism? 

In 1994 Bill Clinton signed a temporary assault weapons ban that prohibited commercial sales of most AK-47 and AR style rifles. So, what happened next? Did freedom die?

No. Fewer Americans died. The ban expired in 2004. Then more Americans expired.

In January 2019 the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery reported, “Mass-shooting related homicides in the United States were reduced during the years of the federal assault weapons ban of 1994 to 2004.”

A Stanford study concluded, “The Assault Weapon Ban Saved Lives”

Australia, New Zealand and Canada did what the US cannot. They had enough, and did something about it. They “shut down the pump”, and banned those weapons of mass destruction.

Americans have also had enough. But the “Do Nothing” powers within our corrupted and failed democracy will not listen to we the people.

Freedom and humans both die when democracy is strangled. And the “Do Nothing” radical Right Americans are OK with that.

Whitewashing America

 

By now we are all aware of how the radical Right loves to mischaracterize Democrats, liberals, progressives, etc. as the “radical Left”, and thereupon declare, “Leftists hate America.”

Demonizing the press and opposition as “enemies of the people” is their standard nationalistic rhetoric that has become a debate tactic. It is built into the foundation of their radical belief system. Along with racism and bigotry, demonization of dissent has always been at the core of radical Right ideology and fascism. 

Tucker Carlson has denied the existence of white nationalism, but found it appropriate to attack Representative Ilhan Omar for "hating America". He added, "We have every right to preserve our nation, and our heritage, and our culture". 

No wonder David Duke wanted him to be Trump's Vice President.

Omar was also one of the four women of color Trump accused of "Viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful nation on earth, how our government is supposed to be run". He then viciously tweeted, "Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came".

Jonathan Chait observed in his article “Rush Limbaugh Taught Republicans to Love an Angry, Racist Bully”:

“Limbaugh oozed bile. He did not merely characterize his targets as misguided, or stupid, or even selfish. He rendered them for his audience as dehumanized targets of rage. He had special rage for feminist women, who were castrating harpies, and Black people, who were lazy, intellectually unqualified, and inherently criminal. The message he pounded home day after day was that minorities and women were seizing status and resources from white people and men, and that politics was a zero-sum struggle — and the victory would go to whichever side fought more viciously.”

Since racism isn’t racism to racists, the radical Right will refuse to acknowledge the racism from their favorite authoritarian leaders like Trump and Limbaugh.

I cited some of those racist remarks in a comment thread at our old conservative friend Darrell's blog.

They were all documented, from recordings, and from his own transcripts.  Limbaugh acknowledged making these statements in a 1990 Newsday article. “Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?” and “Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.”

But Darrell saw through my “deception”. He declared, “Your Limbaugh quotes are unsubstantiated, have questionable sources, or are not given full context”.

His sarcastic reaction was predictable.

“Dave Dubya does not hate America. The country is systemically racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, and authoritarian (all according to Dave and the left) but Dave still loves his country. Thanks for the clarification.”

Did I ever say “The country is systemically racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, and authoritarian”? Of course not.

This is how the radical Right responds whenever someone points to the fact that so many of them are racist, homophobic, trans-phobic, sexist, and authoritarian. In their minds they are “America”, and that makes them the “real victims”™.

What does that make the rest of us? Why, “America-hating Leftists”, naturally. Is there a reason why they conflate hating racism with hating America? It seems to touch a nerve.

We understand this distorted deflection sets the table for them to present their ubiquitous, radical Right, white identity “victim card”. Our conservative friend is an avid defender of Christopher Columbus as the hero who graciously brought “Western Civilization” to the Americas. Too bad about all that disease, slavery and genocide that came with it.

Darrell won’t admit it, but “Western Civilization” is the term substituted for “white nationalism” by white nationalists; not that I’m saying Darrell is a white nationalist.

The racist and radical Right insurrectionists called Proud Boys swear an oath when they join. “I am a Western Chauvinist and I refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.”

