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Even this past week we have seen lots of stuff that really should move the needle. The following samples are all from the past few days.
He was threatening the Mic guy …
- It’s his own damn fault. Trump brings his own A/V setup to these events to keep it secure. Trump always blames others for mistakes he makes. has no mic technique. He’s also too close and blows out the diaphragm. Public Speaking 101: don’t eat the mic.
- It was Russia that invaded, the the US, there are no US troops in Ukraine.
He has nothing but insults for others …
- Er … yea, I can think of one.
He even gave a mic a blow job …
- Will MAGA now be doing this?
Trump also declared that he wants to put Liz Cheney in front of a firing squad…
- Ummmmmmm “Tone down the rhetoric” has left the building
- We call him a fascist because he acts like a fascist.
- But as far as the media is concerned, Joe Biden garbled some words, so it’s all the same … except it’s really not.
- Mehdi Hasan: “Where’s the media and GOP civility police at times like this? Why is Trump consistently allowed to get away with language that no other presidential candidate, Democratic or Republic, in modern American history has been allowed to get away with? Why?“
So why does nothing he says or does move the needle, and how certain are MAGA that they are right?
What appears to be going on here is something that is illustrated by what is called the “The illusion of information adequacy“.
When you hold some information that is one sided and you live inside an information bubble, and you use that information to form a belief that is part of your identity, you then dismiss conflicting information as “fake news”, and so you sincerely believe anything that conflicts is a lie. You will have a very high degree of confidence in that belief.
The problem is that it is all one-sided. This “The illusion of information adequacy” is a cognitive bias.
People trapped like this will end up believing that all honest people will make a similar decision to the one they made because everything that conflicts is a lie.
Any negative coverage of Trump is simply “Fake News”.
It’s literally a cult.
OK, let’s move on now and look at some of the stuff that has popped up during the last 7 days as we rapidly head into Nov 5.
Perhaps the needle really has moved enough – The Iowa Ann Selzer Poll
The poll itself shows that women — particularly those who are older or are politically independent — are driving the late shift toward Harris. It also reveals that Trump continues to lead with his core base of support: men, evangelicals, rural residents and those without a college degree.
Why is this Selzer poll making such a big splash, it’s just one of many many other polls all predicting different outcomes?
Permit me to answer that by simply quoting her Wikipedia page …
Her polls of Iowa voters have a reputation for being highly accurate, based on their performance in major elections from 2008 through 2020.[3][4] She has been described as “the best pollster in politics” by Clare Malone of FiveThirtyEight, which also gives Selzer & Company a rare A+ grade for accuracy
My own personal reaction to all the other polls supposedly showing a very tight race has been the thought that they were wrong. I took that stance a few weeks ago when it was clear that Harris was seeing data from her internal data that gave her enough confidence to campaign outside swing states for a bit, for example in Texas – This Selzer poll means that everybody else is now catching up.
It makes sense for a “It’s a tight race” bias to exist. Both need that to be the message. Trump needs to ensure he has a credible claim when he proceeds with his usual “They stole the election” claim. Harris needs to ensure that voters are motivated to vote.
Be encouraged … and also there is the very obvious point, only one poll matters, that’s the one happening on Nov 5.
Puerto Rico
This one feels forever ago, but it really was quite recent, so let’s briefly cover it.
It was a really “smart” move to insult a very large group of people who live in swing states …
- If Tony Hinchcliffe costs Trump the election it will be the first funny thing he’s ever done
- Monday’s Politico article, linked to by the above tweet, can be found here via this link.
For some the message is clear, trash collection day is November 5 …
Some in MAGA have got to now appreciate that things are bad for their campaign when even the Catholic Church gets to claim the moral high ground on this …
When faced with all this flack, Trump had a rebuttal …
OK, you know that is BS, but let’s fact check that claim…
- FDR – Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA)
- JFK – Operation Bootstrap
- Jimmy Carter – Environmental Protections
- GW Bush – Increased Federal Funding in Healthcare, Housing and Education
- Barack Obama – Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA)
- Joe Biden – Investment in Infrastructure and Renewable Energy
- Trump – Restricted Federal Funds to PR and poorly responded to Hurricane Maria
What is factual is that he has done more than anybody else … by far … to ensure they vote for Kamala.
