On Oct 21, 2022, Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, sentenced Bannon to four months in prison.
To be clear, this is wholly and completely self-inflicted and quite frankly well deserved. He could have both complied and also refused to answer any questions by pleading the fifth. Instead he disobeyed the subpoena and then refused to take any responsibility for his actions.
So that means he is now locked up?
Not yet. If there is an appeal, that could drag things out, but if no appeal is filed, then he must report to prison on Nov 15th.
It is perhaps also worth noting that this is only the tip of the iceberg. In Aug 2020 he was charged with wire fraud and money laundering. That related to his wall-building scam. The funds were gathered for supposedly building the wall, except he just kept the money donated for himself. Trump then pardoned him for this just before he left office, but that pardon only covers federal crimes, not state offences. In Sep 2022, last month, NY state charged him with wire fraud, money laundering, and fraud. That trial has yet to begin, but is in the pipeline.
Oh, and let’s not forget that twitter banned him back in 2020 when he called for Fauci to be executed.
In the end, time after time, Bannon and others fools are finding out the hard way that we do indeed live in a world where actions truly do have consequences.
Moving on, below you will once again find my usual selection of some truly bizarre and extreme claims that have popped up during the last 7 days. Each is laced with my snarky commentary. With my usual hat tip to my various sources, let’s dive in.
Enjoy.
Christian Nationalism
Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke says he’s holding another book burning outside his Tennessee church on Halloween. “Clear out satanic symbols, board games, Catholic statues, rosary beads, tarot cards and demonic games like Dungeons and Dragons and Pokémon.“
- “Catholic statues, rosary beads” … Wow. What makes that noteworthy is the observation that many of the people that Locke hangs out with and considers as being on his team, for example Michael Flynn, identify as Catholic. One can only wonder what such “friends” will make of this new anti-Catholic twist. Actually, being “Evangelical”, he has always been anti-Catholic, he simply buried it when he needed right-wing “friends” to boost his profile, but then happily pisses all over them later.
- It’s not just that one reference by the way. At ReAwaken America this past week, Greg also directly attacked the Pope as “a pimp” who has “prostituted the church.”, so yea, he is not exactly a Catholic fan.
- Will Locke also burn bibles next week if they are branded “Catholic”?
- Do you think that those that identify as Catholic and support folks like Locke realise that if Evangelical Nationalists gain enough power then they will be targeted as heretics and blasphemers. (I’m looking at you SCOTUS Catholic justices, you have been pandering to these folks, they will turn on you and devour you in a heartbeat)
Right-wing activists, Christian nationalists, and self-proclaimed “prophets” gathered in Phoenix a few nights ago to “take authority” over the election, calling on God to send hordes of angels to give them “sweeping victory in the state of Arizona.“
- If you check the clip then what you will see is hokey pokey spell casting, not prayer.
- So how exactly does this work then, are these angels supposed to brainwash people into “voting correctly” or will they simply alter the vote and rig the election? One other possibility is not an option, Angels are not registered voters.
- When they lose, will they accept that God said “Nope”, or would they consider the possibility that Satan is more powerful than God? Because God forbid that they might ever consider the thought that the majority opted not to vote for delusional arseholes and grifters.
You know in your heart of hearts that somewhere up there in the spiritual realm Jesus is looking down on all it all like this …
Abortion
Marge (MTG) says covid isn’t a problem for kids because: “Covid-19 has only killed just over 1,400 children under the age of 18 since June 4, 2020.”
- New “Pro-life” definition: It means not giving a toss when 1,400 kids die from COVID.
Everything they don’t believe in is “Satanic”
David Lane declares that “alarm bells should be going off about how the allegedly ‘neutral’ state got invested with so much ‘divine’ power that it could remove prayer and Bible from public education, wantonly license the barbaric carnage of unborn babies in utero, brazenly banish the Ten Commandments from public education, courthouses and government buildings, as well as making up out of whole cloth a constitutional right to homosexual intercourse and marriage and most recently, guilefully but gleefully bestowing ‘special rights’ upon homosexuals and transgenders.”
- Byline: Deeply religious guy is throwing a hissy fit because he can’t impose his weird beliefs on everybody else by force.
