The Cult of Fools (July 30, 2023) – “X marks the spot where Twitter died”

By bdk, CC BY-SA 3.0

He did the X thing with PayPal, and the car company, and also the rocket company, and he even named one of his kids X, so is anybody actually shocked that the bird app has now become X. One can only wonder if all he ever really wanted was to be X rated. Unfortunately for him the demise of the bird and the rise of the X quite naturally beings to mind the word eXcrement.

As it unfolded we also got to see stuff like this …

Also, apparently in honor of Twitter now being X, all the major browsers have added an X button in the top right. Click it to experience X, the future of limitless interactivity

Oliver Darcy of CNN has also formally published a Twitter Obituary … on tTwitter …

He could not even get the X on the building right …

Moving on, below you will once again find my usual selection of some truly bizarre and extreme claims that have popped up during the last 7 days. Each is laced with my snarky commentary.

With my usual hat tip to my various sources, let’s once again dive into this very murky pool of absurdity and stupidity.

Christian Nationalism

Republican Rep. Eric Burlison says that he was “red-pilled” by Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton years ago and declares that he wouldn’t be involved in politics today had he not been exposed to Barton’s work.

  • Red Pill vs Blue Pill: Burlison thinks he chose the red pill, but he was conned and actually got a blue pill. Barton does not do red pills, just blue ones.

Sean Feucht says that he is leading worship services in state capitols about the nation because “it’s time to reject the hopeless picture of America the Left continues to paint”:  “I refuse to watch America continue down the path of Godlessness and hopelessness.

  • What he fails to grasp is that it is people like him that cause the feelings of hopelessness. An increase in Godlessness actually brings a great deal of hope.

Oh, and speaking of Sean, Republican candidate Hung Cao told Christian nationalist Sean Feucht that he’s running for Senate in Virginia because Wiccans have taken over parts of California and now there is “a lot of witchcraft”: “We can’t let that happen in Virginia.

  • This literal witch hunt is just basically the same old Satanic Panic mythological BS repackaged for the Next generation.
  • You would think that when growing up and reading The Crucible, they might have learned something, but I guess if you only ever read just one book in your entire life then they skipped reading that.
  • You might even be tempted to think that playing the role of the bad guys from Salem in the 1600s would give then some pause … apparently not.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ): Biden’s national drug control strategy is 150 pages. The words ‘God’ and ‘faith’ are not mentioned one time.”

  • … and that is exactly the correct number of times to use those words in government policy documents.

The Cult of Trump

MAGA pastor Mark Burns complains that the Department of Justice is “a Gestapo-like weapon” that is being used against former President Donald Trump and flat-out says he doesn’t care what crimes Trump may have committed because “he’s God’s anointed.

  • Is this by any chance the same pastor who was revealed to have made up his entire biography and was then confronted on camera about that
  • In this Trump-verse, the apparent get-out-of-jail-free card from the party of (checks notes) “Law and order” is to simply claim that you have been anointed by a god. It’s not new, just a modern take on the divine right of kings to do whatever the F**k they want.
  • It speaks volumes that the lifelong conman, charlatan, liar, and crook is supposedly their messiah

Meanwhile …

Conspiracy

Stew Peters’ conspiracy theorizing is becoming increasingly predictable and lazy: “The moon landing was FAKE. Buzz Aldrin is FAKE. Buzz Aldrin’s mom is FAKE.

Other conspiracy stories this past week:

Witchcraft

Sean Feucht, yes another entry for him this past week, is starting “a 3-day prayer and fasting movement in preparation” for his upcoming events in the Pacific Northwest because “it is #1 for witchcraft and demonic activity.”

  • And the source for his statistical claim is … well yes, he made it up by simply pulling it right out of his arse.
  • Translation: Look at all the wonderful religious cosplay I’m doing, so please send me your $$$ to enable me to do lots more.

Christian “Love”

Also from the “pro-life” folks this past week:

Homophobia on Steroids

MAGA Pastor and Trump fanatic Shane Vaughn warns that the new “Barbie” movie promotes “toxic feminism”: “If you take your daughters or your granddaughters to watch this movie, you are turning them into the lesbians.

