Rupert Murdoch’s Downright Delusional Twit-Tastic Debate Analysis

Rupert Murdoch is the corporate overlord of one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world. That empire provides him with a vast array of platforms from which to express his extreme rightist ideology. And yet the man who created Donald Trump (and is now his slave) cannot seem to stop himself from posting the sort of stunted half-thoughts that flourish on Twitter.

Donald Trump Rupert Murdoch

The morning after the ABC broadcast of the Republican primary debate in New Hampshire Murdoch was especially chatty. He unleashed a series of tweets that left an impossibly positive impression of his experience of the debate. You really have to wonder what debate he was watching, because his comments seemed astonishingly removed from reality. Let’s have a look.

The first Murdoch tweet was both a general compliment to all of the Republican candidates and a slap at the Democrats. He said “All candidates lifted game last night. Everyone seemed better than alternative Dems.”

This is the first indication that Murdoch has totally lost it. He’s talking about a debate that began with the most hilariously screwed-up introduction ever, wherein Ben Carson and Donald Trump appeared to have been cast into a trance that froze them in their tracks. And it just got worse from there. He didn’t bother to elaborate on why he thought the Dems were so unappealing, but since he is the chief honcho of Fox News we can just assume he’s on auto-hate of everything liberalish.

The next tweet was a bit more specific. He said “Trump better, somewhat contained and more presidential. Rubio inspirational speaker, a winner. But does he have real depth of knowledge?”

If this was Murdoch’s idea of Trump being “more presidential” than I would be curious to see what he regards as appropriate presidential demeanor. Trump was booed repeatedly for boorish behavior including shushing Jeb Bush and insulting the audience. Apparently Murdoch admires a leader who would shush visiting dignitaries and insult voters. As for Rubio’s “inspirational” speaking, that must have been when he masterfully repeated the same memorized catch phrase at least four times as if stuck in tape loop.

The next tweet covered another couple of candidates. Murdoch said “Cruz a great debater performed well, but why do all long-term acquaintances distrust him? Jeb Bush best yet. Easily visualise him in WH.”

Presumably Murdoch was praising Cruz’s debating skills such as when brazenly lied about how he sabotaged Ben Carson in Iowa by inventing a rumor that Carson had dropped out of the race. Or maybe it was when he couldn’t decide whether he loved waterboarding enough to actually use it. And if Murdoch doesn’t know yet why Cruz is so universally disliked, he really needs to come out from under that rock every now and then. As for Murdoch’s tribute to Bush, it was such empty praise that he couldn’t manage to provide an example of why Bush was so much better than ever before.

The next tweet was just more of the same substanceless blather. He said “Christie the tough bullying prosecutor. Not much on big issues. Kasich the safe moderate, everyone’s Vice President. Carson also best yet.”

It’s interesting to see Murdoch actually criticize someone. Especially Christie considering that he was personally lobbied to run for president in 2012 by Murdoch’s lieutenant Roger Ailes. Not surprisingly, Murdoch was soft on Kasich for the very reason he stated: Kasich is (allegedly) a moderate. And once again, He couldn’t explain what Carson did that was such a big improvement despite his obvious blunders. I guess he had already set the bar pretty low.

Finally, Murdoch went off an a tangential tweet to condemn all of the candidates for a shared failing. He said “All really failed to understand immensity of global Muslim problem. No easy answers, but Middle East just a forerunner to sub-Sahara Africa.”

This tells us where Fox News gets its rampant hatred of Muslims (i.e. from the top). Murdoch just hauls off at something he calls a “global Muslim problem” as if it were an outbreak of Ebola, and not a racist assault on 1.2 billion people, most of whom are peace-loving folks who have the very same hopes and dreams for themselves and their families as anyone else.

This Twitter rant exposes Murdoch’s obvious biases, both politically and personally. The fact that he can run a “news” network that is laughably described as “fair and balanced” without being ostracized from the ranks of honest journalists is testimony to how distorted the media has become. Of course, anyone who has paid much attention to Fox News already realizes that it is nothing but a propaganda outlet that seeks to disinform the already intellectually weak and frighten them into a state where they can be manipulated – just like any other cult.