Oh and one last thought on the topic of “Garbage” for Trump supporters. Biden did not call you garbage. He called the racist comments spoken at MSG garbage. Personally, I disagree with Biden because I think you really are garbage. But y’all need to get a thicker skin and stop being so offended by every little thing.
Christian Nationalism
Yep, they are still promoting historical fiction as fact.
Christian nationalist pastor George Pearsons claimed this past week that “the Founding Fathers used Exodus 18:21 as the foundation for all U.S. elected officials.“
- OK, let’s factcheck that claim. Exodus 18:21 reads “thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands”
- In context this is Moses, who never actually existed, claiming that he alone gets to pick who the rulers are because “God told me to do it“. It’s literally “one man one vote“, as in, Moses is the one man with the only vote. We call that a … (answers on a postcard please … Hint: Not a democracy), so no, rather obviously not used as a template by the founding fathers. The claim is very obviously a lie
- Side Note: “Men of Truth, hating covetousness” from that verse will immediately leave you thinking quite naturally of Trump as the man of truth … right?
- For a bit more context, George Pearsons, who has clearly been drinking pseudo-historian David Barton’s cool-aid, is fraudster Kenneth Copeland‘s son-in-law, and not only helps Copeland on a weekly basis to use religion to scam the gullible, but is sitting in the wings ready to step into the shoes of 87 years old Copeland.
Speaking of Copeland, this past week he was banging a similar toy drum by spreading a bunch of false claims about George Washington’s first inauguration, prompting us to ask once again why Christian nationalists so frequently have to lie in order to “prove” their case?
- The details of what he claimed and why it was all BS can be found here.
- However, this is Copeland. A solid heuristic rule of thumb for literally anything this conman says is that if you assume it is BS, then there is an almost 100% statistical probability that you are correct.
Floyd Brown, a Christian nationalist activist who is serving as Kari Lake’s senatorial campaign manager, says the Biden/Harris administration is so hostile to Christianity that he “wouldn’t be surprise if they go ahead and outlaw spreading the Gospel in America.“
- The Biden/Harris administration has been “so hostile to Christianity” that Biden has faithfully attended Church every single week, and Harris is a Baptist who prays on a regular basis with her Pastor.
- Remind me again which Church Trump attends?
- Somebody rather famous who knew that grifters like Floyd Brown would pop up once said, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves“
The Cult of Trump
Trump cultist/self-proclaimed “prophet” Hank Kunneman closed out his Sunday sermon last week by declaring that Christians must “side with God” in the election by rejecting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and the “foul loonies.“
- Yep, another grifter who claims that a god is on his side, yet he never ever gets any of his prophecies right and instead utilises religion to enrich himself.
- I’ve got a bible verse for Hank – Proverbs 17:15 “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.“. If there really was a god, then Hank’s final destination would not be the good place, but hey, as a grifter, he knows it is all a con and does not actually believe any of it.
MAGA pastor Jentezen Franklin tells Trump he is a “chosen vessel” like the Apostle Paul.
- Yea, just go for it my man, pour a little gasoline on the flames of Trump’s narcissism, what could possibly go wrong with that.
- First he was David. Then he was Cyrus. Now he’s Paul. Won’t be long before they decide he’s God Himself LOL. I’m looking forward to the day when they finally catch up with the rest of us and see him for who and what he really is.
Let’s also be very clear about exactly why people are calling him a fascist …
Oh, and this also happened …
- The Daily Beast article can be found here
- However … as is usual, this latest revelation is making no waves. Under normal circumstances this would indeed have been a big deal, but not with Trump. We have all known he is like this for years, it is all already well-documented, and that previous insight also includes him raping a 13 year old in the house of his good buddy Epstein. His supporters consider is to be “fake news”, and that’s especially true for his morally bankrupt evangelical supporters.
