Philomena Cunk is hilarious, Ron DeSanits is just sad
I love Philomena Cunk. I watch CUNK ON EARTH over and over on NETFLIX.
Doo-Doo Ron Ron DeSantis crapped on the debate stage last night. How bad was it? CNN's focus group
of Republicans had Vivek Ramaswamy as the clear winner. Only two
people thought Doo-Doo won. (Even Asa Hutchinson got four people saying
he won.) Doo-Doo crapped out. Rex Huppke (USA TODAY) offers:
He's got more but doesn't that really sum up Doo-Doo's performance?
Okay, back to Rex:
Setting
aside his cringe-inducing voice and the dark, unpleasant hole where his
personality should reside, supposed tough-guy DeSantis needed to take
on the guy at the top of the polls. And he had the most unimaginably
perfect opportunity to do it, on the eve of Trump turning himself in on racketeering and election interference charges in Georgia.
The political campaign gods do not concoct a more ideal scenario than, “Your No. 1 opponent is about to get booked FOR THE FOURTH TIME THIS YEAR!”
But
no. DeSantis sat there, dumbly. He piped up occasionally saying things
most have already heard in a loud and robotic way all but guaranteed to
turn off most people.
He was overwhelmed by Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old with a loud patter that signified nothing.
Doo-Doo should be Done-Done but he can't read a room. That's why he's so awkward in the first place, right?
Do they do personality transplants? Could he get one of those?
Please
read all of Rex's column because it's a strong one and you'll
especially want to read the last two paragraphs which I'm not excerpting
so as not to spoil it for you.
You
think Casey aka Tacky Onassis lied to him after the debate and, if so,
did she do it convincingly? "No, really, I've seen worse."
What Casey told Ron afterwards: "You were so up there" "If only the unborn could vote" "You're my best husband" "Your smile could melt formica" "I can picture your mugshot" "Great effort" "Someone deserves another Adderall" "I was so proud to be nearby" "You were one of the men"
Thursday, August 24, 2023. The GOP goes wild on the debate stage while
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains silent after one of his supporters murders
a woman.
And he says, "What do you love to do? Outside your world Who spends time with you? From whom do you learn when you're not working, sweet girl?
"Where would you go if you had the time?" Crossing some crazy state line somewhere? To whom do you cry When people are unkind, sweet girl?"
But I chose to dance across the stages of the world Everyone said I'd never learn And I still hear your words I waited all my life for you, sweet girl
-- "Sweet Girl," written by Stevie Nicks, first appears on Fleetwood Mac's THE DANCE
Watching
the GOP presidential contenders debate last night, I kept thinking of
Stevie's song. "Sweet Girl." Who was the sweetest? To me the sweetest
girl was Ronald DeSantis.
A
pledge had been signed, a moderator noted, by all on stage to support
the eventual GOP presidential nominee yet Donald Trump was supposed to
be turning himself in to be booked at a jail today (he also wasn't on
the debate stage and, though the moderators failed to note it, had
refused to sign the pledge they were invoking) so would they support
Donald if -- convicted felon or not -- he was the eventual nominee?
Ronnie looked right, Ronnie looked left. When four out of eight hands
went up, Ron Ron put his paw up. Such a sweet girl. Eventually seven
of the eight put their hands up in the air, to prove that when it comes to democracy, they just don't care.
But
then it turned out Chris Christie didn't understand the process. He
was raising his hand for something else. Maybe he thought the question
was: Does anyone want to split an order of fries?
He raised his hand -- during this vote -- because he wanted to speak. And he did.
So
that dropped it down to six: Ronald DeSanits, conspiracy freak Vivek
Ramaswamy, forgettable Mike Pence (was he on stage?, he makes no
impression at all), former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Senator
Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Governor Doug
Burgum.
Christie stated, "Here is the bottom line. Someone’s got to stop normalizing this
conduct. Whether or not you believe the criminal
charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of
president of the United States."
Former
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson understood the voting process and
didn't raise his hand in error. When he spoke he stated the issue was
important and that Donald was "morally disqualified from being president
again" -- and not just morally but potentially legally as a result of
his interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
He's referring to section three of the Fourteenth Amendment:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector
of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously
taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United
States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may
by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Scholars are split on whether or not this would apply to Donald Trump.
So we can argue that presently. (I would argue that the 14th Amendment does apply.)
But
what we do know is that DeSantis isn't much of a leader and will only
make a decision when half the people in any group have already stated
their own opinion.
