Ted Cruz Promises Iowa Crowd that Gay Marriage Will Be Reversed at SCOTUS

[Click to embiggen]

I've been toying with creating a Ted Cruz graphic ever since he came out with that "TRUSTED" graphic. It reminded me of United Airlines' ill-fated spinoff, Ted, a budget airlinelet. Cruz may not realize it, but he sort of ripped off their marketing schtick. And he surely didn't realize that a bunch of United employees had some fun with the (Word) + Ted, some unprintable.

I can't stand the man, as you might have surmised by my politics. But it goes beyond simple right vs. left. I find him odious on multiple levels. And when I think he's reached bottom, I find more levels.

This time, it's his promise to voters in Waterloo, Iowa that the Obergefell ruling by the Supreme Court, which effectively legalized same-sex marriage, will be overturned. With the implication, of course, that electing him will cause this "eventuality" to pass. This in a state that has had marriage equality for longer than most of the rest of the nation to no ill effect. Just a bunch of butt-hurt conservative crybabies like Steve Deace, Bob Vander Plaats, and oddly enough, a conservative preacher I went to school with.

So, Ted, here you go. Some brand new slogans to try out. They're more honest.

I (Don't) Want My Sarah Palin TV!

Image from source, NewsCorpse

After the announcement that Sarah Palin is getting her own internet "TV" channel, the hashtag #PalinTVShows began trending on Twitter. I couldn't resist throwing in, 8 Simple Rules for Knocking Up My Teenage Daughter, Also Too. But seriously, the news that this political celebrity with the paper-thin depth of knowledge, is starting her own network isn't really a surprise is it?

I mean, she's become wealthy doing her "you betcha" schtick for tea bagger rubes. How much can an internet "channel" cost? She loves being on camera, and she loves to throw her Molotov Cocktail bon mots via social media. Now, she's just combining these things, and can run them on a loop. I can't imagine what would possess a person to subscribe. But you know she's going to sell memberships to media outfits like Media Matters and Think Progress, along with the organizations who agree with her like NewsBusters and World Nut Net Daily. But I have a feeling it's going to wear thin quickly.

[Excerpt]

Must See Tea-Vee: Are You Ready (To Pay) For The Sarah Palin Channel?

For those of you who have had enough of Sarah Palin pontificating for free on everything from sanctimonious piety to impeaching President Obama, your prayers have been answered. Now, rather than getting updates from her Facebook page or having to watch Fox News, you can subscribe to her Internet video service and pay $9.95 per month for all the word-salad gloriousness you used to have to suffer through free of charge. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

What a Nut Job! (Rocky Mountain Mike Song Parody)

Right Wing World is screwy, as Rocky Mountain Mike will show you (with an assist from Mary in Ann Arbor), with this parody of Heart's What About Love. Enjoy!

 

Tea Party a Shadow of its Former Self

No, lady, you don't. If you even know where Benghazi
is, you just want it to be bad for the President.
Image from source, Salon.

 

I really like the story below for several reasons. The reminder that the Tea Party movement is only 4 years old, and that it pretty much flamed out fairly quickly. Now, I'm sure that actual tea baggers (yes, I will continue to use that phrase when I'm 90) would find much to squawk about in the article. But the Salon piece is actually fairly mild and respectful. For instance, they didn't use the phrase "tea baggers."

They also don't go into the astro-turfy, faux grass-roots nature of the Tea Party, the fact that as a group, they were just re-branded conservatives, or the inherent, barely concealed racism of the whole enterprise. Yeah, I said it. Tell me a group that rose up immediately after President Obama was inaugurated, wanting to "take their country back," were fighting the policies of a man who'd barely enacted any yet. Sure, what else've you got?

[Excerpt]

The Tea Party’s sad, nostalgic reunion tour 

Remember way back to 2010? When the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” was tearing up the charts and a hot new upstart political movement called the Tea Party was striking fear into socialists everywhere? What began on Tax Day in 2009 hit a high-water mark just 18 months later with a massive rally on the National Mall organized by Glenn Beck (which later proved to be the beginning of the end of the Tea Party’s purpose for existing: massive anti-government rallies of colorful, flag-waving patriots). There’s no question the conservative revival in the GOP has remade the party inside Washington, but the Gadsden flags were rolled up and the tricorn hats put away as the outsider movement honed its insider game. . .

