Watch The Insane Video Endorsement Of Ted Cruz From The Duck Dynasty Klan

Posted by Mark NC on January 14, 2016 at 1:07 pm. 3 Comments :

The 2016 presidential election is shaping up to be the first Reality TV campaign. Not only is the Republican front-runner the former star of a washed up celebrity game show, but now the biggest endorsement of the year has come from another surreality crackpot, Phil Robertson of Dick…er…Duck Dynasty.

It may be a little bit of a surprise that Robertson didn’t back his fellow TV character, Donald Trump, but the philosophical synergies between Robertson and Ted Cruz, particularly with regard to faith and theocracy, were just to strong to resist.

Robertson has clearly found a spiritual brother in Cruz, whose father is a radical Christianist minister. Cruz shares Robertson’s hatred of gays, his opposition to women’s reproductive rights, his intense fear of Muslims, and, most importantly, his overwhelming lust for guns. Robertson, like Cruz, is an unabashed phony. They are both multimillionaires pretending to be salt-of-the-earth populists. Cruz even graduated from Harvard Law School, just like that Kenyan socialist Muslim, Barack Obama.

Cruz has expressed his appreciation for Robertson’s endorsement and even appears in the video making the announcement (see below). The video is one of the most peculiar political documents ever produced. It features Robertson, face painted with black camouflage as if for a perverse hillbilly minstrel show, outlining his criteria for a president.

“My qualifications for president of the United States are rather narrow: Is he or she Godly, does he or she love us, can he or she do the job, and finally would they kill a duck and put him in a pot and make him a good duck gumbo?”

I’m not sure when killing ducks became a prerequisite for national leadership, but we’re talking about the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty here, so there may be a conflict of interest. More notably, Robertson’s quaint allusion to a candidate “loving us” can only be properly understood to mean a very specific group of “us.” That’s because Robertson, who believes that African-Americans were all happy as clams in the Jim Crow south, has a distinct definition of who his people are. This is what he told the Conservative Political Action Conference last year:

“You know what’s happened GOP? We’ve got too many ‘any others’ in the White House. It [the Constitution] wasn’t written for them.”

It’s fortunate that we have Robertson to stipulate for whom the Constitution was written or them liberal elitists might have got folks to think it was for “We, the people.” And that’s the sort of government that we can expect from someone like Ted Cruz who similarly segregates Americans into “us” and “them.” He recently declared that “the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats.” And he said that shortly after having bragged about another endorsement from an abortion opponent who advocated murdering doctors and was himself affiliated with violent felons.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Watch this absurd video of Robertson and Cruz fraternizing in the outback and then just try to imagine Cruz in the White House.

PolitiFact 2015 Lie Of The Year: The Campaign Misstatements Of Donald Trump

Posted by Mark NC on December 21, 2015 at 2:43 pm. 3 Comments :

The annual “Lie of the Year” award by PolitiFact for “the most significant falsehood” of 2015 has been given to Donald Trump for his collective “misstatements” throughout his six month campaign for the Republican nomination for president.

This may be the easiest decision that PolitiFact ever had for their annual fib-fest. In the short time that Trump has been a candidate he has racked up an unprecedented record of flagrant fabrications. Three out of four of Trump’s statements reviewed by Politifact this year were rated “Mostly False” or worse. Indeed, 21% were “Pants on Fire” lies. Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact’s executive editor, announced the decision in an online video saying…

“PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year goes to the most significant falsehood that we can find. But in 2015 we couldn’t settle on just one. That’s because of Donald Trump. Trump, the billionaire businessman who entered the race for persident in June, has many big and bold statements. Unfortunately, most of them are inaccurate.”

PolitiFact focused on three prominent falsehoods that Trump made, and subsequently refused to acknowledge as false despite the overwhelming evidence. They were: his delusional assertion that he saw “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey cheering the fall of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11; his claim that the Mexican government was deliberately sending criminals to the U.S.; and his tweet that insanely stated that 81% of whites murdered in America were killed by African-Americans. The correct number is 16%. 82% of whites were killed by whites.

However, Trump’s pathological lying goes far beyond those examples. News Corpse has been compiling his unabashed dishonesty in the Trump Bullshitopedia. So far there are more than three dozen documented lies. Here are just a few samples:

Ironically, the news of Trump being designated the year’s biggest liar comes on the same day that he is laughably demanding an apology from Hillary Clinton for saying that “He is becoming ISIS’s best recruiter.” (Clinton responded “Hell no!”) It is unarguably true that the rhetoric being espoused by Trump is a recruiting aid for terrorist organizations trying to paint the U.S. as the enemy of Islam. And it isn’t just Clinton saying so. It’s also the consensus of most terrorism experts. Even Trump’s GOP colleagues agree. Sen. Lindsey Graham (the only GOP candidate with military experience) recently said that Trump’s plan for the Middle East “would the biggest recruiting opportunity in the history of ISIL.”