“Western” is their word for “white” these days. “Modern world” means “White European/American world”. Taking credit for “creating the modern world” sends their message of white supremacy, even though all the Coup Klux Klan “created” is hate and racism.

Somewhat less subtle are Trump’s openly racist terms “China virus” and "Kung Flu”. Not only did the “Whitest President” and birther incite racist hate for Mexicans and Blacks, he added Asians during his last year in office. Tragically the current plague of racist attacks on Asian Americans comes as no surprise.

What else can the radical Right do but project their bigotry back towards Democrats, liberals, and the Left?

This familiar tactic was in the news again. This time it was invoked by Republicans at a House judiciary subcommittee hearing on anti-Asian violence. They were annoyed that addressing racist anti-Asian rhetoric was an attack on their “free speech” against the Chinese Communist Party. Yes, the poor white guys are the “real victims”™ again.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said, “If America was such a hate filled, discriminatory, racist society filled with animus against Asian Americans, how do you explain the remarkable success of Asian Americans in our country?” (File under, “If America elected Obama, how can there be a problem with racism?”) “Any racist sentiments, speech or act needs to be vigorously condemned, but to attack our society as systemically racist, a society that has produced the most prosperous and most harmonious racial society in human history, well that’s an insult and it’s flat out wrong.”

There it is again. Nobody "attacked our society as systemically racist”. In this case “our society” is exclusively conservative white people. And once again, only white conservatives may assume the authority to unilaterally define what is, or isn’t, racist. I mean, what do minorities know about racism?

Despite the arrogant pretensions of the radical white Right, they are not America. They are not “our society”. They are simply white Americans at their worst.

Quotes On Conservatism

It's time for "Fun with Quotes". I'll start off with a couple from yours truly.

"Coddle the rich and punish the poor" is the foundation of modern American conservatism.

"Modern American Conservatism requires neither conscience nor critical thinking. Introspection and concern for others are not needed to believe everything is just fine, the status quo is the way it's supposed to be, and it provides the best of all possible social and economic systems."- Dave Dubya 

Some old adages come to mind:

"While Liberals are afraid that somewhere, someone is not getting what they need, conservatives are afraid that somewhere, someone is getting something they don't deserve."

And of course:

“Conservatism is the dread fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is your inferior is being treated as an equal.”

Some other views from history and the recent past:

“Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals.”
Mark Twain

“You have no respect for excessive authority or obsolete traditions. You're dangerous and depraved, and you ought to be taken outside and shot!”
Joseph Heller, Catch-22

“Expect poison from the standing water.”
William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

“I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every new theory as a danger, every innovation as a toilsome trouble, every social advance as a first step toward revolution, and that they may absolutely refuse to move at all.”
Alexis de Tocqueville

“Social conservatism and neoconservatism have revived authoritarian conservatism, and not for the better of conservatism or American democracy. True conservatism is cautious and prudent. Authoritarianism is rash and radical. American democracy has benefited from true conservatism, but authoritarianism offers potentially serious trouble for any democracy.”
John W. Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience

"The key to understanding the chaos in high Right Wing Authoritarian minds is that, compared to most people, they simply copied their ideas from trusted sources and have never checked to see how well they all fit together." 
John Dean, Authoritarian Nightmare

"The source of the dogmatism is obvious. People who have memorized rather than thought out their beliefs do not know why what they believe is true. True believers simply refuse to change their views. They cannot explain why they are right, but they know they are."
John Dean, Authoritarian Nightmare

“There are few genuine conservatives within the U.S. political system, and it is a sign of the intellectual corruption of the age that the honorable term 'conservatism' can be appropriated to disguise the advocacy of a powerful, lawless, aggressive and violent state, a welfare state for the rich dedicated to a lunatic form of Keynesian economic intervention that enhances state and private power while mortgaging the country's future.”
Noam Chomsky, The Culture of Terrorism