Girdusky vs Hasan
The Puerto Rico comments last weekend at MSG were just the warmup act for the Trump campaign’s racist finale. Here is Ryan Girdusky accusing Mehdi Hasan of being a terrorist and delivered that claim with an incitement of violence toward him …
- A show that is normally a bit of a snooze fest has become more akin to the Jerry Springer show, and like you I can’t help but wonder if having him on was a deliberate choice to ramp up viewers.
- However, the more sensible counter argument is that it is actually a consequence of the decision by the Trump campaign to make explicit hate an official part of their messaging.
CNN have now banned Girdusky, and Abby put out an to apology for what happened …
Meanwhile, what is truly wild is that the above interaction was not the only interesting interaction Mehdi Hasan had that same day. He also managed to humiliate Sarah Palin a bit earlier on a different show…
Sarah Palin: “You’re a liar”
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) October 28, 2024
Me: “I know facts aren’t your strong point.”
Palin: “You’re an obnoxious ass.”
Me: “I’m obnoxious? You’re a racist.”
I brought receipts for my clash with Sarah Palin on Piers Morgan’s show. Watch to the end.
Full show: https://t.co/ECPjMCisnN pic.twitter.com/Br6vKw8lIY
- So yes, he was spot on, not only did she really did say all that he said she proclaimed, but he had the receipts.
- Pro Tip: If you’re going to debate Mehdi, you better bring facts, and an A-Game. Otherwise you’re going to look very stupid as she did.
Hateful Homophobic Bigots
- Mr Rapert (R-Hatesville) is gifted at being on the wrong side of everything. For example during COVID he insisted it was all a hoax and refused to wear a mask, then came the day when he got COVID and ended up in hospital, and so he found out the hard way that it was not actually a hoax after all.
The False Profit$
Self-proclaimed “prophet” Hank Kunneman (Yes him again from the opening item in the “Cult of Trump” subsection above) also claimed that God appeared to him during his recent Sunday service and assured him that Trump will win the 2024 election: “Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter, I know what I know.“
- This is the exact same “prophecy” he issued in 2020.
- We can all play this same game. Just now Hank’s God just appeared to me personally and assured me that he is simply pranking Hank because Trump is going to lose. “Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter, I know what I know.“
- We should all also bookmark his “prophecy” for Nov 6.
- Hank having a prophecy that Trump is going to win is actually a very very good sign for Kamala – Hank’s track record as a prophet is that he has managed to be wrong more or less 100% of the time. Example: Back in 2020 another “prophecy” was that God would protect the US from COVID … and yet here we are now looking back at the 1.2 million people that have died since then.
Weirdest of the Weird
Can any of this get any weirder?
Need you really ask – here you go.
Scott Lively declares that “America’s most fateful election was granting women the right to vote against the wishes of their husbands in matters specifically ordained as his area of responsibility”: “I believe that the 19th Amendment would never have been ratified if the voters of that day could have looked into the future and seen its consequences.“
- He published this on WND. That’s an acronym that is supposed to stand for “World Net Daily”, but is more commonly known as Wing-Nut Daily. I suspect you are beginning to understand why.
- Does anybody out there recall seeing seeing Deuteronomy in the US Constitution?
- Mr Isker appears to be exploring entirely new forms of stupidity and idiocy.
- Also, is anybody willing to break it to him that his preferred bone-spurs candidate also does have an ancestor that fought in the civil war
- Ah yes, the “Love” of Jesus strikes again.
- That would also be “death” for Trump, most of the elected GOP representatives, and many many pastors and youth leaders.
- Side Note: What guys like Joel don’t grasp is that adultery is not the only reason people divorce, there are many other reasons – abuse, unrealistic expectations, lack of commitment, lack of equality, conflicting goals, one spouse becomes an addict, etc…
- Side Note 2: During the same sermon, he anticipated my rebuttal and so he said that physical abuse is not “a justifiable case for divorce because it’s not in the Bible.”. Yea, I know, lots of stuff is not in the bible that he happily uses or does, but that never gives those who make that stupid claim any pause.
