This is the week that has seen the Jan 6 insurrection anniversary. So what happened that day according to Right-Wing talking heads?
Initially, the folks who stormed the Capitol were declared by some to be “patriots”. For example, DeAnna Lorraine, who was there, gushed later that she had “never felt more pride in my heart and soul than yesterday”. Many others expressed similar views.
Then the narrative changed. The claim switched to one where it was supposedly a “false flag” operation run by Antifa.
Evidence for that claim?
Nothing at all. Folks such as Lin Wood and Mark Burns simply declared it to be so.
DeAnna Lorraine and others soon fell in step. In her case she simply dumped her previous narrative, and began insisting that the insurrection was a “false flag” operation set up to “trap” Trump supporters and provide justification for their persecution.
Today, despite a total lack of evidence for this, a new NPR/Ipsos poll released Monday reveals that nearly one-third of Republicans falsely say the attack on the Capitol was carried out by “opponents of Donald Trump, including antifa and government agents.”.
They have been successfully conned into embracing yet another lie.
The objective truth is there for all to see; supporters of former President Donald Trump violently stormed the Capitol in an effort to intimidate members of Congress into refusing to certify Joe Biden’s victory. It was literally an attempt to overthrow democracy.
You can read more about this MAGA vs Antifa narrative war here.
It is quite frankly deeply bizarre to observe that literally millions have been so successfully manipulated by a rather blatant lie. The root cause is that there is a complete lack of any accountability for the promotion of deliberate lies. While that accountability is lacking, things will only get worse.
Moving on, below you will find my usual selection of some truly bizarre claims that have popped up during the last 7 days. Each is laced with my snarky commentary. With my usual hat tip to my main source, Right Wing Watch, let’s dive in.
Enjoy.
COVID-19
Milo Yiannopoulos announces a new policy: “From January 1, I will not knowingly share an enclosed space with anyone vaccinated unless I’m traveling or otherwise simply can’t avoid it. Moderna’s guinea pigs are simply too much of a risk to my health. I will politely explain that I don’t want to place myself in harm’s way and therefore won’t share a room by choice with anyone who has had any of the jabs.”
- This is truly wonderful news. I’m honestly thrilled that Milo will be doing his very best to avoid the vast majority of sensible humans and will only interact with other crackpots.
- I wholly support him in this, I really don’t want him anywhere near me.
- Now all we need to do is to convince him that all social media is equally risky to his health.
Jackson Lahmeyer promises that if he’s elected to the U.S. Senate, he’s going to do everything in his power to ensure that Dr. Anthony Fauci is fired, arrested, and convicted of crimes against humanity: “Fauci is one of the greatest mass murderers in human history.”
- Indeed yes, one of the “greatest mass murderers” of literally billions and billions of viruses, and so has saved many many lives.
Self-appointed “Prophet” Robin Bullock claims that COVID-19 vaccines are a “deadly placebo,”
- Combining the word “deadly” with the word “placebo” makes no sense at all, but hey, this is Robin, being sensible is so far into his past that you need an archaeologist to uncover any instances of that happening.
Dave Kubal has a warning about what might happen if the government is allowed to mandate COVID-19 vaccines: “In China, they mandate abortions in some cases. Is this where we could possibly go?”
- I’m guessing that they will soon be mandating other things, for example, which side of the road you must drive on, having your lights on when driving at night, and gasp, even suggesting that you should wear a seatbelt.
- The horror of it all, how dare they strive to keep people safe. I demand the right to take out as many people as possible.
- Just how far will it all go, will they soon mandate that pilots, drivers, doctors, and nurses, actually have to be qualified and competent?
Scott McKay (aka “The Patriot Streetfighter“) was livestreaming when he got word that fellow QAnon conspiracy theorist Cirsten Weldon had died of COVID-19. He immediately blamed the hospital for killing her, vowed to destroy the doctors and nurses who treated her, and threatened violence: “You’re dead men walking.”
- If only there had been some way for his friend to have prevented COVID-19.
Today’s GOP
Sen. Ted Cruz claims not to support the use of impeachment as a political weapon but since “the Democrats weaponized impeachment” against Trump, he says the GOP will be justified in using it against President Joe Biden if they gain control of Congress in the 2022 elections.
- Biden, if it happened, would face impeachment for the “crime” of being a democrat, and being a decent human. Being “impeached” by the GQP would be a badge of honour, a bold declaration that he is not like them.
- Meanwhile, it has not been a very good week for Ted. He told the truth about Jan 6 and got mauled by the Fox News’s Tucker Carlson.
Woman Says Bible-Believing Former MI GOP Leader Raped Her When She Was 15
- He claims “Consenting Adult”, the facts revel that she was 15.
- It happened when he was a teacher at her Christian school. For Teachers and Students in Michigan, the age of censent jumps to 18.
- Apparently he even assulted her in a closet on her wedding night as she was getting married to his brother.
- He is big on the Bible and being “Christian”, so discovering stuff like this is simply not a surprise these days for these GOP “Christians”.
Truly Bizarre
David Brody is furious with the “hipster soy boys” at Twitter, who he claims are sitting on “their satanic beanbags somewhere in their soy latte cafe,” for suspending Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account from the platform.