“The Right thinks that the breakdown of the family is the source of crime and poverty, and this they very insightfully blame on the homosexuals, which would be amusing were it not so tragic. Families and 'family values' are crushed by grinding poverty, which also makes violent crime and drugs attractive alternatives to desperate young men and sends young women into prostitution. Family values are no less corrupted by the corrosive effects of individualism, consumerism, and the accumulation of wealth. Instead of shouting this from the mountain tops, the get-me-to-heaven-and-the-rest-be-damned Christianity the Christian Right preaches is itself a version of selfish spiritual capitalism aimed at netting major and eternal dividends, and it fits hand in glove with American materialism and greed.”
John D. Caputo, What Would Jesus Deconstruct?: The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church

“The media are desperately afraid of being accused of bias. And that's partly because there's a whole machine out there, an organized attempt to accuse them of bias whenever they say anything that the Right doesn't like. So rather than really try to report things objectively, they settle for being even-handed, which is not the same thing. One of my lines in a column—in which a number of people thought I was insulting them personally—was that if Bush said the Earth was flat, the mainstream media would have stories with the headline: 'Shape of Earth—Views Differ.' Then they'd quote some Democrats saying that it was round.”
Paul Krugman 

“The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.”
G.K. Chesterton

“Conservatism, however, is too often a welcome excuse for lazy minds, loath to adapt themselves to fast changing conditions.”
Sigmund Freud
 
“Conservatives are more religious than liberals--although there is no evidence that they're nicer people because of it.”
Andy Rooney
 
“To a right-winger, unions are awful. Why do right-wingers hate unions? Because collective bargaining is the power that a worker has against the corporation. Right-wingers hate that.”
Janeane Garofalo
 
“A conservative is someone who believes in reform. But not now.”
Mort Sahl
 
“A conservative is a man who sits and thinks, mostly sits.”
Woodrow Wilson
 
“Conservatism can only win in the short term, because society cannot stop evolving.”
Chuck Klosterman
 
"If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.”
David Frum
 
”If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win by fairness, facts and reason, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject fairness, facts and reason.”
Dave Dubya
 

Radical Right Snowflakes And Victims

 

Remember the radical Right's faux outrage over Obama in a tan suit? They love to inflate their resentment and anger towards minorities and Democrats over any trivial matter.

And who can ignore their endless victimization from their fictional “massive voter fraud” and “stolen election”? This fake victimhood is behind all their efforts to suppress minority voters and undermine our democracy.

Today’s “Horror and Outrage Show” is about a bigot losing her acting job, Dr. Seuss, and a potato head toy. Mostly it is about how the radical Right are playing the “victims” again. So why all the whining about a fictitious "cancel culture" and Dr. Seuss and potato head toys being canceled, even though they are not?

Dr. Seuss books are still available, minus the ones with overt racist characterizations. Millions of used copies are still available and are not banned.

Potato heads still come in genders, or no gender. Hasbro changed nothing, but added a gender neutral version to the Mr. and Mrs. options. Deal with it.

Radical Right "victim" Gina Carano was fired from her acting job on the “Mandalorian” TV series for comparing treatment of conservatives to Jews under Hitler.

The fact is racist white nationalism infects both Nazis and the radical Right. Hitler's brand of victimhood was blaming Jews. America's radical Right are "victims" of the racial and gender equality movement. They are all ever so delicate.

Carano promoted the Big Lie of massive voter fraud that led to Trump's Coup Klux Klan insurrection. She was very upset about her favorite radical Right racist forum Parler being shut down.

She even re-posted an outright anti-Semitic meme on twitter in December 2020, featuring a group of Jewish men playing Monopoly on the backs of a group of naked men, with the caption "All We Have to Do is Stand Up and Their Little Game is Over." The image is a widely-shared meme among neo-Nazis and white supremacists that espouses the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that a cabal of rich Jews run the world.

So what is all this really about?

Radical Right snowflakes are angry and upset, and decided they were victims again.