Read more at: Salon

Glenn Beck, Doomsday Prophet

Schtick or the real thing? Image from MStarz.com

There is a whole collection of right-wing heroes that defy description, and are probably best left without media attention to give them what they crave. But they're like catnip in the opposite way to us liberals as they are to their conservative fans. Some of them are easy to figure out. Ann Coulter is a troll, making outrageous pronouncements in order to stir up a controversy, and then she reaps the rewards. Sarah Palin is similar, but with a much shallower reserve of actual knowledge and brain power. Glenn Beck is harder to peg.

It's difficult to tell if Beck is all a show, or if he's really like that. But it's helpful to remember that Beck is an adult convert to Mormonism. That could be an act too, I suppose, to appease his wife. But if not, it might explain Beck's flights of fancy. It takes either an extremely gullible mind to be taken in by such a wacky religion as a full-grown adult, or one with rather odd neural pathways. I may be guilty of being an LDS-O-phobe, but I think if you read The Book of Mormon, and say to yourself, "this makes sense!" you might just have more than a few screws loose. And Mormons, I'm not picking on you, all religions are bananas on their surface. To convert to one in adulthood takes a mind that is not necessarily firing on all thrusters.

But Beck is a showman, so I don't know where the line is. Days ago, he was claiming his vocal chords were paralyzed, and then he was right back on his internet "radio" show, yapping away. Now, he's dragging his Mormonism out into the light, and going on about "the end times." Has the butter finally dripped off Beck''s noodles? Is this yet another ploy for attention? Or is he right?

That last question is a joke.

[Excerpt]

Citing the Book of Mormon, Glenn Beck Warns That 'We Are at the End'


Near the end of today's radio broadcast, Glenn Beck grew solemn as he warned his audience that "we are living in Biblical times."

Read more at: RightWingWatch.org

So, That Happened: Glenn Beck's Vocal Chords are Paralyzed

Oh, come on! How am I supposed to report this little news nugget, and not come off like a jerk? Do I pretend that I think Glenn Beck has any value as a media personality? Do I ignore the irony of a batshit crazy voice being silenced? Do I not mock the faux (or real) air of seriousness in his video? His stolen-from-Bob-Dylan flash card drop? Do I acknowledge the fact that even though Beck is silenced, he'll get to milk this for publicity anyway? Or do I just pose a series of questions that gets me off the hook, without having to answer any of them?

The last one. That'll do.

Ps. I made it about a third of the way through, I couldn't take it any more.

Glenn Beck Upset that Rachel Maddow Called Him a ""Conspiracy Theorist"

Is that a microphone plant? Image from source,
Mediaite.

Since Glenn Beck got fired from FOX "News," and took his dog and pony show to the interwebz, I haven't mentioned him all that much around here. Because he's easy to forget (even if he is raking in cash from his gullible following). But every so often, he says something so off-the-wall- it almost requires comment. Just a little while ago, there was a funny story about Beck inventing a conspiracy theory to call him a conspiracy theory. It was only a week ago! And here is that crazy bastard saying he's never been called a conspiracy theory in his life. I guess lying comes easy when you do it for a living.

[Excerpt]

Beck Fires Back At Maddow, Questions Her ‘Intellectual Integrity’: ‘I’ve Never Been Called A Conspiracy Theorist’

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has taken to tearing apart conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones and the ever-outraged right-wing response to recent events. On the flip side, Glenn Beck responded to her criticism, calling into question Maddow’s “intellectual integrity” and rejecting the comparison to Jones, with whom he said he disagreed. . .

Read more at: Mediaite

Glenn Beck is Caught in a Conspiracy Theory Moebius Strip

So, according to Glenn Beck, there is a conspiracy afoot. See, his conspiracy theory is that the mainstream media is conspiring to make Beck out to be a conspiracy theorist. See, and the proof that this is happening, is that Beck--by revealing his conspiracy theory--is in fact a conspiracy theorist. But then, if Beck really is a conspiracy theorist, then. . .Oh, I'm lost now.

