Battling Conspiracy Theorists

So someone I know told me that Hillary Clinton murdered three people.

I replied that I hadn't heard that, but that Trump used to run cocaine into Atlantic City with his yacht in the '80s.

When asked who told me that, I said: "Oh, you know. Some guy."

One piece of madeup bullshit is as valid as any other.

A Couple of Things

It seems that trying to hinder Congress from certifying the vote or trying to fuck with the outcome of an election are Federal crimes. That may be why Mark Meadows is refusing to testify and why Jeffrey Clark took the Fifth.

Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican co-chair of the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, surprised many last night by reading important text messages sent to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the deadly riot. But what the Wyoming congresswoman said next was just as notable:

"Mr. Meadows's testimony will bear on another key question before this committee: Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress' official proceeding to count electoral votes?"

What this means is that, independent of the January 6th Committee's work[1], there is a possibility that the instigators of both the Insurrection and those who attempted to persuade election officals to alter the vote count may be charged.[2] The DoJ may be letting the Committee take the lead and do a lot of the shoe-leather work for them. But, in the coming months, things might get a little interesting for Meadows, Clark and maybe even Sir Donald of Hamberders.

(H/T)
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I DQ'd out of a defensive pistol match last month. I don't shoot those matches with an eye towards winning; I shoot them to practice with guns that I may carry and with holsters that I would use for that purpose. The gun in question was a S&W 3rd-generation compact 9mm, the holster was a pancake-style job that holds the gun in reasonably close to my body. Retention is with a strap over the hammer and the holster itself is reasonably thin.

The fact that the holster was at an "FBI cant" bothered the range safety people, as it meant that the muzzle pointed a little behind me. That it was leather without a reinfoced mouth meant that I had to ensure that the lips of the holster were spread apart so I could insert the gun. The RO said I muzzled my finger and disqualified me. I don't know as I did, but it was the RO's call. No whining allowed. It was suggested that if I wanted to keep shooting those matches, that I get some zero-cant kydex belt holsters. Fortunately, those can be had cheaply and, as the holsters will be range-only, cheap is good.
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Much is being made about the rank hypocrisy of Rand Paul, in asking for post-tornado aid for Kentucky while having repeadly voted against aiding other states after disasters. He reminds me of some Christian Talibanistas I've known in the past who were against divorce, or they were until their own marriages fell apart. Paul can quibble and deny that he's a hypocrite, but shit, everyone with an IQ much above freezing knows that he's a lying hypocrite.
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[1] Never forget that the Republicans held hearing after hearing about Benghazi and yet have been stalwart in trying to avoid any accountability for the Insurrection.
[2] Looking at you, Miss Lindsey.

A Very Good Point About the Conspiracy Fabulists

Stop calling them "conspiracy theories."

They are no more "theories" than are magic dragons, flat Earths, midichlorians, or the millions that a Nigerian prince promised to send you.

You ought to go read the entire thing. He makes a very good point.

I will do my best not to use the term again.

Rand Paul Self-Identifies as a White Supremacist

"If you read his speech and listen to it carefully, much of it is thinly-veiled innuendo calling us white supremacists, calling us racists, calling us every name in the book, calling us people that don't tell the truth," he said.

If what you took away from the speech, Rand, is that you're racist and a liar, well, maybe you are. For it clear to any dispassionate observer that all of those adjectives applied to the Trump Administration.

And then there is this, which should come as no surprise to anyone with a functioning cortex:[1]

Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top public health experts, signaled that he feels free to speak honestly about Covid-19 now that former President Donald Trump is out of office.

In his first news briefing since President Joe Biden was sworn in, Fauci said that the new administration was committed to being "completely transparent, open and honest," a sharp break from the Trump White House when Fauci said he often felt there would be repercussions for speaking honestly about the pandemic.

"It was very clear that there were things said, be it regarding things like hydroxychloroquine and other things like that, that really was uncomfortable because they were not based in scientific fact," Fauci told reporters of the Trump administration.

"The idea that you can get up and talk about what you know, what the evidence is, what the science is," Fauci continued, "it is somewhat of a liberating feeling."

Getting information about the pandemic that hasn't been filtered by Trumpist politruks will be a nice change. So will be opening the morning paper and not steeling oneself to read about what stupid or racist shit our previous president had done the day before.
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1. Which exempts regular viewers of Sean Hannity, Tucker Carleson, the Newsmax network, or the Onan network.

Truth in Humor

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Sharing helpful health tips with the American people, Senator Rand Paul said on Wednesday that the secret to social distancing is making everyone despise you.

“People get all worried about whether other people are staying six feet away from them,” Paul said. “The trick is, if you act like a total jerkwad, people will stay much farther away from you than that.”

Sort of like I said elsewhere, incels are guys who use their personalities as a method of birth-control.

The only people who want to get close to Rand Paul are those who would like to punch him out.

Social Distancing Works

A graphic illustration of how it does, from the Ohio Dept. of Health.