Corporations take actions to boost their image and bottom line. It's called "capitalism".

This is all just more of the radical Right's culture war and deflection from their suppression of voter rights and obstruction of much needed pandemic relief.

They really do hate their fellow Americans. Just don't call them racists or Nazis. They resemble that remark.

Mordor In Orlando

 

CPAC is back, and it is more deranged and dishonest than ever.

With a golden idol of their messiah greeting them, CPAC has become nothing but a Trump rally by another name.

American conservatism has been subsumed by Trumpism. Conservatives who know Trump is a liar and criminal are shunned as weak RINOs.

Conservatism, like the Republican Party platform, is now whatever Trump says it is. The Republican Party is the Party of Trump. Trumpism is conservatism 

Conservatism has always been the myth that the status quo is superior to social progress, racial equality, equal justice under law. Conservative mythology has always been antagonistic towards Constitutional taxes, Constitutional regulation of commerce, and Constitutional provision for the general welfare. Conservative mythology embraces voter suppression, capital punishment and harsh law enforcement. Conservatives were the last people to resist ending slavery and segregation. Conservative mythology opposed women’s suffrage and the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act 

Conservative mythology has always required an authoritarian mentality, and is always ripe for being re-framed by an authoritarian leader.

Their mythology provides a ready built foundation for a tyrant and one-party despotism. It coddles the rich and punishes the poor. It demands conformity, as it reviles and demonizes dissent and opposition. It’s values are not democracy love, compassion and decency. Resentment, blame, and anger are their unifying emotions. Any lie that serves those tools of social leverage and emotional manipulation is acceptable. The means always justify the ends. Conservatism is supreme, and held above any other ideology and philosophy. Even their religion will bow to conservatism through tax cuts for the rich and stripping health care and food stamps from the poor. You don’t have to look far to see those who picture Jesus as a Republican, and he sent Trump to save America.

Conservatives value unquestioning obedience and loyalty to their leaders, and mindless acceptance of their propaganda.

Why? Because conservatism is always right. Conservatism never fails. Conservatives are the real patriots. Conservatives are moral and never lie. Conservatives are indoctrinated to believe those who don’t agree with them will fail, are not patriots, and are immoral liars.

The same lofty delusions also envelop Trumpism.

 They accept and revere these delusions as they “hold these truths to be self-evident”.

They believe that only conservatives truly know what the founders wanted for our country and our government. 

But how “self-evident” are their truths?

The Declaration of Independence says:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”

Conservatism holds that conservatives are more entitled to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” than lesser Americans. When it comes to minorities and immigrants, those values become quite flexible. The quaint notion of government “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” goes out the window when they repeatedly exercise minority rule by winning the presidency with fewer votes than the Democrat. This is what they call a “mandate” and the “will of the people”.

The Senate is rigged just for them as well. McConnell desecrated the Constitution by denying the appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. “Too close to the election” that was eight months away. Ramming through Justice Barrett DURING an election was just fine, though. This is conservatism.

The 50 Democratic senators represent millions more Americans than do the 50 Republican senators.  It takes only 51Republican votes to give huge tax cuts to the rich, but it takes 60 votes to raise the minimum wage. Funny how that works. This is conservatism, and the government is held hostage to it. This is why they need to reject democracy and suppress voter rights

 But conservatives, especially white conservatives, don’t see it that way. They will incessantly whine that they are the real victims of racism, prejudice, injustice, and lost opportunity. Just ask one.

This weekend CPAC has gathered in “Mordor in Orlando”. Their Supreme Leader will speak Sunday, so his remarks will be addressed later.

The resentment, anger, hatred and lies are amplified and reinforced by the CPAC cult followers of Trump.

 CNN reported and fact checked the lies:

 - The segment was titled "YOUR VOTES CANCELED." They were denying the fact that Joe Biden gained ground late on election night in vote-counting in swing states, saying this was "statistically impossible".