Sweet girl. He chose to dance across the stages of the world.
Tim
Scott didn't invoke the Constitution -- I'm not sure he understands it
or much of anything that's not a lie spat out by FOX "NEWS." Naming
California, among other states, he whined that "we cannot let states
have abortion on demand up until the day of birth. That is immoral. It
is unethical. It is wrong."
What you're
saying is 100% wrong because it's a damn lie. There is no state in this
country, even when ROE was law of the land that was performing
abortions at the nine month mark. Find me the state, pop-eyed man, that
did it because, outside of the junk fed brains of FOX "NEWS" viewers,
it just doesn't exist.
I really want to meet
that mythical woman who exists only in the minds of idiotic morons --
that woman who is sitting at the dinner table thinking, "Do I give birth
tomorrow or do I abort? I know I've had forty weeks to make a decision
but I wanted to put off deciding until the night before."
She doesn't exist. She never has.
Again,
Tim Scott didn't invoke the Constitution. He did invoke . . .
something. The Declaration of Independence. But I've never heard
"declaration" pronounced that way before. Tim Scott proving you don't
have to come from another country or have parents from another country
to need ESL. DECCA-UH-LUH-RAY-SHUN. I think that's how he said it.
He
then repeatedly gripped his bosom while dramatically insisting, "We
can't leave it to Illinois. We can't leave it to Minnesota. We can't
leave it to Illinois. We must --" Huh? Since he'd said Illinois once
already, I fear he discovered something -- maybe a lump in his breast
-- when he was palming himself. Hopefully, he'll have it checked out.
Remember, early detection is key and self breast exams are important.
Even apparently when onstage during a debate.
Nikki jumped into the fray to ask about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Well
I guess that's one way to waste your time on stage. And she already
wastes all her time on the campaign trail so why not waste her time on
stage as well.
There's a reason she's got a national name but no traction at all in the race.
At the first Republican presidential debate tonight, North Dakota
Governor Doug Burgum said the claim that “every teacher is somehow
indoctrinating people is just false” when responding to a question about
transgender girls playing on girls’ sports teams.
In the debate’s second half, the Fox News debate moderator
Martha MacCallum said, “[Former South Carolina] governor [Nikki] Haley
has said that biological boys playing in girls sports is the women’s
issue of our time. You said that, even though you signed a ban on this
in North Dakota, there hadn’t been one instance where it was actually
needed. Are you saying that you think that too much is made of this
issue?”
No, Nikki, it's not a woman's
issue. Women don't play girls sports. It's a girls issue. It could be
a parents issue, if you wanted to argue that. But girls aren't women.
An if you don't understand that basic fact, I don't know why you think
you can lecture the world on 'biological' or what have you. Simple
truth, women do not play girls' sports. They may play women's sports
but not girls' sports. Girls' sports is not and cannot be a woman's
issue.
I guess when you're so eager to attack
women's reproductive rights, you'll desperately try to pass anything
else off as a woman's issue so you don't appear as hollow and callous as
you really are.
Such as when she was yelling at the conspiracy nut onstage.
The first GOP presidential primary debate will be held Wednesday night, August 23, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Frontrunner Donald Trump has said he’ll be skipping the debate, but eight other candidates are expected to participate, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
LGBTQ rights, freedoms, and lives are under attack across the country, in legislatures, and in the world, as are allies of the LGBTQ community, so these candidates have a responsibility to tell the American people how they will protect LGBTQ Americans.
Some 7% of Americans
are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, according to Gallup, including 20% of
GenZ, the youngest population cohort studied and most out generation in
history. Polling and turnout analysis from the 2020 election
indicate that LGBTQ voters played a deciding role in the victory of Joe
Biden for President and in key battleground states, including in
Wisconsin, flipping the state Donald Trump had won in 2016.
The
results of the 2024 general election will have profound implications
for LGBTQ people in Wisconsin and across the country. The Fox News
primary debate will provide an important opportunity to discuss what’s
at stake and the LGBTQ records of the candidates. Media covering the
debate should note the candidates’ LGBTQ records.
Below are
partial records on LGBTQ issues from the candidates appearing on
tomorrow night’s debate stage. For more complete records, visit the GLAAD Accountability Project.