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

So congratulations, Mr. Trump, on being recognized for the bullshit artist you are and always have been. The fact that your lies are so numerous that PolitiFact couldn’t even narrow down their assessment to a single one really tells the story of your acute pathology. What’s more, anyone who continues to support you after this humiliation is essentially admitting that they don’t give a damn about the truth. But since they have already conceded that they are racists who are comfortable supporting a neo-fascist, wanna-be dictator, that should not come as a surprise.

[Update:] Trump has responded to PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year” exactly as you might expect he would – with more lies:

Trump told ABC’s Jonathan Karl that PolitiFact is “a very dishonest group in my opinion.” And he told Fox & Friends that he’s “been proven right,” despite not being able to cite any of the alleged “proof.”

If Donald Trump Is Nominated, Should The Rest Of The GOP Form A Third Party?

Posted by Mark NC on December 18, 2015 at 8:19 pm. 7 Comments :

Six months ago Donald Trump announced that he was entering the race for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States. And almost from the very start there has been nervous prattling about whether he might ditch the Party and run as an independent if he failed to get the Party’s nod.

Trump himself has been most responsible for keeping that chatter going. At the first GOP debate on Fox News the candidates were asked whether any of them would refuse to endorse whoever won the nomination. Trump’s was the only hand that went up. Subsequently, the Republican National Committee prepared a loyalty pledge that all candidates had to sign if they wanted to participate in future debates. Trump made a big show of signing on, however, a few weeks later he complained that he might not honor the pledge if he didn’t feel he was treated “fairly.” Most recently, Trump was asked again during CNN’s GOP debate if he was “ready to assure Republicans tonight that you will run as a Republican and abide by the decision of the Republicans?” He answered “I really am. I’ll be honest, I really am.”

If anyone believes that, I’ve got a casino in Jersey to sell you. Since Trump has already made a public statement that he could renege on the written pledge that he signed, why would anyone trust that he would keep any promises made on a debate stage? Especially when all he said was that he is “ready” to assure Republicans of his loyalty, not that he was actually doing so. That’s more than a little wiggle room for a weasel like Trump.

So what this boils down to is that those who are asking whether Trump might bolt the GOP are asking the wrong question. What they should be asking is whether the rest of the candidates will bolt if Trump is nominated.

The stain that a Trump nomination would put on the Republican Party is not one that could ever be thoroughly cleansed. It would leave the Party stigmatized by racism, ignorance, fear-mongering, and the stench of an elitist, billionaire narcissist who has contempt for both domestic and international law. There is good reason to wonder whether there would be a viable Republican Party after a Trump campaign. Consequently, it might make more sense for the remaining GOP candidates to join together in a new party and challenge both Trump and the Democratic nominee.

The knee-jerk complaint to that suggestion is always that such a move would guarantee a Democratic victory in November. Indeed, it would. However, it’s fair to say that the nomination of Trump would also guarantee a Democratic victory. Republicans are going to have a hard enough time next year given the Electoral College advantage that Democrats hold. Add to that a candidate who is not likely to attract the votes of African-Americans or Latinos in numbers greater than single digits and it’s a safe bet that Trump would lose in an historic rout.

That scenario would also have a negative effect on down-ballot races. The likelihood of Trump hampering GOP candidates for the Senate and the House is pretty strong. Given that Trump routinely rates highest in polls of Republicans as the candidate that they would definitely not support, many of them could be counted on to stay home. Meanwhile, Trump would motivate more Democrats to the polls than would any of the other GOP candidates. This would almost certainly result in a Democratic majority for the Senate and, at the very least, a significantly bigger caucus of Democrats in the House.

So the choice Republican would have to make if Trump becomes their nominee is: Do we want to lose the presidential election, many congressional races, and our good name? Or do we want to lose the presidential election and salvage our reputation so that we can go on to fight another day?

It would be a stretch for many in the GOP to pretend that they actually support Trump. When Scott Walker, Rick Perry, and Bobby Jindal, bowed out of the race, they all scorched Trump as a disaster for the Party. In the debates we’ve seen Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Chris Christie sharply condemn Trump. They may not be serious contenders for the GOP nomination, but they are all governors of electorally important states. And if they, in solidarity with the majority of Republicans who are not supporting Trump, were to join forces for a third party campaign, they might just be able to save the ideology of a more moderate, viable conservatism.

