How To Miss the Point, In One Easy Lesson

Of course, it helps if you're a racist -- say, for example, like Ann Coulter:

What is the thinking behind snickering at “white men” judging an accusation of sexual assault? Chuck Grassley is a big rapist?

You can be for rape or against it — I happen to be against it — but the idea that alleged sexual assault survivors need the loving care of black, Indian or Hispanic men to judge their stories flies in the face of crime statistics from around the globe.

First off -- "You can be for rape or against it". Really? I think that's carrying being non-judgmental a step too far, especially coming from someone as judgmental as Coulter.

And of course, the point she misses is that it's not about white men -- it's about no Republican women judging an accusation of sexual assault.

Duh.

Today in Right-Wing Civility

Fromo "Pastor" Rick Wiles, one of the leading lights of the unhinged "Christian" right:

We’re in for the fight of our lives. If these people get power in this country again, you and I are toast, we’re done. Do you understand that? If they regain power, you and I are history. They’re coming after us. They will exterminate all opposition. Take my word for it. These people are ruthless. They’re murderers, they’re perverts, they’re pedophiles, they’re the worst scum that’s ever crawled on this planet and they’re dangerous. They will do anything to hold on to power, including exterminating their domestic opponents because they’re driven with madness, total madness. When you reject God, you’re opening your mind to madness. And these people have rejected God, they rejected God decades ago and madness has taken over.”

And of course, he has a TV show -- and, one assumes, an audience.

Via Joe.My.God.

Today from Over the Edge

Out of touch for a couple of days, but it seems nothing has changed much -- Trump is still disgusting and his followers are just as bad.

But entertaining. First, Alex Jones:

The Pentagon developed a Atrazine-type spray that they would spray. They tested it actually in Iraq. That’s classified but it was — it got leaked. You can pull it up. Gay bomb! They always take like a clip of me going gay bomb, baby! And then I show BBC, but they cut the BBC, and it’s basically a chemical cocktail, not just of Atrazine. They add some other chemicals. It’s classified. But the word is, it’s like, what’s ecstasy’s compound? I forgot. MDMA!

“They mix that with Atrazine and stuff. And then they spray that on you and you’ll start having sex with a fire hydrant. I mean, the point is, is that sex is all based not even on visual, men it’s mainly — but it’s smells with women particularly. But they can flip that on. It’s like perfume. You know, everybody knows about that? Well, they’ve got weaponized perfumes, basically that will make men attracted to other men and they want you to do that so you don’t have kids.

What?

And another deplorable, Rick Wiles:

When they slaughter a little baby in a Planned Parenthood baby butcher shop, where does that baby’s blood go? Where does the baby’s brains and guts go? I’ll tell you where it goes. It goes down the drain, into the sewer system and the blood of those babies is running through your town’s sewer, under your street. The sewage pipes in your city – carrying the blood, the guts, the brains, the tissue of all the babies murdered in your city today. It’s going right into your city’s sewer system. You’re actually drinking the babies’ blood, being recycled and going right back into the city’s water supply. Cannibalism.

Of course, if Wiles' hero has his way, we'll be drinking raw sewage, so there might be a word of truth here. Except for all of it.

And the Right Wing Goes Wild!

The Obamas have signed a multi-year deal with Netflix:

In an announcement on Monday, Netflix revealed that Barack and Michelle Obama had signed a multiyear deal to produce films and series.

The reaction from the trumpanzees is as might be expected. A couple of samples:

Make sure to cancel today and check other and say cause Netflix works with terrorists

— Ryan Francis🍀🇺🇸 (@HalfAssCatholic) May 21, 2018

Cancel @Netflix. This will be nonstop social engineering cultural Marxist programming and serve as a money laundering front for bribes just like their books are. #wakeup #wwgowga

— Full Metal Squirrel (@MyManJimmyJack) May 21, 2018

There's more at the link. You'll note that these examples are not unusually incoherent for right-wingers. It's also worth noting that the responses to these two, at least, are not terribly supportive.

At least Obama waited until he was out of office to capitalize on his presidency.

Footnote: There are way too many self-appointed pundits who keep insisting that we on the left have to understand these people and their concerns -- economic insecurity, changing society, blah, blah, blah. I do understand them: they are small-minded, petty, self-absorbed, vindictive people who resist anything contrary to what they "know", and what they "know" comes from demagogues and con artists. They need authority telling them what to do and what to think.