Requested
and was granted a ban on classroom instruction on sexual orientation
and gender identity in all grades, expanding the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Signed
into law HB 1521 that would make it difficult or impossible for
transgender Floridians to access appropriate restrooms, domestic
violence shelters, correctional institutions, or other spaces that match
their gender
Signed into law bans on transgender healthcare for youth which also enacts obstacles for adults to access treatment
Signed into law bans trans students from being able to use their correct pronouns, an anti-trans sports ban
Signed a drag restriction law
Issued
a survey to Florida’s 12 universities and 28 state and community
colleges asking which of these institutions provide services to
transgender students.
Falsely compared puberty blockers to “chemical castration”
Backed
the Florida Department of Education’s advice to schools to disregard
proposed federal guidelines that protect transgender youth
Directed
state agencies to issue guidance to begin to strip Medicaid coverage
for gender-affirming care, despite the fact that it is supported by
every major medical association
Targeted small business owner hosting drag brunch
Condemned
the Walt Disney Company following Disney chief executive Bob Chapek’s
acknowledgement of error in staying silent on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay”
legislation and subsequent public opposition to the legislation which
DeSantis signed into law.
Signed
a restrictive transgender youth sports ban into law, banning
transgender girls and women in public secondary schools and colleges in
Florida from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams.
Vetoed
all funding for LGBTQ programs from the $101 billion state budget,
including funds for mental health programming to support survivors of
the Pulse Massacre, funs to house homeless LGBTQ children, and funds for
Orlando’s LGBTQ Community Center
Signed an anti-discrimination order for state employees that excludes protections for LGBTQ people
Says
Target “spit in the face of conservatives” in an anti-transgender
attack on the retailer for selling swimwear designed to accommodate a
variety of body types
Said
he would sign into law a ban on health care for transgender minors if
it reaches his desk in the White House. Every major medical association
in the U.S. supports such care for trans youth
Expressed harmful and baseless indoctrination rhetoric
calling acceptance of transgender people a “cult” and claiming that
LGBTQ people are interfering with “our kids.” “In the name of rights,
what they’ve actually done is created a new culture of oppression in the
opposite direction, imposing that on kids,” he said. There is zero
basis for his claims, and he offered no backup.
Presidential campaign website features a section called TRUTHS including a list. #2 reads, “There are two genders.”
Said he would again prohibit
transgender Americans from serving in the military, as was the policy
when he was vice president under Donald Trump, and falsely cited “unit cohesion” as an area of military readiness affected by transgender personnel. Unit cohesion suffered because of the anti-trans ban.
Falsely characterized
essential health care for transgender youth in CNN Town Hall as having
“profound negative effects”; and refused to explain how his support of
parents’ rights did not include supporting parents of transgender people
and their private health care decisions.
Tweeted
the false claim that the charity group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
is a “hateful group,” and criticized the L.A. Dodgers for including them
in Pride Night.
As governor of Indiana, Pence earned national notoriety for signing a so-called “religious freedom” bill that religious conservatives in his state (many of whom Pence invited to attend the private bill signing)
championed for the purposes of allowing business owners the right to
refuse service to LGBTQ customers. After outcry and boycotts, Pence was
forced to sign an amended version that made it clear the law cannot be used to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Supported
anti-LGBTQ Federal Marriage Amendment with claims that being gay is a
“chosen lifestyle,” and a warning that “societal collapse was always
brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and
family.”
Claimed
repealing the military’s discriminatory “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy
would turn the Armed Forces into a “backdrop for social
experimentation.” Sought to end “don’t ask, don’t tell” and restore a full ban on openly gay soldiers.
Claimed federal hate crimes legislation was really designed “to advance a radical social agenda.”
Stated that LGBTQ-inclusive hate crime legislation would “silence” groups that promote so-called conversion therapy.
In
a closed-door and unannounced opportunity, President Donald Trump and
Vice President Mike Pence posed for a photograph with notorious
anti-LGBTQ activists who wish to promote so-called “religious
exemptions” that would harm LGBTQ Americans across the nation.
Falsely claimed that transgender girls playing sports contribute to teenage suicide ideation. The claim is baseless. The Advocate
reports, “It wasn’t the first time Haley made the unsupported claim
that teen girls are being negatively affected by transgender teen girls’
participation in sports. She made the same assertion in New Hampshire” one month prior.
Misgendered and disparaged transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney
Said President Joe Biden’s support of transgender rights will destroy women’s sports
Opposed marriage equality as both South Carolina state representative and governor.
Rejected matching funds for a program offering HIV medication to lower-income patients.
Signed a voter ID law, which critics contend is racist and/or meant to suppress the Democratic vote.