- Also, let’s be really clear where he stands on the election – this past week he also explained that he doesn’t just want to ban women from voting, he also wants to see unmarried men, men without children, and men who do not own property stripped of the right to vote: “Universal suffrage is not God’s design.”.
- When asked about his wife voting he still insisted women shouldn’t have the right to vote, but then admits he allows his wife to vote so she can “concede” her right back to him by casting her vote “in line with the decision that I make for our family.“
Christian preacher and self-described prophet Hank Kunneman, yes another entry from him, also popped up to claim that God sent an angel to follow him, and he has proof. I could not resist sharing this one, it’s a hoot. His “proof” …
- It’s a picture of a cloud.
- Trump would indeed be delighted to watch your kids … but only if they are young girls.
MAGA Pastor Shane Vaughn clams that “when the black population recognizes Tuesday night how that Biden picked the black girl as his scapegoat there’s going to be a mass revolt against the Democrat party for pure racism.”
- Well, if anybody know about pure racism, it’s Vaughn.
Greg Lock is on to us …
- Indeed yes, we really do have a dastardly not-so-secret crazy scheme planned … it’s called voting.
Now this next one really is also very weird.
Tucker Carlson popped up to claim this past week that he was physically attacked by a demon in bed at night: “I had four claw marks on either side underneath my arms and on my left shoulder. And they’re bleeding.” Totally normal and not weird at all.
- For those wondering, yes, he has 4 dogs that also sleep in the same bed. He says so in the clip where he tells this story. He simply rolled over on one, got scratched, and his dream addled brain concluded “demon”.
- Supernatural demons are not real. The only actual demons this guy has ever encountered was when he did softball “interviews” with Vladimir Putin and also Trump.
The Julia Roberts Ad
This ad is voiced by Julia Roberts. Here she reminds us that what we do in the voting booth stays in the voting booth …
It has provoked a furious reaction from conservative men who are deeply distressed that their women are being encouraged to not obey them.
“If I found out Emma was going to the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that’s the same thing as having an affair,” Fox News host Jesse Watters said on air Wednesday in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
- Sorry Jesse, you will not be finding out, her vote is a secret.
Here is Charlie Kirk also venting about it …
- It says so much that these guys are so fucking triggered by the idea of women having autonomy.
Here is another similar ad …
Be encouraged, it’s real.
Many, when with husband or dad, say “Trump of course“, but then later quietly confirm “Hell no, it will be Harris“.
Nebraska
What happens when you follow the money in Nebraska?
For this election it leads to two people:
- Candidate A being held in office by corporate donors.
- Candidate B being uplifted by community members who are tired of Candidate A.
- Note that she is holding zero public events.
In a deeply red state where no Democrat is running, Dan, a former Navy Vet and Union Leader, has a real shot here as an independent grassroots candidate to get elected and then meaningfully represent working and middle-class constituencies without a corporate PAC pulling any strings.
- He is a unique blue-collar politician who has a real shot at a senate seat.
- I’m personally wishing Dan lots of luck.
If curious to know more about him, you can find his Wikipedia Page here.
Debate of the week – Josh Hawley vs Lucas Kunce
Now this 1 min 30 second clip really is worth watching …
Here is a bit more. If you have waited a long time for someone to say this to Josh Hawley’s face … well here it is …
Actions really do have Consequences for the Washington Post
We now have an insight into the total meltdown of the WashingtonPost subscriber base …
- That 200,000 was by midday last Mon. Since then the numbers of subscribers quitting continues to increase.
- Does anybody know what it is now?
- I’m not convinced Bezos will notice or care.
Walz Punchlines
Political Cartoons from the past week
As always, there are many excellent cartoons. Here are a few samples.
What about Gaza?
For some Gaza has been a real deal-breaker when it comes to thinking about who to vote for. A very fair question is this …
“I disagree with Kamala’s position on the war in Gaza. How can I vote for her?”
Well …
Here is what her position actually is …
As VP she has very little power.
When she is POTUS then it will be a very different story.
