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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #33: Nazi Golf Balls Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! So how are you ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, LGBT and gender non conformers doing tonight? Are you all good? Ready to have some fun at the expense of our elected officials? Because this edition is going to be very NRA heavy because of the epic sit-in that is going on in Congress actually, well right fucking now! And because of that we are going to have a sponsor tonight: Target. All right, Ill take that one! So some good news happened last week the city of Las Vegas was awarded their very first professional sports franchise! How about some applause? So the NHL awarded Las Vegas their very first professional sports team and the first team expansion since 2002. And that T-Mobile Arena looks very nice and will be a great addition to the NHL. But I do hope that Vegas gets some more pro sports teams especially the NBA and the NFLs Raiders to come to Vegas. Maybe that will entice the MLB to finally lift their ban on Vegas and maybe even on Pete Rose, though Im not touching that one with a proverbial 10 foot pole. Well first this is going to be a very Brexit heavy edition and if you dont know what is going on Ill let John Oliver explain it to you:
So where do we begin this week? So you know by now the extremely poor decision by the people of the UK to exit the European Union has been dominating the headlines so naturally it will dominate things here. The number one spot is going to Brexit (1), while the number 2 slot is going to talk about the GOPs reaction to Brexit (2), which includes some epic dumbassery from Sarah Palin, Fox News and batshit crazy end times pastor Franklin Graham. Taking the number 3 seed, were going to talk about Congressional Republicans (3) and their reaction to an ill-timed vote to strengthen our nations gun laws and well, skipped town. At number 4 and 5 is our favorite returning champion Donald Trump (4, 5). In the number 4 slot were going to talk about Trumpenfurors visit to Scotland, while the 5th slot is going to talk about Donald Trumps stance on religion especially after the Texas vote, while were also going to recap the Nazi rally in Sacramento. Where are the Blues Brothers when you need them? The number 6 slot is going to Mike Huckabee (6). Remember that whole batshit crazy thing with Kim Davis? Well sweet karma is sweet karma. At number 7, weve got another installment of People Who Somehow Got Elected. And hey what do you know? Its my home state of California this time around. And that guy is Darrell Issa (7). Yes the guy who initiated Californias famous recall election only to back out after multiple DUI convictions is even stupider and batshit crazy than you would think! Taking the 8th seed, the Texas Supreme Court (8) is allowing home scholars the option of teaching their kids absolutely nothing if they believe in the rapture. And in case you were wondering, no, this ain't from the onion. In the number 9 slot (NEIN!!!), the GOPs Wiley Coyote-esque antics in trying to get Hillary Clinton for Benghazi are finally coming back to bite them in the ass. Another Benghazi investigation in 3 . 2 1 . Finally, this week, of the stranger things to come out of the Brexit vote and ensuring stupidity the American equivalent of the Brexit vote. So American conservatives and anti-government Texas secessionists want Texas to secede from the union. But can they or cant they? Well show you both sides of the argument. Enjoy! And as always dont forget the key!
[font size="8"]Brexit[/font]
So the British Brexit vote has been dominating the headlines, and as you can imagine Xenophobic American republicans are heavily praising the move. And the backlash as you can imagine has had not just a UK problem but its become a worldwide problem. Kind of like that mole on your back it was fine when you checked it a year ago, but now its become a problem that you can no longer ignore. So heres the arguments both for and against:
REMAIN Prime Minister David Cameron leads the Remain camp, and he could lose his job if his effort fails. Behind him are most of the Conservative government he leads, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party, which is strongly pro-Europe.
Most independent economists and large businesses favor staying in, as do the most recent heads of Britains intelligence services. President Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Xi Jinping of China also want Britain to stay in.
LEAVE The Leave camp is led by Michael Gove, the justice minister, and Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London. Nearly half the Conservative members of Parliament favor leaving, as do the members of the U.K. Independence Party, or UKIP, and its leader, Nigel Farage. Their main issues are sovereignty and immigration.
Abroad, the French National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, favors Brexit, as do other anti-Europe parties in Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/europe/britain-european-union-brexit.html
So who is the French National Front party? In fact theyre eyeing their own EU exit, and if you guessed that Europes right wingers sound a lot like Americas conservative party, you are correct sir / madam! You get points!
From the Netherlands to Denmark to Austria to Finland, far-right politicians are salivating at the idea of exiting a club they blame for unwanted immigrants, economic squalor and a loss of sovereignty.
And nowhere could the possibility pose a greater threat to the European Unions future than in France, where the far-right National Front party is surging in polls a year ahead of presidential elections.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/after-brexit-french-right-wingers-eye-their-own-eu-exit-hopes/2016/06/27/2b085d82-3a2a-11e6-af02-1df55f0c77ff_story.html
Holy shit! Unwanted immigrants? Economic squalor? Loss of sovereignty? Who does that sound like? I know! Bet you didnt think it was going to be him, did you? And you think youre so smart!
TRUMP: Yeah. I think I see a big parallel. I think people really I think people really see a big parallel. A lot of people are talking about that, and not only the United States, but other countries.