This new party could nominate their own candidate for 2016. They could lean on the historical icons of Reagan and Goldwater, both of whom would be considered too liberal for the GOP’s current far-right flank. They could claim the mantle of an anti-establishment revolution that is rejecting the fetid corpse of Trump’s Republican Party. They could exploit the trend toward independents who now outnumber Democrats and Republicans. And they could leave the ruins of the GOP to the festering Tea Party.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

As an illustration of why this sort of split is necessary, consider these results from a recent poll of Republicans: 54% support banning Muslims from entering the U.S. 28% support shutting down mosques. 26% say Islam should be illegal. 28% approve of Japanese internment camps during WWII. And pitifully, 30% support bombing Agrabah, the fictional country from Disney’s Aladdin. In each of these issues the numbers were driven by the Trump/Tea Party faction of the GOP. Serious conservatives would be well rid of them.

The only question that remains is whether the non-Trump faction of the GOP is smart enough to recognize the benefits of what may be a painful, but necessary divorce. If I had to guess, I would say “No friggin’ way.” There is simply too much ideological stagnation in the party, and too strong of a propaganda machine in the wingnut media – dominated by Fox News and talk radio. So look for the GOP to sink into irrelevancy if Trump is their nominee. It’s just a matter of time.

[Follow up:] It appears some prominent Republican pundits (Bill Krystal, George Will) are giving the third party idea some consideration.

BE AFRAID! Republican Candidates Read From The Fox News Fear Script

Posted by Mark NC on December 17, 2015 at 1:01 pm. 1 Comments :

On Tuesday Republicans held another debate that showcased a field of candidates that is utterly unprepared to lead a great nation. If there was one overarching theme from the affair it was that all Americans should be trembling with fear that ISIS sleeper cells are tucked away in their pantries ready to burst out and spray them with hot lead at any moment.

From the very start, the debate was oozing a scary tone intended to send nervous citizens scurrying to their basements. Even before the actual debating got under way, these excerpts from each of their opening statements show just how obsessed they were with frightening the nation:

Rand Paul: The question is, how do we keep America safe from terrorism?
Chris Christie: America has been betrayed. We’ve been betrayed by the leadership that Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton have provided to this country over the last number of years.
Carly Fiorina: Like all of you I’m angry. I’m angry at what’s happening to our nation.
Jeb Bush: Our freedom is under attack.
Marco Rubio: America’s influence has declined while this president has destroyed our military.
Ted Cruz: America is at war.
Ben Carson: Right now, the United States of America is the patient. And the patient is in critical condition.
Donald Trump: People like what I say. People respect what I say.

That’s pretty much all you need to know about the debate. The rest was variations on that theme. And with the exception of Donald Trump, who characteristically focused his comments on himself, the other candidates all seem to believe that the United States is at risk of being destroyed by a band of thugs in a desert hideout thousands of miles away (Trump believes that too, he just didn’t mention it until later). They literally think that the U.S could be crushed by this enemy and cease to exist. Marco Rubio is running TV ads that say “either we win or they do.” Lindsey Graham frets that “they are gonna kill all of us.”

To be sure, terrorists are capable of causing serious harm to the innocent victims they target. There is no way to diminish the grief felt by the survivors of the fourteen people murdered in San Bernardino last week. But to extrapolate from that that ISIS has the capacity to kill the rest of the 350 million of us and declare victory over America requires either a debilitating psychotic dysfunction or a deliberate desire to incite irrational fears.

The fear-fest orchestrated by the GOP candidates is itself a type of terrorism. After all, they are seeking to instill terror in the American people in order to influence how they vote. It’s their goal to convince people that President Obama and Hillary Clinton are responsible for weakening the nation to the point that it is at risk of being taken over by an army treading sand in converted Toyota pickup trucks. That’s right. What Germany, Japan, China, and the Soviet Union were unable to accomplish, ISIS is going to do.

But they didn’t come up with that horror story on their own. They are following the script that Fox News has been using for several years. Take for instance the candidates’ positions on targeting civilians with carpet-bombing raids. Ted Cruz used those very words to describe what he would do as Commander-in-Chief. Apparently he and his colleagues are not aware that it would be regarded as an international war crime. Rand Paul, to his credit, was the only one who pointed out that such a plan would require “tearing up the Geneva Conventions.” But Ben Carson and others were not dissuaded from advocating direct attacks on the families, including children, of suspected terrorists. Donald Trump framed his support for the policy by asking “So, they can kill us, but we can’t kill them?” Actually, the answer to that is “Yes.” Because they are terrorists and we, presumably, are not. Earlier this month Trump made his own explicit call to “take out” the families of terrorists.