Epic suffering Beck image from NewsCorpse

[Excerpt]

Glenn Beck’s Latest Conspiracy Theory: The Media Is Conspiring To Label Him A Conspiracy Theorist

Before anyone asks — No, that headline is not from The Onion. And the best way to demonstrate the lunacy in Glenn Beck’s most recent harangue is to let Beck do it himself: “The media has a story line and an agenda, and they will get to it. And they certainly don’t want anybody to ever think that anything is ever planned. The media has their own agenda, and if the media has a storyline, it just writes it in. And currently the storyline is ‘conspiracy theorist. . .’"

Read the rest at: NewsCorpse

New Hampshire GOP Lawmaker: Boston Marathon Bombing an Inside Job

The face of crazy, from Gawker

GOP Laot much I can add to the Gawker write-up on this batshit crazy New Hampshire House Rep, they cover it pretty well. But, I think a good litmus test for if a person ought to be bounced from office? That they look to Glenn Beck or Alex Jones as a "news" source. That ought to be enough to get you a stay in a padded room.

[Excerpt]

GOP Lawmaker Suggests the Boston Marathon Bombing Was an Inside Job

Tremblay posted on Glenn Beck's Facebook wall last week, saying that the search for the suspects was going exactly as he'd suggested it would. She then goes on to suggest that the U.S. government planned to whole thing, but for what reason she does not specify. The message was posted Friday morning, before Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arrested, for some context. . .

Read more at: Gawker

Over Time with Bill Maher, April 19, 2013

Ep. 279 April 19, 2013 - Overtime

Ridiculous "Conservative" Arguments Against Marriage Equality

I put "conservative" in quotes on this intentionally, because I don't believe some of the outlandish statements to particularly fit the definition. It's just that the people saying them happen to be prominent people who self-identify as conservative. Most of them are using a form of the slippery slope argument, which is a logical fallacy. One of the big ones. It's even called that. Forget that in order to enter into a marriage contract, both parties have to be legally consenting adult humans, these folks seem to think that legal same-sex unions will lead to all sorts of implausible pairings.

Image from source, Media Matters

I'd first like to say how nice it is to have my husband (legally married for 5-years to The Other Half) compared to a dog, a donkey, a turtle, a cantaloupe, a minor child and a harem. At least in this batch, he's spared being compared to an inanimate object, usually a couch or a toaster. But oh! The things our marriage is supposedly going to cause! The destruction of marriage. Stock market collapse. Naziism. Legalized child rape. Smiting by God. Legalized underaged incestuous marriage. And my personal favorite, sexual anarchy!

I'd just like to point out a couple of things: first, for a political philosophy that is hemorrhaging  membership, insulting a quickly growing politically popular movement is probably not the best way to go. It isn't just insulting, it's also coming off as utterly batshit crazy. Secondly, my marriage isn't the only one out there, there are thousands of married same-sex couples. Some of us have been married since 2004. That's nearly a decade, and none of this slippery slope nonsense has come to pass. Anti-marriage equality folks like The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) are still arguing as though gay marriage is a hypothetical situation that hasn't happened yet. But guess what: we're here, we're queer, we're BORING.

[Excerpt]

30 Of The Most Offensive, Idiotic, And Bizarre Conservative Arguments Against Marriage Equality

As the Supreme Court hears arguments this week on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), conservative media figures have responded with their usual vitriol. Rush Limbaugh led the way by telling his listeners that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment was never intended to have anything to do with "gay marriage or animal marriage." Limbaugh later expanded on a caller's argument against marriage equality by pondering, "at some point who's to say that you cannot have sex with a child. . ."