The
“Issues” section on his campaign site reads, “The radical Left wants to
indoctrinate our children, not educate them. Tim Scott will fight to
ensure that America’s kids are learning how to read and write, not about
gender transition and sexual identity before it’s appropriate.”
Introduced a bill in the Senate that has many similarities to Florida’s “don’t say gay” law
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act
Considers homosexuality a morally wrong choice, like adultery.
Supported the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on LGB people in the military
Supported
The First Amendment Defense Act, which would’ve prevented “the federal
government from taking adverse action against individuals or
institutions based on their definition of marriage or beliefs about
premarital sex.”
Voted against the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which would have granted basic job protections to LGBTQ people
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Foter.com / CC BY-SA
Vice Chair of the Trump Transition Team
In 2017 “signed two bills
instituting broad new protections for transgender New Jersey residents:
one directing schools to let students use bathrooms and locker rooms
based on their gender identity or provide ‘reasonable alternative
arrangements,’ and another prohibiting health insurers from
discriminating against transgender residents.”
In 2015 vetoed “a bill that would have eased access to accurate birth certificates for transgender people.”
Abandoned
his long fight against same-sex marriage in 2013, “concluding that
signals from the court and the march of history were against him.”
Signed
a bill barring licensed therapists from trying to turn gay teenagers
straight, making New Jersey the second state to ban so-called
“conversion therapy,” after California.
Vetoed legislation in 2012 that would have brought marriage equality to New Jersey.
Vetoed
legislation that would have more easily allowed transgender citizens to
change their birth markers, calling the idea “beyond the pale.” New
Jersey legalized
allowing changes to birth certificates without a court order, doctor
letter or other medical evidence in 2019, after Christie left office.
Signed a bill into law that allows public school teachers and state government employees to ignore the pronouns their transgender students and colleagues use.
Signed
two transgender athlete bans into law, prohibiting transgender girls
and women from joining female sports teams in K–12 and college. Two
years ago Burgum vetoed a nearly identical bill that would have banned transgender girls from playing on girls’ teams in public schools.
Signed
a bill into law that restricts transgender health care in the state,
immediately making it a crime to give gender-affirming care to people
younger than 18.
Signed
a total of eight discriminatory bills into law in 2023 including those
above; restrictions on drag performances; a “religious refusal” bill
permitting discrimination; and bills adding additional rules for gender
markers on birth certificates that discriminates against transgender
people.
Defied
his party in a rebuke against an anti-LGBTQ resolution that was passed
by hundreds of Republican legislators in the North Dakota legislature.
Burgum said the resolution, which states that “LGBT practices are
unhealthy and dangerous, sometimes endangering or shortening life and
sometimes infecting society at large,” is homophobic and divisive.
Signed Senate Bill 354, an anti-transgender bill that bans transgender women and girls from participating in sports
Said
the state legislature has gone a “step way too far,” when it voted to
override his veto on a bill banning treatments for transgender minors
Signed into law legislation allowing doctors to refuse to treat LGBTQ patients based on religious or moral objections
Signed into law a revised religious freedom bill that could allow discrimination against LGBT people
Refused
to veto and allowed to become law a discriminatory bill that prevents
cities and counties from enacting civil rights protections of LGBTQ
people
In social media posts, Travis Ikeguchi claimed to be a Christian,
posted anti-semitic statements, followed and boosted rightwing
personalities Jordan Peterson and Matt Walsh, and expressed support for
anti-vaxx presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Travis
Ikeguchi had a burning Pride flag pinned to the top of his account on X,
and retweeted a post comparing Nazi children with swastika flags to
schoolchildren with Pride flags.
Robert F. Kennedy Junior wants desperately to be the
Democratic Party's presidential nomination and no humiliation is
apparently too great. Well, if you missed it, he lost a supporter last
week. 27-year-old Travis Ikequchi will no longer be able to support
Junior in the primary due to the fact that he is dead.
Ikequchi
was a hateful troll who murdered Lauri Carleton. He hated people who
were LGBTQ+ and Lauri, who was straight, displayed Pride flags which was
just too much for the tiny dicked loser so he killed her. Then he was
killed by the police. He will not be present to vote for Junior.
That may be why Junior again went on FOX "NEWS" recently as he tries to gather more right-wing nut jobs to support him.
Let's put a pin in Junior's media because we'll come back to that topic.
But
for right now let's turn to Junior. You know Junior has so little to
stand on that he's constantly invoking his father and his uncle and
noting they were both shot dead. He wants your sympathy -- and
you're sympathy vote -- but, please understand, he's not going to do
anything to reduce access to guns to anyone. Kind of a contradiction.