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


A Cloud Behind Every Silver Lining: GOP Candidates And Fox News Slam Iranian Prisoner Release

The news this morning that up to six Americans incarcerated in Iran have been released ought to be met with gladness and relief. These people have suffered for more than a year as prisoners convicted of dubious crimes. Today their families got the news they have been hoping for and are gathering to celebrate freedom.

Fox News Alert

Sadly, that celebration is not being shared by Fox News or the Republican candidates for president. Their lock-step determination to find fault with President Obama no matter the circumstances takes precedence over actual events or the national interest of the country. These “patriots” will never miss an opportunity to run down America or make it look bad in the eyes of the world.

So despite the fact that Fox News has been using the Iranian prisoners for months to accuse President Obama of weakness, they are now framing the release as a hostage swap that benefits the Iranians. Fox reporter Catherine Herridge described it as “short-term elation, but long-term pain.” Fox contributor John Bolton called it “a diplomatic debacle for the United States.” In reality, it’s just another example of the Fox News lose/lose approach to reporting on the President. If he were to cure cancer they would complain that it was a socialist attack on pharmaceutical companies that cost hard-working oncologists their jobs.

And the circus of GOP aspiring presidential clowns could not rush to a microphone quickly enough to criticize the freedom arranged by the Obama administration. From their reactions you might have thought that the news was reporting that Americans were captured rather than freed.

Ted Cruz: We don’t know the details of the deal that is bringing them home. And then it may well be that there are some very problematic aspects to this deal.

Marco Rubio: We should not be involved in swaps. These things should never happen is my point. […] I think this has created incentives for more governments to do this around the world.

Donald Trump: I will tell you, it’s a disgrace that they’ve been there for so long. It’s a disgrace. Remember that. A total disgrace.

Mike Huckabee: They should’ve been released before we ever sat down at the negotiating table.

Chris Christie: We shouldn’t have to swap prisoners, these folks were taken illegally in violation of international law and they should have been released without condition.

Jeb Bush: I would say … if you do not release them, that there’s going to be military action, that that’s an act of provocation, an act of war.

Clearly these folks would have preferred a full-on war with Iran rather than diplomacy. They would have opted to send more Americans to fight and die in a Middle East quagmire. And the fact that the Obama administration successfully negotiated the freedom of our Americans in Iran is greeted with rancor instead of praise. It was the same reaction they had to the sailors who were held briefly after drifting into Iranian waters. The right-wingers considered it an act of war and were rattling their swords in hysterics. Obama resolved the matter with a phone call and the sailors went on their way in few hours. Just imagine if one of those cretins were actually president during these incidents.

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

At the very least the Fox News/GOP knee-jerks could have joined the families this weekend to appreciate their long-awaited reunion with loved ones, and returned to their partisan vitriol on Monday. But that’s not how Republicans, or Fox News work.

Republicans Hate Obama/Clinton So Much It Makes Them Stupid

Last night’s Republican debate was so tightly managed and rehearsed that it revealed almost nothing about any of the candidates. That is, unless you weren’t already aware that they hate President Obama, Hillary Clinton, immigrants, taxes, healthcare, Muslims, and generally believe that America is weak and in danger of being destroy forever by some desert rats. Other than that…

Clinton Beats GOP

The severity of the GOP contempt for all things Democratic and progressive was in abundant display. So much so that it was causing the debaters to articulate a cacophony of utterly asinine rhetoric aimed at the absent objects of their disaffection. And as a public service, News Corpse has compiled a few of the worst mind farts of the evening.

Chris Christie starts us off with a chilling threat for the President saying that “We are going to kick your butt out of the White House come this fall.”

I’m sure Obama is shaking in his boots. Even though he knows that he will be living in the presidential abode until next winter. And when he leaves it will be because his second term has expired and not because of anything that Christie or his GOP goons might do. What’s more, there is a better than even shot that the next resident of the White House will be another Democrat, but a decidely long shot that it would be Christie.

Donald Trump is next and, as usual, gives us a rich buffet of stupid from which to choose. For now I’ll go with his answer to the question “Are there any circumstances that you think we should be limiting gun sales of any kind in America?” Trump said abruptly “NO!”