One would hope that even the Covidiots would understand this. But they're too wrapped up in their conspiracy theories.

I Hereby Nominate Rand Paul's Neighbor For Some Sort of Nobel Prize

The Senate will vote Tuesday on a bipartisan bill to ensure a victims’ compensation fund related to the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday.

The announcement came after Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, both of New York, reached an agreement with Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky to bring up the bill with two amendments sponsored by the GOP senators.

Paul and Lee had been blocking a vote. Paul was concerned about its effect on the deficit, while Lee wanted to ensure the fund has proper oversight in place to prevent fraud and abuse.

Concerns about the deficit didn't stop Paul from voting for Trump's budget-busting tax cut. Because busting the deficit doesn't matter if all it does is benefit the rich.

Raising the deficit to help the rich like Trump and Epstein-- Rand says yes. Raising the deficit to help the 9/11 responders-- Rand says no.

Which is about what one might expect from a dude named after the Goddess of Selfishness.

Another "Fuck You" by the GOP to Working Americans

If you move for a better job, you can't deduct your expenses. The fuckers in the GOP took that away from everyone, except active-duty military, who already get a shitload of benefits when they move.

I don't begrudge the military their benefits. But ist sure seems mean-spirited as fuck to stick a finger in the eye of people who are moving for a better job.

But let's face it: "Mean-spirited as fuck" is where the GOP, especially jackholes like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, live.

Chemtrails at Night

Chemtrail Humor

Photo credit goes here, if I knew who created it.

The Wheels Grind Slowly, But Grind They Do

Top staff members from Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign have been indicted in the culmination of a long investigation into Paul campaign’s alleged payments to an Iowa state senator to endorse the former Texas congressman for president and the hiding of those payments.

Jesse Benton, who ran Paul’s 2012 campaign and is married to the former congressman’s granddaughter, was indicted on Wednesday on five felony charges in federal court in Des Moines, Iowa along with John Tate and Dimitri Kesari, both of whom were also were top staffers on the 2012 campaign.

The article goes on to note that, while none of the alleged perps have direct ties to Rand Paul's current campaign, both Tate and Benton are involved with a superPAC that is funding Rand Paul's run.

The politician that they allegedly paid off pled out last year and it's a pretty safe bet that part of the deal involves rolling over on everyone else involved. But buried in the article is the article is mention of the charge that's going to sink them: Lying to the Feebies. That's what sent Martha Stewart off to prison.

Which is why, barring a limited set of circumstances, it is a very bad idea to talk to the FBI. Or, for that matter, any other Federal agent.

Spawn of Wingnut for President

U.S. Senator Rand Paul promised to be a different kind of Republican on Tuesday, launching a 2016 White House bid by saying he would stand up for individual freedoms that are being trampled by "the Washington machine."

The usual pseudo-racist crap of "taking our country back" was spewed.

Ron Paul has a long history of blowing a racist dogwhistle, including defending the cause of the Confederate traitors.

Rand isn't much different.

If Baby Paul wants to change the country, it's hard to see how he will do that by tossing away a lot of the power of the presidency. So he'd probably want to reduce his power afterwards, at which time, you can bet your farm that he'll find it really hard to give it up. One of the fundamental principles of holding power is that you never let somebody else take it from you. He'll find a reason to keep it, if the voters are drain-bamaged enough to choose him.

GOP's War on Public Health

Fresh from Secaucus Fats's and Baby Paul's waffling on vaccines, come the news that the newly-minted junior senator from North Carolina thinks that the government is overreaching by requiring restaurant workers to wash their hands after using the bathroom.

Just fucking great. And when some kid who has leukemia or cystic fibrosis or some other condition that precludes them from being vaccinated contracts measles (or something else that we all thought was wiped out) because their yuppified, tinfoil-hat-wearing, mouth-breathing, scientifically-illiterate parents refused to have their own kids vaccinated, I propose that those parents get a free ticket to kick Chris Christie and Rand Paul in the balls on a monthly basis.

May the Almighty forbid that we have to deal with polio again. If we do, the ignorant anti-vaxxers will really be able to add broken bodies of children to their butcher's bills.

Besides the sad point of children getting sick because their parents are just fucking stupid, the very idea that a First World nation is subjecting itself to the scourge of preventable diseases because of large numbers of know-nothing parents and politicians is making this nation a laughingstock around the world.

As well we should be. For when it comes to vaccinations, large numbers of people in this country are as ignorant as the Taliban.

Yep, Watch Those Republicans Stand Up for the Constitution

But only when they can see a way to score political points. When it comes to principle and the rights of everyone else, not so much:

The Senate on Tuesday blocked a bill to end bulk collection of American phone records by the National Security Agency, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's primary proposal to rein in domestic surveillance.

The 58-42 vote was two short of the 60 needed to proceed with debate. Voting was largely along party lines, with most Democrats supporting the bill and most Republicans voting against it.

