It was tempting to lead with the Jack Smith filing that dropped last week, but I’ve gone with the VP debate. We will also cover that filing a bit further on.
As with the presidential debate, the VP debate has had plenty of coverage. Overall the long term impact will be minimal. It was civil, restrained, and not personal, but instead focused on issues.
Clearly Walz won … but … for some Vance won.
Why?
The way a person can conclude JD Vance won that debate is if they are fixated on optics and delivery and not on substance. Unfortunately that description encompasses a large swath of the voting population.
To illustrate that point, here are a few moments that really do deserve to be highlighted because they should, in normal times, have been debate deal-breaker moments.
Fact-checking: Even the Harris Campaign picked this one up …
- As in … “Not fair, there was an agreement that I could lie and get away with it“
Then there was also this very damning non-answer …
- That really is a key moment where Vance lost the debate.
- Walz then twisted the knife when he said Mike Pence certifying the 2020 election results is why Mike Pence isn’t on the stage.
- Vance’s way to duck the question was to spout some BS about Harris Censorship. Wanting the truth to be known and being against lies is not “censorship”, and yet it is such answers that enable MAGA to hi-five because they think its a winning zinger.
Vance was also claiming that Trump peacefully handed over power. But of course we all remember that “peaceful” transfer of power …
School shootings also came up.
The Vance solution? … better doors …
Walz … “even in societies where gun ownership is high, school shootings are low, there are very sensible things that we can do” …
Basically rinse and repeat for other issues … housing, abortion, etc…
In the end Walz was speaking to all of us, and Vance was simply speaking to the only audience that matters to him, an audience of one, and so he get’s to keep his job … for a few more weeks.
Pre-VP Debate Stuff
Just prior to the debate, Kellyanne appears to be suggesting that JD has changed his name again by trying to explain why JD Walz will win …
- In the content of this “revelation” I guess we all now know who to call if your couch breaks.
- Well yes, she always was strong on the idea of “alternative facts”, she literally coined the term.
The Jack Smith Filing
OK, let’s dive into this one.
Once again something legal has popped up that appears to be a “Trump End-Game” reveal. The man keeps tossing dodgy two-cent lawyers (whom he never pays) at the legal problems he creates for himself and so the can gets kicked a bit further down the road. This past week we came to a point where he appears to be running out of road to kick that can down.
You probably know by now how this works – “But this is just the Dems out to get him“, some will quip. The only problem with such a claim is that all the witnesses cited are Republicans who worked closely with Trump.
For those unaware, the core reveal within Jack Smith’s filing is this …
For the “Yea but that was all 4 years ago” crowd, since when did crimes become less criminal if they happened a few years ago?
You can, if you wish to dig right into it, find the full filing itself here – https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2024/10/gov.uscourts.dcd_.258148.252.0.pdf
- Sanity Warning, it runs to 165 pages.
However, for a quick high-level view here is Politics Girl breaking it down for you …
The name of the co-conspirators within the filing have been redacted …
So who are the co-conspirators?
The redaction was beautifully done in a manner that enabled Trump himself to rat out his own people. The following Trump tweet is the Rosetta stone …
OK, let’s move on now to some of the other deeply weird stuff from the past week.
Disaster Abuse
There has been a great deal of not only misinformation but also disinformation regarding what has happened and what FEMA are and are not doing. The standard set for doing this has been set by Trump himself.
We all watched as Trump stepped into the arena last Monday,. He accomplished absolutely nothing, did nothing of substance, tied up first responders and volunteers, drew attention to himself, made himself the story, exploited a tragedy, told lies about Gov Kemp & Biden, and divided Americans again over something that should unite us.
He claimed President Biden isn’t taking Gov. Kemp’s calls … that was a lie …
What a disaster zone never needs is for people who have nothing to offer and only want a photo-op to stay out the the damn way and let FEMA get on with the job. Here a subject matter expert lays it out in simple terms …
As for Trump’s own record of rendering aid when needed, we do also have this insight …
We also had him spouting lies about FEMA …
- And as usual, every damn time, an accusation he makes turns out to be something he himself is guilty of … “In 2019, the Trump administration, in the middle of hurricane season, told Congress that it was taking $271 million from DHS programs, including $155 million from the disaster fund, to pay for immigration detention space and temporary hearing locations for asylum seekers who had been forced to wait in Mexico.“
People are seriously pissed off about the deliberate disinformation that will get people killed …
I really did not have Tennessee Governor Bill Lee calling out the bullshit lies about FEMA on my bingo card …
High-Priests of the MAGA Cult of Trump
- Translation: Asked to express a bit of empathy for people in dire need, Hank takes a hard pass and decides to be total asshole.