  • You can address “ignorance” with education, and also “crazy” with medication. In Shane’s case, I’m afraid “stupid” is a lost cause.

Tim Graham fumes that “the line between radical activism and ‘mainstream’ journalism has been obliterated, especially when it comes to the ‘LGBTQ+’ lobbyists. The war on traditional Christianity is on.

  • Translation of the term “Christianity” = Sticking your nose into other peoples lives and striving to deny them basic human rights and equality
  • Translation of the term “War on Christianity” = Telling the Bigots to F**k off when they try the above.

Religious-right publisher and podcaster Herr Stephen Strang says that allowing drag queens to read to children “is just absolutely vile”: “They would not let someone dressed up in a Nazi uniform go in and read stories to children.”

Meanwhile …

“Christian” Documents

Far-right activist Lyle Rapacki asserts that the Declaration of Independence is “one of the most profound sermons” ever produced: “It was taken out of the book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus.

  • I really really do not need to tell you this, but seriously, no, it wasn’t. Fact Check: The actual historical influences are well documented.
  • The factually correct technical term to respond to the claim is of course … FFS … or similar.

Rick Green claims that he can “give you clause after clause after clause in the Constitution [that came] direct from scripture.

  • And the examples he cites are … none at all, not one.We challenge him to produce any evidence that supports that claim.

Bizarre

Pseudonymous right-wing commentator Peachy Keenan believes that the end goal of feminism is genocide: “Keep people as childless as possible, as self-sterilized as possible. It almost feels like, maybe this is strong language, but a form of genocide almost.

  • The essence of her “logic” is that women should simply be breeders to churn out lots of babies and apparently taking a hard pass on that is (checks notes again) “genocide”.
  • Humans should be free to choose the life they want. Her “freedom” is the deployment of a hard “no” to that freedom of choice.
  • So who wants to tell her that without feminism she would not have a public voice or vote, but instead would be told to be silent and sent to the kitchen to cook.

Over a decade ago, Steve Deace wrote a book called “We Won’t Get Fooled Again” that was all about how the base gets used, lied to, and sold out by the GOP’s power brokers. Apparently, he never learned his own lesson.

  • About here is perhaps the right place for you to proceed to facepalm (if you have not yet done so).

Other weirdness this past week …

  • Justin Baragona @ The Daily Beast: Glenn Beck Demands Target, a Store He’s Actively Boycotting, Sell His Book.
  • Media Matters: Charlie Kirk: Joe Biden should be “put in prison and/or given the death penalty for crimes against America.”
  • Joe Jervis: Moms For Liberty: Health Care Has No Place In Schools.

The False Profit$

Christian Nationalist Hank Kunneman Attacks Hindu GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for being Hindu

MAGA Pastor Shane Vaughn gripes that “the notion of the nuclear family with the man as the head of the household is no more”: “The godless idea of ‘Happy wife Happy Life’ has emasculated men into household boy toys —- rather than the rulers of the realm.

  • I’ve honestly no idea why he feels the need to air his grievances regarding his own personal domestic arrangements in public.

Roger Stone claims that “prophet” Robin Bullock has become “a powerful influence in my life.”

  • Translation option 1: “I’ve been successfully conned by a grifter
  • Translation option 2: “Oh wow, here is some sweet grift, I’ll have a piece of that as well please

Meanwhile ‘Prophet’ Robin Bullock Insists That Prophets Could Not Possibly Have Been Wrong About the 2020 Election

  • Unfortunately for him they were wrong and so now they promote the big lie.

Self-Appointed “Prophet” Johnny Enlow asserted that “if you want to know how you would do under a communist regime or under any totalitarian government then just grade yourself on the last 3 years. If you want to know how your pastor/spiritual leader would do under a communist regime or any totalitarian government then just grade them on the last 3 years.

Christian “prophetess” Kat Kerr says if a spirit appears to you, you must “test” it by asking if it’s God or the Devil. If it’s God, she claims, the spirit will say so because “the Devil can’t lie.

Statistic of the week

Meanwhile …

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