Vox has an interesting, and fairly disturbing article on at least part of this phenomenon, via Digby.

Connect the Dots

Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm not prone to conspiracy theories. In this case, however, we actually are dealing with well-organized extremists who have intimidated the press into validating their bullshit, taken over statehouses by rigging elections and are trying to do the same thing to Congress, and who have, over the past thirty-five years, taken over the Republican party.

One of their favorite wedge issues is the Second Amendment, which they claim gives citizens (meaning they themselves) an unrestricted right to own assault weapons (for daily use?). Anyone who's spent two seconds thinking about it will tell you there are no unrestricted rights -- not if you want a society to function at all.

Well, now they've decided that God is on their side:

Supposedly pro-life far right wing Christian leaders are using the Bible and Jesus to claim Americans not only have a right to guns – and even assault weapons – but some insist every adult has an obligation to carry an AR-15. . . .

Here are some of the religious right's most extreme, like Gordon Klingenschmitt, claiming the Bible says “all the citizens ought to be armed so they can defend themselves against left wing crazies.” And David Barton, claiming the Founding Fathers called the right to keeping bear arms, "the biblical right of self defense."

Then there's the Family Research Council's Jerry Boykin saying when Jesus returns he'll be carrying an AR-15. That's similar to Christian pastor Chuck Baldwin, who said it's a "Biblical requirement" that every American adult (and even some younger than 18) own an AR-15 or similar assault-style weapon.

You may remember that Barton is the one who claimed that the Constitution was taken word for word from the Bible. (Given to George Washington on Mount Vernon, no doubt.)

It's easy to laugh at them, because they are, in my cousin's words, "buckso wayzo". Unfortunately, there are enough people who pay attention to them that we wound up with a con artist as president.

Now, get this:

Liberty University is planning to open a state-of-the-art shooting range on campus next fall as part of the conservative Evangelical Christian School’s commitment to promoting gun ownership and firearm sports.

University president Jerry Falwell Jr. said that Liberty’s new complex will feature pistol, rifle and shotgun facilities as well as an archery range built into the mountainside of the 7,000-acre campus near Lynchburg, Va. Falwell said the project will result in one of the most expansive firearms ranges on any U.S. college campus. The blueprints call for at least $1 million in construction and landscape improvements that will provide new opportunities for student clubs and athletic teams.

Liberty already allows guns on campus, and offers training for students to qualify for concealed carry permits.

Oh, and I mentioned something about followers:

Falwell said that he was nervous when he first spoke about the school’s firearms policy at a gathering for parents whose children were considering Liberty for their higher education.

“I was a little timid about telling parents about it because I thought some would be worried,” Falwell said. “But I never got such enthusiastic applause.”

Oh, and guess who offered their full support:

Falwell said that after meeting with National Rifle Association executive vice president and chief executive officer Wayne LaPierre, the university decided to move forward with its plans for the shooting range complex. Brad Butler, Liberty’s planning coordinator, said the NRA provided crucial expertise on best practices for safety as the school examined designs for the project.

These are the people who keep talking about a "civil war" to "take back" their country. Can you say "Onward, "Christian" Soldiers"?

Well, It's Started (Update)

Given the moral bankruptcy and somewhat questionable mental stability -- not to mention a complete lack of humanity -- on the fringe right, I suppose it was only a matter of time before we started seeing things like this:

The Washington Times has created a village of village idiots. The village idiot of the village of idiots is columnist Cheryl K. Chumley. Monday she writes: “Obnoxious, ignorant teens now demand curbs on guns.”

Teens across the nation, fed up with school shootings, are planning marches, media events and three-minute demonstrations at the White House in order to get across their messages of frustration with the Second Amendment and to demand lawmakers take immediate action.

Now if only they weren’t so dang entitled, snarky and obnoxious.

Looks like the NRA has decided to take the gloves off. This is, of course, the Moonie Times, home of the unhinged. But they're not alone. This popped up in the comments to this post at Joe.My.God., courtesy of commenter Eddi Haskell:

Gateway Pundit is the home turf of Jim Hoft, widely considered the stupidest man on the internet.

This is just the beginning -- I'm sure we'll see more attacks on the survivors of the shooting -- and of course, there will be death threats. I wonder how long it's going to take Fox News to pick up on this.