As always, the MAGA clerics, who are basically a bunch of grifters who use religion to enrich themselves, are out promoting the sexual offender and fraudster as the true messiah and Kamala as evil incarnate … literally.
- Promoting the pussy grabber as the chosen one here to save us really is literally mocking the very concept of a god
MAGA cultist Lance Wallnau claims he had a spiritual vision showing that Kamala Harris was “the one that the devil was going to use to push through the White House“: “That is how the devil intends to bring in the destruction of the country.“
- He is basically peddling conspiracy theories that he makes digestible by wrapping them with religion so that he can claim this rather blatant BS is divine truth. Side Note: His track record for the accuracy of his visions is exactly zero, but that never appears to cause his fan base any pause.
- The real “destruction of the country” isn’t coming from Kamala Harris. It’s coming from grifters like Lance, who peddle fear, lies, and division—all under the guise of religion.
Right-wing pastor Jack Hibbs always manages to come out each week with something stupid. This past week he claimed the Founders made the First and Second Amendments the top two items in the Bill of Rights because they knew those rights came from God.
- In actuality, their position atop the Bill of Rights was just an accident of history.
- Prophet Trump: “They are eating cats and dogs“.
- Sean Feucht: Singer, Songwriter, very MAGA, known for running super spreader events during COVID, also has a history of criminal offenses, and runs a ministry that raises money under false pretences.
- Mark Driscoll: Author who plagiarised, and pastor tossed out of his own church for abuse
- Are some people really stupid enough to believe that the guy who has cheated on all three wives, has committed fraud, and is convicted of sexual assault … is the Godly one? (no, don’t bother answering, we all already know the answer)
Christian Nationalism
There was also this excellent bit of reporting that popped up this past week …
- You can find the ProPublica story here – It’s a long but very insightful read
- TLDR: Here is their brief summary of what it reveals …
Conspiracy Of The Week
A few of the usual suspects have been promoting the “Vote for Trump or lose Democracy” BS, here is an example …
- The weird thing about it is that a vote for Trump, the election denier and promoter of the big lie, really will do a great deal of damage to democracy. His only motive to win is to simply stay out of jail, so he will do anything to grab and retain power.
Weirdest of the Weird
Pastor Greg Locke, yes him again from just above, also continued to be his usual utterly weird self with the claim that hurricanes are man made …
- The only complaint I have here with the above is this – Greg has not suddenly gone full MAGA, he has always been that, and also has always gone way beyond all that. His “sermons” are often the basis for many MAGA conspiracies & disinformation
MTG also popped up with the claim that Hurricanes are a Democrat conspiracy …
Somebody also explained that she had healthcare under Trump and is now complaining that she lost it when Biden was elected …
- Best response … “Girl, you aged out of your parents’ health care plan“
So this photo of Elon happened …
- IDIOCRACY incarnate.
- Making fun of him right now almost feels like making fun of a special needs kid.
Actions Really do have Consequences
Tina Peters, the Republican Mesa County, Colorado’s County Clerk from 2018 to 2022, was sentenced this past week to nine years for charges relating to unauthorized access to election machines. She had bought into Trump’s big lie and so granted access to an “expert” affiliated with My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, a leading proponent of the Trump election conspiracy theory.
Below is the clip of her sentencing … (It’s worth listening to it) …”You are no hero. You’re a charlatan who used, and is still using, your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again.“…
For a bit more context, she turned off the security cameras where the voting machines were stored, let unknown people use an employee’s security badge to access them, and the machines’ BIOS passwords were later posted to Telegram!
Some of the Excellent Political cartoons from the past week
Week after week some deliver excellent stuff.
Finally…
Some want the teaching the Bible as “History” …
Some believe that if you vote for Kamala, immigrants will move into your house with you …
The guys also tried to get Vance to acknowledge who won 2020 …
Very “normal” stuff at a Trump Rally …
One last Thought