So where might they have gotten these ideas? Well, one notable source could be Fox News strategic analyst, Lt. Col. Ralph Peters (ret), who has advocated precisely this abhorrent tactic. He appeared on Fox News to complain that the U.S. military needed to buck up and produce more civilian casualties. He has also advocated targeting the media for military attacks, including in the U.S. That sort of barbarity sits well with Fox News and earns one frequent invitations to return. However, Peters was recently suspended for using naughty language on the air (he called Obama a “pussy”). So Fox News will punish you if you cuss, but not if proselytize for murdering women, children, and journalists. Shows you where their priorities lie.

The fear agenda was also pushed just one day before the debate by Fox’s star bloviator, Bill O’Reilly. In his hackneyed “Talking Points” commentary, O’Reilly employed his trademarked bluster to announce that “Anger and fear are presently driving American politics.” Considering his contribution to both, it might seem like he was bragging. No one has done more to frighten and enrage TV viewers than O’Reilly. His red-faced tirades, and brutish treatment of guests who disagree with him, are the model Fox uses for political discourse.

None of this is new for Fox News. This is their standard operating procedure to inject panic into the electorate. It’s a tactic they share with religious cults who seek to dominate weak minds. Just prior to the last election Fox was obsessed with Obama’s intention to deliberately infect every American with Ebola. You couldn’t turn on Fox News without being subjected to some scary music and graphics backing up a frantic dialog of imminent doom. Then, miraculously, the day after the election, Ebola was cured and disappeared from Fox’s broadcasts. And if it isn’t Ebola it’s illegal immigration, ObamaCare, the deficit, or Climate Change. Now Syrian refugees are today’s Ebola, and they are just as deadly as the frightful virus that Fox alleged would destroy America.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

In Fox’s world there is always something that is threatening to wipe this country off the map. It’s an odd paradigm for a network that also worships America as the bestest, strongest, nation in the history of mankind and, of course, God’s favorite. There is something schizophrenic about believing that we are simultaneously invincible and teetering on the brink of collapse. It’s an irrational mindset that only deeply indoctrinated cultists can hold. So, of course, the GOP has adopted it and made it the signature plank in their 2016 platform. And just in time to insure that everyone will have a Scary Christmas.

IT’S OFFICIAL! Donald Trump Has Lost His Freakin’ Mind – Says Fox News Is Not Fair To Him

Posted by Mark NC on December 15, 2015 at 1:40 pm. 2 Comments :

This morning there is new evidence that Republican front-runner Donald Trump has lost all connection to reality. Of course, that’s not to say that Trump’s mental state was ever particularly stable. But he is now demonstrating with even more certainty that he’s sinking into an abyss of madness that is as deep as the Mariana Trench

First of all, Trump is reigniting his on-again, off-again feud with Fox News. Previously he has complained about the network’s coverage of him, even though Fox has been his biggest booster and a provider of tens of millions of dollars in free advertising and promotion. Media Matters has compiled data that shows that Trump has dominated Fox’s airtime despite the feuding. Nevertheless, he has bitterly maligned many of their top presenters, executives and even owners. At the height of the Trump-Fox wars Trump declared that he would no longer appear on the network and advocated a viewer boycott. Fox News, in a display of wholly unethical journalism, capitulated to Trump (what promises were made?) and they continued their shaky relationship. That is, until today.

Upset that Megyn Kelly’s script miscalculated his lead in a new poll from Monmouth University, Trump went haywire on Twitter saying that she’s “overrated,” “dopey,” and that she “lies.” His rant went on to encompass the whole network which he slammed as “not fair.” Well, they’re not balanced either but, so far as Trump is concerned, that’s been to his advantage. Also, it’s kinda cute that in his attack on Kelly and her colleagues over a typo, Trump’s tweet contained its own typo misaddressing the Twitter handle for “deadpan” George Will. Georgina Williams probably never got so much attention.

What’s more, Trump’s focus on the poll from Monmouth has problems of its own. When the outlier poll came out Monday showing Trump far ahead of his rivals, he wrote a special note of thanks saying…

“I wanted to be the first to share the latest national poll results from the highly respected Monmouth University.”

However, just three days earlier, a different poll from Monmouth showing Trump behind in Iowa produced this response:

“There was one poll — Monmouth? I’ve never heard of Monmouth. What the hell is Monmouth? Explain it. I don’t like Monmouth.”

In three days Trump went from never having heard of Monmouth to hailing it as highly respected. This, from the man with (according to him) “the world’s best memory.” Trump has also described himself as the smartest, handsomest, most militaristic, least racist, and best circus clown (OK, I made up that last one, but it’s the most accurate). Now we can also add to his list of self-said superlatives that he is the healthiest candidate for president EVER! That’s according to his personal physician who, like his patient, has the unique ability to engage in communications through his prodigious ass.