So The Donald is cool with the the unlimited sales of assault weapons, semi-automatics, automatics, grenade launchers, howitzers, etc. Additionally, his answer stipulates no limits on either guns or sales. So purchasers can be felons, or domestic abusers, or mentally ill, or terrorists. This is the sort of answer that can only come from someone who hasn’t bothered to think through the question. And wouldn’t that be a great attribute for a president?

Jeb Bush exhibited a unique form of delusion saying that “The idea that somehow we’re better off today than the day that Barack Obama was inaugurated president of the United States is totally an alternative universe.”

Does Jeb have the ability to recall that day seven years ago? The economy had just suffered its worst decline since the Great Depression. The stock market lost almost half its value. Unemployment soared to 10%. And some of the nations biggest financial and manufacturing concerns had to be bailed out by the government or disappear. Since then the stock market has more than doubled (even with the declines that occurred this week). Unemployment is down to 5%. America’s auto industry had its best year ever in 2015. Osama Bin Laden is quite dead, along with hundreds of other Al Qaeda and ISIS leaders. And yet, Bush seems to wish that we could return to the precarious position that his brother put the nation in due to his shoddy economic policies, tax cuts for rich, and embarking on two wars.

Marco Rubio is among the right-wingers who believe that there is nothing to fear but let’s all be afraid anyway. He fretted that “There is a war against ISIS, not just against ISIS but against radical jihadists terrorists, and it is a war that they win or we win.”

This is the same nonsense propounded by the rest of the GOP field. They actually think that under some bizarre circumstance ISIS could defeat the United States and compel our surrender. That is just ludicrous. Sure, they can do serious harm to individuals with terrorist tactics, but that’s a long way from a military defeat. The combined forces of Germany, Italy, and Japan could not beat the U.S. Only a an idiot would think that ISIS can.

Ben Carson didn’t add much to this debate. But he did preface his first answer by saying that “I’m very happy to get a question this early on. I was going to ask you to wake me up when that time came.”

The good doctor should know better than to open with a joke about falling asleep when the single most ridiculed part od his persona is that he seems to be on the verge of slumber at all times.

Ted Cruz seemed to think it would be a good idea to insult everyone in New York saying derisively that “I think most people know exactly what New York values are.”

Not only does that demean some twenty million Americans, it gave Trump an opening to play the 9/11 card. But this attitude isn’t new. Republicans have been openly hostile to much of America just because of political differences. They also hate Hollywood, San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans, Austin, Chicago, Boston, and more. It’s a peculiar brand of selective patriotism.

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

These are the candidates that Republicans have to choose from. For the time being being they seem to be leaning toward the goofiest one in the bunch. And they don’t seem to care that Trump has based his entire campaign on self-exaltation, insults and lies (see the Trump Bullshitopedia). Maybe Republican voters are simply settling for Trump because the rest of the roster is equally ridiculous. They have resigned themselves to the fate that, if we’re gonna be stuck a preposterous candidate, why not go for the gold?

The Wingnut Reverse Beetlejuice Doctrine: Say ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’ Three Times

The warped philosophy of conservatives in America has long held that the primary reason for the persistence of terrorism is that President Obama and other Democrats are reluctant to utter the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism.” They somehow have concluded that those magical words are key to defeating groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS. And they wonder why we think they’re stupid.

Fox News Beetlejuice

Following the Democratic Debate in Iowa on Saturday, the call to cast the magic spell was once again made the centerpiece of rightist criticisms. GOP candidates, and right-wing pundits on Fox News and elsewhere, have uniformly adopted the fabled “Reverse Beetlejuice Doctrine” wherein you shout “radical Islamic terrorism” three times and ISIS disappears. Actually, it isn’t even required to shout it. You can just tweet it. For example:

  • Donald Trump: Why won’t President Obama use the term Islamic Terrorism? Isn’t it now, after all of this time and so much death, about time!
  • Jeb Bush: Yes, we are at war with radical Islamic terrorism. #DemDebate
  • Ted Cruz: We need a President who is unafraid to name our enemy — radical Islamic terrorism — and will set out to defeat it.
  • Rick Santorum: Yes, @HillaryClinton we are at war with radical Islam! You are not qualified to serve if you cannot even define our enemy! #DemDebate
  • Mike Huckabee: You’re all grown up now. You can do it. Three words. Ten syllables. Say it with me: “Radical Islamic terrorism.” #DemDebate
  • Carly Fiorina: We need a President who will see and speak and act on the truth…Hillary Clinton will not call this Islamic terrorism. I will.
  • RNC (Republican National Committee: Hillary refuses to say we are at war with “radical Islam.” #DemDebate
  • Todd Starnes (Fox News): If your #DemDebate drinking game words are “Radical Islam” — you’ll be going home cold sober tonight, folks.
  • Eric Bolling (Fox News): Just so all you vapid @HillaryClinton supporters know. She just said “we are not at war with radical Islam”. #parisisburning
  • Donald Trump (again): When will President Obama issue the words RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM? He can’t say it, and unless he will, the problem will not be solved!

In addition to these individuals, conservative media is singing from the same hymnal. National Review, Breitbart News, Washington Times, Free Beacon, and the Daily Caller are among those in the choir. It’s clearly an obsession with these folks. They are convinced that babbling a few specific words is a better indicator of the determination to fight terrorists than actually fighting terrorists. So even though Obama ordered the successful assassination of Osama Bin Laden, and as Commander-in-Chief presided over the killing of thousands of terrorist operatives, including many of their leaders, he can’t possibly be serious about the mission until he recites the approved scriptural incantation.

For the record, just this week under the leadership of President Obama, missions were carried out that are believed to have resulted in the deaths of the ISIS chief in Libya and the infamous ISIS executioner known as Jihadi John. And all without invoking the magic spell.

At Fox News they are engaging in their standard game plan of distorting reality in a way that twists it to their far-right biases. Ed Henry, their senior White House correspondent, in a post-debate report told Sean Hannity that “At one point [Hillary Clinton] said ‘I do not believe we’re at war with radical Islam.’ The reaction to that online and overnight will be very interesting.”

Of course the most interesting part of that is that it is not what she said. What she said was “I don’t think we’re at war with Islam. I don’t think we’re at war with all Muslims. I think we’re at war with jihadists.” Nevertheless, Henry’s bastardization of her remarks is what will stick in the already gooey minds of Fox viewers. The cult simply will not permit free thought based on verifiable facts.

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

There are numerous reasons for declining to fall into the “radical Islamic terrorist” trap. News Corpse spelled them out early this year in some detail. The gist is that we have legitimate concerns regarding our ability to form coalitions with the Muslim nations in the Middle-East whose cooperation is required to prevail against ISIS. That is not helped by demeaning their faith. But it’s more than that. By accepting the terms and definitions of the terrorists, Republicans, Fox News, et al, are acting as the PR department for the terrorists who desperately aspire to be regarded as the legitimate voice of Islam. Why are they insisting on granting the terrorists that victory?

And here’s some perspective from Muslims on the anti-Islam extremists who pretend to be Muslim.

Donald Trump Hurls Insults And Lies At Woman Who Dared To Question Him

If you are looking for further evidence that Donald Trump is a repugnant misogynist who has a deeply rooted disrespect for women, his response to yesterday’s exchange with a woman at the bipartisan No Labels conference should suffice nicely.

Donald Trump

After a poorly received presentation, due to Trump’s masturbatory approach to politics, The Donald took a few questions from the audience. Of particular note was Lauren Batchelder, a young woman who prefaced her question by stating that “I don’t think you’re a friend to women.” Trump immediately interrupted her to swear that he “cherishes” women and would “take care of them” because his mother was “maybe the greatest [woman] ever.” That may not be what most women are looking for in the struggle for equality. Being cherished is not the same as being respected; being taken care of is condescending; and his absurd exaltation of his mother is an Oedipal irrelevancy that has anything to with women’s rights.

Batchelder continued to inquire as to whether in a Trump administration “will a woman make the same as a man, and do I get to choose what I do with my body?” Trump answered that women will “make the same if you do as good of a job,” which is inherently sexist because it implies that women’s skills are unproven so they have to be judged by the standard, which is men. Then Trump tacked on that he is pro-life, effectively telling Batchelder, “No, you don’t get to choose what you do with your body.” But it gets worse. Today Trump recalled the exchange in a tweet saying…

“The arrogant young woman who questioned me in such a nasty fashion at No Labels yesterday was a Jeb staffer!”