People want to take their country back. They want to have independence, in a sense, and you see it with Europe, all over Europe. You're going to have more than just in my opinion, more than what happened last night, you're going to have, I think many other cases where they want to take their borders back. They want to take their monetary back.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/24/donald-trumps-brexit-press-conference-was-beyond-bizarre/#annotations 762355
Were gonna build a wall around France, its gonna be the best wall, use the best materials, and the people of France are going to pay for it. Its gonna be huge!
But as you may have guessed, Britain is having an oops, my bad moment as it is trying to find ways to roll back the referendum because its not just only affecting England, its becoming an international problem thats stemming far and wide and will have serious economic impact all over the globe.
British Prime Minster David Cameron had said that he would invoke Article 50 which establishes a timetable for formally breaking up with the E.U. if his country voted to leave the E.U. In fact, he'd said he would do it the morning after. Instead, in announcing his impending resignation, he may be trying to shield his legacy by passing the responsibility of triggering a potentially catastrophic Brexit to his successor.
Given that Cameron's likely successors are Brexit supporters from within his party, one might think that they would simply go ahead and invoke Article 50, setting the E.U. pullout process in motion. But, as Teebs notes, these likely successors have been quite subdued in their remarks since the referendum and some are nowhere to be found.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/26/an-astute-online-comment-has-many-wondering-whether-brexit-may-ever-happen/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_comment-720a-top%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&tid=a_inl
But as you may have guessed the British racists have come out of the wood work in a Donald Trump-esque reaction to the Brexit vote:
Police in west London were investigating what they called a "racially motivated" attack against the Polish Social and Cultural Association. Poles make up the largest foreign-born population in the United Kingdom. The organization's building was apparently defaced with graffiti that said, "Go home."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-sharp-spike-in-racist-incidents-reported-after-the-brexit-vote/ar-AAhE8xs?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp
And if you guessed the US economy is suffering a backlash because of the Brexit vote, you are once again correct sir / madam! Points for you!
Secondly, the younger generation has lost the right to live and work in 27 other countries. We will never know the full extent of the lost opportunities, friendships, marriages and experiences we will be denied. Freedom of movement was taken away by our parents, uncles, and grandparents in a parting blow to a generation that was already drowning in the debts of our predecessors.
Thirdly and perhaps most significantly, we now live in a post-factual democracy. When the facts met the myths they were as useless as bullets bouncing off the bodies of aliens in a HG Wells novel. When Michael Gove said, The British people are sick of experts, he was right. But can anybody tell me the last time a prevailing culture of anti-intellectualism has led to anything other than bigotry?
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/24/12023544/brexit-uk-young-voters
But I love the Brexit bus - this was magical:
And of course leave it to satire to show the best stuff that the news is afraid to:
It may sound like the latest rhetoric from the real US presidential nominee, but thankfully this is a new comedy from the makers of Drop the Dead Donkey and Outnumbered. Power Monkeys is a satire with an ambitious plan to beat Twitter to the best jokes: a third of its scenes will be written, performed and cut on the day it goes out.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jun/07/power-monkeys-eu-referendum-satire-spoof-danger-nearly-live-tv-archie-panjabi
That's quite a feat if they can pull it off. I say pass the butter.
Are the British people taking cues from American politics by offering a bunch of empty promises they know they can't keep now?
And its having an impact here on the US Stock Market as well:
Wall Street was slammed from the moment trading opened, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping more than 500 points within minutes. Though it pared those losses over the morning, it dropped again by afternoon and had lost 609 points at close, down 3.4 percent. The broader Standard & Poors 500-stock index closed down 3.6 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index suffered a 200-point loss, closing down more than 4 percent.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/24/brexit-raises-risk-of-global-recession-as-financial-markets-plunge-worldwide/
[font size="8"]Brexit: The GOP Response[/font]
As you can imagine the GOP response to Brexit has been as batshit crazy and stupid and insane as the vote itself. Well if theyre for something its only natural that we here in the Top 10 are against it, because this is about the Top 10 Conservative Idiots. So heres what the GOP has been up to in response to Brexit. Of course we already talked about Trumpenfurors response. But did you also guess that he tied Brexit back to himself?
Trumps reaction to the news wasnt only about his golf course, of course; it was also about his electoral chances this November. I think it's a great thing that's happened. It's an amazing vote, very historic, the presumptive GOP nominee said. People are angry all over the world. They're angry over borders, they're angry over people coming into the country and taking over and nobody even knows who they are. They're angry about many, many things in the U.K., the U.S., and many other places. This will not be the last.
And just in case the sight of a major U.S. presidential candidate holding a promotional event in the U.K. the day after it voted to leave the European Union wasnt bizarre enough, there were also Nazi-themed golf balls.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/06/24/donald_trump_is_a_fool_on_brexit_in_scotland.html
Its an amazing vote. Very historic. But you know its golf. I run the golf business. I build the best golf courses, and nobody is a better golfer than I am! Its gonna be huge!. But of course the French didnt waste any time in demanding that Britain take back its border. And why do I get a creepy Bane vibe from seeing this?
The Mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart said an immigration deal which allows Britain to check passports in France, preventing migrants from crossing the Channel, should be renegotiated.
Ms Bouchart told French broadcaster BFM TV: "The British must take on the consequences of their choice.
http://news.sky.com/story/1717209/calais-tells-britain-take-back-your-border
But then even more Americans are jumping on the Brexit bandwagon. And yes, somebody thought it would be great to ask Sarah Palins opinion on the whole thing.
'America can learn an encouraging lesson from this. 'It is time to dissolve political bands that connect us to agendas not in our best interest. May UN shackles be next on the chopping block,' she wrote.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3661016/Sarah-Palin-congratulates-UK-European-Union-Brexit-urges-U-S-follow-suit-abandon-UN.html#ixzz4Cj7L7vDj
And then of course the religious right thinks that the Brexit vote is a sign of the upcoming rapture when / if that ever happens. I give you Franklin Graham:
Franklin Graham manages to see biblical prophesy everywhere he goes, in every world event. In Brexit, the disastrous, xenophobic, ultra-nationalistic vote by the British to leave the European Union, Graham hails it as a setback for the anti-Christ, and reveals his anti-immigrant beliefs to boot.
"Its historic," Graham wrote on Facebook Friday. "Last night the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union."
"With the breakdown of immigration laws and economies, millions of Europeans feel that their politicians have failed them. Boris Johnson, one of UKs most popular leaders of the #?Brexit movement hailed the results as a 'glorious opportunity,'" he writes. Johnson, it should be noted, is being compared to Donald Trump, but smart.
Being compared to Donald Trump, but smart? Sit down!!! Go back to Univision and stop asking me questions I dont know the answer to!
But my favorite dumbassery of the week has to come from Fox News who in true Animal House fashion, mistook two different things for each other:
But "mistake" might be an understatement for this error.
When the news outlet reported the results of the Brexit vote, it claimed in a headline that the United Kingdom had voted to leave the United Nations.
In truth, the UK voted to leave the European Union.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-06-24/fox-news-mistakenly-reports-uk-is-leaving-un-instead-of-eu
Hey man take it easy, Im in the EU.
I thought you were UN.
Whats the difference?
[font size="8"]Congressional Republicans & Gun Nuts[/font]
Before we get into talking about gun nuts and gun nuttery this week, this story is just, well, I was both very saddened and very angry when I saw this. And I wanted to share it with the Top 10 audience here, which explains why I'm so against the almighty gun and the gun drug dealers in the NRA. Just a kid trying to do the right thing and speak out against the almighty gun now becomes just another number to the NRA:
Lor Scoota got in his car and left the arena. Bringing peace to Baltimore was a message he had been trying to spread on panels, in classrooms and in his music.
How Im supposed to live with all this death in my sight? the 23-year-old had once sang.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/this-rapper-rallied-to-stop-violence-on-baltimore-streets-an-hour-later-he-was-shot-and-killed/ar-AAhEakm
Truer words never spoken, Lor Scoota. RIP.
Now on the flip side some good news in the wake of Orlando. First hate church pastor Roger Jimenez and his Verity Church are asked to leave following a hate filled Orlando themed sermon:
Though Verity Baptist Churchs lease with Harsch Investment Properties doesnt end until March 31, 2017, the company has asked the church to move immediately without any penalty for breaking the lease agreement, the company said in a statement.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-verity-baptist-church-asked-to-leave-orlando-comments-20160622-snap-story.html
And one of the original conservative idiots - hate church pastor Stephen Anderson is getting kicked off just about everywhere but his own hate filled website after saying that the Orlando victims were pedophiles (they weren't). Cue the world's tiniest violin :
Pastor Steven Anderson, who heads the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, lashed out this week at activists who successfully petitioned businesses like PayPal and Apple to shut down his accounts after his hate speech. While Anderson posted his June 22 sermon on a website called Archive, the Friendly Atheist uploaded a sampling to YouTube.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/kill-the-gays-pastor-has-a-pulpit-stomping-meltdown-after-hes-booted-from-online-fundraising/
So you know SCOTUS is back in session and without Antonin Scalia, theyre getting owned on religion left and right. In fact theres breaking news about what the first session of a post Scalia SCOTUS generated:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/27/supreme-court-abortion-decision-help-womens-rights
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Yeah suck it Christian right!!! Can we get some music here?
Thats right all of those horrifying anti abortion laws like fetal funerals (who I hear are playing Lollapalooza this year), and prenatal ultra sounds, and all the other horrifying shit Americas Catholics have subjected women to over the years is officially illegal.
But what else has been going on? You know there was a sit in? While weve been arguing about Brexit, you know that conservatives have been curtailing a vote about gun laws in response to Orlando?
"How many more mothers, how many more fathers need to shed tears of grief before we do something?" Lewis, a veteran civil rights leader, said from the floor.
