Apparently some sort of convention happened this past week in Milwaukee. There has of course been tons of coverage so I’ll not rake over it all. However, I will pluck out a few gems.
We got to see, for those that tuned in, Haley kissing the ring. Notable because not too long ago, she said on camera that she would never do that, because you-know-who is totally unfit for office. She even adopted the condescending Fundie Baby Voice for her pathetic grovelling.
Here are a few more “moments”.
There was a “I’m Spartacus” moment … (it’s a cult) …
“But that is just one guy” …. er no, and so shall we talk about masks now?
- The only thing that is actually dead in Florida is the home insurance market.
The Racists-R-Us faction were busy putting the N into RNC …
There was of course lots of disconnect from reality. Noem basically offered herself up as solid evidence that Republicans don’t listen to anything Trump actually says …
- Her dog Cricket would like a word with her better angels. In fact, Cricket is now in a place where he can literally do that.
Oh, and this also happened …
Rather obviously there are a few other things to also mull over from this past week. So let’s move on now and do exactly that.
With my usual hat tip to my various sources, let’s once again dive into this very murky pool of raw absurdity and deep stupidity.
The Attempted Assassination
Whenever something big happens the grifters and fraudsters will be all over it and vigorously milking it for every dime.
Here is Kenneth Copeland’s burnt offering…
- Here is the link to Hemant’s excellent slicing and dicing of Copeland’s gibberish … Quote: “they pray for Trump without bringing up Trump’s own role in fomenting the political environment in which we find ourselves right now. He’s someone who inspired an insurrection, mocked an assassination attempt against the husband of a political rival, and routinely promotes violent rhetoric when it suits his purposes.“
- Meanwhile, I have no idea why Copeland is holding his hand to the wrong ear.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation also has a lengthy roundup of politicians who claim God protected Trump.
- When you look at such lists, you need to also remember that these same politicians are stunningly silent about the guy behind Trump who died. If God was protecting the lying cheating convicted felon and sexual abuser by deflecting the bullet, then they are telling us God killed the firefighter just behind him who was a father of 2 girls and a committed Christian. I’ve honestly no idea how that theology works.
Here are a few more of the utterly bizarre takes on it all from the supposedly godly …
- Randall Terry reacted to the failed assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump by blaming reproductive choice: “We are reaping what we have sown as a nation. We have spilt the blood of 65,000,000 innocent human beings. The violence we have permitted and promoted will bring more violence and bloodshed. God is not mocked.”
- Mario Murillo reacted to the assassination attempt by attacking the Democrats: “This is no political party. It is a death cult—totally devoid of morals, decency or regard for anything but their hold on power. Every American should be angry—angry enough to vote them all out.”
Pastor Jack Hibbs managed to give it an unexpected twist …
- Sorry Jack, but Trump is out on the golf course, he does not spend time watching your sermons.
- Meanwhile, these guys need to get their story straight regarding their supposed chosen one – is he or is he not a baby Christian? – they don’t appear to have any consensus on that.
We also saw this blatant grifting …
- Nobody grifts like MAGA.
- Within about two hours of the event they were also selling pictures on T-shirts.
- I do have to also wonder if the guy who took the picture, or even the agents in the picture, will be calling their lawyers at some point about the use of the image for grifting.
Ephesians 6:11
So stuff like this is now also doing the rounds …
This was not just one religious nut. Lots of people were latching on to this. “The bullets were fired at 6:11pm,” far-right troll and Pizzagate promoter Jack Posobiec wrote on X, adding: “Ephesians 6:11.” The Bible verse says: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
Even Republican Congressman Cory Mills told people to go read the verse.
This also is of course now a T-shirt …
I have questions regarding this cherry picked verse.
Why Ephesians?
Why not Genesis 6:11 … “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence“
Then we have Jeremiah 6:11, where God says clearly, “This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression.”
How about Micah 6:11, there we are told God will punish the liars and cheaters, “Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?”
… or Luke 6:11 … “they were filled with fury and discussed what they might do with Jesus“
You also can all play this game of cherry picking. With 66 books you can grab some random numbers and then just pluck out a random verse that fits your agenda and the con is complete.
However, there is also one other small flaw. Trump was not shot at 6.11, it was 6:12
If they wish to stick with Ephesians, then 6:12 does not work so well for their narrative – Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
I do also have to wonder about the “thinking” behind this claim. Supposedly god sent a message by enabling the shooter to fire at a specific moment in time to send a cryptic message, yet failed to prevent the shooter from killing. What kind of weird god is that?
The Cult Of Trump
- A guy with 34 criminal convictions declares himself to be an expert on criminals.
- So will he also be deporting himself?