We know all the mail in votes could not be counted on election day. In fact Republicans obstructed Pennsylvania from counting them before election day.

- "The reason that people stormed the Capitol was because they felt hopeless because of a rigged election."

Facts First: The election was not rigged. Joe Biden was the legitimate winner. There is no evidence of widespread fraud or malfeasance.

- "Democrats, not Republicans, installed ballot drop boxes on sidewalks, where nobody oversaw them. How many fraudulent ballots got deposited in these boxes unchecked and then got counted? Who knows."

There is no sign that these drop boxes were used fraudulently in the 2020 election. The boxes were secured in various ways: affixed to the ground, designed with anti-tampering measures, and, in many cases, subjected to 24-hour video surveillance. Also, some states and counties run by Republicans made use of ballot drop boxes.

- "...a lot of people there (Storming the Capitol.)-- Antifa was there, BLM was there, MAGA people were there, everybody was there. And if Joe Biden wants to talk unity, there was unity there on that day, because America is sick and tired of being pushed down."

No evidence supports this, of course.

- They (CNN)asked Joe Biden about it, (China’s Uygers) and he said it amounted to a mere cultural difference. I don't think that more disgusting words have ever left the lips of an American president."

“We must speak up for human rights. It's who we are." Biden said to President Xi Jinping on their February phone call that "no American president can be sustained as a president if he doesn't reflect the values of the United States. And so the idea I'm not going to speak out against what he's doing in Hong Kong, what he's doing with the Uyghurs in western mountains of China ...

- "The rest of the world almost exclusively does voting in person because of the opportunities for fraud in mail-in voting."

Approximately 1/4 of countries use mail-in voting. In the United States, evidence of mail ballot fraud is exceedingly rare.

- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claimed, "We have a border wall, partly along where El Paso is. Before that occurred, El Paso was one of the highest crime cities in America. When they put that up it actually made them one of the more safe cities. So we know they work."

According to an analysis of FBI crimes data and city law enforcement data analyzed by the El Paso Times, violent crime in El Paso peaked in 1993. Border fence construction didn't begin until 2008, and was completed in 2009. Violent crime in El Paso fell 34% between 1993 and 2006. And according to the El Paso Times, from 2006 to 2011, violent crime in El Paso actually increased by 17 percent.

- Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar said that 99 percent of undocumented immigrants don't attend court proceedings after they are released from US custody. "They're releasing 50 undocumented aliens into the streets and hoping they'll come back for their court appearances, but over 99% of them do not do that."

 According to the latest statistics from the Justice Department, 75% of the cases decided that year.

- California Rep. Devin Nunes complained, "When you go into the Department of Motor Vehicles, you're gonna register to vote. Even if you don't want to register to vote, they register you to vote.” (Gasp! The tyranny!)

California citizens are automatically registered to vote when filling out certain forms at the DMV, but are allowed to opt out if they so choose.

- "And wind and solar, as great as they may be, they are not reliable. You need that constant reliable source of coal and natural gas that has to be there. But that's not there if you have wind and solar, which is what we saw in Texas."

While all sources of power failed to some extent in Texas, the bulk of outages were due to fossil fuel sources going offline, in large part due to the lack of winterization in the state's energy infrastructure. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the state's power grid, most of the power outages were due to losses in coal, natural gas and nuclear energy.

-  Former North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker -- who is a candidate to fill the state's US Senate seat after Sen. Richard Burr retires in 2023 -- said that Democrats have recently started supporting criminal justice reform. "The left, they're finally getting on board with criminal justice reform." Walker said.

Obama tried to get criminal justice reform passed during his second term in office, but a bipartisan bill failed in the Senate during the 2016 presidential election, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided not to bring it up for a vote. The Obama administration took reform steps that did not require Republican approval, such as banning the use of solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons, working with state and local governments to reduce pre-trial incarceration and the incarceration of people with mental illnesses, and instructing federal prosecutors to try to avoid triggering mandatory minimum sentences for certain non-violent drug offenders.

