As highlighted by The Atlantic … “Trump’s Evangelical Supporters Just Lost Their Best Excuse …The pro-life justification for supporting the former president has now collapsed.“
Wait what?
Journalist Peter Wehner, who wrote that article in The Atlantic tweets it like this …
The Evangelical thinking has been this … “Trump is the great pro-life champion, and while he is flawed, supporting him is the moral high-ground“.
The twist here is that he is desperate to win the election, and being in bed with the Evangelicals no longer cuts it, so he tries dumping his pro-life facade and is now adopting a pro-choice persona … it started with this …
How have others reacted to all this?
For some it is denial. They have been saying, “Well, it’s only one tweet, you need to look at what he has actually accomplished“. They are not wrong about what he has done, but they are wrong about it just being one tweet …
He clearly is a guy who will say whatever it takes to get support, and so some would view the above as him running a con to get “them” on board … without perhaps appreciating that they also have been conned.
For others, it really is now the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.
The what?
Briefly, back in 2015 Adrian Bott tweeted the following, and the idea went viral because it resonated so well …
When you do indeed jump into bed with Don the Con, then this is exactly how it will play out. Now that some have woken up to this, they are feeling angry. We have a few examples from the past week …
- Anti-choice absolutist Ben Zeisloft fumes on Twitter: “Donald Trump spits in the face of God by supporting child sacrifice. If he does not repent and bow the knee to King Jesus, he can have nothing but a fearful expectation of judgment.”
- Right-wing political extremist Nick Fuentes announces that the next phase of his war on the Trump campaign will involve him traveling to Michigan in September to “counter program” a Trump or Vance event by holding a press conference to air his grievances. He claims to have “at least 10,000 absolute loyalist America First soldiers that are willing to do everything in their power … to deprive [the Trump] campaign of votes.”
It all reminds me of the old fable – The Scorpion and the Frog …
A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: “I am sorry, but I couldn’t resist the urge. It’s my nature.”
When it comes to things like lying and betrayal, then as highlighted by Journalist Peter Wehner, it’s his nature, this is who he is. You have known this from day one. It is however a revelation that is now beginning to dawn for some of his cult followers.
Further insights:
- Politico (Aug 29): ‘He’s Alienating His Base.’ An Anti-Abortion Activist Explains Why She Isn’t Voting for Trump.
- PBS (Aug 25): Vance says Trump would veto a bill that establishes a federal abortion ban
- LA Times (Aug 29): Column: Trump keeps flip-flopping on abortion. American women are so over it
So then what happens?
With all the backlash he pivots of course. His pro-vaccine facade fooled nobody and only ticked off his cult, so he rapidly decided he was once again no longer pro-choice.
It’s been a few hours, so where are we today, is Trump pro-life or pro-choice?
Meanwhile, the guy who has more or less flip-flopped on the abortion issue multiple times in the last few days, then proceeds to accuse Harris of being a flip-flopper …
As for flip-flopping candidates, should we ask Trump about JD Vance flip-flopping from previously calling him Hitler?
In other words, his level of projection is way off the charts.
OK, so let’s move on now.
What other crazy things have been happening during the last seven days?
The Cult of Trump
Trump-loving right-wing pastor Paul Blair just really hates liars: “When somebody can just look you in the eyes …. and lie intentionally trying to deceive, to me, that’s just about as disgusting and evil as you get.“
- Pastor Blair, who hates liars, is of course a big fan of pathological liar Donald Trump.