So now if you have the audacity to confront Trump with a valid question that addresses significant women’s issues, he feels it is appropriate to dismiss you as “arrogant” and “nasty.” It’s reminiscent of the insults that Trump leveled at Fox’s Megyn Kelly after she asked him to explain his derogatory remarks about women.

Trump also brazenly lied in saying that Batchelder is a staffer for Jeb Bush. The readily available truth is that she is an unpaid volunteer who attended the No Labels conference on her own. The Bush campaign confirmed that they had no role or knowledge of her attendance or her question. In fact, the substance of her question doesn’t suggest any alignment with Bush because he has the same positions on those issues as Trump. Why would the Bush campaign plant a question that he would have trouble answering himself?

More to the point, Trump’s demeaning and offensive response affirms his hostility toward women. This is especially evident when you compare it to the response he gave to a male questioner a few weeks ago who said that “We’ve got a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims,” and that President Obama is “not even an American.” To that guy Trump said “We’re gonna be looking at that.” Trump apparently didn’t think that racist question was either arrogant or nasty. Although, some of his wingnut supporters also thought that questioner was a plant, but they were hilariously wrong.

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

Luckily for Trump, his followers are as repulsively misogynistic as he is, so he shouldn’t suffer any negative repercussions due this noxious behavior. He’ll go forward with the same quarter of the Republican base that he has corralled from the start of his fantasy campaign. And when the GOP field narrows, that minority bloc will leave him at the back of the pack. But his ideas, which are consistent with the Republican mainstream, will follow whoever the eventual GOP nominee is like the stink of skunk.

Hillary Clinton’s Fox News Problem

This evening on Fox News Shannon Bream, filling in for Megyn Kelly, did a segment about how dismal Hillary Clinton’s future is now that her poll numbers have descended to unfathomable depths, particularly with regard to favorability.

Hillary Clinton Favorability

Like much of the rest of Fox’s recent coverage of Clinton, the impression made is that Clinton has about three weeks before she will drop out of the race and report to prison. To open the segment Bream gleefully reported that…

“A new poll now showing Clinton may be more disliked than she has been in decades. As a brand new survey from CNN shows her unfavorability rating is now at a whopping 53%. A number that Clinton has seen just one other time in twenty-three years of polling.”

What the “fair and balanced” propagandists at Fox are leaving out is that Clinton’s favorable rating in the CNN poll that they referenced is better than all of the Republicans that were polled. Clinton scored 44% favorable. That compares to Donald Trump at 36% and Jeb Bush at 34%. What’s more, Clinton’s unfavorable rating is lower than her most likely opponents. She pulled 53% while Trump and Bush were higher at 59% and 56% respectively.

Clinton has had the honor of being ranked as the most admired woman in the world nineteen times in Gallup’s annual survey. She received that honor the last thirteen years in a row. It is not particularly surprising that in an election year where seventeen Republican candidates are bashing her relentlessly her public image might suffer. Add to that the effect of the smear job that Fox engages in every day and it would be a miracle if her numbers didn’t decline a bit.

Notwithstanding those assaults, Clinton is still faring better than her GOP rivals who have had very little mud thrown at them. She is still beating them in head-to-head match-ups. And her support in the Democratic Party is unwavering.

What Fox News is trying to do is project their open disgust for her in the hopes that it will harm her electoral prospects next year. That’s also why they keep promoting Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. They obviously hate them just as much as they hate her, but for the time being they are happy to use them as wedges to create chaos for the Democrats.

News Corpse Presents: The ALL NEW 2nd volume of
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

If Clinton’s 53% unfavorable rating can be characterized as “whopping” by Fox News, then what would they call Trump’s 59% or Bush’s 56%? Of course the answer is that they wouldn’t call it anything at all because they wouldn’t devote a segment of a primetime program to their “favorability problems.” In the Fox world everyone loves Republicans and they always will win every election. At least that’s how they present it to their dimwitted audience who are later shocked when they lose.