This is conservatism as portrayed at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. Sunday their lies will be Trumped up to even greater depths of deceit. Stay tuned.

What Do We Do?

 

Denial of elections, encouraging violence, and veiled threats of insurrection were running themes with the most authoritarian president in American history.

His veiled, and not so veiled, threats have been warnings that should have been heeded long ago.

His taste for cruelty has been clear all along, from his demand for the exonerated Central Park Five to be executed, to “zero tolerance” family separations, up to the flurry of federal executions during his last year in office.

He encouraged violence against protesters at his rallies. He praised a Republican for assaulting a journalist. His Redneck Nuremburg rallies were filled with chants of “Lock her up!”

In 2016 Trump suggested, "Second Amendment people" could "do" something about Hillary Clinton.

Last year, like a tin pot dictator, Trump boasted, "I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump – I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad."

“Very bad” was exactly what he wanted. After citing that quote in his book “Authoritarian Nightmare”, John Dean presciently noted, “It is Donny with his gang from grade school again throwing his weight around the nation’s capital suggesting insurrection is not out of the question”.

After Trump tweeted, “LIBERATE MICHIGAN”, MAGA terrorists plotted to kidnap and kill the governor of Michigan.

On January 6th 2021 Trump incited his mob to insurrection, telling them to, “March to the Capitol”, “Fight like hell”, “Stop the steal”, and “Take our country back”.

He alone ended America’s tradition of a constitutional and peaceful transition of power.

The twice impeached ex-president has not been chastened or restrained from his terrorist rhetoric. Like a gangster boss with his mob for a jury, he was acquitted. Like every racist, white nationalist, fascist and Nazi, he portrays himself as a victim of those he wants to demonize. He fumes with resentment, anger and hate. And like every racist, white nationalist, fascist and Nazi, he will continue to pose a threat to the American people and our democracy.

But his crime spree is finally catching up with him.

He’s been named as “Individual 1” in a campaign finance crime. 

Robert Mueller documented at least 10 potential acts of obstruction of justice.

He illegally attempted to extort the Ukrainian president into aiding his 2020 election.

His inaugural committee and the Trump Organization are being investigated for siphoning money into their pockets.

Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis has opened a criminal investigation into efforts by Trump camp to overturn his loss in Georgia.

Who knows how many crimes Donald “Law and Order” Trump has committed?

After his “disloyal” Supreme Court allowed his tax returns to be examined by prosecutors of the Southern District of New York, he released his latest statement, filled with hateful projection, resentment, victimhood, lies, rage and threats.

See for yourself:

~~~~~

February 22, 2021

Statement on the Continuing Political Persecution of President Donald J. Trump

This investigation is a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country, whether it was the never ending $32 million Mueller hoax, which already investigated everything that could possibly be investigated, "Russia Russia Russia," where there was a finding of "No Collusion," or two ridiculous "Crazy Nancy" inspired impeachment attempts where I was found NOT GUILTY. It just never ends!

So now, for more than two years, New York City has been looking at almost every transaction I've ever done, including seeking tax returns which were done by among the biggest and most prestigious law and accounting firms in the U.S. The Tea Party was treated far better by the IRS than Donald Trump. The Supreme Court never should have let this "fishing expedition" happen, but they did. This is something which has never happened to a President before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo. These are attacks by Democrats willing to do anything to stop the almost 75 million people (the most votes, by far, ever gotten by a sitting president) who voted for me in the election—an election which many people, and experts, feel that I won. I agree!

The new phenomenon of "headhunting" prosecutors and AGs—who try to take down their political opponents using the law as a weapon—is a threat to the very foundation of our liberty. That's what is done in third world countries. Even worse are those who run for prosecutorial or attorney general offices in far-left states and jurisdictions pledging to take out a political opponent. That's fascism, not justice—and that is exactly what they are trying to do with respect to me, except that the people of our Country won't stand for it.

In the meantime, murders and violent crime are up in New York City by record numbers, and nothing is done about it. Our elected officials don't care. All they focus on is the persecution of President Donald J. Trump.

I will fight on, just as I have, for the last five years (even before I was successfully elected), despite all of the election crimes that were committed against me. We will win!