It will interesting to see if Fox News has any response to Trump’s latest broadside. Will they pull back on the non-stop coverage? Will Fox & Friends continue to take his regular phone-in interviews? Will Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch still act as if they are his bitches? If the past is any indication, Fox will continue to bend over and take it in order to keep cashing in on the ratings bonanza – journalism and democracy be damned.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Tonight there will be another Republican primary debate, offering America another chance to observe a field of candidates who will compete to see who is the most biased against Muslims, Latinos, and African Americans; the most anxious to wage perpetual war with other people’s children; the most insensitive to the poor; the most oblivious to the dangers of Climate Change; the most averse to the equal rights of women and gays; and the most likely to side with corporations to wreck the economy and corrupt democracy. It should be a barrel of laughs.

And just for fun, here is the most accurate representation of Donald Trump I’ve yet to see:

Sarah Palin Confesses Her Girl-Crush On France’s Le Pen And The Fascist Front National Party

Posted by Mark NC on December 14, 2015 at 8:55 pm. 4 Comments :

Ever since John McCain and Fox News burdened America with the addle-brained Mistress of the North, Sarah Palin, she has managed to unveil new ways of embarrassing herself and the country. In particular, she ranted about non-existent “death panels,” she accused President Obama of “palling around with terrorists,” and she affiliates with some rather conspicuously deviant characters like Ted Nugent. And now, in an op-ed for the far-right website Brietbart News, Palin has revealed her deep affection for a politician from France’s Front National, a party rooted in antisemitism and neo-fascism.

The article is a love letter to the modern Nazis of the French fringe who mirror Palin’s Tea Party politics of nativist, xenophobic, fear mongering and radical Christianist theocracy. She opens saying that…

“I have a political crush, but one I couldn’t vote for today – because she ran for office in France. Marion Maréchal-Le Pen is the new deserved ‘It Girl’ of French politics and a clear voice of courage and common sense in a country and continent in need of both.”

Obviously Palin relates to Maréchal-Le Pen due to her own tenure as an “It-Girl” in the early days of the McCain campaign before people heard her speak. And the love she has for this repugnant pol tells us that she is still as ignorant about the world as ever. Maréchal-Le Pen’s “courage and common sense” was soundly rejected by French voters yesterday as both she and her equally abhorrent aunt, Marine Le Pen, lost their bids for regional elective offices. Even in the wake of the tragic attacks last month in Paris, the French people could not abide the hateful politics of the Le Pen family.

Some additional morsels of idiocy in Palin’s op-ed include her assertion that…

“The Left wraps itself in political correctness and multiculturalism like a suicide vest. They’d rather blow up the whole country than admit the stupidity of thinking a nation can remain the same after inviting in millions of people who despise its values.”

Setting aside the offensive comparison of liberals, who are devoted to the principles of American freedom, to terrorists in suicide vests, Palin’s rhetoric asserts that there are millions of people who hate America that are being invited in. She doesn’t say who these people are, where they’re from or why they hate the country. The only plausible rendering of her word salad is that she is referring to Syrian refugees, of whom there will only be about 10,000, mainly consisting of families desperate to escape the terrorists who have overrun their homes.

Palin goes on to write something that actually has a ring of truth to it when she says that…

“Pundits are already seeing the similarities between Marion and Marine Le Pen, Donald Trump, and Sen. Ted Cruz.”

Indeed, the similarities could not be more obvious. Trump and Cruz represent the fascist wing of America’s Republican Party. They all hold the same views about kicking out all of the foreigners to whom they object. They all support carpet bombing of countries where some of our enemies reside, without regard for the innocent civilians that would be murdered as a result of that tactic, which has been designated a war crime. And they all believe that Christianity should be the basis of Western civilization and its governments.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

When you take those positions and combine them with the conservative politics that elevate corporations over people, you wind up with the brand of fascism that Mussolini once said would be better called corporatism. And for Palin to point out that the Le Pen family and the GOP are ideological twins is actually a helpful contribution to the political dialog, although not in any way that she would understand.

Donald Trump Says He Is Not Bothered By Comparisons To Hitler. Is The GOP?

Posted by Mark NC on December 8, 2015 at 8:08 pm. 11 Comments :

It had to come to this. Donald Trump’s affinity for Nazis was always just beneath the diseased skin of his repulsive rhetoric. Now, after months of promulgating brazenly racist views, advocating policies that are indistinguishable from those of history’s fascists, and promising to commit war crimes if elected, will anybody be surprised by it bubbling to the surface? Trump’s true face was exposed today when he was asked a simple question on Good Morning America:

George Stephanopoulos: You’re increasingly compared to Hitler. Does that bother you?
Donald Trump: No, what I’m doing is no different from FDR.