Jeb Bush Thinks Taking Out Saddam Hussein Was ‘A Pretty Good Deal’

One of the biggest drawbacks of having a world-class ignoramus like Donald Trump in the running for the Republican nomination for president is that he consumes the media’s capacity for stupid pronouncements. After all, there are sixteen other candidates working hard to say idiotic things every day and they don’t get nearly as much attention as Trump. For instance, Jeb Bush appeared today at a campaign event in Iowa and told the few people listening that

“I’ll tell you, taking out Saddam Hussein turned out to be a pretty good deal.”

Jeb Bush - Saddam

Really? A good deal for whom? Certainly it was a good deal for the defense contractors who sponsored the ill-advised invasion (and the event at which Bush was speaking). And it was a good deal for the neo-cons who soaked the feds for cushy government jobs and sold books to readers of WorldNetDaily. But most of all it was a good deal for Al Qaeda and ISIS and Iran, who are the biggest beneficiaries of a destabilized Iraq and the general chaos throughout the region.

However, it was not such a good deal for the 4,000 plus American soldiers who died fighting a war of aggression whose justification was built on lies. It was not such a good deal for the 32,000 plus Americans wounded and who are now suffering with physical disabilities, brain damage, and PTSD. The estimated 150,000 plus Iraqi civilians who died for no reason probably don’t think it was such a good deal either.

For Jeb! to suggest that there was anything positive about an unlawful war that brought so much misery tells us just how unfit he is to lead this nation. But for him to pick out the deposing of Saddam as his choice for what made the war “a good deal” is simply deranged. If that was their goal it could have easily been accomplished for much less money and loss of life. Does Jeb! really think that spending two trillion dollars to knock off Saddam was a display of fiscal responsibility? If that’s his idea of a good deal, someone should ask him what WE got out of it.

This latest Bushism (yes, it runs in the family) follows closely remarks he made this week blaming Hillary Clinton for the mess in the Middle East. His perverse logic relies on absolving his brother George of any responsibility for the utter disaster he created. And it was an entirely predictable disaster. But Jeb! contends that President Obama and Clinton are to blame for adhering to the Status of Forces Agreement that was negotiated and signed by George W. Plus, this is the fourth or fifth position Jeb! has taken on whether the Iraq war was justified. After first saying that he would have approved the invasion, even knowing what we know today, he later recanted saying that he had misheard the question and insisted that with hindsight he would not have ordered the invasion. And yet, this boondoggle that he would not have ordered is still a good deal?

News Corpse Presents: The ALL NEW 2nd volume of
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Jeb!’s solution this go-round appears to be to continue a full military deployment in Iraq indefinitely, incurring and suffering more fatalities with no end in sight. Presumably, that would make it an even better deal in his eyes. The obvious absurdity of this position could have a crippling effect on his campaign. Fortunately for him, few people will ever know that he said this bit of lunacy (It has yet to be reported on Fox News). That’s the benefit of having Trump around to act as a human gaffe shield, protecting the other candidates from their own crackpottery.

Clowns File Lawsuit Against The Republican Party For Defamation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sarasota, Florida, July 16, 2015. The Distinguished Union of National Clown Entertainers (DUNCE) has filed a complaint against the Republican Party (GOP) for defamation and the willful infliction of reputational disparagement. The complaint alleges that the GOP did intentionally engage in activities that brought unwarranted shame to distinguished practitioners of clowning and the variety arts, and they failed to refrain from such activities when alerted to their impending harm.

DUNCE is being represented by the firm of ICP & Associates in this matter, in the jurisdiction of the State of Florida.

Clowns GOP Lawsuit

Members of DUNCE claim to have have been irreparably damaged professionally and personally as a result of the negligence and/or deliberate actions by the GOP. Specifically, by assembling a field of candidates with buffoonish characteristics that blatantly infringe on the intellectual property of the members of DUNCE, the GOP did appropriate the image and reputation of authentic clowns without authorization. They then proceeded to tarnish the good name of professional clowning by engaging in behaviors that were malicious and false.