"Today we come to the well of the House to dramatize the need for action, not next month, not next year, but today," he said.
http://www.dw.com/en/house-democrats-stage-sit-in-for-gun-control/a-19349111
Thats right. We have to go to the fucking German press because the American one is too chicken shit to report anything that would go against the almighty gun. But what else happened here? Lets continue:
C-SPAN, which repeatedly noted that it had no control over the video stream from the House floor, began streaming from some of the lawmakers' social media feeds instead. There was often an alert on the C-SPAN screen that noted the "House cameras are not permitted to show sit-in."
It was the first time C-SPAN had used social media to circumvent the standard House feeds.
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/284678-zuckerberg-facebook-live-posts-from-dem-sit-in-were-watched-more-than-3
And we have to go to Facebook to watch the proceedings because the sit-in broke C-Span. Thats right C-Span had so many new viewers because of the sit in that they couldnt handle all the new traffic. You know what this is like? Remember the end of the Truman Show when they couldnt find Truman and they put up that technical difficulties graphic and Ed Harris character is explaining how theyre getting the highest ratings ever?
And what was Paul Ryans response? Skip town!
Despite the decision to end the legislative session, more than a dozen Democratic members, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were still protesting on the House floor as of this morning. It's unclear exactly how Democrats will proceed with their efforts to bring up a vote on gun control.
The unprecedented demonstration, which was broadcast live through C-SPAN and social media across the country, started Wednesday morning and ended early this morning.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/back-house-vows-continue-gun-control-protests-house/story?id=40045649
And threaten the democrats:
"We are not going to handle it the same way, Ryan warned in the interview, which was highlighted by the Hill newspaper. "We will not take this. We will not tolerate this." Ryan drew the line in an interview with local news program WISNs UpFront with Mike Gousha.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/paul-ryan-won-t-tolerate-another-sit-in
Holy fuck! One thing you have to give Paul Ryan props for hes got balls. Like brass balls.
Vote you assholes!! This is like watching the seventh inning of a baseball game and the pitcher keeps throwing the ball to first base because hes worried about a steal. Or maybe hes the security guard from National Lampoons Vacation.
Yeah hes saying the sit in is a publicity stunt.
They know that we will not bring a bill that takes away a persons constitutionally guaranteed rights without due process, Ryan said in an interview with CNN. We dont agree with that. The Senate already doesnt agree with that . This is a publicity stunt.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/ryan-says-democratic-sit-in-demanding-gun-control-vote-is-publicity-stunt/
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Theres a lot of insanity surrounding Trumpenfuror this week. So Trumpenfuror went to Scotland for who the fuck knows why, and who the fuck cares why? We already discussed how batshit crazy his reaction to Brexit was. But what was he doing in Scotland? Certainly it wasnt on the campaign trail, because, um, why the fuck would he be in Scotland for that?
The US presidential candidate touched down in South Ayrshire by helicopter with his family as they prepare to cut the ribbon at the newly revamped resort, which he purchased two years ago.
His comments come on the same day Britain decided to leave the European Union and David Cameron stepped down as Prime Minister.
Wearing a hat emblazoned with his "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan, he gave a thumbs-up as he left his "Trump" emblazoned helicopter and shook hands with workers on his way to the hotel.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/donald-trump-says-its-great-8271738
Yes!! Hes in Scotland to promote the reopening of his Turnberry based golf course! But thats not before he was met with protest after protest. We already showed you how he feels about Brexit. This might be my favorite part of this whole shit storm he was met with protest through people throwing Nazi golf balls!
Nelson, real name Simon Brodkin, hit the headlines last year when he showered former Fifa president Sepp Blatter with fake money.
Trump shouted 'Get him out of here!' before security personnel led him away, while Nelson grinned to camera, saying the balls were 'available in the clubhouse as part of a new Trump Turnberry range'.
Nelson, who was wearing a Trump Turnberry sweater, added: 'Sorry Mr Trump. I forgot to hand them out!'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3657308/Trump-flying-storm-Hundreds-protesters-Donald-Turnberry-reopens.html#ixzz4CVDuL3Hn
And then of course all Trumpenfuror could do was talk about how great his golf course is:
TRUMP: Blah, blah, blah, my golf course is fabulous, blah, blah, I'm fabulous, it's beautiful, it's grand it's great, blah, blah, blah...
https://mediamatters.org/video/2016/06/24/cnns-john-avlon-calls-trumps-failure-discuss-brexit-completely-insane/211175
Is he mocking Trump impersonators like me? I build the best golf courses, they have the best holes (ding!), they have the best ball washers, and I only hire the best caddys to work at my golf courses, and you wont see any talking gophers at Trump brand international golf courses! Blah blah blah my golf courses are great!
And by the way in case you were wondering, Donald Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr, is just as batshit crazy as his father is.
Although Cambridge Who's Who was not owned by the Trumps, the Times says that after the younger Trump began working there in 2010, the Times says Cambridge benefited from the Trump name.