Update: It didn't take long at all, and we get a twofer: Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, all in one smelly package:

While speaking to Fox News Sunday, Limbaugh was asked by host Chris Wallace if a planned march by students could get lawmakers to act to prevent school shootings.

"Chris, I have to ask if anybody is really serious about solving this because none of this -- by the way, I couldn't care less about the gun angle of this," Limbaugh replied, referring to a group of students from Parkland that Wallace had just spoken to. "None of this is going to solve -- prayers and condolences don't solve it and marches aren't going to solve it. Chris, the next shooter is out there."

"It's not the fault of the NRA. It's not the fault of any -- it's the fault of the people doing this and our inability to deal with that and stop them," he insisted. "Until we're willing to get serious about where we are and how do we they stop this from happening and marches aren't going to do it, saying no more guns isn't going to do it, bashing the NRA isn't going to do it."

If this sounds more than a little incoherent, well, when you're trying to deflect blame away from the ones who are holding your leash and you have absolutely no case, that's about par: just bury it in word salad.

The post at Joe.My.God. is about Marion Le Pen speaking at CPAC:

Jaws dropped on Twitter this afternoon when CPAC published the full agenda for this week’s convention, revealing that French fascist Marion Le Pen will speak from the main stage immediately after Mike Pence.

Marion, you may recall, is the even worse niece of National Front leader Marine Le Pen and in 2012 at age 22 became the youngest person ever elected to the French Parliament.

You may or may not know that France's National Front was founded by Nazi collaborators.

This is today's GOP.

Footnote: On the other side of the coin, the conspiracy theorists are on it. The ever-reliable Alex Jones:

“Their whole globalist system is falling apart. The left’s been caught running Antifa that’s cop-killing. They’ve been caught in their own documents that came out a month ago—George Soros’ son funding movements trying to get national riots going when Obama was in in 2015 to be able to trigger civil war,” Jones said.

He continued, “You can see exactly what they’re saying. And then someone that fits, not the profile of a nihilist like we were thinking, but someone who is completely mentally ill, autistic, totally suggestable, will do whatever he’s told, on psychotropic drugs, who doesn’t have parents—it’s in the news—magically is there and all the eyewitnesses are saying multiple shooters.”

If it sounds unhinged and incoherent -- well, that's Alex Jones.

And Fox is right on this one:

According to Fox News scumbag Todd Starnes, the surviving students of the massacre in Parkland, Florida are organizing against future massacres because they’ve been brainwashed by the “government-funded indoctrination camps” that non-scumbag Americans call public schools.

This afternoon Starnes also posted this on Facebook: “The Mainstream Media is using survivors of the Florida school shooting as propaganda pawns to attack President Trump, the NRA and the Second Amendment. They are literally using children as human shields in their bloodthirsty attempt to take down the president.”

And of course, they're coming to take your guns.

The really awful thing about this is that people actually believe this bullshit.

Today's Must-Read: Remember Joe McCarthy?

Digby gives a good overview of the Nunes memo shenanigans and coming attractions. This part summarizes the attitudes of the hard-core Nunes adherents quite nicely:

It's true that a few others have joined that chorus, signaling that at least a handful of Republicans don't want to be associated with the notion that this memo "vindicates" the president. (Notably, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was not among them.)

Chairman Nunes is undeterred. Axios reported on Sunday:

The House Intelligence chair and his team have told members and associates they've found other examples of politically motivated "wrongdoing" across various agencies, including the FBI, the broader Justice Department, and the State Department . . . Republicans close to Nunes say there could be as many as five additional memos or reports of "wrongdoing."

One wonders if Nunes has any knowledge of that time in 1950 when a senator named Joseph McCarthy pulled out a "list" he claimed had the names of 200 people in the State Department whom he accused of politically motivated wrongdoing. It didn't end well.

I'm sure there will be more memos forthcoming -- Trump's gotten so much mileage out of this one that it makes no sense to stop. And of course, there will be more rebuttals, which Fox News and the base will ignore and the New York Times will find some excuse to discount.

At any rate, read the whole thing -- it's deja vu all over again.

It Just Gets Worse

This is not really the time to leave no stone unturned -- I mean, when you consider what's hiding under them. From Right Wing Watch:

Mark Taylor, the “firefighter prophet” and right-wing conspiracy theorist who claims that God told him that Donald Trump would become president years ago, appeared on Greg Hunter’s “USAWatchdog” program last weekend, where he revealed that God told him that two of the five former presidents will soon die and the other three will face jail time as divine retribution for criticizing President Trump.