- His cognitive dissonance is cranked right up to the max
MAGA cultist Mary Grace demands to know what Trump ever did to make people think that he wants to “trample your democracy.” Hmmm. Seems like we ought to be able to think of something
- Indeed yes, via Chris Swart: “Let’s be clear: the case against Trump isn’t built on speculation or partisan rhetoric. It’s documented in legal filings, congressional testimony, and the bloodied steps of the Capitol itself. His refusal to accept the results of a fair election was a direct challenge to the bedrock of the republic. He pressured state officials to bend to his will, spreading baseless lies about voter fraud, and when that didn’t work, he threw a match into the powder keg he’d spent months filling with his incendiary rhetoric. The result was a mob attacking the very seat of government, intent on overturning the will of the people.“
We also do sometimes need to remember why things are the way they are, for example, why has Kamala never met Trump face to face? Well here is a reminder …
The Kamala Harris Fan Club
MAGA continue to just adore her.
Classic fear mongering always pops up in election season. Some are, as usual, trying to get people worried about their finances (but twitter user Domo bursts that bubble) …
- Fact Check: The proposed “Unrealized capital gains tax” and others, is a real Harris proposal … but … as pointed out by Domo, what they neglect to tell you is that the actual proposal is that it would only be applied to people who have more than $100 million. For example the owner of Fox News.
- This will not even impact the 1% … $100 million means it only impacts 10,660. These are people who hire an army of accountants to avoid paying any tax at all. It is not about the wealthy paying more, instead it is about them paying their fair share.
- If this is all they have got, then seriously, they have got absolutely nothing.
- Should kids who did snow shovelling for neighbours, or worked a few hours in a store on Saturday, pop that on their CV 20 years later?
- Most of us have worked summer jobs … and also … most of us don’t clutter up our professional CVs listing it all out. Doing that would be weird
- Interestingly enough, if we check out the Linkedin page for the guy trying to make this into something, Peter J. Hasson, you will discover that he fails to mention his previous career with The Daily Caller, or for that matter, anything at all prior to 2021.
Christian Nationalism
OK, so let’s once again dip into what these guys have been up to.
Furious that his colleagues on the Arkansas State Library Board will not back his right-wing agenda, Christian nationalist Jason Rapert says they “probably should be tarred and feathered.“
- It’s not new, Rapert is regularly lashing out at his fellow board members.
- He has also previously been complaining that he’s been experiencing a “hostile work environment”, yet here he is creating a hostile work environment. “I’m not talking about violence,” he claims, then goes on to call for mob violence against his colleagues.
- Yes, you are correct, Rapert is indeed a colossal asshole.
- Ah … one of my hot bottoms. OK then …(Rant mode on)
- Oh FFS these people are f**king idiots and are self-identifying as totally clueless. Evolution explains why things are the way they are, it does not direct anybody to do anything.
- If they want to talk about this, then let’s do it. Evolutionary biology reveals that we are all related, it lays the groundwork understanding for the elimination of racism. Meanwhile German antisemitism emerged directly from Religion. Martin Luther fanned the flames in the middle ages when he expressed anti-Judaistic views, calling for the expulsion of Jews and the burning of synagogues. Real historians contend that Luther’s rhetoric contributed to the development of antisemitism in Germany and the emergence, centuries later, of the Nazi Party
- (Rant mode back off)
Let’s switch to another topic.
Homophobia on Steroids
Some are homophobic … and some really are far far more than that.
Whacky Conspiracy Claims
Wild and weird conspiracy claims are also as popular as ever. Here are a few from this past week.
White nationalist Lucas Gage claims that Jews “turned my whole family against me” and suggested that they’re responsible for his failing marriage.
- Quote: “There’s no one in my family that supports what I’m doing. Nobody. No one. Literally zero” … er, yes Lucan, there is a reason for that.
- His own actions are literally having life impacting consequences for him, but he can’t face that truth and so he leans heavily into his virulent antisemitism and blames “them”.
Is there anyone in the world who would be surprised to learn that Shemane Nugent, wife of Ted, is out there spreading conspiracy theories about COVID and “5G radiation poisoning“?
- But wait … there is a PubMed article that “verifies” all this (via an Open Access Predatory journal), by an author who has made other “groundbreaking” research on reiki and acupuncture.