One person who Cambridge marketed its services to was a retired Oregon schoolteacher.
In Oregon, Phyllis Fread was in her 80s, dealing with Parkinsons disease and had been retired from teaching for almost two decades when Cambridge started calling her at home, where she lived alone. Cambridge salespeople telephoned Ms. Fread who did not use the internet 42 times trying to sell her networking services, a website and other products she did not need, according to an investigation by the Oregon attorney generals office.
http://www.wweek.com/news/2016/06/26/donald-trump-jr-s-employer-left-a-mark-on-elderly-oregon-woman/
And in case you were wondering spoiler alert that story does not have a happy ending.
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
So we got to talk about Trumpenfurors stance on religion for this next entry. So he held a massive gathering of some of the biggest religious figures in the entire country only to come out as being religious. Yes thats right guys and gals Trumpenfuror is now a certified born again fundamentalist Christian.
No, you didn't accidentally click on The Onion. That's a factual statement, according to a well-respected evangelical faith leader.
Dr. James Dobson, who was among the more than 900 evangelical faith leaders who met with the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting in New York City, says it happened fairly recently. He also said he knew who led the businessman to Christ.
"I don't know when it was, but it has not been long," Dobson told Godfactor's Michael Anthony in an exclusive interview. "I believe he really made a commitment, but he's a baby Christian. We all need to be praying for him, especially if there's a possibility of him being our next chief executive officer."
http://www.charismanews.com/politics/elections/58042-dr-james-dobson-donald-trump-has-accepted-christ
Im a Christian now! Im the best Christian! Nobody is a better Christian than I am! I read the best verses from Two Corinthians! Im going to recruit the best Christians for gods army! You know were gonna go to Isreal, were going to build a wall around Palestine, and the Palestinians are gonna pay for it, its gonna be huge!
Consulting James Dobson on religion is certifiably insane. You already know his opinion and its one of the most batshit crazy, extremely hyperbolic stances on the planet. It would be like asking Gwyneth Paltrow on whether or not you should buy that $250 stainless steel toothpaste squeezer.
The answer is you most certainly could, but its a tube of fucking toothpaste! Spending an insane amount of money to get that last little drop isnt going to mean youre more likely to get more out of it than the next person who buys the same tube of toothpaste. It just means you spent $250 on a fucking toothpaste squeezer! So you know the Texas Supreme Court had a controversial abortion law that got struck down by SCOTUS this week. And you know how that was handled by Trumpenfuror?
Earlier Monday, the campaign engaged its recently appointed Executive Evangelical Advisory Board about the ruling, reaffirming Trump's commitment to appoint pro-life justices to the nation's highest court, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Afterward, the board released a statement obtained by Bloomberg Politics echoing the campaign's message and referring to a meeting of more than 1,000 religious leaders in Manhattan last week.
In an unprecedented meeting last week with American Christian leaders, Donald J. Trump promised to only appoint pro-life justices, the board's statement said. We commend him and pray that the tragedy of today's ruling will not be repeated in subsequent administrations.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-27/trump-campaign-reaches-out-to-pastors-after-abortion-decision
Yup! Hes going to report pro life justices to SCOTUS ladies and gentlemen! But how religious is Trump really? Whats he doing to do his best as to what Jesus would actually do? How close is he to achieving that full Christian enlightenment that the far right preaches about? Lets see here:
Before that, however, when was the last time that Trump gave any of his own money to a charity?
If Trump stands by his promises, such donations should be occurring all the time. In the past 15 years, Trump has promised to donate earnings from a wide variety of his money-making enterprises: The Apprentice. Trump Vodka. Trump University. A book. Another book. If he honored all those pledges, Trumps gifts to charity would have topped $8.5 million.
But in that time, public records show, Trump donated about $2.8 million less than a third of the pledged figure through a foundation set up to give his money away. And there is no evidence that Trump has given to his foundation lately: The last record of any gift from him to his foundation was in 2008.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-promised-millions-to-charity-we-found-less-than-10000-over-7-years/2016/06/28/cbab5d1a-37dd-11e6-8f7c-d4c723a2becb_story.html
Thats right he pulled a Mark Zuckerberg and gave the money he donated to charity to Trump brand organizations! And about $10,000 over 7 years was given to actual charity. I mean you make more money with the cash back offer of a Capital One card! So whats in Trumpenfurors wallet?
Although remember last edition when I said that Trump fired his communications director? Well what does his new communications director think of him? Well let's throw that Tweet up there, shall we?
[font size="8"]Mike Huckabee[/font]
We need the appropriate music for this next entry. Hit it!
Unlike Kim Davis and Mike Huckabee, I can play Eye Of The Tiger and not get sued!
Anyone remember insta-celeb, champion of the pro family Christian right movement, and Farmersonly.com VIP member Kim Davis? I dont think anyone else does except for failed presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Well his parading around of uber-bigot Kim Davis is coming back to bite him in the ass hard. And how is that happening? Well first off SCOTUS has ruled that what Kim Davis did deny same gender couples marriage rights is illegal. We need some extra Ha ha insurance for this one!