Taylor said that when he saw all five former presidents gathered at an event to raise money for hurricane relief, he received a word from the Lord that “two will be taken, three will be shaken.”

“They were doing this Hurricane Harvey relief effort,” Taylor said. “They were trying to raise money for Hurricane Harvey, but we all know that is a bunch of lies. These guys could care less about people, it’s about their agenda. They disguised it as a relief effort for Hurricane Harvey victims and they go in there and they trash Donald Trump.”

“The Bible says, ‘Do not touch my anointed, but especially my prophets,'” he continued. “These guys have now touched God’s anointed, Donald Trump. They used it as a platform to go in there and attack.”

As far as I recall from the reports on that event, Trump's name wasn't mentioned. I guess, to some people, that constitutes an attack.

The really scary part is that this guy is not that far out of the mainstream -- for wingnuts.

Via Joe.My.God.

Today in Disgusting People: NIMBY Edition

This is no less than appalling:

Lucie's Place, a Central Arkansas nonprofit serving homeless LGBTQ youth and young adults, has withdrawn its request for a conditional use permit for a seven-person transitional home in Little Rock's Leawood neighborhood after receiving an email from a neighbor vowing to make the home's location public knowledge.

Penelope Poppers, executive director of Lucie's Place, said the nonprofit was midway through the sale and was prepared to close on the property as soon as it received the use permit from the city. Poppers said the group initially received some pushback from neighbors unhappy about the idea of a homeless shelter in their neighborhood but were able to allay those concerns by explaining its nature: a small residential setting for formerly homeless young people to develop life skills and get back on their feet. Lucie's Place already operates one four-bed transitional home in Central Little Rock.

Of course, there's always one person who will screw things up. Poppers got the following e-mail when the organization was on the verge of closing on the house:

I just received notification that there is some sort of halfway house or homeless shelter being proposed on Harmon [Drive], For LGBTQ persons who are at risk of being homeless. We are supposed to make clear if we oppose or support this idea.

We are completely and 100% opposed to this happening in our neighborhood! While I am completely in support of helping any who are in the situation of homelessness, and used to run a shelter myself in Houston, I am absolutely opposed to this happening in our residential neighborhood. We purchased a home in this neighborhood specifically because it was safe for our children. I do not want to live anywhere near a home like this. Since I have personal experience running a home like this, I am aware of the dangers involved, from a resident disclosing the location of the home, to a person tracking them down, to sneaking drugs in, to having a criminal background that's undisclosed, etc. This is a terrible idea for our neighborhood! If this passes, I will make it my personal mission to get all of our neighbors involved in disclosing the location of this home to anyone that we can and fighting the forward motion of this plan. This is absolutely unacceptable for this area. I've talked to all the neighbors within 500 feet of our house, and every single one of them feels the same way. We will all be attending the meeting to voice our opposition, but if this goes through we will disclose the location of this home to anyone who wants to know, and will fight this every step of the way. I cannot even believe that you would be considering opening a home of this nature in a residential neighborhood, that has many many children all around it. Not to mention elderly, Christians who completely oppose that lifestyle, etc. please take this idea and plant it elsewhere. I think it's a wonderful idea, just not in this neighborhood!

Couldn't be more clear: "not in my back yard," which is rankest hypocrisy. There's also the fact that this person (apparently it's a woman) never bothered to learn the specifics of the project, but just went off.

And let's be clear: disclosing the location of a shelter like this exposes the kids to all sorts of harassment and violence. My personal feeling is that Lucie's Place should forward the e-mail and any available contact information to the police, although that's probably moot, given that the organization is now looking at another property. I tend to agree with a lot of the commenters: this woman should be outed for what she is: a bigot and a bully, and a hysterical one at that. (Of course, bigotry and hysteria tend to go hand in hand.)

I have some pretty strong thoughts about the fact that the richest country in the world has people living on the streets with no place to go. I also have strong thoughts about "Christians" (and of course the e-mailer makes reference to "Christians" who "disagree with that lifestyle") who never read the Gospels: she needs a good dose of Matthew 25: 41-46:

41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

45 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

It's worth noting, this being Arkansas and all, that the overwhelming majority of commenters at this article are not kind to the NIMBY.

Via NCRM.