So there you have it. Donald Trump is not bothered by comparisons to Adolf Hitler. And why should he be? He has been running on the platform of the Nazi Party since he announced his candidacy. What’s more, he justifies his comfort with the association by positively referencing the Japanese internment camps built during the FDR administration, which are universally condemned as one of America’s most shameful actions.

When asked about those concentration camps by Michael Scherer of Time, Trump refused to say he would have opposed them. Instead, he said that he “would have had to be there at the time to tell you, to give you a proper answer.” The rest of the civilized world doesn’t need to be there to know that it was a horrific violation of human rights. Would Trump have had to be there during slavery to give a proper answer?

Trump’s fascist tendencies are apparent in his signature issue, a border wall to keep out those inferior foreigners. And he goes even further by suggesting that foreigners already in the country be rounded up, herded into boxcars, and deported using the deadly model from the 1950’s charmingly called “Operation Wetback.” He wants to create a database of American citizens based on their religion and require Muslims to wear identifying badges. He uses the media (mostly, but not exclusively, Fox News) to stir up irrational fears based on an ever-expanding catalog of lies (See the Trump Bullshitopedia). And, sadly, the media sheepishly complies with his campaign of propaganda.

The question now is: Where does the Republican Party go from here? With an avowed fascist currently leading their primary for president, the GOP has to decide which side they’re on. They simply cannot abide a candidate espousing Third Reich doctrine and expect to be taken seriously. Some of the other GOP contenders have distanced themselves from Trump’s most recent comments, and RNC chairman Reince Priebus even made a public statement of disapproval, an almost unheard of move for a party boss.

But that’s hardly enough. Earlier this year the Republican Party made all their candidates sign loyalty oaths promising to support the Party’s nominee regardless of who it is. But given the grotesque course of Trump’s campaign, that would mean pledging to support America’s foremost fascist. Anyone who honors a pledge to support Herr Trump for president is unfit for public service in a free nation. This sentiment was boldly expressed today by President Obama’s press Secretary, Josh Earnest (video below) who said that Trump’s proposal to ban all Muslims…

“…disqualifies him from being president. And for Republican candidates to stand by their pledge to support Mr. Trump, that in and of itself is disqualifying.”

So far, none of the other GOP candidates has had the integrity (guts?) to publicly declare that they would not support Trump if he is the nominee. That is partly due to their innate cowardice, as they do not want to alienate Trump’s current constituency of fascist-friendly voters. Why they want those voters in their corner is a sick mystery. But a part of it is also due to their fear that Trump might ditch the GOP and run as a Third (Reich) Party candidate. A recent poll shows that 68% of his glassy-eyed disciples would vote for him were he to run as an independent. And Trump is reminding his Republican pals of this in his twitter feed.

So Trump is wrapping his GOP peers around his middle finger. But how much sway does he really have? He can’t possibly win as an independent. While more than two-thirds is a significant chunk of his base, it is a tiny slice of the electorate. Do the math: About 30% of the American people identify as Republican. Trump has about 30% support within the Republican Party. So that’s about 9% of the population at large. Those who would follow him to a third party reduces that by 30%. So Trump would get a measly 6% of the national vote from Republicans, plus whatever independents and Democrats would crossover. In short, he would lose in a landslide.

The problem for the GOP is that, in a close race, that 6% could swing the election to the Democrat. And that’s why Republicans are running scared and failing to show the character to renounce Trump. However, if they don’t renounce Trump they are doing serious damage to their reputation which could cost them more than 6% come November. So the only course of action for them is to have some intestinal fortitude and do the right thing. They need to modify their loyalty oath to exclude Trump from among those whom they would support as the GOP nominee. This shouldn’t be that hard for them because Trump has already hinted that he is ready to violate the pledge.

If Trump acts first and bolts the Party they can’t ever regain the dignity that would come by having kicked him out. But if they move first they can at least brag that they held to their principles and turned their backs on fascism (at least Trump’s brand of it). But they better move fast. Trump is just unpredictable (and egotistical) enough to make a surprise announcement before anyone expects it. And since the GOP has little to lose, they would be smart to cast him out now. Unfortunately for them, they may not be that smart. Of course, that would be quite fortunate for the Democrats.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

[Update:] Donald Trump continues his Anti-American Crusade: “These are people that are outside the country, so we’re really not talking about the Constitution. And it’s not about religion. This is about safety.” In other words, in pursuit of his warped idea of safety he would scrap the Constitution.

If You Think Donald Trump’s Supporters Are Ignorant Asses, Guess What? Trump Agrees!

Posted by Mark NC on December 5, 2015 at 3:12 pm. 7 Comments :

Let’s face it, there cannot be an any more willfully ignorant constituency in America than the pinheads who have pledged their allegiance to Donald Trump. They continue to support him despite his failure to offer any specifics on how he would govern. Even worse, they continue to support him even when he is caught brazenly lying.