- Reminder: Democrats are divided for the moment because they have high standards for people in public office. Republicans are united because they don’t.
So why do they actually support him?
- As a society, we don’t take how we are governed and the importance of being informed in how we are governed seriously. It’s not a value that’s ingrained in every American, like it is in some other countries around the world. This results in an easily co-opted electorate.
Lauren Boebert & “Truth”
- This self-appointed Christian spokesperson is the same lady who was greasing a guy’s beanpole in a theatre packed with kids. Handjobs for Jesus I guess.
- She is perhaps an example of what Frank Herbert was warning us about when he wrote Dune and Dune Messiah.
OK, let’s get into this a bit more. This past week she also was saying this …
- Here now is me, a non-religious person, really hoping for once that there actually is a god who will answer her prayers and remove the ungodly.
- So who wants to volunteer to break the news to Handy Oakley that she’s not gonna be among those “righteous men and women.“
J.D. Vance
Trump’s dishonest attempt to disavow his allies’ and aides’ Project 2025 agenda took another hit with his pick of J.D. Vance, a fan of Project 2025 and its sponsor the Heritage Foundation.
- Vance wrote the introduction to Heritage President Kevin Roberts’ new book, “Dawn’s Early Light: Burning Down Washington to Save America.”
- Heritage also sponsored a “policy fest” on the first day of the Republican National Convention
- So when the well known liar claimed a couple of weeks ago that he knew nothing about Project 2025, you all believed him … right?
Nick Fuentes just “Loves” J.D. Vance for all the wrong reasons…
- Side Note: No Trump did not write that tweet – it has way too many big words, plus the grammar and spelling is OK
So yea, Vance also gave a “speech” … with pronouns …
…but …
Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg flipped and cooked Vance and his backers eloquently. You have just got to love the fact that Pete is Intelligent, informed, authentic, and very funny …
Christian Nationalism
Christian nationalist Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers is outraged about what is happening at the Republican National Convention, in particular, the decision to allow GOP official Harmeet Dhillon to deliver a non-Christian prayer.
- This MAGA devotee appears to have been trying to start a religious war at their convention. As for whom he thinks should deliver a “Christian” prayer, I’m not sure they have much choice given the observation that none of them actually follow the teachings of Jesus, so they don’t qualify to do it either.
- Personally I think he is simply outraged because they did not pick him to do it.
- More serious comment: By pandering to the evangelicals the Trumpistas painted have themselves into this corner. Any attempt to appeal outside the evangelical bubble will end up enraging the evangelicals that they now depend upon for their core support.
- It is also a brilliant illustration of why the separation of church and state is important.
Christian “Love”
- I was hungry and you let me starve, I was thirsty and you denied me drink, I was a stranger and you made sure I was deported. MAGA Matthew 25:35.
- What is super weird is that every single one of then is the descendant of an immigrant.
- One can only wonder if Meliana and her parents will also be on “the list”
Well yes, I know that the RNC convention is soaking up a lot of space, but beyond that there was other stuff going on as well …
- Hemant’s breakdown of it all is here.
- For a bit of context, over the previous decade, more than 250 SBC staffers or volunteers have been “charged with sex crimes” against more than 700 victims.
Homophobia on Steroids
At the RNC, Moms for Liberty portrayed its anti-LGBTQ and book-banning agenda as part of a “spiritual battle” between good and evil.
- Ah yes, Moms for Liberty, also known as Moms for Threesoms after their founder Bridget Ziegler admitted to having a sexual relationship with another woman and her husband at the same time. Nobody does hypocrisy as well as these folks do it.
- If indeed they wish to keep the “spiritual battle between good and evil” imagery, then perhaps somebody needs to explain to them that they are currently playing for team evil. Their tactics are causing harm to real people.
Even more weirdness
Elon chipped in with his usual 2c of weirdness …
- So who wants to tell Mr Musk that his $180 million “investment” for Trump and Vance is going to guys who hate electric cars and desire to end EV tax credits?
Far-right pastor Matt Shea says that the U.S. had “less casualties than every other country” during WWII because of prayer.
- Um, could the fact that the war took place overseas and raged for years before the U.S. even joined have had something to do with it?
Georgia GOP district chair Kandiss Taylor claims that “the Constitution clearly says that [the punishment] for treason is death by hanging.”
- Fact Check: The Constitution “clearly says” nothing of the sort. What the Constitution actually says in Article III is that “The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason.” https://archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
- Did she perhaps get her “education” at Trump University?
Chip Roy: Let’s get rid of the Secret Service …
- Perhaps Republican candidates can take the lead and announce their party doesn’t want the protection anymore.