Right-wing broadcaster Steve Deace says the Democratic Party is “a demonic construct, a satanically-influenced entity, and a death cult” and that anyone who supports it is “voting for dudes teabagging their hairy sacks on children at public libraries and public schools.“
- I’m guessing that his preferred candidate is the pussy-grabber, Mr Two Corinthians.
- Says “Call it what it is“, then proceeds to make up the wildest weirdest child sexual assault fantasy he can dream up, and tosses in a few demons as well.
- I do have to also express a bit of concern about the type of porn that this guy has on his laptop.
Time and time again these accusations often turn out to be confessions.
Take for example the news concerning Randy Kaufman, the Republican candidate for the Maricopa County Community College District governing board. He expressed a strong desire to protect kids from progressives. Guess what he was caught doing?
Yep, you got it, he was arrested for masturbating about 200 feet from a preschool. Even that is apparently not a deal breaker, he still might win the election because it is too late to take his name off the ballot.
Political Shenanigans
Tulsi Gabbard is going to campaign with MAGA Republicans Kari Lake and Blake Masters in Arizona tomorrow (per @KariLake’s campaign).
- Is this the part where I now pretend to be shocked.
- I also wonder if she is really trying to win over the two remaining people who thought she was a Democrat?
Tim Ryan just SLAMMED JD Vance during the debate for calling conspiracy theorist maniac Alex Jones “credible.” Vance denied it. So somebody found the tape. Here it is spliced together with Vance’s denial.
- Vance endorsed and supported Jones, then lied about doing that when challenged … I’m shocked, I tell you shocked … well yes, I’m not.
- Billionaire Peter Thiel financially backs total lunatics such as Vance with huge donations because he wants to see Democracy burned to the ground.
Homophobia on Steroids
Liberty Counsel warns that Democrats are “desperate to ram the LGBTQ agenda down your throat before the midterms” via the “Equality Act 2.0,” which will “put extreme LGBTQ politicians and abortion advocates in full authority over YOU and YOUR FAMILY.”
- It actually works like this – If they don’t believe in same-sex marriage then they should not marry somebody of the same gender. Beyond that, what others do is quite frankly none of their f**king business.
- Their stance makes a total mockery of the word “Liberty” in their name.
Truly Bizarre
Galvanized by his idol Ye’s latest antisemitic outbursts, Nick Fuentes unleashed his own rant telling Jews to “get out fuck out of America”: “You serve the devil. You serve Satan. … I piss on your Talmud.”
- The medieval era is clearly whispering in his ear and beckons.
- The issue with this guy is not that he is an isolated nutter in a basement, but that elected Republican representatives openly endorse and support him. (See here, and also here)
- Honestly, I’ve no idea how he is going to react when he finally discovers that Jesus was both Brown and also Jewish.
Ali Alexander proclaims that “anti-Christianism is way worse than any form of racism or antisemitism imaginable.”
- Being intolerant of intolerance is not in any way an ism of any sort.
- Basic Christian Principles, as taught by Jesus, are wholly alien to Ali. For example, Love your Neighbour, turn the other cheek, etc…
Rep. Eric Swalwell released an ad depicting a woman living under MAGA Republican rule being arrested for having had an abortion. Lauren Witzke responded by declaring, “[This is] my kind of America! Let’s do it!”
- The ad sends a powerful warning message, if curious you can see it here.
- You do have to wonder how she would feel if they came after drug mules as well (For context, she admits and boasts that she used to run drugs for a Mexican cartel)
Dalton Clodfelter explains why the phrase “Make America Great Again” is so appealing to him: “I love what this country once was, before the civil rights movement.”
- He most definitely puts the R into “Racist”
- It’s fascinating that he feels threatened to such a degree by others that he wants to load the dice in his favour.
- In related news, scientists are wondering why some young men aren’t getting laid anymore.
Far-right commentator Eric Metaxas says all the men in Scripture were “lean, mean, muscular“… just like Jesus.
- The observation that Christian Fan Fiction has taken an interesting turn here into the fitness realm will no doubt lead to communion wafers being tagged as “Jesus Lite”, and “I can’t believe it’s not Jesus”.