For instance, he grossly mimicked a disabled reporter, then claimed that he didn’t despite the video evidence. He said that he personally saw “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11, despite the absence of any corroborating video which would have been everywhere if it existed. He claimed to have met Vladimir Putin during a 60 Minutes interview and “got to know him very well,” even though they were interviewed on separate occasions, thousands of miles apart. [See the Trump Bullshitopedia for many more documented lies]

Generally when a candidate is proven to be a pathological liar, rational voters will slink away repulsed and a bit ashamed for having been fooled. But for some reason Trump, an elitist, narcissistic billionaire, born into wealth and privilege, inspires a demented loyalty on the part of his glassy-eyed disciples. In fact, the more blatant and bizarre his lies, the louder they cheer.

As an illustration of just how eagerly Trump-pods lap up his empty rhetoric, observe this exchange with a supporter at a rally yesterday in Raleigh, North Carolina:

Question: I want to know what you would say to President Obama.
Trump (interrupting): You’re fired.
[Isn’t that cute? He used the lame catchphrase from his old TV show to make an impotent threat that he has no power to carry out]

Question: I was wondering what you would say to President Obama now that we’ve had a terrorist attack right here in our country, in California. that I’m sure they did everything they could to try to cover that up. But it has been stated today that it is and it was a terrorist attack. How would you handle that?
Trump: I would handle it so tough, you have no idea.
[That’s right. Because you never say what you would do about anything]

Trump (cont’d): You don’t want to hear, you don’t even want to hear. You don’t want to hear how I’d handle it.
[Of course they don’t. It might hurt their feeble brains. This is where Trump acknowledges that his supporters are mindless devotees who aren’t interested in his plans, only his cult of personality]

Trump (cont’d): I would get myself in so much trouble with them (pointing to the media). We are going to handle it so tough. And you know what we’re going to do? We’re going to get it stopped.
[Oh! That’s how you’re going to stop terrorism – by stopping it. Why hasn’t anyone else thought of that?]

Throughout this surreal dialog the audience was clapping like trained seals. They actually think this was a substantive discourse on national security. They also think that Trump will save the economy by saving it, fix healthcare by fixing it, and that Climate Change is a hoax because it’s cold where they are right now. [Also great news: World hunger is over because I just ate. h/t Stephen Colbert]

Donald Trump is the perfect manifestation of the idiocy of his audience. His inability to articulate a coherent policy matches their inability (and disinterest) to grasp one. The frightening thing is that the rest of the Republican field is jockeying to attract these same dimwits. So even when the Trump bubble deflates, the eventual GOP nominee will have adopted his crackpot platform. Trump is the lowest common denominator of the Republican base (with an emphasis on base). He is an egomaniacal wannabe despot who thinks he’s a savior. He has such delusions of grandeur that he thinks (via tweet) that the parody video below was “Done by a real fan!” Yeah, sure it was.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Criminal Crony Ted Cruz Says Most Violent Criminals Are Democrats

Posted by Mark NC on December 1, 2015 at 3:15 pm. 8 Comments :

In what can only be described as an episode of acute dementia, Sen. Ted Cruz made an allegation so bizarre that Donald Trump may sue him for infringing on his trademarked persona. Speaking to right-wing radio hack, Hugh Hewitt, Cruz embarked on a rant wherein he claimed that most violent criminals identify as Democrats.

Cruz: Here is the simple and undeniable fact – the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats. […] The Democrats know that convicted felons tend to vote Democrat. The media never reports on any of that.

Cruz never explains how he ascertained the voting habits of America’s violent criminals. As “facts” go, his are neither simple nor undeniable. Rather, it is downright loony. Particularly the part where he asserts that by an “overwhelming majority” “convicted felons tend to vote Democrat.” How Cruz determined that is a mystery since most states have some sort of restriction on voting at all for persons convicted of a felony. What’s more, there are no studies that breakout the voting preferences of felons who are violent.

It is possible that more total felons lean Democratic simply because of the demographics of the prison population. More people who are poor or minorities are sent to prison after arrests and convictions. Often it is for non-violent crimes like marijuana possession or shoplifting. In those cases it is backwards to say that upon release these felons vote as Democrats. It is more correct to say that these Democratic leaning offenders are more often subject to prosecution and incarceration by a prejudiced justice system. If bankers, lawyers, stockbrokers, corporate executives, and offenders from wealthy families were arrested, convicted, and incarcerated at rates relative to their criminal activity, the situation would be very different.