Reeves is extending his previous order that overturned Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage. He says circuit clerks are required to provide equal treatment for all couples, gay or straight.
Mississippi's religious objections measure, House Bill 1523 , was filed in response to last summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.
http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/judge-blocks-part-mississippi-lgbt-marriage-law-n599936
But thats not the only thing that is coming back to bite Mr. Huckabee in the ass. Remember this bizarre introduction of Kim Davis back last year when he played Eye Of The Tiger? Can we roll tape on that?
Well before the gloating begins, lets give you some background here. Remember the guy from the band Survivor that wrote Eye Of The Tiger? Specifically this happened last November:
Rude Music - which is owned by Frankie Sullivan, co-writer of the song - filed a lawsuit against Huckabee's campaign on Wednesday for copyright infringement in federal court in Illinois.
The lawsuit charges the former Arkansas governor allowed the Grammy-winning song to be played publicly at a campaign appearance supporting the county clerk who gained national attention after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The Huckabee campaign said it would not be "bullied."
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/politics/mike-huckabee-lawsuit-eye-of-the-tiger-kim-davis/
I love that part there the campaign said it would not be bullied. What do you think Kim Davis did? Sit down! Sit down! Go back to Univision and stop asking me things that I dont know! Thank you Trumpenfuror. Well as you can imagine karma is a funny thing, and well the results of said lawsuit came in this week.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee took the lyrics so many times it happens too fast; You trade your passion for glory a little too literally when he played the Eye of the Tiger as Kentucky clerk Kim Davis was released from jail.
Huckabee blasted the song by the band Survivor after Davis spent some time in the clink for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after last years Supreme Court ruling. Rude Music, who owns the rights to the Survivor song, sued Huckabee for unauthorized use of the song and copyright infringement.
The campaign argued that the event was a religious assembly and thus not bound by requirements to pay since it is non-commercial. The problem with that, however, is that Huckabees campaign claimed the event as part of his campaign and expenses show that the rally was paid for on behalf of the campaign.
The former Fox News commentator ultimately agreed to a confidential settlement, but campaign finance disclosure forms released last week from the Federal Election Commission show that he paid $12,500 to Rude Music, Inc. in May 2016. The disbursement is listed as legal settlement for copyright infringement.
With that $25,000 he could have bought some HA HA insurance!
[font size="8"]Darrell Issa[/font]
Now its time for another installment of:
This week we go to my home state of California to talk about state representative Darrell Issa. He represents San Diego County in the United States Congress. So yes there will be Anchorman references abound here. You might remember him as the guy who initiated Californias insane recall election but then backed out because of multiple DUI convictions. So theres a very strong possibility that he might have spent the last 7 years lying about everything Obama does;
Issas antics were so extreme that he was tossed off of the House Oversight Committee and driven into exile by then Speaker John Boehner. Issa was so angry after Boehner denied him a seat on the House Benghazi Select Committee that he tried to sabotage his own partys big plans to get Hillary Clinton with the Benghazi investigation. Issa tried to crash one of the Select Committees depositions and was tossed out by security.
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/21/rep-darrell-issa-spent-7-years-lying-obama-lose-job.html
Thats right Issas politics and gaming were so extreme that he was tossed off the House Oversight Committee. You know the committee that manages the government? So what else makes Darrell Issa one of the elite People Who Somehow Got Elected? Why yes he is a hardcore supporter of Trumpenfuror:
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said hed like to re-do the entire primary process where Trump wasnt a candidate. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, one of the first members of the House to back Trump, warned of an attempt to block Trump as the Republican Partys presidential nominee and potential violence at the GOP national convention in July.
Issa blamed President Barack Obama, in part, for the Trump phenomenon.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jun/20/issa-wants-a-re-do-while-hunter-warns-of-violence/
So not only does Issa support Donald Trump, he even goes so far as to blame the left for the Donald Trump problem! And in case you were wondering his reaction to Brexit? Why he doesnt think it will change the UKs relationship to the US. Of course it wont!
The vote last night was historic, but it wont change the special friendship we have with our allies in the U.K., Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said. In a democracy, the people have the right to chart their own future. The people have made a decision and I respect it.
http://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2016/06/24/congressman-issa-uks-decision-to-exit-eu-wont-change-relationship-with-us/
Right. Keep telling yourself that Darrell, in fact you might as well just say this:
Which is how most of here in the US feel or know about Brexit. And Darrell, you can also stop convincing yourself that you have enough evidence to convict Hillary Clinton of something. They dont know or care what it is, they just want to convict Hillary Clinton of something.
The statute about classified material holds you responsible not to transmit in an unsecured environment or to a person not cleared. It holds you accountable not to do that. Not based on whether theres the word Secret all over it, but based on the presumption that you would recognize that classified material. She transmitted things like I dont want to disclose anything like a mayor in Afghanistan who was working with us, and if that material becomes available to the wrong people, she gets killed. You dont have to ask whether thats classified. As an army lieutenant years ago, I knew that would be classified because it goes to sources and methods.