- You can buy “satanic” beanbags. Wow, that sounds cool, where can I get one?
- Is he only pissed at those that drink soy latte, what about almond latte, or even Coconut latte which is yummy?
- If the decision was made by a hipster girl would that have been OK?
- Meanwhile, yep, her personal twitter account got canned after three strikes. Actions really do have consequences, who knew?
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says that Twitter “has appointed itself as God” and asserts that banning her from the platform is “really an attack on the American people.”
- MTG Translator: “appointed itself as God” = runs their business sensibly; “Attack on the American People” = Does not tolerate crackpots spouting decietful disinformation.
- Fact Check: Twitter are not a political entity, they are a private business. They can ban any account for no reason at all. In this case, her stream-of-consciousness BS wholly justifies it.
- The banning of her personal account also means that 2022 is just getting better and better.
Heidi St. John says that public libraries are such “evil organizations” that she “turned in [her] library card years ago.”
- Indeed yes, totally evil. Apparently libraries lend books not written by her … shudders, the pure horror of that is indeed a cause of great concern.
- I’d also like to suggest that for her Fahrenheit 451 is a guidebook, but I’d speculate that she most probably has not read it. As a Christian fanatic, she only ever reads just one book.
Lance Wallnau laid hands on and prayed over a cardboard cutout of former President Donald Trump before declaring that Steve Bannon “has an apostolic grace on him” and “was probably called to be an apostle.”
- It’s more than a little bit weird to see Steve Bannon declared to be an Apostle. Apostles generally tend not to have been married three times. They also tend not to have been charged with domestic violence.
- Apostle’s are also usually expected to also have a traditional coherent theology. That is not Bannon, he simply spouts contradictory ideas drawn from far-right nationalism, pseudo-historical narratives, political fiction, and a deeply binary worldview.
Larry Klayman defends those who took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol: “In my opinion, [Thomas] Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers would have been at the head of the line, where they might not have been so docile.”
- The opinion of a well-known conspiracy theorist and racist and utterly worthless.
- The founding fathers were pro-democracy. The Jan 6 folks strove to overthrow demoracry and replace it with a dictorship.
Ann Vandersteel interviewed the insurrection’s infamous “QAnon Shaman” Jake Angeli, who claims that there is “a breakaway civilization” deep underground where military bases are using technology hundreds of years more advanced than anything available on the surface.
- I’m guessing you did not need this insight because you had already worked out that he was a crackpot before you knew this.
- As he lays all this out via a phone interview for his fellow QAnon conspiracy theorist Ann Vandersteel, she happily nods, agreeing with it all.
- This is quite literally classic lizard people, Atlantis, and races living underground stuff.
Eric Metaxas compares the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to the Reichstag fire, saying Democrats are using it to gaslight the nation and crush dissent: “It is nothing less than Satanic deception.”
- When they play the Nazi card then you are entitled to invoke Godwin’s Law.
- You would think that a Christian “intellectual” such as Eric Metaxas would remember that one of the commandments advises that lying is a bit of a no-no. I’m guessing he skipped that one.
- It’s not a first for him. His various writings have been castigated by knowledgable subject matter experts for being deeply dubious.
- Even before jumping on the Trump train, his reputation outside evangelical circles was in tatters.
Oklahoma Attorney General: “Godless America” Needs a God-based Justice System
- Sounds good to me. I’m going with Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom
The Big Lie
Mike Lindell is permanently just weeks away from filing the lawsuit that will force the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 election.
- Indeed yes, no matter how much time passes, it remains just two weeks away.
The False Profit$
Pastor Shane Vaughn Curses Black Lives Matter as ‘Demons From Hell’
- Yes indeed, people demanding equal rights and expressing the desire to not be shot simply for the “crime” of being out jogging, are indeed “demons From hell” … but that is only really true from the viewpoint of folks who deeply desire to roll society back to the 1950s.
- Tolerance, decency, and basic human empathy is all “Demon spirit” stuff in his mind.
- I think Shane forgot to put his white hood on for this one.
Jim Bakker is using the tornadoes that ripped across parts of the United States last month in a desperate attempt to raise money so he can keep his TV program on the air: “It’s not global warming, it’s the Last Days.”
- For Jim, who is 82, yes, I suspect it really is the last days
- Meanwhile for the rest of us, the technical term is “weather”.
Steve Gallagher of Pure Life Ministries insists that “homosexual promiscuity is ‘worse than’ heterosexual promiscuity.”
- Stuff like this always leads me to think folks like this are probably at war with their own sexuality
- Steve writes that Christians have … “left the gay community with the impression that Christians are self-righteous and intolerant“. Er, yes Steve, you nailed it, that is exactly the message you have sent.
- He is unable to actually articulate why it is wrong, except of course for the usual “bible says so” claim, and even that does not justify his bigotry.
- He goes on to claim lots of stuff between consenting adults is “wrong” … yet none of it actually is. If indeed he feels that way, then he can follow his own rules. What others do is none of his business.
This week’s final quote
It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable.
Anton Szandor LaVey