 ~~~~~

He may not be president of the United States, but he is the de facto dictator of his Party of Trump and his violent and racist MAGA cult.

Let’s not delude ourselves. “I will fight on” and “We will win” are threats. He WILL incite more violence. He WILL continue to push his Big Lie about a stolen election. 

And when he is prosecuted and tried under the law, he WILL call on more violent insurrection and radical Right terrorism.

He will always be an enemy of democracy, decency, equality, the law, and the Constitution. He is America’s number one domestic terrorist.

What do we do about him?

Lock him up. 

Disappointing God AND Trump

 

A while back, “Cowboys for Trump” leader Couy Griffin said on camera, “The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat”. It was no surprise that Trump re-tweeted the video of the future terrorist insurrectionist.

There’s a lot of hate over there in the Radical Right Party of Trump.

Over here on the left we don’t get praised by presidents for that sort of vile demonization. Instead we prefer to say something like, “The only good Republican is one who votes to impeach or convict Trump.”

We’re thankful for them. Bipartisan majorities of both the House and Senate voted to impeach and convict Trump for his terrorist insurrection on January sixth.

The ten Republican representatives and seven senators with the courage and conscience to vote for impeachment and conviction have faced harsh blowback, ranging from censure by their state Republican Party officials, up to death threats. Nobody gets angry like authoritarian Republicans, when their two primary values of loyalty and conformity are betrayed.

After being censured by the North Carolina GOP, Senator Richard Burr said, “My party’s leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party and the founders of our great nation.”

Welcome to reality, Senator. Some of us have noticed the Republican Party has valued loyalty and conformity over the public good since Reagan and his 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” As we know, Donald Trump isn’t bound by any commandments, and loyalty must be for him exclusively. It is the way of authoritarians.

After the insurrection that commandment was betrayed by 17 Republicans. And they didn’t just betray the party.

Representative Adam Kinzinger’s act of courage and conscience offended family members so deeply they sent him a letter to let him know about it.

KInzinger acted on more than conscience and courage, though. It was his duty as well.

Kinzinger joined the Air Force after the Sept. 11 attacks and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He swore an oath to, “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” Upon his discharge he joined the Air National Guard, where he remains a lieutenant colonel. 

Rep. Kinzinger has represented Illinois' solidly Republican16th congressional district since 2013, when he swore the oath again.

He would solemnly bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution after Trump’s incitement of his terrorist mob’s deadly insurrection on the Capitol.

He called for Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment. He and nine other Republicans voted with all the House Democrats to impeach Trump.

"I looked at what happened on the sixth and said, if that's not impeachable, we may as well just get rid of impeachment because then nothing is, Whatever the consequences are it's the right thing to do."

Consequences would indeed follow, in the form of outrage and anger from radical Right Republicans and other true believers of Donald Trump’s cult, including members of his family.

