Truthers, Hurricane Matthew Edition

The right-wing is losing its shit over Hurricane Matthew because, I dunno, hurricanes hardly happen or something? That seems to be the gist of it, and I don’t get it.

Let’s hear from the Least Trusted Names In News, shall we?

First we have Matt Drudge claiming that hurricane reports have been overplayed “to make an exaggerated point on climate,” and doubting reports from the US National Hurricane Center because, I guess, government bad, arrgle barrgle.

This special brand of stupid has been shared by Rush Limbaugh, who is also doubting the National Hurricane Center, simply because it’s a government agency:

‘It’s in the interest of the left to have destructive hurricanes because then they can blame it on climate change, which they can desperately continue trying to sell,’ he said on his show.

This is what happens when your disdain for government and science collide.

Inside the conspiracy kitchen at Infowars they’re cooking up rumors about Black Lives Matter planning to loot white neighborhoods:

A quick Twitter search reveals dozens of messages posted by Americans living in or near the affected areas that brazenly talk about the opportunity for looting that the hurricane will provide.

“God Please let this hurricane hit us so I can do some looting,” tweeted one user.

“So we looting after the hurricane? I do need a new TV & iPhone and some clothes,” added another.

“Ready for hurricane Matthew to hit so I can start looting,” remarked another.

When asked if they would be looting, one Twitter user responded, “yep, but in white neighborhoods.”

Anonymous Tweets are totally verifiable and legit, you guys! I’m sure the folks trying to delegitimize BLM had nothing to do with such social media posts at all! What idiot buys this obviously ginned-up nonsense? This idiot in charge of the Tennessee Republican Party‘s official Twitter account, for one (apparently not the official TNGOP account, on closer inspection):

When challenged on this obviously racist BS, they upped the ante:

Black kids are just gonna loot, amiright? Just can’t help themselves. /sarcasm. Of course, when white kids do it, they’re just “letting off steam.”

But by all means my absolute favorite Hurricane Matthew conspiracy theory is this one courtesy of The Millennium Report, a cesspool of hoaxes and conspiracy theories that makes Infowars look like the New York Times:

If you’re trying to throw a wrench into the Florida State Government, there’s no more effective way than to geoengineer a hurricane and send it northward into the sun-drenched peninsula. Many chemtrail watchers in the state have already noticed a dramatic uptick in the chemical geoengineering operations statewide. Such a development never bodes well for the region’s highly unpredictable weather.

[…]

At this point anything can happen. Many of the storms that barrel up the Eastern Seaboard seem to have a mind of their own and often surprise with a punch as they head north to highly populated metro areas of the NE. Given the 2016 election cycle, the politicos at the federal level would love to sow seeds of chaos anyway they can in order to create cover for an election theft. For many reasons the Obama Administration really needs a Clinton victory in order to preserve their legacy of utter destruction. Obama, himself, requires such a Democratic win to simply stay out of prison.

Let’s just leave it there, folks.

You know, it’s all fun and games until someone drowns because they either refused to believe the threat was real or they thought it was more important to stay home and protect their stuff from imaginary looters.

I cannot imagine what goes through the minds of a large chunk of Americans.

[UPDATE]:

Everything old is new again:

 

Rep. Rick Womick Is Certifiably Crazy

Every state has their lunatic legislator (or three): Texas has Louie Gohmert, Minnesota had Michelle Bachmann. Here in Tennessee we’re blessed with an abundance of wackaloons, and our state legislature could easily be mistaken for the set of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest rather than the deliberative legislative body it’s supposed to be.

Chief among these mental cases is Rep. Rick Womick, who has now made headlines for his calls to impeach the Supreme Court justices and Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Haslam over same-sex marriage:

NASHVILLE — Furious at Republican Gov. Bill Haslam for having “bowed down” to the U.S. Supreme Court on the same-sex marriage ruling, a tea party-style GOP Tennessee lawmaker wants colleagues to give “serious consideration” to removing the governor from office.

In his Facebook posting Monday night, state Rep. Rick Womick, R-Murfreesboro, brought up impeachment as he shared a link to MSNBC liberal talk show host Chris Matthews’ “Hardball” page, which featured a video of South Carolina state Sen. Lee Bright attacking the legalization of same-sex marriage during a debate on the Confederate flag.

In the post Womick said, “And where is Tennessee’s leadership oh that’s right our Governor bowed down to the five self appointed gods in black robes just minutes after they issued their ‘opinion!'”

Womick went on to charge that Haslam “changed Tennessee state law and our State Constitution without ever consulting with the General Assembly. I think it’s time to give serious consideration to impeachment hearings against Gov. Haslam and these five rogue SCOTUS justices!”

Rick Womick is a certifiably crazy person. There isn’t a conspiracy theory he hasn’t embraced, a fringe idea he hasn’t endorsed. Of course he thinks Haslam can (and should) be impeached. He doesn’t know how the world works, so this makes perfect sense to him. The only thing crazier is that he has been elected to the state legislature, I assume by other crazy people.

