A day without stupid?

[ZiprHead]

Seen elsewhere:

​

Ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy had to be sent to the principal's office after elbowing a GOP representative who to voted to oust him from the Speaker position. He was given detention after school for a week and made to apologize to little Timmy Burchett. Kevin's guardian, Donald Trump, did not agree with the punishment proclaiming "This is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and ILLEGAL! Kevin is being persecuted by a LIBERAL, DERANGED OBAMA appointed principal who is using a RULE NEVER USED BEFORE! I will appeal this outrageous, unjust, and politically motivated detention sentence to the School Board but, as we all know, it's full of intellectual elitists who graduated High School and some, even LIBERAL COLLEGES! Quote: Rep. Tim Burchett, who voted to oust the former speaker, accused McCarthy of elbowing him in the kidneys in hallway: Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., on Tuesday accused former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., of elbowing him and chased him through a Capitol hallway. NPR reporter Claudia Grisales tweeted that she has "NEVER seen this on Capitol Hill," recounting how McCarthy "shoved" Burchett while she was interviewing him. Burchett shouted at McCarthy and a "chase ensued." McCarthy denied that he had elbowed him. "You got no guts, you did so, ... the reporter said it right there, what kind of chicken move is that," Grisales recalled Burchett shouting. "Did you see that?" Burchett asked the reporter afterward, who admitted "I'm stunned too." "I ran after McCarthy and I said, 'What'd you do that for?' He acted like, 'Oh, I didn't do anything,'" Burchett later told Politico, which added that the Republican called McCarthy a "jerk" after the incident. “He needs to go back to Southern California," Burchett told reporters, later adding: “I can still feel it … It was a clean shot to the kidney.” McCarthy, meanwhile, denied Burchett's claim. “I didn’t shove or elbow him, it’s a tight hallway," McCarthy told CNN.

 

[ZiprHead]

‘Reprehensible’: fury as Oklahoma governor backs cockfighting group

Republican Kevin Stitt denounced as an ‘embarrassment’ for recording video in support of Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission

www.theguardian.com

The Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt, has been soundly denounced by animal rights activists after making a video in support of a cockfighting organization.

Stitt made a video in support of the annual meeting for the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, a group that has been working to reduce penalties for cockfighting in the state.

The former district director for the Gamefowl Commission was arrested and charged with a felony in August after authorities busted a cockfighting ring in the state, KFOR reported.

The Gamefowl Commission has donated to several Oklahoman politicians, including Stitt, in an attempt to lessen penalties for those participating. The Oklahoman newspaper said the organization had given over $70,000 to Oklahoma politicians, including $2,000 to Stitt.

“I wish I could be with you for the Gamefowl Commission’s annual legislative meeting, but I wanted to take a moment to cheer you on from the sidelines,” Stitt said in the video published on Sunday.

 

[ZiprHead]

He Needs Help’: Kinzinger Says Kevin McCarthy Shoulder-Checked Him in Congress – ‘Twice!’

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “needs help” after the ex-speaker reportedly elbowed a colleague in the back this week.

Kinzinger also said McCarthy whacked him twice while the former was still in Congress.

On Tuesday, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) claimed McCarthy elbowed him in what was “a clean shot to the kidneys.” An NPR reporter Burchett was speaking with at the time backed up the lawmaker’s claim. Burchett chased after McCarthy and told him, “You got no guts.”

Burchett was one of eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy as speaker in October. Kinzinger meanwhile, has repeatedly criticized McCarthy over his appeasement of former President Donald Trump.

During Friday’s edition of The Lead, Jake Tapper asked Kinzinger about his own encounters with McCarthy, which the former lawmaker just so happened to recount in his recent book.

“Twice!” Kinzinger began. “I’m kind of standing in the back of the House, leaning over that gold railing just kind of watching what’s going on, talking to people that walked by. And I get – wham! – I get shoulder-checked. Never had that happened on the floor of the House. And I turn and Kevin McCarthy’s already passed me. And my initial reaction is that we’re friends and I’m like, wait, we haven’t been friends in a year. That was serious.”

Kinzinger said McCarthy shoulder-checked him again “like when you’re in fourth grade” about three weeks later.

Where do they come up with these psychopaths?

 

[Elixir]

Where do they come up with these psychopaths?

They are sought out and carefully curated for the pleasure of trumpsuckers.
Enjoy! This is Trump’s Murka.

 

[robnisch]

Where do they come up with these psychopaths?

They are sought out and carefully curated for the pleasure of trumpsuckers.
Enjoy! This is Trump’s Murka.