- Fact Check: I really don’t need to tell you this, but “lean, mean, muscular” or not, is nowhere in the bible, he is just making it up.
- Side observation: Don’t bother asking Eric questions regarding his sources for this claim, he just blocks you if you do.
The False Profit$
Christian scamvangelist Benny Hinn is selling tickets to his upcoming birthday bash for up to $5,000 a pop. (Hotel room not included. But you get to sit near him in the ballroom.)
- Does this mean I’ll be close enough to touch the hem of his garment (Hat tip if you get the bible ref there)
Christian conspiracy theorist Johnny Enlow says he took control of a tornado in Nashville by blowing his shofar.
- One person died … that’s not exactly “taking control”. So exactly how hard did Johnny blow his Shofar?
“prophet” Robin Bullock has heard “the sound of Satan’s defeat”: “He is about to lose his rear end. … And when I say, ‘Lose his rear end,’ I’m talking about the asses in Washington, the donkey asses in Washington.”
- What he actually heard was the sound of Trump’s defeat, and Bannon going to Jail.
Christian “prophetess” Kat Kerr says Jesus was a wealthy man. She’s even seen New York City-sized mansions in Heaven.
- Kat has managed to successfully scam people into giving her about $7 million and now needs to justify that.
- Call me a tad picky, but I’m not exactly convinced that Jesus was big on embracing either rich people or wealth.
- However, I’m reminded that Republican Jesus said … “Blessed are the Rich like me, and everybody else can F**k off“
- Least anybody wonder, permit me to quote Acts 2:44-45 to illustrate how Christianity was supposed to be done … “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.“
And again, because she is on a roll this week, “Prophetess” Kat Kerr channels God in declaring that “[Trump] is the President of the United States of America and I will give him four more years. There will not need to be an election to cause that to happen for I have already spoken from the courtroom of Heaven.”
- Hey MAGA Republicans, listen to Kat and follow her guidance. No need to turn up and vote because God will take care of it all for you.
- What is perhaps one of the weirdest things about Evangelicals is that for decades they have been warning us all that the anti-Christ was coming. When he finally shows up, they all promptly voted him into office. When a global plague then comes calling, he bungles handling that and it kills over a million US citizens, yet they still vigorously back the pussy-grabber because they are convinced that he is the anointed one.
Interesting Articles
- Dan Ladden-Hall @ The Daily Beast: Kanye West Buys MAGA Cesspit Parler After Getting Kicked Off Instagram and Twitter.
- Molly Olmstead @ Slate: Doug Mastriano’s Holy War.
- Michelle R. Smith @ Religion News Service: How Michael Flynn goes local to spread Christian nationalism.
- Joe Heim @ The Washington Post: For GOP’s attorney general nominee, God’s law comes before Maryland’s.
- Alan Feuer and Zach Montague @ The New York Times: Texts Show Oath Keepers Coordinated With Other Far-Right Groups.
- Kate Riga @ Talking Points Memo: Biden Promises To Sign Bill Restoring Roe In January If Democrats Win More Seats.
- Nicole Gaudiano @ Business Insider: The House-rules chair blocked Lauren Boebert’s measure under a ‘new rule’ against ‘lunatics,’ a new book says.
- Ed Mazza @ HuffPost: Marjorie Taylor Greene Puts Kevin McCarthy On Notice With Stark ‘Power’ Warning.
- Lawrence Mower @ Tampa Bay Times: Police cameras show confusion, anger over DeSantis’ voter fraud arrests.
- Bob Brigham @ Salon: Marjorie Taylor Greene thought she was honoring “Confederate soldiers” at Union army monument.
- Justin Baragona @ The Daily Beast: Lara Logan Goes Full QAnon, Spews Blood Libel on Newsmax.
- Kyle Spencer @ Politico: Charlie Kirk Needed a Friend.
- Melissa Gira Grant @ The New Republic: The MAGA Queen of Election Denial.
- David Edwards @ Raw Story: ‘Some kind of a plant’: Disgraced ex-Fox News anchor hurls conspiracy theory at John Durham.
Statistic of the week
More and more are Catholic in name only but not in daily practise ..