If you care about doing something about the genocide in Gaza, then a vote for Kamala is your best way forward.
A vote for Trump is to vote for the guy who is on record commenting that Netanyahu is doing a fine job, and also wants to once again ban all Muslims.
The Thing that Keeps me up at night
I’m personally convinced that Kamala will win, and that Trump may then try to screw around by doing something like this …
- The contingent election process is outlined in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This is what Jan 6th was all about, disrupt the official certification, pressure Mike Pence to not certify, and force this to happen. If no candidate secures a majority of Electoral College votes (currently 270), the decision moves to the House. In such a scenario, each state delegation gets one vote, and the majority of 26 would elect the President.
- So … if it is close, then all they need to do is to dick around with the electoral college votes in swing states and generate enough chaos to ensure the vote for president gets kicked to the House.
- If Republicans were to attempt this, (again), they would likely face overwhelming opposition, including protests, lawsuits, and significant public outrage.
This week’s clips from the Good Liars…
People whose IQ test came back negative …
Some are ever so close to getting it, but just can’t quite make that last step …
The guys already have their MSG Rally Video up, and the lead part of the lady above …
Voting consequences
If you have not done so yet then please make a plan to go out and vote because not doing so will have consequences …
When they tell you what they plan to do, you need to believe them …
Abortion is also on the ballot in every state …
- And yes, that ProPublica article in the tweet above was published this past week – It concerns the death of Josseli Barnica in Texas, a death that could have been very easily prevented, but doctors feared treating her because they did not want to go to jail – Oct 30: A Texas Woman Died After the Hospital Said It Would be a “Crime” to Intervene in Her Miscarriage.
- Next week you can vote to prevent more of this.
A few words from Arnie
Yes really, the one and only …
I don’t really do endorsements. I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians.
I also understand that people want to hear from me because I am not just a celebrity, I am a former Republican Governor.
My time as Governor taught me to love policy and ignore politics. I’m proud of the work I did to help clean up our air, create jobs, balance the budget, make the biggest infrastructure investment in state history, and take power from the politicians and give it back to the people when it comes to our redistricting process and our primaries in California.
That’s policy. It requires working with the other side, not insulting them to win your next election, and I know it isn’t sexy to most people, but I love it when I can help make people’s lives better with policies, like I still do through my institute at USC, where we fight for clean air and stripping the power from the politicians who rig the system against the people.
Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either party right now. My Republicans have forgotten the beauty of the free market, driven up deficits, and rejected election results. Democrats aren’t any better at dealing with deficits, and I worry about their local policies hurting our cities with increased crime.
It is probably not a surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you are a normal person who isn’t addicted to this crap, you probably understand.
I want to tune out.
But I can’t. Because rejecting the results of an election is as un-American as it gets. To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious.
And I will always be an American before I am a Republican.
That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
I’m sharing it with all of you because I think there are a lot of you who feel like I do. You don’t recognize our country. And you are right to be furious. For decades, we’ve talked about the national debt.
For decades, we’ve talked about comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border while fixing our broken immigration system. And Washington does nothing.
The problems just keep rolling, and we all keep getting angrier, because the only people that benefit from problems aren’t you, the people. The only people that benefit from this crap are the politicians who prefer having talking points to win elections to the public service that will make Americans’ lives better.
It is a just game to them. But it is life for my fellow Americans. We should be pissed!
But a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke, a candidate who has shown no ability to work to pass any policy besides a tax cut that helped his donors and other rich people like me but helped no one else else, a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia, or North Korea – that won’t solve our problems.
It will just be four more years of bullshit with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided, and more hateful.
We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that. He will divide, he will insult, he will find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been, and we, the people, will get nothing but more anger.
That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you. I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz.
Vote this week. Turn the page and put this junk behind us.
And even if you disagree with me, vote, because that’s what we do as Americans. http://vote.org
One Last Thought
With an eye on next Tuesday, Michael de Adder is on target with this one …
Cult of Fools Weekly (Nov 3, 2024) – “Why does nothing move the needle?” Dave