Racial and ethnic composition of the 2022 electorate was quite similar to previous midterms in 2018

www.pewresearch.org

White over 50. Something happened to this group that made them ignorant and angry. What?

 

[Elixir]

What?

Donald Trump and his Fake News bubble.

 

[Patooka]

Where do they come up with these psychopaths?

They are sought out and carefully curated for the pleasure of trumpsuckers.
Enjoy! This is Trump’s Murka.

Racial and ethnic composition of the 2022 electorate was quite similar to previous midterms in 2018

www.pewresearch.org

White over 50. Something happened to this group that made them ignorant and angry. What?

They were 20 when they started listening to Rush Limbaugh.

 

[ZiprHead]

Fox News Runs Indignant Segment on Gay Nutcrackers and Black Santas on Sale at Target: ‘Gone Way Too Far’

Fox News host Jesse Watters dedicated a segment of his show on Thursday to gay nutcrackers and Black, disabled Santa Claus Christmas ornaments on sale at Target, before questioning whether the mega-chain is “sexualizing Christmas for children.”

On Jesse Watters Primetime, the host announced:

We sent one of our producers to Target and they found this: gay nutcracker, complete with a rainbow hat, a trans flag. Full price, $12, but right now it’s on sale for eight. Target also sells Santa ornaments, but Target Santa is in a wheelchair and is Black. And it’s a good thing our chimney is wheelchair accessible so Jesse Jr.’s gonna get all the gifts he wants. Gay nutcracker and wheelchair Santa might be the only items in Target that don’t get looted.

After Watters asked Outkick host Riley Gaines whether she would “have gay nutcracker around the Christmas tree this Christmas,” Gaines replied, “What’s my other option? Black, disabled Santa?”

“Yes, you have Black Santa in the wheelchair— we don’t have anything against Black Santa, or disabled Santa. I think if Santa has a disability then that’s fine,” declared Watters, before asking Gaines, “But why do you think Target is selling this type of merch?”

Gaines responded:

Back in 2005, Target banned the word “Christmas,” the phrase “Merry Christmas.” Employees weren’t allowed to say it, no merchandise was allowed to have the word ‘Christmas’ on it because it implied that, you know, the idea of Christ exists. Now, I believe that’s still in effect, yet they’re allowed to have Black, disabled Santa and gay nutcracker? It doesn’t make sense.
You have to ask yourself, you know, why do they keep pushing this? Who are they trying to appeal to? Because despite what the media portrays or how politicians are voting, this doesn’t represent the overwhelming majority of how this country— really, how the world feels on this issue. I think the majority of people, parents especially, they can acknowledge that gay nutcracker, Black disabled Santa has gone way too far.

Watters then remarked, “The gay nutcracker, I mean, this appeals to children. The Christmas spirit. You decorate the house, you put nutcracker up there. Is this sexualizing Christmas for children?”

Fuck Fox.

 

[ZiprHead]

​

Fox is helping Trump prove that FAKE NEWS is a real thing: From your link: Quote: Gaines responded: Back in 2005, Target banned the word “Christmas,” the phrase “Merry Christmas.” Employees weren’t allowed to say it," Snopes: "Target prohibited store employees from using the phrase "Merry Christmas" with customers: False." Quote: no merchandise was allowed to have the word ‘Christmas’ on it because it implied that, you know, the idea of Christ exists. FALSE. Merchandise had 'Christmas' on it. What didn't have the word on it were the signs and promotional material: "Target eschewed use of the word "Christmas" in its promotional material at the start of the 2005 holiday season: True." (Snopes) This is common for many retailers because 3 holidays coincide in December making 'Holidays' advertising and signage more useful. "We do note that this year [2005] a confluence of several holidays occurs in late December: Hanukkah begins on Christmas Day and ends just after New Year's Day, and Kwanzaa takes place during that same period." (Snopes) Quote: Now, I believe that’s still in effect, yet they’re allowed to have Black, disabled Santa and gay nutcracker? It doesn’t make sense. FALSE: "Target responded to public pressure during the second week of December 2005 and began using the word "Christmas" in its promotional material: True." (SNOPES) ALLOWED to have? Does Gaines believe "gay" nutcrackers come alive at the stroke of midnight and crawl into the children's bedrooms to 'groom' them? A black Santa in a wheelchair could be very real: A racist right-wing nutcase shooting a Black Santa in a mall for daring to have white children on his lap and paralyzing him is entirely plausible in MAGA World.