He also ridiculously insisted in July that he needed Secret Service
protection. From people squirting water guns at him? He needs
protection, he believes, from people with guns.
Since
Junior can't stop talking about people in his family who have been shot
he needs to find time to talk about his followers after one of them
shot dead a woman.
Lauri is
gone. She leaves behind a great ache in the hearts of those who knew
and loved her such as her husband, their nine kids and her friends.
What is it, Junior, that attracts those people to you?
You
won't address LGBTQ+ issues. You hang around with Moms For Bigotry
that might be one reason. You refuse to speak out against the repeated
violence against LGBTQ+ people and against women -- yet, again, you
can't get through an interview without invoking your father and your
uncle. Does violence only matter when it's a Kennedy?
Are there no victims of violence not named Kennedy?
Or Shriver?
You
want to be president some day -- a goal that seems very unlikely. Yet
you can't stand up and say, "What happened was wrong. We need to stop
persecuting the allies of LGBTQ+ people and we need to stop persecuting
LGBTQ+ people." That's too much for you.
You
can support Roger Waters and praise him. Until a week or so later when
you don't praise him and you don't support him. You can waffle on
every issue in the world, in fact. You have actively courted the
right-wing media.
And let's
go back to you and the media. You insist you'll never, ever run as a
Republican because your wife wouldn't allow it. You say that, as you
damage Cheryl's own reputation and image daily. And then you go on
another right-wing media show.
THE
VANGUARD thinks you'll run as a Republican. I would say, "Never!"
because who would want to be seen as that much of a liar and a hypocrite
but, as I reflect back on your very brief campaign thus far, clearly
being called out for lies and hypocrisy doesn't really bother you.
But who do you think you're reaching on FOX NEWS or any of the right wing YOUTUBE programs?
Right
now, you're supposedly running for the Democratic Party's presidential
nomination. Do you really think you're reaching a significant number of
Democrats by doing these programs? If not, it would appear that either
you are considering running as a Republican or your hungry ego can
never be fed.
Either way, it doesn't look good for you.
You've
created a very repugnant image in the last three or so months and it
has attracted crackpots and hate merchants. And you know to keep those
crazies that you can't take any real stands.
One
of your loons murdered a woman. It's time for you to have a public
dialogue and make clear to everyone -- including other crazies
supporting you -- that you do not condone murder, that you do not
condone hatred of the LGBTQ+ community.
Now
I know that would be a big lift for you -- someone who's spent most of
his life letting everyone else lift for him. But, guess what, being
president requires a lot of big lifts and if you can't even call out
your supporter who murdered a woman, then how are we supposed to see you
as strong enough -- let alone brave enough -- to be President of the
United States?
Truth
is, you're losing support and not all due to crazy supporters
committing murder and then being killed by the police. Your unfavorability
ratings continue to increase -- in one recent poll, you've dropped 21%
in favorability.
Laura
Ann Carleton, 66, a California business owner, was shot and killed last
weekend after a gunman tore down an LBGTQ Pride flag hanging outside
her store and shouted homophobic slurs. Since then, law enforcement has revealed that
the gunman — who was killed in an encounter with police — also posted
numerous anti-LGBTQ posts on social media accounts they believe are
affiliated with him.
In May, the Department of Homeland Security issued a report noting that the threat of violence toward LGBTQ people was
intensifying as more policies were being directed at members of the
community. Now, the California shooting has only highlighted concerns
about violence toward members of the LBGTQ community in the wake of
conservatives’ heightened rhetorical and legal attacks on queer people
and trans people.
“Threats
against the LGBTQ+ community and our allies have evolved from violent
rhetoric on social media and from anti-equality political leaders to,
now, real-world violence — and let’s be honest, no city, state or person
is immune from this brutality,” Kelley Robinson, the president of the
Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for LGBTQ rights, told Vox
in a statement.
Carleton did not identify as LGBTQ herself, but she was a supporter, according to a local LGBTQ organization in
her town of Lake Arrowhead, California. In addition to hanging a Pride
flag, she included a section of rainbow-colored merchandise in her Cedar
Glen store. Her children have called for police to investigate the
shooting as a “hate crime,” though law enforcement has not yet indicated
how it will proceed.
Seems
like that could be a sketch in a book entitled PROFILES OF COURAGE. So
maybe Junior could find the courage to speak to the topic?