Read more at: Media Matters

In Case You Missed It: Jon Stewart's Reaction to Glenn Beck's Utopia

I'm playing a bit of blogger catch-up, what with an event on Monday, and some unexpected mid-week work on Wednesday. So, I'm a little late with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's reaction to the proposed right-wing CrazyTowns, "The Citadel," and Glenn Beck's "Independence." I've commented here on the blog about how counter-intuitive and bananas these armed, walled fortresses would be, but I can't touch Stewart's take. If you missed it, take a look.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

CrazyTown II: Idaho Edition!

Click to embiggen. Image from source.

In case you missed it, Glenn Beck isn't the only one proposing a massive, self-supported, armed fortress of liberty and freedom. Conservatives are weird. I'd say "scary," but this is just too funny.

[Excerpt]

IDAHO: Survivalists Plan Armed Fortress

Idaho survivalists have launched a website detailing their plan to create an armed fortress city surrounded by a "defensible perimeter" complete with gun towers. . .

Read more at: Joe.My.God

Glenn Beck Wants to Build CrazyTown!

Too bad you're crazy. Too bad you're loony as hell. Image from RawStory

I'll be honest, I never saw the appeal of Glenn Beck. I caught a few of his early HNN shows, back in the day. I braved the insanity/inanity of his FOX "News" program. I have never listened to his radio show, or partaken in his online "television" program, but I've seen enough clips and excerpts to form a generally informed opinion: he's a loon. Batshit crazy. The butter has dripped off of his noodle.

Or, he's just a craven (albeit weird) manipulator, adept at wrangling money and attention from other crazy people. Beck's organized events have been grandiose, overblown and oddly vague. He reminds me of a faith healer or charlatan psychic, making vague predictions, and finding conspiracies in mundane things. He's certainly not averse to leaps of logic, extreme supposition, and strawman arguments. And he's good at taking any news story of the day, and bending and shaping it to fit his preformed narrative. Or, alternatively, shapes the narrative around the facts, making it up as he goes along.

It is scarier to me that Beck gathers such a fervent audience. Because Beck himself is--as Keith Olbermann used to say--Lonesome Rhodes. He's schtick. He may or may not believe what he himself is selling, but he's in it for the fame and fortune. So his latest scheme is just--oddly enough--the next logical step. But it isn't really original. Las Vegas has been attempting this sort of thing for years, a sort of self-contained living center, complete with amusement rides, shopping, movies, leisure. Beck has just married that idea to a 60s commune crossed with a heavy dose of Waco's Branch Davidians. And apparently, the key to freedom and liberty is to lock yourself in self-contained, walled off compound.

[Excerpt]

Glenn Beck hopes to build utopian city-theme park hybrid

Conservative personality Glenn Beck last week announced grandiose plans to construct a self-sustaining “city-theme park hybrid” that would reflect traditional American values. The city, to be called “Independence,” draws heavily from ideas espoused by Walt Disney and libertarian novelist Ayn Rand. The project is expected to cost more than $2 billion. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

For Those Who Still Want to Secede: GlennBeckistan!

Or if you're a Herman Cain fan, GlennBeki-Beki-Stan-Stan!. This is from the wonderfully talented Kenny Pick, often heard on The Stephanie Miller Show.

Glenn Beck Supports Gay Marriage?

Not a live video, click source link below at TowleRoad

In a true sign that Right Wing World is wobbling on its axis (and possibly careening wildly in its orbit), Glenn Beck has expressed support--or at least lack of hostility--for same-sex marriage. Yes, I know, you're more surprised that Glenn Beck is still "a thing." Me too. But this is big news in places like Free Republic, where they're outraged, and promising to never listen to his radio show any more. Wait, he still has a radio show? Yeah, but for how long?

[Excerpt]

Glenn Beck Expresses Support for Gay Marriage, Says Republicans Need to Create 'Ultimate Big Tent'


"Let me take the pro-gay marriage people and the religious people — I believe that there is a connecting dot there that nobody is looking at, and that's the Constitution...The question is not whether gay people should be married or not. The question is why is the government involved in our marriage?". . .

Read more at: TowleRoad

Randi Rhodes Interviews Cher

Randi Rhodes--the liberal radio hostess, not the dead rock star--is an acquired taste. She has a brash style, outspoken liberal views (for which she has been offered more money to convert to conservative schtick), and a Brooklyn accent. I discovered her when looking for The O'Franken Factor (later The Al Franken Show) in 2004. I very quickly acquired the taste, and have followed her all over my (computer simulated) radio dial ever since.