- For those struggling to correctly identify all this as BS, then let me put it this way … Not only do Viruses not travel on radio waves or mobile networks, but COVID also spread in many countries that do not have 5G mobile networks.
The False Profit$
Con men using religion to fleece the gullible is an age old story. Here the usual suspects pop up week after week.
QAnon conspiracy theorist/self-proclaimed “prophet” Johnny Enlow reports that Trump will soon receive the endorsement of “a major name star that has been assumed to be dead for a long time.“
- Is Elvis now in the building?
- But they have been hoping for JFK Jnr for some time now. There was even that time a lot of them turned up to Dealey Plaza in Dallas because they really believed that a guy who dies in 1999 would show up. Instead of JFK Jnr what they are actually getting is RFK Jnr.
- On the other hand, if his reference to being dead simply means a career, then it could of course be Kevin Sorbo
Well, I guess the Democrats should just pack it in now that “prophet” Robin Bullock has spoken: “You spirit of hell driving the Democrat Party, we order you helpless and non-victorious. We will, by the help of Almighty God, we will win this election.“
- Totally normal stuff. Not weird in any way at all.
- Being weird is not new with him. He has claimed in the past that he saw a dinosaur in Heaven, that Jesus had five houses, and that God lives inside a cube of gelatin. If you want the clicks and views, as he does, then you need to strive to out weird the religious grifting competition.
To give you an idea of just how weird Mr Bullock is, we also have this clip. In it Self-proclaimed “prophet” Robin Bullock and host Steve Shultz struggle to unravel the twisted logic behind their own conspiracy theory that Trump has actually been president for the last four years: “Some of those things, I can’t work out in my mind.“
- For a bit of context here, Alabama pastor Robin Bullock has been, proclaiming that “prophets” such as himself could not possibly have been wrong about Trump winning in 2020 and therefore “Donald J. Trump is the president.”
- In this clip they also went with “Obama was calling the shots from a basement” … so in their fantasy, both Trump and also Obama were president for the last four year, but Biden was not.
- When it comes to a Bullock claim, reality is not just an undiscovered country over the horizon, it’s a nation on a completely different planet.
The Olympic Sport of “Weirdest”
Some really do push the boundary of “weirdest” out into what is normally undiscovered country.
Daily Dot (Aug 26): Tim Walz petted a dog that wasn’t his—and the far-right absolutely lost it
- Walz has a dog of his own, but he also pets other dogs … oh the horror of this canine infidelity, I’m shocked I tell you, shocked! (shudders).
- I mean seriously now … if they wish to discuss infidelity … well … you know what goes here.
Religious-right activist Gordon Klingenschmitt asks you to join him in praying that “the demons inside of Tim Walz will be rebuked, confronted, and thrown out in Jesus’ name.“
- Klingenschmitt quotes Matthew 7:15 “Beware of False Prophets” to justify his stance against Walz. Call me a tad picky if you like, but I don’t think Tim Walz has ever claimed to be a prophet.
- Translation: “let me use religion to pander to your crazy political beliefs and then send me money“
- I can’t help but make the observation that he is going to have a heck of a lot of trouble convincing even the most brainwashed that Tim Walz, a guy whose crusade is to feed hungry kids, is full of demons.
- You would think that defending the worst and literally demonising the best might motivate some to wake up … but hey, this is MAGA, so perhaps not.
- Santorum is of course stumping for the Heritage foundation and project 2025! Seeing him roll out this cult like McCarthyism reboot, while weird, is not surprising for him.
- What is super weird is his beloved Project 2025. If enacted, that really would create a truly Stalinist government ruled by the super elite.
- Interestingly enough, here is Mr Santorum hanging out with Russian spy Maria Butina …
Right-wing anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist apologist Alex McFarland appeared on “The Pete Santilli Show” last Monday, where he declared that the recently completed Democratic National Convention was “a megafest of blasphemy and unrighteousness” and warned that electing Kamala Harris as president will turn the United States into a “dystopian hellscape.”