A brief rundown of Rick Womick’s greatest hits:

• Rick Womick believes that an “electromagnetic pulse bomb” was detonated outside of Shelbyville in 2013.

• Rick Womick believes Agenda 21 is a U.N. conspiracy to take away citizens’ property rights.

• Rick Womick believes that a local ordinance requiring Papa’s Butts and BBQ Hot Sauce Store repave its parking lot is proof of how the U.N. is taking away citizens’ property rights.

• Rick Womick believes Muslims are trying to kill him and should therefore be purged from the U.S. military.

By the way, there is “zero support” for Womick’s impeachment idea. Unfortunately, this idiot remains elected to the state House for reasons I cannot fathom. Surely there’s a less crazy Republican in this part of the state who can do a better job? No? How about a decent Democrat? Anyone?

Tennessee Terrorism Update

Here’s an update on Tennessee’s own home-grown anti-Muslim terrorist, Robert R. Doggart. I wrote about him back in May. He’s a failed Congressional candidate who plotted to “utterly destroy” the upstate New York village of Islamberg.

Doggart confessed after he was wiretapped discussing his plans to burn down a Muslim school, mosque and to shoot anyone who tried to stop him and his “militia.” But if you thought getting caught plotting a terrorist attack on Muslims would actually get you labeled a terrorist, you would be wrong:

Doggart was arrested April 10 and charged with soliciting others to violate civil rights, attempts to damage religious property because of the religious character of the property and making threats through interstate communication. He pleaded guilty to interstate communication of threats and was released on bond to home confinement. He may not face any jail time.

“If a Muslim had planned to carry out such a religiously-motivated deadly attack, he would certainly have been labeled a terrorist and charged accordingly,” said National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “We ask the Obama administration to rescind the plea agreement, which – as it stands – could see this individual free in the community.”

What is it about white, male right-wing hate that is never recognized as terrorism? If this was Muslims planning an attack on a church or Christian school, every cable and network news program would be covering it non-stop. I’ve seen little if any news coverage of Doggart in Tennessee newspapers, even though the guy ran for Congress.

Oh Lookie, Tennessee Grew A Terrorist & He’s Been Arrested

Oddly, I haven’t heard anything about this in our Tennessee news media, and a part of me wondered if it weren’t some weird hoax. But then, it’s Tennessee, and nobody does crazy like we do:

An American man who stood in elections for the US Congress has admitted plotting to attack a Muslim community, shooting residents and burning down a mosque.

Robert R. Doggart, 63, was arrested by the FBI before he could carry out the plan to “utterly destroy” Islamberg, a village in New York state.

Posts on his Facebook page, tapped phone calls and conversations with police sources revealed the plot to attack on 15 April, setting fire to key buildings and killing anyone who resisted with guns or machetes.

According to a plea agreement filed at the US District Court of the Eastern District of Tennessee, Doggart wrote a Facebook post in February saying: “Target 3 [Islamberg] is vulnerable from many approaches and must be utterly destroyed.”

He met several co-conspirators in different parts of the state, justifying the carnage by claiming that residents were “planning a terrorist attack”, legal documents published by Heavy said.

They planned to burn down buildings including a mosque, a school and a cafeteria, shooting anyone who tried to stop them.

In a phone call to an FBI source on 6 March, Doggart was recorded saying: “Those guys have to be killed. Their buildings need to be burnt down. If we can get in there and do that not losing a man, even the better.”

He issued advice on guns, telling people to arm themselves with AR-15 and M-16 rifles.

Doggart, who ran as an independent candidate for the 4th Congressional District of Tennessee in 2014, admitted planning to carry an M4 carbine and offered to arm the FBI source with “the meanest shotgun on Earth”.

Doggart ran for Congress in 2014 to represent Tennessee’s 4th Congressional district, the seat currently heald by Scott “abortion for me but not for thee” DesJarlais. According to Ballotpedia, Doggart only got 9,238 votes. He’s apparently an engineer in the energy industry and spent 17 years with TVA.

His platform reads like your typical Fox New-watching Tea Party wackaloon:

Doggart said his platform calls for the integrity of the Constitution, the protection of the people, land and form of government by the military; fair distribution of appropriations; reversal or revision of the Roe vs. Wade court decision allowing abortion on demand; limiting immigration or amnesty to reasonable numbers supportable by the economy; and full disclosure related to the Benghazi incident.

So, you know, just your standard-issue Tennessee Republican. Off to slaughter Muslims in Islamberg, New York. Looks like Tennessee has its own home-grown terrorist now, plotting to attack a community in New York. Of course, if the local media ever does get around to reporting on this story, do you think they’ll use the “T” word? I’m thinking …. not.

Today’s RW Freakout: Obama Is Never, Ever, Ever Going To Leave!

[UPDATE]:

Y’all, Rand Paul is on it!