Cher is more like a re-acquired taste. She's had so many career comebacks, she should have her own entry in the Guinness Book. Singer, actress, info-mercial queen and a helluva broad, her storied career is the envy of any starlet (or drag queen). She's won awards for everything, been in numerous hit movies, and had a hit song in each of six decades. Probably soon to be seven (UPDATE: If you count US Club Hits, she's already to seven decades of hits!).

The two teamed up for a radio interview on Randi's show, because Right-Wing World has come crashing down on Cher for tweeting her mind. A week or two ago. Yeah, I don't get it either. But as Randi says, if picking on Cher is a high point of your agenda? Yeah, you've got nothing. She's freakin' Cher!

Right-wing World: Second Scariest Email Ever

I was cycling through my email box this past evening, and what pops up, but the scariest collection of humans--the ones I recognize, mind you--ever in one photo (particularly after I clicked it and it expanded). Don't get me wrong, I have no negative opinion about Tim Tebow. As with Jesus, I am much more leery of his followers. And I think it will be hilarious to watch the rest of those heads explode if Tebow should ever come out of the closet (just a hunch, but I'm often right!). Otherwise, this is a frightening collection of scary, scary people. The former leader of this group, The Christian Coalition of America, was Pat Robertson. He used to seemingly pray that God would wipe out sinners with tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. I think God could do a lot more good hitting this convention!

Glenn Beck (crazy), Jedediah Bila (no idea), Sarah Palin (also too), Mark Levin (apparently a comic book supervillain) Rush Limbaugh (glamor shot), David Limbaugh (coattail rider), Matt Drudge (closet case allegedly!), Larry Elder (who?), Erick Erickson (who whoerson?), Michelle Malkin (horrid), Ed Morrissey (dunno), Tammy Bruce (quisling), Newton LeRoy Gingrich (pantload), Mary Katherine Ham (mmm, ham!), Sean Hannity (moron), Rick Perry (oops), Karl Rove (turdblossom), Thomas Sowell (ugh), Hugh Hewitt (ugh ugh), James Hirson (hack), Mike Huckabee (goober), Tim Tebow (hail, mary!), Fred Thomson (very tired) and Brad Thor (The Mighty Thor! Spare this one, Jeebus!)

Source: CCA

Incidentally, this was my scariest email ever: Scariest E-Mail EVER: Karl Rove is Following Me!

Is Glenn Beck Calling for Death of the President?

Too bad you're crazy, too bad you're loony as hell...
Image from NewsCorpse.

Ooh, that sounds dire, doesn't it? And you're all like, "Glenn Beck? Sure he's crazy, but didn't he retire?" Sort of, he kinda went underground. And he's an interesting kind of nut, really. He sees conspiracies and coded messages everywhere. But usually, Beck doesn't code his messages. His bowl of nuts is right out in the open. Still, he can sometimes work in some subtlety.  I'm just not sure if he's doing it on purpose, or if his id is seeping out.

This is from a fantastic site called NewsCorpse. It's mostly focused on FOX "News," and its spinoffs and offshoots, and the site owner's observations are needle sharp. Not to mention the fact that his graphics make mine look like your five-year-old nephew's doodles. Anyway, read on. . .

[Excerpt]

Glenn Beck Celebrates The Death Of A President


. . .So let me get this straight. Beck thinks that Woodrow Wilson is an evil S.O.B. whose death is cause for celebration. And Barack Obama is doing the same things for which Beck hates Wilson. The clear message that Beck is sending to his rabid disciples is that Obama’s death would also be a cause for celebration. That’s the level of hostility that Beck projects almost every day. Let’s just hope that none of his followers are motivated by this disgusting rhetoric to attempt to impress Beck by carrying out his fantasy. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

Glenn Beck is Insane

In other news, Glenn Beck is still around. This is about the Occupy Wall Street protestors, but honestly, it could be about anything.