Over the Edge

Presented without comment:

Conspiracy theorist broadcaster Alex Jones alleged on his radio program today that liberals are inciting violence and leading the U.S. into a civil war.

Jones claimed, absurdly, that liberals are advocating on “every publication outlet they own” for people to “kill the president, kill his family and kill his supporters.” The result, according to Jones, is that “people are getting beat up in the head with clubs, with bike locks, they’re getting stabbed. It’s happening everywhere. The Islamicists know it’s their time.”

Without referencing any specific events, Jones described what he interprets as signs of the impending war: “Communists here in Austin openly attacking our camera crew and our reporters, and having semiautomatic rifles with their fingers on the triggers. I mean, they are ready to go. They are ready to bring in the civil emergency.”

He then warned “our military, our police, and our citizenry” against acting “like cowards during the civil emergency” and instead encouraged them to “offensively in a defensive move, politically get back in their faces and also defend ourselves from physical attacks.” Otherwise, Jones said, the left will “intimidate the nation into a new dark age.”

“I’m encouraging people to hold the line, like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, and not strike out offensively because it’s politically hurting the left,” Jones added. “But if they launch a full offensive, then we’ve got to really launch back physically.”

I mean, what can I say?

Via Joe.My.God. Video at the link.

Somebody's Been Turning Over Rocks

And guess what they found.

First, of course, is Old Reliable, Hate Group Leader Extraordaire, Mr. Mendacity himself:

The problem at the U.S. Embassy in Romania wasn’t that officials were saluting the flag. The problem was which flag they were saluting. In a tradition most Americans hoped was gone with President Obama, a handful of U.S. diplomats decided to fly the rainbow flag on par with the stars and stripes that millions have died defending.

The jarring sight in Guatemala, Cuba, Macedonia, the Dominican Republican, and other countries was just more evidence of the politically correct mess left behind by the last administration. Although President Trump refused to declare June LGBT pride month, plenty of Obama holdovers are taking matters into their own hands. Out of respect for the voters who rejected that extreme agenda, it’s time for administration officials to step in and put a stop to a display that puts a sexual fringe on the same pole as Old Glory.

As we all remember, The Hairpiece actually lost the election, even though he won the Electoral College -- an argument for getting rid of it if there ever was one: the Electoral College has given us the two worst presidents (in terms of general competence) since World War II. (Well, OK, the Supreme Court helped on one of them.)

And most Americans -- that is, the ones who believe in our country and what it stands for -- or used to stand for -- just wish Tony Perkins would shut up and go away. But then, these are the people Perkins considers "real Americans."

A side note: If Trump had made the requisite proclamation, among the seemingly dozens of others, it would have been hollow -- do we really want to be equated with "Great Outdoors Month"? (Not that I have anything against the great outdoors, at all.) And we don't need him: Here at home, the rainbow flags went up in Lakeview on May 31, along with the "Uptown Proud" banners in Uptown, and rainbows -- mostly flags, but some rather more creative -- are appearing in businesses and apartment windows all along the parade route, and other places as well. I don't doubt that it's the same in other cities.

And, for the icing on the cake, here's a voice from the far fringes of the "Christian" right:

In an audio commentary posted online last week, anti-LGBTQ activist Linda Harvey of Mission America called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate “the outrageous actions of major homosexual groups trying to normalize this behavior throughout all of America.”

Such groups must be investigated, Harvey said, because they “continue to twist the truth, blatantly engage in religious discrimination, demand that people lose jobs and corrupt children.”

. . .

“I think we need special investigations into the actions of homosexual advocates at the state and federal level,” Harvey declared.

It seems that Donald Trump isn't the only one who has no idea how this country works. Or can we take it that Harvey is another one of those "patriots" who despise our foundational principles? (And she really should come with a laugh track.)

(For the record, Harvey and her husband are Mission America. He is also, apparently, the major funder. Take that for what it's worth.)

Word for the Day (Update)

"Projection"

From the recipient of a Lifetime Tony Perkins Award:

Kellyanne Conway is calling Democrats opposed to President Donald Trump's unqualified and extremist cabinet picks "hysterical" and "crybabies."

The White House advisor hypocritically told Fox News Thursday morning "we're seeing" the Democratic Party "unravel in front of our eyes." She went on to complain Democrats are opposing Trump's Supreme Court nominee and cabinet picks.