Furthermore, the unsanctioned seizure of the recognized trademarks of the members of DUNCE has resulted in the public’s confusion of legitimate and honorable clowns with the political hackery of the GOP. Making ludicrous statements that compel laughter, stumbling over concepts that are commonly understood, juggling positions on issues, and throwing figurative pies in the faces of their political rivals, as well as their audience (i.e. voters), is unarguably an infringement of the rights of the clowning community, even though the GOP’s attempts are embarrassingly crude and amateurish.

In a statement to the media, DUNCE spokesman Flacko said that his members would no longer sit by and watch the GOP “drive their Clown Car over our rights.” “There is nothing more disheartening,” he said, “than watching someone like Donald Trump acting like a fool, and thereby taking the rubber chickens from mouths of our jesting brothers and sisters and their families.” Flacko also singled out Ted Cruz, whose candidacy has been aggressively farcical and even included a video “audition” for the animated TV program “The Simpsons.”

Other candidates committed their own brand of infringement with Chris Christie playing a loudmouth lout in a fat suit; Ben Carson doing his version of a Minstrel Show while calling ObamaCare “the worst thing since slavery;” Rick Perry donning “nutty professor” glasses; and Jeb Bush (who’s very name invokes clownishness) carrying on the tradition of his family’s “dimwitted yokel” act. In a recent performance he complained that “big-syllable words and lots of fancy conferences…creates a more dangerous world.” Indeed, that is funny material, but these people are not trained, experienced, or certified to practice professional clownery.

News Corpse Presents: The ALL NEW 2nd volume of
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

By acting like clowns, and appropriating the likeness of those who legitimately practice this age-old art, the GOP is doing demonstrable harm to an honored profession. They are creating confusion among the public. And they are damaging the profession and the people who have worked so hard to perfect it. It is on the basis of that harm that DUNCE is seeking compensation from the GOP collectively and the candidates individually.

“The reputation and honor of our members must be preserved,” said Flacko. “We have had no success getting the GOP to take responsibility prior to this, which is why this lawsuit became necessary. They have been openly belligerent and disrespectful up until now and, frankly, we don’t find it very funny.”

The Stupid Party: Jeb Bush Fears That Big Words Make The World Dangerous

The new Prince of the Bush Dynasty is succeeding in stealing back some of the limelight that Donald Trump has been hogging. However, Jeb Bush’s method of getting attention may not be the most effective in terms of gaining respect. In the same interview where Bush revealed that he thinks Americans are not working enough, he also expressed his disdain for “sophisticated” communication:

“You don’t have to be the world’s policeman, but we have to be the world’s leader — and there’s a huge difference. This guy — this president and Secretary Clinton and Secretary Kerry – when someone disagrees with their nuanced approach, where it’s all kind of so sophisticated it makes no sense. You know what I’m saying — big-syllable words and lots of fancy conferences and meetings — but we’re not leading, that creates chaos, it creates a more dangerous world.”

Oh my, Matilda. The prezdent uses them long words what make chaos. It’s all parta his socialismic plot.

Jeb Bush

The problem with Bush’s criticism of President Obama et al, is that it affirms what can only be described as the aspirational ignorance (sorry for all the syllables, Tea Partyers) of the GOP. There has long been a deliberate objective within the conservative political sphere to literally dumb down their discourse to appeal to a constituency for which they obviously have little respect.

This could be traced back to Ronald Reagan’s fist-shaking demand that “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” which today is regaled by fans as soaring oratory on the scale of Churchill’s “blood, sweat, and tears.” In fact it’s more akin to an old man bellowing at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. If Reagan had been FDR he would have settled for “Just stop fearin’ y’all.”

Jeb’s aversion to being articulate seems to run in the Bush family. His brother George is famous for his verbal gaffes and low-brow manner of speech. What’s worse, he actually regards under-achievement as a virtue. Part of a commencement speech he gave included this inspirational message: “To the C Students I say, you too can be President of the United States.” A similar message of intellectual lethargy was conveyed in a commencement address by Rick Perry who said “I’m very proud to tell you I graduated in the top 10 of my graduating class – of 13.”