 

[ZiprHead]

DeSantis rips Trump for remarks about debating Clinton after ‘Access Hollywood’ tape

Republican presidential hopeful Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday took aim at former President Trump for suggesting his choice to debate Hillary Clinton after the infamous “Access Hollywood…

thehill.com

Speaking at the annual gala Saturday, Trump recalled his decision to debate Clinton just after an audio clip leaked with Trump claiming his fame awarded him the ability to grab women by their genitals without consequence.

Trump claimed that after that debate, a general praised him for the bravery he showed.

“But I went onto that stage just a few days later. And a general, who’s a fantastic general, actually, said to me, ‘Sir, I’ve been on the battlefield, men have gone down on my left and on my right. I stood on hills with soldiers who were killed. But I believe the bravest thing I’ve ever seen was the night you went onto that stage with Hillary Clinton after what happened,’” Trump said during Saturday’s speech.

“And then that woman asked you the first question about it. And I said, ‘Locker room talk! It’s locker room talk! What the hell?’” Trump recalled.

 

[ZiprHead]

‘Parental Rights’ Mom Accused of Slugging Kid at Boozy Teen Party She Hosted

Conservative activist Clarice Schillinger punched a teenager in the face after doing shots with her daughter’s friends, according to court documents.

www.thedailybeast.com

A one-time Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania and anti-woke “parental rights” crusader is facing multiple criminal charges after allegedly furnishing her 17-year-old daughter’s friends with alcohol and punching one of them in the face when the freaked-out teen tried to leave.

It was the second time in five days that cops had been called to Clarice Schillinger’s home in the Philadelphia suburb of Doylestown, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast. There were roughly 20 minors at the “underage drinking party,” some as young as 15, the affidavit states.

“Schillinger not only provided the alcoholic beverages, but poured shots and drank along with the minors, even participating in drinking games,” the affidavit alleges.

On Sept. 30, a little after 3 a.m., police received a call from the mother of a 16-year-old boy who had been assaulted at Schillinger’s rented home, the affidavit states. The report involved “intoxicated adults assaulting juveniles, while hosting an underage drinking party,” it explains.

Cops had been called to the same address on Sept. 24, according to the affidavit, which says responding officers that night had found “[m]ultiple beer cans” on the property and “approximately 20 minors that fled into the house upon police arrival.”

“On that date, Schillinger was intoxicated and uncooperative with police,” the affidavit states. “Then in the midnight hour of Friday, September 29, 2023, officers were again dispatched to this same residence for a noise complaint involving intoxicated subjects.”

In the latest instance, the boy, identified in the affidavit as “A.M.,” told police that Schillinger had thrown a party to celebrate her daughter’s 17th birthday, and about 15 to 20 kids ranging in age from 15 to 18 had shown up between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Schillinger “directed all of the minors to stay in the basement area of the residence,” where a “bar area… was stocked with alcoholic beverages to include New Amsterdam vodka and Malibu Bay Breeze rum,” the affidavit says.

Another holier-than-thou busy body.

 

[ZiprHead]

Nebraska governor stands firm on rejection of federal money to feed food-insecure children

Nebraska’s governor is standing firm on his plans to reject $18 million in federal funding to help feed children who might otherwise go hungry while school is out.

apnews.com

Nebraska’s Republican governor on Friday reiterated his rejection of $18 million in federal funding to help feed children who might otherwise go hungry while school is out.

Nebraska will not participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program, Gov. Jim Pillen said in a written statement. That statement came as advocates for children and low-income families held a news conference outside the Governor’s Mansion in Lincoln to call on Pillen to change his mind before the Jan. 1 deadline to sign up for the program.

The program — part of federal assistance made available during the COVID-19 pandemic — would provide pre-loaded EBT cards to families whose children are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches at school. Those families would receive $40 per eligible child per month over the summer. The cards can be used to buy groceries, similar to how SNAP benefits are used.

Merry Christmas.

 

[James Brown]

If you feed children, they'll just grow up to become voters. And then where would we be?

 

[Ford]

If you feed children, they'll just grow up to become voters. And then where would we be?

It's part of the GOP plan to both motivate and make the poor suffer. When asked about the unofficial program, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Zodiac Killer) said "if you ask me, it's a brilliant hybrid of Republican ideas. The lazy little bums can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and then eat the straps. I hear they taste like beef jerky and tears. It's a win-win!"

 

[Shadowy Man]

If you feed children, they'll just grow up to become voters. And then where would we be?

Only about half of them will.

 

[lpetrich]

Here is a totally inane bit of right-wing culture warring that I neglected to mention earlier.