"This obstinance and obstruction is the modern Democratic Party. I think it's going to cost them...They're hysterical about everything."

"Everything makes them cry and scream," Conway claimed, falsely.

Just think back over the past eight years and consider the Republican reaction to President Obama. (Remember, they tried for two terms to make him a one-term president.)

For that matter, consider the thin-skinned four-year-old in the White House -- Conway's boss.

Update: And as a reminder of why Conway is the recipient of the lifetime award, this:

Interviewed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Hardball programme on Thursday evening, Conway compared the executive order issued by Trump in his first week in the White House to what she described as a six-month ban imposed by his predecessor Barack Obama.

This claim has been debunked by commentators who have pointed out that the 2011 action was a pause on the processing of refugees from Iraq after two Iraqi nationals were arrested over a failed attempt to send money and weapons to al-Qaida in Iraq.

Conway told Matthews: “I bet it’s brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalised and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre.

“Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered.”

It didn’t get covered, many are now pointing out, because there was no such massacre.

Raw Story has some of the online reactions to the "Bowling Green Massacre."

Fasten Your Seatbelt

it's going to be a bumpy ride.

After months, if not years, of attacking Hillary Clinton over scandals real and imagined, a conservative watchdog group says it will push to have the Democratic presidential nominee impeached.

The prospect of a Clinton impeachment — there’s a throwback term! — was raised Wednesday morning by Judicial Watch.

If you'll remember, Judicial Watch is another right-wing "watchdog" group, this one specifically geared toward discrediting the courts by any means necessary.

This is where it gets really funny:

“You’re going to still have a clamor for a serious criminal investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s conduct with respect to her emails and the [Clinton] Foundation,” Judicial Watch’s president, Tom Fitton, told NBC News. “There’s been no systematic investigation of various issues.” According to NBC, Fitton “has criticized GOP lawmakers for failing to pre-emptively impeach Clinton.”

He added, “I know this generation of Republican leaders is loath to exercise these tolls, but impeachment is something that’s relevant. They see [the oversight process] as an opportunity in some measure to keep their opponents off-kilter, but they don’t want to do the substantive and principled work to truly hold corrupt politicians or the administration or anyone accountable.”

I was going to highlight the funniest parts, but I doubt that you need it. And frankly, I haven't noticed any reluctance on the part of Republicans to investigate Clinton. As a matter of fact:

Jason Chaffetz, the Utah congressman wrapping up his first term atop the powerful House Oversight Committee, unendorsed Donald Trump weeks ago. That freed him up to prepare for something else: spending years, come January, probing the record of a President Hillary Clinton.:

“It’s a target-rich environment,” the Republican said in an interview in Salt Lake City’s suburbs. “Even before we get to Day One, we’ve got two years’ worth of material already lined up. She has four years of history at the State Department, and it ain’t good.”

Benghazzi!!1! Redux.

And from the soon-to-be beleaguered Speaker of the House:

“The rigorous oversight conducted by House Republicans has already brought to light troubling developments in the [Hillary] Clinton email scandal,” the office of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a statement to The Washington Post. “The speaker supports [Oversight’s] investigative efforts following where the evidence leads, especially where it shows the need for changes in the law.”

Shorter Paul Ryan: We're still looking for a way to make whatever Clinton does illegal.

Actually, that's almost as funny as Fitton's remarks.

Today's Must-Read: Hillary's Health

Digby has what I think is the definitive piece on the whole "Hillary's failing health" fantasy being broadcast 24/7 by Breitbart, Drudge, Infowars, and, like the lapdogs they are, the "mainstream" press. This is a key point:

At that moment they could have chosen to analyse Clinton's pressing on with the campaign in spite of having pneumonia as an indication of her grit and dedication to the campaign. And in fairness some did. For instance, contrary to widely assumed rumor that she'd been taking it easy all month, Jeff Zeleny of CNN said that he'd covered five presidential campaign and had never seen a more brutal schedule than Clinton's. Or the media could have taken Clinton's doctor at her word that she is being treated and will recover nicely. Instead they settled on their tedious narrative of righteous indignation about Clinton's supposed pathological secretiveness in failing to inform them of her diagnosis the minute she got it. It's all about them.

I've had pneumonia, twice that it was severe enough that I wound up in the hospital hooked up to antibiotics and fluids for a couple of days. It took three weeks to recover fully. Now, I doubt that Clinton is having as severe an episode as I did, but still, to take a couple days off what is a brutal schedule to recover is pretty tough on her part.