The False Profit$
Lance Wallnau claims that he prophesied former President Donald Trump’s decision to choose Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.
- The essence of it is this. Way back in ancient history on June 25th, (yes, just a couple of weeks ago), he claimed it would be JD Vance and that God told him. The decision had of course been made by then and rumours and whispers have been sloshing about.
- In fact I’m sure news media reports of Trump and Vance working together back in May played no part in Lance’s “prediction” in June, it was all supernatural.
- For those gullible enough, this will be good enough to prove that Lance is a prophet. For those into rationality and critical thinking … not so much.
Qanon conspiracy theorist/self-proclaimed “prophet” Johnny Enlow claims that Heaven has stopped hundreds of assassination attempts against Trump and that “even two of President Trump’s doubles had been assassinated.” (he was explaining all this to Steve Schultz on his show)
- “hundreds“… and absolutely nobody, apart from Enlow, has actually noticed any of these assassinations … it’s a “miracle”.
- Hypothesis: Steve Schultz gets crazy people on, then just repeats “wow” and also nods to nudge them into saying even weirder things, all to see just how wild it can get.
- You do also have to wonder if Enlow believes what he claims, and really he this delusional? Personally I’m convinced he knows that it is all BS and this is just an act that he does to earn a buck or two. (ElijahStreams claims to have 240,000 Subscribers, that’s a hell of a lot of gullible people, so if they can serve up wild whacky stuff each week, then the marks will keep donating to get more “secrets”)
As the organizer of the unhinged “ReAwaken America” tour, conspiracy theorist Clay Clark developed a close friendship with Eric Trump. Now, Clark is working to leverage that access to place a “prophet” in Trump’s cabinet if he returns to the White House
- Quote: “You’d have the prophets and then you would have President Trump listening to them and treating them in the same way that he might talk to the Secretary of Defense,” Clark said.
- FFS … imagine Trump, the guy with his finger on the Nuclear button, listening to a religious fanatic when making global decisions.
- I honestly never thought I’d be nostalgic for Nancy Reagan’s Astrologer … but here we are.
RNC “Unity”
- Meanwhile, the leader of “the Godless Ones” is one of the most devout Christian ever seen within the White House, actually follows the teachings of Jesus, and faithfully goes to Church every single week. Over on the dark side, “the chosen orange one” never goes near a church least he suddenly break into flames if he accidentally touched a crucifix or some holy water.
Tony Perkins now insists that we must stop demonizing our political opponents. Just a month ago he declared that “[the Biden administration] is aligned with the devil and we have to not be afraid to say that.”
- If they really are into unity then here is a wild idea – perhaps they should stop trying to overthrow the government to install a Christian Nationalist dictatorship.
- What Tony and many others tend to forget is that it’s been one party having hate rallies, dehumanizing people, encouraging acts of violence, & threatening mass deportations of people – many of whom work for the benefit of the US economy. Literally demonizing those who raise an objection to such stuff is a consequence of their own actions, and so ramping back that wholly valid fact-based criticism a tad fixes nothing.
Clearly Tucker Carlson didn’t get the “unity” memo. He was telling attendees at Heritage Foundation’s RNC “policy fest” that they are in a “spiritual battle” against anti-human forces who want to “kill Christians.”
- Ah yes … Tucker Carlson, one of the greatest minds to ever emerge … from the 14th century.
Eric Metaxas, who has spent years calling Democrats/Biden demonic and comparing them to the Nazis, blamed the left for the Trump assassination attempt, insisting they’re solely responsible for “raising the temperature in this country.“
- The left is responsible? The left came up with “lock her up,” against their political opponent? The left implied violence on the sitting president on their majority owned social media platform? The left?
- Reminder 1: The shooter was a registered Republican from a MAGA family.
- Reminder 2: Not too long ago, March to be precise, Metaxas called Biden a “puppet of the devil” and declares that “this man is wicked. There’s an absolutely horrifying malevolence [about him].” The hypocrisy is indeed strong in this one.
Interviewer of the Week – Emily Maitlis
A British Journalist interviewed Kari Lake. She came armed with facts and presented them to Kari Lake. Ms Lake’s only rebuttal was to resort to raw verbal abuse … and even then the journalist stayed professionally calm, methodical, and forensic. She simply skated over the abuse and kept going with even more. It was a truly excellent masterclass in how to interview these people…
As they usually Do, the Political Cartoonists have been speaking truth
Here are a few of the many many truly excellent political cartoons from the past week.
Matt Wuerker brushed the dust off his 2016 cartoon and rolled it out again …
Finally…
Given recent events, I thought I might just drop this 2022 tweet here …
Also, as a quick reminder …