First Lady Jill Biden posted this performance by dorrance dance "an award-winning tap dance company based in New York City."

Thus showing that she is unlike her predecessor: Melania “delighted” to mark holidays after being caught asking, “Who gives a f*ck about Christmas?” | Salon.com

"I'm working . . . my ass off on the Christmas stuff — that you know. Who gives a f*ck about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right? OK," she said in the recording. "And then I do it, and I say that I'm working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas. And they said, 'Oh, what about the children that they were separated?' Give me a f*cking break."

Right-wing tantrum over Jill Biden Christmas video accidentally reveals how much MAGA hates America | Salon.com by Amanda Marcotte

Last week, First Lady Jill Biden, rejecting her predecessor's loathing of Christmas cheer, posted a sweet and silly video of the Dorrance Dance company performing a tap dance to a jazz reimagining of "Dance of the Floreadores" from "The Nutcracker Suite."

To normal people, the video was a bit of old-fashioned Christmas cheer in the great American tradition of musical extravaganzas like those of Busby Berkeley. To MAGA-Americans, however, it was a moral and aesthetic outrage that was going straight into their file labeled "Why Now Is The Time For American Fascism." Tellingly, despite the flood of angry comments, Republicans struggled to articulate exactly what they found so offensive. Vague terms like "weird," "grotesque and abhorrent," and "classless" accompanied odd accusations that the performance reminded them of "The Hunger Games."

 

[lpetrich]

Libs of TikTok on X: "@FLOTUS This should’ve come with a sensitivity label. This is horrendous." / X - by Chaya Raichik

Brigitte Gabriel on X: "@FLOTUS Children should not be watching this smut!" / X

Nolte: Jill Biden Releases Widely Ridiculed White House Holiday Video

With her holiday video, the Not a Medical Doctor Dr. First Lady Jill Biden has focused on the “ass” in “class” and delivered a nightmare of smug.

Because I’m an overpaid professional, I had to watch the whole thing. Trust me, you don’t have to, and I promise the video does not improve as it goes along. I would sum it up this way: It’s like someone slipped LSD into David Lynch’s Christmas punch, locked him in the Overlook Hotel, and removed his talent.

Ross Douthat on X: "Post-Christian right, post-Christian left: (pic link)" / X
Trump-era line of red Xmas trees & this dance performance.

Jill Biden Christmas video mocked for 'Clockwork Orange' look - "Jill Biden’s bizarre ‘Hunger Games aesthetic’ White House Christmas video roasted by critics"

“How utterly tacky, tasteless and ANTI Christmas. Melania’s was tasteful, seasonal, appealed to everyone and was absolutely breathtaking and gorgeous,” said one commenter.

Several users compared the technicolor visuals to something out of a dystopian film.

“Disney presents clockwork Orange,” one person commented.

“What’s with the Hunger Games aesthetic?,” asked another, while Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway also panned the first lady’s “Hunger Games Capital District Christmas approach.”

Mollie on X: "The chestnuts are not getting roasted but Jill Biden is for her Hunger Games Capital District Christmas approach this year. Brutal comments." / X

Others wondered if mind-altering substances were involved in the production, with some referencing the bag of cocaine found in the West Wing over the summer.

“Looks like the WH switched from cocaine to acid,” one jokester said.

“The United States of Bananas,” another said.

Some did appreciate the artistic merit of the video, which did not feature either the first lady or President Joe Biden.

“Totally love it, Ms Biden as much as we have showed the love for your playful creative side and arts,” one opined.

Still, others said they would have preferred a more traditional presentation of the classic holiday season ballet.

“While I usually appreciate dance in all forms, this is a travesty. The Nutcracker Suite deserves better,” one wrote.

 

[Rhea]

Wow. I read the right wing comments before watching the video. A reach and a stretch for the level of vitriol. It would make sense if they didn’t like it, a lot of holiday art will have only limit3ed audiences. But they really went overboard.

 

[James Brown]

When you hate someone, the way they hold their fork drives you crazy. But your best friend can spill his drink in your lap and you don't mind.

In Dr. Biden's case, when people have been trained Pavlov's-dog-style to hate you, there is absolutely nothing you can do that will satisfy them.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Wow. I read the right wing comments before watching the video. A reach and a stretch for the level of vitriol. It would make sense if they didn’t like it, a lot of holiday art will have only limit3ed audiences. But they really went overboard.

Reach and a stretch? I was expecting some wonky Alvin Ailey thing. I think my problem is I don't obsess over race and gender, so I seem to miss what the alt-right woke loses sleep over.