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/06/25/exclusive-darrell-issa-there-is-enough-evidence-to-indict-hillary-clinton/
Yeah its Breitbart. Sue me. But some good news San Diego actually has a formidable challenger for Mr. Issa in November:
Retired Marine Col. Doug Applegate mounted the challenge for incumbent Darrel Issa's seat representing the 49th Congressional District. Issa, who is the richest man in Congress, has held the seat for 15 years. Issa was thought to have a lock on his office, but the heavy Democratic turnout Tuesday pushed Applegate to within 6,200 votes of the incumbent. Issa out-polled Applegate, 51 percent to 45 percent, but the close finish surprised many political observers.
I havent looked at the numbers closely, because Im in this to win this, Applegate said. "This is now a real candidacy. If Darrell Issa was asleep, hes awake now.
http://fox5sandiego.com/2016/06/09/little-known-candidate-mounts-strong-challenge-for-darrell-issas-house-seat/
Stay classy San Diego. I hope this means that come this November, Darrell Issa will no longer be one of the:
[font size="8"]Texas Supreme Court[/font]
We need some appropriate music for this one. Hit it!
Apparently the Christian right dont need no education or thought control either. While abortion laws got struck down in SCOTUS, the Texas Supreme Court is voting in favor of teaching kids . Absolutely nothing. Yes you read that correctly, under this new ruling fundamentalist Christians dont need to teach their kids anything if they believe in the rapture. Heres the original case as it was filed:
Now the family is embroiled in a legal battle the Texas Supreme Court hears Monday that could have broad implications on the nations booming home-school ranks. The McIntyres are accused of failing to teach their children educational basics because they were waiting to be transported to heaven with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20151101-home-schooling-rapture-figure-into-texas-supreme-court-case.ece
Yeah so because the fundies can teach anywhere, a motorcycle dealership is now a school. And this woman can teach her 9 (NEIN!!!) kids absolutely nothing if they believe in the rapture.
That one never gets old. Anyway heres how they ruled this week:
The Texas Supreme Court has cleared the way for religious ignorance to be passed on to Lone Star State children by doing absolutely nothing. A lower court ruling allowed for Texas homeschoolers to legally teach their children absolutely zilch if they believe their family is waiting to be raptured.
Yes, you heard that right. Your children dont need to learn if the Lord is returning to take you to heaven. It makes sense if youre a lunatic, but to those of us who have watched with giddy delight as people stood on their lawns on the day the rapture was supposed to happen only to have their dreams shattered, you realize that at some point that kind of idiocy should be forbidden to be passed down to their children.
Yup! If the family believes that strongly in the rapture, they dont have to do anything!
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.15176.1314097164!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/gal-teabonics-31-jpg.jpg
But it gets weirder:
Problems for Laura and Michael McIntyre, who once educated their nine children in an empty office at the family's motorcycle dealership in El Paso, arose after an uncle told the school district that he never saw the children do much of anything educational. According to court filings, he also overheard of the children tell a cousin "they did not need to do schoolwork because they were going to be raptured," or blessed by the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The family's eldest daughter, 17-year-old Tori, ran away from home in 2006 so she could return to school. The El Paso district put her in the ninth grade because officials weren't sure she could handle higher grade-level work a claim her parents' dispute.
You know Im not a parent but doesnt it say a lot about your educational beliefs (or complete lack thereof) when your 17 year old runs away so she can get a real education? That is truly, truly beyond fucked up.
[font size="8"]Benghazi Vs. The Road Runner[/font]
So you know the GOP investigating Benghazi is like Wiley Coyote going after the road runner. You know neither one is going to catch the other. But they keep doing it in hopes that they will someday catch that delicious, delicious road runner. But the GOP is apparently using Acme brand equipment to catch the road runner, in this case its Hillary Clinton. So heres what happened previously:
Kevin McCarthy, the current House majority leader and the heir apparent to outgoing Speaker John Boehner, directly linked the Benghazi panel to decreased support for the Democratic frontrunner during an appearance on FOX News Tuesday night.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/mccarthy-links-benghazi-panel-clintons-sinking-poll-numbers-n436151
But the conclusive evidence is that neither one has been linked. The GOP has been actively trying to incriminate future president Hillary Clinton by any means necessary. They dont necessarily know what theyre charging her with but they have to charge her with something!
So now what? Has that had any effect on Mrs. Clintons poll numbers at all?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-benghazi-investigation_us_561ef9eae4b0c5a1ce62037e
Theres a surprise! How about no??? But the GOP has a new record Benghazi has now lasted longer than Watergate! Woohoo!! Celebrate!
As of Monday, the committee has been in existence for a total of 72 weeks.
Democrats originally claimed that in surpassing the Watergate Committee, the Benghazi probe became the longest-running special committee tasked with investigating a specific topic. The duration of the committee has been a frequent talking point for Democrats, who have accused it of being a massive waste of taxpayer money with little to show.