I doubt that Trump -- or Drudge or anyone at Breitbart, for that matter -- could maintain her schedule and deal with pneumonia at the same time.

Today in Trump's America

This is -- how shall I put it? -- deplorable:

A bigoted Brooklyn woman launched a sickening attack on two Muslim women pushing their babies in strollers — punching them in the face and trying to pull off their hijabs, prosecutors said Friday.

Emirjeta Xhelili, 32, hurled Islamophobic insults as she pounced on the two victims near her Bath Beach home about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

“Get the f--k out of here,” Xhelili, 32, allegedly yelled at the pair, according to prosecutors. “Get the f--k out of America, b-----s.”

As she punched the 23-year-old women in the face and kicked them in their legs, she tried to rip the traditional Muslim veils off their heads at Bay 20th St. and Cropsey Aves., police sources said.

“This is America — you shouldn’t be different from us,” she yelled, prosecutors said.

"You shouldn't be different from us." From who? With a name like Emirjeta Xhelili (sounds real Anglo-Saxon, doesn't it?), I'd love to know where her family originated.

This is the sort of people that Trump not only attracts, but validates -- he's given permission for behavior like this.

It can get much worse, and I fear it will -- I remember hearing reports after 9/11 of Sikh business owners being shot dead at their establishments, because everyone who wears a turban must be a terrorist, right? And given that Trump's basket of deplorables includes racists, gun nuts with their penis substitutes, the ignorant, "Christians", the KKK, Tony Perkins and the rest of our society's lower depths, it's only a matter of time.

Via TPM.

The Liberal Redneck on Colin Kaepernick

I don't really have anything to add:

Today In Pathetic Losers

Take your pick:

House Republicans:

A pair of leading House Republicans on Monday laid out detailed instructions for the Justice Department to file perjury charges against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. More than a month after first requesting the department open a criminal probe into Clinton for alleged misstatements she made under oath, the GOP heads of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees told a federal prosecutor specifically where they believed Clinton had lied to Congress about her email setup at the Department of State.

Somebody is really terrified about the election.

Pat McCrory:

Gov. Pat McCrory wants the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate North Carolina’s voter ID law for the November election. The law, which requires voters to bring a photo ID to the polls, was thrown out by a federal appeals court ruling. Late Monday, McCrory announced that he has sent a formal request to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to stay the ruling while state leaders appeal the decision.

Somebody is really terrified about the election.

Rudy Giuliani:

Under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn’t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the US. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office.

Somebody is really terrified about the election. Plus, he's after Katrina Pierson's job.

Birds of a Feather

I've finally figured it out: Katrina Pierson is just as disconnected from reality as her boss is:

Specifically, Pierson told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday that Capt. Humayun Khan “probably” died because Obama and Clinton crippled our military’s ability to fight by changing the rules of engagement.

“But surely you can understand the confusion, considering how Donald Trump never voted for the Iraq War, Hillary Clinton did,” Pierson said. “Then she didn’t support the troops to have what they need. It was under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that changed the rules of engagements that probably cost his life! So I don’t understand why it’s so hard to understand why Donald Trump was confused.”

There is a very obvious problem with this, of course: Khan was killed by a car bomb all the way back in 2004. During that time, Clinton was a senator for New York and Obama wasn’t even a senator yet.

The reaction has been swift and merciless:

Joker-Joker-Deuce ‏@CombatCavScout

 

Obama decided that too many lifeboats would offend radical Islamic terrorists abord the Titanic. #KatrinaPiersonHistory @KatrinaPierson

• Retweets 101
• Likes 313
• 

4:31 PM - 2 Aug 2016

101 retweets 313 likes

That's just the beginning. Click through -- it gets very rich and strange.

Point, Counterpoint

Remember Khizr Khan, the father of a fallen Muslim soldier who lit into Trump at the Democratic convention? Well, Trump responded, in typical Trump fashion:

Of course Donald Trump was going to go after Khizr Khan, the bereaved father who spoke at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night. He had to, because Khan stands for everything anti-Trump. Patriotism, sacrifice, and integrity. Oh, and Khan is Muslim.

Trump did not disappoint, telling ABC News Saturday that he had "made a lot of sacrifices" by employing "thousands and thousands of people," and having "tremendous success."