Academic achievement and critical thinking is not particularly valued among some of the other current Republicans aspiring to the White House. Scott Walker is a college dropout. Rand Paul is a serial plagiarist. Harvard law grad Ted Cruz thinks the Supreme Court is too political, so the judges should be subjected to political reconfirmation votes. Chris Christie’s idea of adult discourse is to tell people to “sit down and shut up.” Ben Carson thinks that ObamaCare is the worst thing since slavery. Donald Trump just tweeted that he had 20,000 people in a hall that only fits 4,100 (He has since deleted that tweet). And of course, Bobby Jindal is the guy who coined the phrase “The Stupid Party” in reference to the GOP. Apparently he knows of what he speaks.

Remember also that Republicans are opponents of education in general. They oppose increased funding and anything that benefits teachers. They are fiercely anti-science. They cannot agree that evolution is a valid theory or that Climate Change is actually occurring, despite all of the scientific evidence for both. They advocate teaching so-called creation science in public schools. They are a party that has open disdain for the high-performing Ivy League institutions that they regard as elitist. And they are strong advocates of homeschooling where no standards of education are maintained.

No wonder leading Republican candidates are so notorious for talking down to their constituents. No wonder they talk in sound bites and bumper sticker cliches. They either don’t understand more complex concepts, or they are afraid their audience won’t. Consequently, Jeb Bush has to demean Obama for using too many syllables and holding “fancy” meetings. I guess the meetings held during a Bush administration would be dominated by coloring books and nap time. Why waste energy with boring and complicated discussions about international law and treaties? That sort of advanced intelligence doesn’t sit well with the right-wing electorate.

Nor does it work for viewers of Fox News, who are treated to a 24/7 barrage of painfully ignorant and dishonest propaganda. That’s a sad fact that was hilariously explained by Monty Python’s John Cleese, who offered a brief description of the Dunning-Kruger effect wherein stupid people are too stupid to realize how stupid they are.

News Corpse Presents: The ALL NEW 2nd volume of
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Jeb Bush Announces That He’s Running For The Nomination Of A Dying GOP

“Fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.” Or so Jeb Bush would like you to think as he officially throws his hat into the clown car for the 2016 GOP presidential primary. This would make the third time getting fooled if anyone falls for it.

Jeb (as he will be known from now on, having dropped “Bush” from his logo), gave a typically Republican speech chock full of animus for liberals and promising to right the alleged wrongs thrust on the nation by the current occupant of the White House. For some reason, Jeb neglected to mention that President Obama restored a nation that was in a deep recession caused by brother George and his two wars and tax cuts for the rich. In fact, Jeb was so determined to leave his brother to the ash heap of history that he never even mentioned him by name in the speech.

Also unsaid by Jeb was any reference to ISIS (or Al Qaeda or terrorism). Ordinarily that wouldn’t mean a damn thing, except that that sort of omission is always used as evidence of weakness when a Democrat does it. Just this week Fox News skewered Hillary Clinton when her speech mentioned ISIS only once. Which was once more than Jeb. What are the odds Fox News will notice that?

Jeb has already revealed that his first post-announcement interview will be with Sean Hannity of Fox News. So he will be following in the footsteps of Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rick Perry, who all lost their interview-ginity to Hannity as well. This is a Republican christening of sorts, and one sanctioned by the party, whose chief spokesman, Sean Spicer, said “I think if you didn’t go to Hannity you would be sued for political malpractice.” So according to the Republican Party it is malpractice not to kiss Hannity’s ring. That’s a pretty good confirmation that the Republican Party doesn’t really exist anymore with Fox News taking over their messaging and the Koch brothers taking over their electoral operations.

And if that isn’t proof enough, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus (whose name without the vowels is RNC PR BS) was recently interviewed by conservative radio talker and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham and told her that “Republicans don’t exist as a national political party if we do not win in 2016.”

Reince Priebus

Still not convinced? Back in 2012, Rush Limbaugh told his audience of proud dittoheads that “If Obama wins let me tell you what it’s the end of … the Republican Party.” So the party’s demise is already three years overdue by Limbaugh’s calculation. Of course, Limbaugh’s track record for accuracy is dismal. There’s a much better gauge coming up tomorrow. That’s when Donald Trump is scheduled to make a “major announcement” concerning his presidential ambitions. I still stand by my prediction that there is no way he will run. But if he does, then all of the predictions about the end of Republican Party will be immediately fulfilled.

News Corpse Presents: The ALL NEW 2nd volume of
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.