- This is quite some Framing. The language McFarland uses … “megafest of blasphemy and unrighteousness” … reflects a worldview that sees anything and everything that is not an exact match for them as evil. This is not a message, it’s a radicalization strategy.
- Santilli, whose show he is on is an extremist broadcaster who has repeatedly advocated for violence. He ferrets out guys like McFarland to stir things up.
- To put it all another way … yes, they really are all deeply weird.
Ivan Raiklin, who has proclaimed himself to be Trump’s “secretary of retribution,” is threatening to have Mark Zuckerberg executed for genocide.
- Whenever you think these guys have hit rock bottom, they tend to demonstrate “Nope” by digging down to an even deeper level.
- Least you wonder what the context here is … his “Execute Zuckerberg” call is motivated by the deeply whacky belief that the COVID vaccine corrupts DNA and that it also murdered anybody who took it, and so Facebook encouraging people to have it is treason and merits death.
- The even weirder part is that under his tweet are commenters stirring things up by insisting that he does not go far enough (so yes, many are bots and not real people. It is all one more data point that establishes that X really is all just shit now).
The Evangelical Off-ramp
Telling evangelicals that they now need to vote for the pro-life anti-abortion felon …
- Yes … the guy who did away with choice is now suddenly pro-choice (until after the election) … but hey, we already covered that bit.
There really is a viable Off Ramp …
- Link to the MSNBC article: How I’ve been convincing Christians they don’t have to vote Republican (If time permits, it’s worth a read)
Guns
Apparently there is one shooting that we are not supposed to just “get over it” …
Note to Media – You Really need to do better
So this was quite rightly pointed out …
If you are wondering who the reporter is, then permit me to reveal that.
It is NYT reporter Michael Gold. He does the Trump rallies, and often panders to him like this. Remember that whacky and deeply crazy shark/electrocution story, well, he called that a complaint against EVs. Here now, a crude insult about the VP of the United States, is just a “shattering the norms”.
Let’s be clear about this – whatever the hell Mr Gold is doing, it is not journalism.
He is not alone. While the following might indeed be satire, the point being made is wholly valid …
But Politico?
Yea really, Politico …
JD Vance
To whoever does the subtitles … we salute you …
… and yes, he continues his streak of weirdness.
He was interviewed about their rather bizarre stances on IVF. Apparently IVF should be both safe, free … and also illegal.
Really?
Yes.
There really is no ducking how deeply weird this platform position actually is.
Anti-Vax Lunacy
Actions really do have consequences …
Nitpicking with Tim Walz
What is he really like when the cameras are not there?
Well, I came across this amazing story …
… so yes, nitpicking … literally.
Walz really is the guy you want sitting in the hot seat when trouble hits because he will know what to do.
It looks like Gen-Y and Gen-Z really will save us
here is a but more conformation.
Back in 2018, Mike Huckabee was not too worried about Taylor Swift being political because 13 year old girls don’t get to vote. Well, guess what, that was 6 years ago … guess who can now vote … and they brought the receipts with them …
The Tan Suit – Part II
Excellent Political Cartoons from the past week
Michael Ramirez …
(I’m really not normally a fan of his mostly conservative stuff … but I must admit, he nailed it with this one)
A very powerful image by Darrin Bell that says much more than words can ever express…
Finally…
If you have ever wondered just how stupid Trump supporters are … well, to help you out, the guys popped up their YouTube video of interviews of those attending Trump’s Iowa rally. What some of them come out with is just hilarious stuff …
Trying to understand JD Vance’s jokes …
Not Weird …
- It’s hilarious that the guys persuaded some to hold up signs declaring Trump is not weird.
So let’s finish with this one …
- “Please state the nature of the Medical emergency”
- For those that don’t know, Robert Picardo, who delivered that epic burn above last Wednesday, is the guy who played the doctor in Star Trek Voyager.
Now that was very well played.