What Cruz was attempting to do with these remarks was to exonerate violent conservative criminals like Robert Dear, the anti-abortion, Obama-hating wingnut who just murdered three people, and wounded nine others, at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility. Dear is another in a long line of right-wing Christianists who have engaged in violence to advance their radical agenda. And rather than address this weekend’s tragic events, Cruz sought to deflect with a ludicrous accusation against his political foes.

If Ted Cruz is really concerned about violent felons, he might want to stop associating with them. Shortly before the Planned Parenthood attack, Cruz was bragging about having received an endorsement from an activist who has called for the “execution” of abortion providers. Troy Newman, president of the far-right anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, has not only called for such executions, but has come to the defense of several radical Christianists who were convicted of bombings, shootings, and other violence against doctors and clinics. Operation Rescue was founded by Randall Terry, himself a convicted felon.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

As it turns out, Donald Trump isn’t the only Republican candidate that is saying ridiculous and unsupportable things without consequence. The so-called “liberal” media is utterly useless when it comes to holding people accountable for spewing blatant lies. Ted Cruz should not be able to get away with his hostile rhetoric and his evasion from firmly condemning the domestic terrorism against women’s rights and the senseless violence that took the lives of a police officer, a veteran, and a young mother.

ISIS Or GOP? Sarah Palin’s Description Of Terrorists Fits Both

Posted by Mark NC on November 28, 2015 at 2:58 pm. 6 Comments :

The rapidly wilting tundra weed we know as Sarah Palin came out of her ice cave today to remind us all of why we have forgotten her. But she wasn’t stepping forward to condemn the horrific murders by a Christian terrorist at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility. Like many of her political persuasion, she is ignoring that it even happened. Instead, she took to Facebook to attack President Obama’s execution of the war against ISIS. She begins her tirade saying that…

“We desperately need a Commander-in-Chief for such a time as this, not a divisive ‘Community Organizer’ with a blowhorn, stirring domestic aggravation. Americans should be able to live with no fear of any outmanned, outsmarted, outgunned punkass-evil, misogynist, homophobic, intolerant death cult trying to infiltrate innocent populations.”

Forgive us if we’re not quite certain to whom she is referring. The first group that comes to mind when described as an “outgunned punkass-evil, misogynist, homophobic, intolerant death cult,” is the Republican Party. Chances are that is not what Palin had in mind. But the GOP is a party that worships the NRA, is fiercely opposed to women’s issues, regards gay rights as blasphemy, and relentlessly lobbies for unending war. So Palin should have been more specific if she wanted people to reach a different conclusion. And speaking of “a blowhorn, stirring domestic aggravation,” has she looked in a mirror lately?

In her Facebook rant, Palin asserts that the only thing necessary to defeat ISIS is the “the political will from on high with the command to ‘fire!'” She is apparently ignorant of the fact that under Obama’s direction the command to “fire” has been issued over 8,000 times. That’s how many U.S. bombing missions have been conducted against ISIS in the past couple of years. As a result, many of their leaders have been killed and their hold on territory has receded. In addition, other nations such as England, Germany, France, Jordan, Saudia Arabia, even Iran, have been battling ISIS. So Palin’s attempt to minimize the difficulty of the task is plainly ill-informed. Furthermore, the successes achieved thus far are not diminshed by the fact that small cells of ISIS sympathizers have carried out random acts of terrorism. That’s one of the harsh realities of modern warfare.

Palin went on to say that “Muslim extremists crave an oncoming clash of civilizations.” That’s true. And it’s one of the arguments for refusing to surrender the high ground to them on that matter by referring to them as “Islamic” terrorists. ISIS is desperate to be viewed as the legitimate voice of Islam. However, most Muslims reject that claim and oppose the designation. In fact, the only parties insisting that ISIS be called “Islamic” terrorists are ISIS, Republicans, and Fox News.

Finally, Palin takes a dig at Seth Meyers, who interviewed her last week (video below). During the segment he effectively shamed her for being so insensitive to the plight of the Syrian refugees who are seeking asylum in the U.S. and elsewhere. She charged that he needs to “recover” from his “gullibility.” But it was Palin who demonstrated that she is incapable of coherent analysis and didn’t even know the process in place for vetting refugees before admitting them. Now she is demeaning Meyers and anyone else for “believing the Feds have an 18-24 month bureaucratic vetting process that successfully filters out the bad guys.” Of course, there have been nearly 785,000 refugees admitted into the U.S. since 2001 and not a single American has been harmed because of it.

Since Palin was so inept at responding to Meyers’ questions on the show, she is now resorting to a second try via an editorial on the widely disrespected, wingnut and birther website, Breitbart News. But she still fails to make any sense and her reputation as a blithering idiot is only enhanced. She should have quit while she was a[air]head.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

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