There is a possibility of a longer game here, in that the NSA's legal authority to collect phone data ends in June.* Maybe those opposed to the NSA spying on all of us plan to just stop it then, but frankly, I don't think that's the case. The GOP is loaded with people who have no objections to a police state, as long as the fuzz don't get in the way of the top 0.01%'s ability to amass even more money.

On this vote, all but one Democrat voted to stop the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' telephone calls. All but four Republicans thought that the NSA's bulk collections is just peachy.
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* Rand Paul says that's why he voted to let the NSA keep on spying on all Americans, for now.

"Paulsamic Vinegar"-- How Did I Ever Miss This One?

There is this video on YouTube (and it's not the only one) of a crazy person spraying vinegar with a hand-spray bottle to wipe out "chemtrails". Freep has a long story, full of snark, about the Ron Paulistas and "chemtrails".

In a rational world, one would point out that condensation trails form when water vapor in engine exhaust condenses at high altitudes, where it is bloody cold. Contrails have been around since the Second World War, when bombers began flying up high.

In a rational world, one would explain that contrails form about 25,000' and that the airliners which create them are usually flying at altitudes between 33,000 and 39,000 feet.

Trying to eliminate a "chemtrail" by spraying or boiling vinegar at ground level is like trying to put out a match by spraying a hose at it from five or six miles away. At least, that's the point that I'd make to a rational person. One could point out that the duration of any one set of contrails depends on the temperature and dewpoint of the altitude where it was formed, which is why some vanish in a minute and some persist for hours.

But the "chemtrail" people are nowhere near close to being rational. In point of fact, they're close to being certifiable.

And so, in an age-old tradition, we make fun of them.

If Ron Paul Is Your Typical Libertarian, Then Libertarians Are Batshit Insane

Ron Paul thinks it is perfectly peachy if business owners engage in racial discrimination. He thinks it's perfectly fine to put "no Negroes or Jews" covenants into deeds.

Paul lives in Cloud-Coo-Coo Land, for he seems to think that businesses wouldn't have survived if they discriminated. Paul ignores the historical truth that Jim Crow was alive and well throughout the South in the early 1960s. There was no way in hell that every diner, every store, every movie theater could have been desegregated without the force of law.

Paul exposes the ground-level logic fault of Libertarian/Randist ideology, which is that businesses will do the right thing because doing the wrong thing will cost them business and their reputation. Right. From the Radium Girls of the 1920s to the coal miners in Massey Coal's mines and the natural gas frackers who are poisoning the water table, there is no shortage of examples that show that business will almost always do whatever is expedient and will maximize profit, regardless of the risk it poses to the workers and the general public.

Does the above mean that Ron Paul a racist? Arguably not, but for that evidence, you have to look elsewhere, and it is not hard to find.

Rand Paul is Just Another Mealy-Mouthed Slug

I just watched Rand Paul on "Good Morning America".. what a double-talking douchebag! He absolutely tap-danced around the issue of Governor Khadafi Walker's union busting.



Hosni Walker's union-busting isn't playing well with the American people. On the other hand, this naked abrogation of collective bargaining agreements is not playing well with the American people.

The Modern Brown Shirts

Rand Paul, whose supporters knocked a woman to the ground and stomped on her.

Eric Cantor, who used the cops as a goon squad to kick people out of a public event.

Joe Miller (an admitted liar, lawbreaker and idiot), who had his private goons, who happened to be active-duty soldiers, handcuff and detain a reporter who was trying to ask inconvenient questions.

Christine O'Donnell, whose campaign manager threatened to "crush" a local radio station if it put video of an interview with O'Donnell up on a web site.

Republicans talk a good game about freedom and liberty. But it those are just worship words to Republicans, they don't believe in things such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom to peaceably assemble or, for that matter, free elections.

The Dick Cheney Disease

The Dick Cheney Syndrome is where the perpetrator of an act of violence demands that his victim apologize to him:

Tim Profitt -- the former Rand Paul volunteer who stomped on the head of a MoveOn activist -- told told local CBS station WKYT that he wants an apology from the woman he stomped and that she started the whole thing.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal," Profitt said. "I would like for her to apologize to me to be honest with you."

That's how it works with those guys. If they rape you, they want you to apologize for being so offputting that they were forced, just forced, to put roofies into your drink. A Republican carjacker would demand an apology because you were not perceptive enough to see that he needed to borrow your car, he had to pull a gun and take it from you.

Betcha if somebody stomped on that asswipe's head and put him into the hospital with a concussion, he'd think that it was a big deal.

Beyond that point, the Confederate party is living up to (or down to) their ancestors, who were not shy at resorting to violence to shut up those they disagreed with.

An Acceptable Way to Argue If You Are a Brown-Shirted Thug

That would be to knock a woman to the ground and stomp on her head.

Except it wasn't done by a brown-shirted thug from the SA. It was done by goons who support Rand Paul. Because stomping on a woman's head is simply acceptable if you happen to be a Teabagger or a Republican.

And you just have to know that all of the Wingnut blogs think that stomping on people's heads is OK, don't you.