CNN showed the hand-written letter by his cousin Karen, (Of course.) and signed by 11 members of his extended family. Karen said she spent $7 to send the letter via certified mail to make sure that he saw it. To emphasize her feelings she underlined up to three times certain words she felt most deeply. Since I can’t replicate those lines, the reader will have to visualize them as I put the words in bold type. My remarks are added in brackets.

~~~~~~~

Jan. 8, 2021

Adam,

Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God. [Here we go. As a conservative Republican, God is understandably disappointed.]We were once so proud of your accomplishments! Instead you go against your Christian principles and join the “Devil’s Army” (Democrats and fake news media). [Poor Adam has gone from disappointing God to waging war on Him.] How do you call yourself a Christian when you join the “Devil’s Army” believing in abortion! [Obviously knowing Trump is guilty is the same as “believing in abortion” Everybody knows this, I’m sure] We thought you were “smart” enough to see how the left is brainwashing so many “so called good people” including yourself and many other GOP members. [Brainwashed by Trump’s own words of insurrection?]You have even fallen for their socialism ideals. So, so sad! [Oh, the humanity! Yes courage, conscience and duty are “socialist ideals”.]

President Trump is not perfect, [Who knew? But God sent him to save America anyway.] but neither are you or any of us for that matter! It is not for us to judge or be judged. [And here I thought votes were based on one’s judgment.] But he is a Christian! (If God can forgive and save King David in the Bible, He can do the same with President Trump. Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffries, to just name a few of many Pastors who mentor President Trump know that he is a believer. [What more proof do we need? His favorite Bible verse?] Obviously you didn’t hear President Trump’s “Christian Message” to the American people (fake news media did not cover his message) [Once again, the enemies of the people are to blame.] where he actually gave the place of his salvation, instructing people how to repent and ask their Savior into their heart to be “born again”. (To believe in John 3:16) [James Dobson, the founder of the group Focus on the Family claimed, “I know the person who led him to Christ”. That would be prosperity-gospel televangelist Paula White. Bless her heart.] When was the last time you proclaimed your faith Adam? (Oh we forgot your now with the “devil’s army”). [We all fall short of the spiritual glory of Donald Trump.]You won’t convince us otherwise with your horrible, rude accusations of President Trump! [Indeed, only the Devils’ Army could commit such sacrilege.](To embrace a party that believes in abortion and socialism is the ultimate sin!) [The “Belief in Abortion and Socialism Sin” is in the Bible, plain as day! Wall Street Jesus said so when he preached about serving mammon.] We should list even more grievances against you but decided you are not worth more of our time to list them. We have said enough.[Oh, really?]

You should be very proud that you have lost the respect of Lou Dobbs, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Greg Kelly, etc., and most importantly in our book, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh and us! [Gasp! He lost the respect of God, his family, and the High Princes of Propaganda!]

It is now most embarrassing to us that we are related to you. You have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name. [Time will tell and history will judge. Not that it is for history to judge.]

We are not judging you. [Obviously not.] This letter is our opinion of you... [See the difference?]

Greg and Karen Ott

[But wait. It seems he is, in fact, worth more of their time, and they have not yet said quite enough.]

P. S. For your information, many more family members, feel the same as we do. They just don’t have the courage to sign our letter or write their own letter! Not us, we are so thoroughly disgusted with you!! [Clearly only Karen and her co-signers are the family members of true courage.] And, oh by the way, we are calling for your removal from office. I have received numerous calls concerning your actions and egregious behavior towards our President of the United States Donald J. Trump!*

cc: Many conservative Republicans [Yours truly and dear readers as well.]

*President Trump has done more for the American people in four years than you Rinos and the Democrats have done in years.

~~~~~~~

"Rino." Ouch! That’ll teach him.

Kinzinger correctly believes his family members suffer from “brainwashing” from Trump and conservative churches that have led them astray.

"I hold nothing against them,'' he told The New York Times, "but I have zero desire or feel the need to reach out and repair that. That is 100 percent on them to reach out and repair, and quite honestly, I don't care if they do or not."

Kinzinger said he may change his party affiliation if it becomes clear that Trump’s allies have become a permanent majority.

“The party’s sick right now,” he said. “It’s one thing if the party was accepting of different views, but it’s become this massive litmus test on everything. So it’s a possibility down the road, but it’s certainly not my intention, and I’m going to fight like hell to save it first.”

Did he say he’s going to “Fight like hell” to save his party from moral sickness?

He has a long way to go. His party wants us to believe insurrectionist Trump meant the same thing, when he ordered his mob to “March to the capitol, Fight like hell, stop the steal, and take our country back”.

I mean, what's the difference?