Somehow, having tremendous success defrauding thousands of people doesn't strike me as much of a sacrifice. But he didn't stop there:

“If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me,” he rambled.

What a stupid thing to say. In their interview with Lawrence O'Donnell Friday, Mrs Khan explained that she can't even bear to go into the room where his picture is because the loss is still so utterly fresh for her. She didn't trust herself to maintain her composure so she let her husband speak. He, in turn, said that without her at his side he wouldn't have made it through the speech.

The Khans had more to say:

Khizr Khan continued: "Running for president is not an entitlement to disrespect Gold Star families and [a] Gold Star mother not realizing her pain. Shame on him! Shame on his family! He is not worthy of our comments. He has no decency. He is void of decency, he has a dark heart."

Ghazala Khan said: "Sacrifice -- I don't think he knows the meaning of sacrifice, the meaning of the word. Because when I was standing there, all America felt my pain. Without saying a single word. Everybody felt that pain."

Let's face it -- Trump is a clod. A loud, obnoxious clod.

Josh Marshall has an observation that I think is, unfortunately, very much on the mark:

I confess I struggle with the emerging back and forth between Trump and the Khans. It's good for the country because it shows what Khizr Khan aptly labels Trump's "dark heart." But I have no doubt that notwithstanding the well-wishes of so may the Khans will now be vilified, scrutinized and smeared by Trump's supporters.

We've already had one example of that, from a woman who has no right to comment.

I wish the Khans strength -- which they already seem to have in good measure, along with grace and courage. Pity the Republicans can't seem to entertain those qualities.

Footnote: Compare and contrast: Hillary Clinton's statement on the Khans:

Clinton issued a statement on Saturday that said, “I was very moved to see Ghazala Khan stand bravely and with dignity in support of her son on Thursday night. And I was very moved to hear her speak last night, bravely and with dignity, about her son’s life and the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country.”

She continued, “This is a time for all Americans to stand with the Khans, and with all the families whose children have died in service to our country. And this is a time to honor the sacrifice of Captain Khan and all the fallen. Captain Khan and his family represent the best of America, and we salute them.”

Today in Disgusting People

Sandy Rios is one of the most vicious bigpts on the right, but this time she's gone overboard:

From my perspective, it is the responsibility of Mr. Khan to distinguish himself from Islamists, from the Muslim Brotherhood whose treatise is to destroy us from within,” Rios said. “If he is a patriotic, loyal, American-Muslim, then we want to hear that, that’s great, and we grieve with them over the death of their son. But do not disparage Americans or Donald Trump for having concerns about Muslims in our midst. . . .

And if you are so concerned, Mr. Khan, if you’re an American first, then distinguish yourself and condemn Islamists, condemn the Muslim Brotherhood, then we will listen to you, and stop waving the Constitution. As far as I can tell, Islam, truly, supporters of Islam and the Quran, cannot embrace the Constitution. Now, if you have a different view, then explain that to us and then maybe we can be persuaded, but don’t shame America for having genuine and rightful concerns about Muslims in our midst when we have no idea who they are or what they really believe, and we’re not even sure about you, sir, because we know about taqiyya, which is the practice of lying to the infidel in order to advance the Muslim cause.

From my perspective, Mr.Khan and his family have distinguished themselves quite enough -- much more than Sandy Rios has, and in a much better way.

This is the man whose loyalty she was questioning:

Some background on Capt. Humayun Khan:

Humayun Khan was born in the United Arab Emirates and immigrated to the U.S. as a small child, growing up in Maryland and attending college at the University of Virginia. He was a 27-year-old Army captain when he was inspecting the gates of his camp in Baquba, Iraq, and a speeding vehicle approached. Khan told his fellow soldiers to hit the ground and he signaled at the vehicle to stop. He took 10 steps toward the vehicle, which had in it two suicide bombers and a large amount of explosives. The car exploded, injuring 10 of his fellow soldiers and killing Khan. The captain was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, and Khizr Khan believes his son’s actions saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers.

“We still wonder what made him take those 10 steps,” Khan’s father has said in the past to the web site Vocativ. “Maybe that’s the point where all the values, all the service to country, all the things he learned in this country kicked in. It was those values that made him take those 10 steps. Those 10 steps told us we did not make [a] mistake in moving to this country.”

Mr. Khan has no need to justify himself to the likes of Sandy Rios, who from all indications despises everything that America stands for.