It's the longest running congressional investigation ever, a Twitter account associated with Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton tweeted this week.
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/255138-benghazi-panel-now-longest-congressional-investigation
Longest Congressional investigation ever!!! This is what happens when you have a divided Congress folks, they get absolutely nothing done, even on their own investigations! Bravo! Well done, take a bow!
But of course the GOPs long running investigation into Benghazi is only coming back to bite them in the ass hard:
The 800-page report, however, included some new details about the night of the attacks, and the context in which they occurred. And it delivered a broad rebuke of government agencies like the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department and the officials who led them for failing to grasp the acute security risks in Benghazi, and especially for maintaining outposts there that they could not protect.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/us/politics/hillary-clinton-benghazi.html
[font size="8"]Texit[/font]
Finally this week were going to end with Brexit coming to the United States. Of course if youre paying attention to whats going on in the UK, its about as batshit crazy and xenophobic as it gets. And here in the states, conservatives are doing everything they can to come up with their own plan for a UK style Brexit here at home. So what have they come up with you might ask? Well I answer you good sir / madam with this.
Never mind that the United States Constitution forbids it: Inspired by Brexit, the Texas Nationalist Movement wants to #Texit. Just as Donald Trump failed to realize Scotland did not vote to leave the EU, Daniel Miller, president of the TNM, doesnt seem to realize that not only do most Texans not want to leave the Union, but they couldnt if they wanted to.
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/24/texas-secessionists-texit-cheer-much.html
Yup! Texas secessionists want Texas to Texit! And heres how Texit might actually work:
The citizen-driven vote in Britain can be a model for Texas, which was an independent country from 1836 to 1845, and its $1.6 trillion (£1.17 trillion) a year economy would be among the 10 largest in the world, said Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement.
The Texas Nationalist Movement is formally calling on the Texas governor to support a similar vote for Texans, the group said on Friday. The office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott was not immediately available for comment.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/brexit-u-secessionists-hankering-texit-194835260.html
And of course Trumpenfuror had to weigh in on the subject:
Tweets with the #Texit hashtag were rampant Friday, and not everyone was joking.
But one person who has no worries about a Texas secession is presidential contender Donald Trump. Why? Because the state loves him, of course.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20160625-texas-loves-me-donald-trump-says-shrugging-off-notion-of-texit-secession.ece
Were gonna build a wall around Texas its going to be the best wall, its going to have the best materials, and Texas is going to pay for it. The best Texas food comes from Trump Tower! I love Texans!
But is this illegal or not? Most would say it isnt but that hasnt really stopped anybody before from pulling this shit the last time:
Simply put, the answer is no. Historical and legal precedents make it clear that Texas could not pull off a Texit at least not legally.
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/24/can-texas-legally-secede-united-states/
[font size="8"]And Now This:[/font]
[font size="8"]Donald Trump Gives A Speech In Front Of A Trash Heap[/font]
Is that a pile of trash giving a speech in front of a pile of trash? Thats so meta! Im a garbage man! I make the best garbage, nobody has better garbage than I do. I take the best dumps, nobody takes better dumps than I do, and the best dumps come from Trump Tower. I love recycling! I particularly like this Photoshop:
We are off next week in observance of the July 4th holiday, but well be back on hey what do you know? Sunday July 10th for a brand new edition and the first of a 4 part biweekly special covering the category 5 shit storm that is the RNC! See you in 2 weeks!
Ed. Note - The Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Now on Wednesdays and for a brief time also Sundays at 10:00 PST. Also please join our Twitter feed at @DUInitechTop10 and join the fight and spread the word, won't you?
niyad
(113,776 posts)PJMcK
(22,067 posts)Thanks for taking the time to accumulate all of that!
Enjoy the holiday!
Initech
(100,129 posts)Lots of crazy shit happening, but it also might be a good time for a mini list!
underpants
(182,990 posts)Great list.
Initech
(100,129 posts)And I won't even eat there because I hate their policies, but could you imagine Mike Huckabee saying "would you like fries with that"?
Or better - someone goes up to Mike Huckabee and says "motherfucker, I want some more ice tea!". I would pay any amount of money to see that!
underpants
(182,990 posts)Jesus! How many times do we have to tell you that?
ismnotwasm
(42,022 posts)A post to be savored.
longship
(40,416 posts)dembotoz
(16,864 posts)love it keep it up
Initech
(100,129 posts)I want to try doing this as a podcast. As Donald Trump says "it would be huuuuuuuuuuge!"
progressoid
(50,011 posts)malaise
(269,256 posts)You really put your heart into the Top !0 Conservative Idiots. Enjoy the holiday - looking forward to the Brand New July 10 Edition and can't wait for the ReTHUG Convention.
Rec.
Initech
(100,129 posts)And yes bring on the convention!
malaise
(269,256 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)and recced.
Thanks Initech. You freakin' rock.