————————–

Oh, Texas. You make me laugh. You make me cry. But mostly, you make me laugh:

For a made-up military mission, Jade Helm 15 is impressively elaborate: The two-month simulation planned for this summer spans much of the Southwest, requiring special forces from four branches of the military to carry out covert operations amid “hostile” territory in Texas, Utah and part of California.

In at least one of those states, hostility toward the operation has begun a few months early. Online and at in-person meetings, many Texans have expressed suspicion and outright opposition to the project. Some are understandably worried about how it’ll affect their daily lives, while conspiracy theorists claim it’s an attempt to institute martial law, possibly in collusion with Wal-Mart.

[…]

At an information session in Bastrop on Monday, command spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria fielded questions about whether Jade Helm 15 will involve bringing foreign fighters from the Islamic State to Texas, whether U.S. troops will confiscate Texans’ guns and whether the Army intends to implement martial law, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

“It’s the same thing that happened in Nazi Germany: You get the people used to the troops on the street, the appearance of uniformed troops and the militarization of the police,” Bastrop resident Bob Wells told the Statesman after the meeting. “They’re gathering intelligence. That’s what they’re doing. And they’re moving logistics in place for martial law. That’s my feeling. Now, I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. I hope I’m a ‘conspiracy theorist.’”

Is there anything funnier than a bunch of pants-wetting Teanuts, scared that Obummer is never going to leave the White House? Here’s the part I love: it’s all a big fat con-SPEAR-acy and you guys, Wal-mart is in on it!

Multiple Web sites of varying repute also drew a link between the operation and a recent Wal-Mart announcement the chain will be closing five stores, two of them in Texas.

“Are the closed Walmarts being activated as central command for underground operations?” read a headline on IntelliHub, which calls itself the “Civilian Intelligence Agency.”

Two Walmarts in Texas are closing? Well, that just proves it, then! Smoking guns, y’all!

It’s true: when you get to the far reaches of the right wing dial you meet up with the far reaches of the left wing dial. I distinctly remember in 2006 and 2007, far-lefties fearmongered that George W. Bush was going to declare martial law and never leave the White House. I remember some people pointing to the use of Blackwater security forces in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina as “training exercises” for the coming martial law.

There is one huge difference between left wing nutjobs fearmongering about Bush and Teanuts fearmongering about Obama. When the left did it, nobody paid attention. It happened off in some dark corner of the internet where those of us who noticed just laughed; the mainstream of America had no clue it was going on. There weren’t Washington Post and CBS Morning News stories about it. It wasn’t addressed at the daily White House press briefing.

And there certainly wasn’t a response by the governor of one of the country’s largest states. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas National Guard to monitor the exercise. Hilarious.

I find that so interesting. When right-wingers needlessly crap their pants over some ludicrous conspiracy theory, everyone jumps to attention. When left-wingers do the same thing, no one even notices it. I don’t think it’s because right-wing freakouts are more legitimate than left-wing ones, I just think it’s a sign of how the Republican Party in general has been completely co-opted by the crazy train known as the Tea Party. Gov. Abbott is a Teanut, so of course when the Alex Jones set starts donning their tinfoil hats, he’s going to follow suit. And that gets the attention of the national news media.

It’s just another signal that one of our two major political parties in America is completely batshit insane.

Grifters Gotta Grift

For sale at the Rand Paul for President website:

Ha ha ha ha ha! Be the first to review this product … I dare you!

Gotta say, $15 seems awfully steep for something that a piece of electrical tape can do for 5 cents.

Today’s IOKIYAR

[UPDATE]:

Nothing says “freedom” like making your announcement at a university event in which student attendance is mandatory:

The Republican firebrand from Texas delivered a speech in a packed auditorium at convocation held at the school founded by the late televangelist Jerry Falwell. It is a thrice-weekly event and attendance is mandatory for students, the university said.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…..

———————————————————————————
So, that smarmy, pretentious douche canoe Ted Cruz is running for President.

Remember the racist Teanuts who forced President Obama to prove he wasn’t born in Kenya? Who still believe he was born in Kenya? Who hollered “Constitutional crisis” over birth certificates and his Kenyan father? The Orly Taitzes and Jerome Corsies and Alan Keyeses? The idiots in their tri-corner hats waving their flags and pretending to be Revolutionary War heroes? Yeah, you fools, now rushing to embrace the Calgary, Canada-born Cruz, whose crazy-assed nutball father is Cuban? You can all shut the fuck up now.

Oh, but, IOKIYAR! It’s ALWAYS okay if you’re a Republican. Everything is always okay if you’re a Republican. Even not being born on American soil. Even not having an American-born father.

Even, probably, being black.

I just think this is such a great opportunity to point out the utter farce that is every single conservative freak-out. I certainly hope liberals troll Ted Cruz and his supporters with shouts of where’s the birth certificate! and Canadian usurper! at every single campaign appearance.

The Unenlightenment

File this under “crap with which I will no longer put up”:

“The Principle,” asserts the press release, “will begin an exclusive limited engagement at AMC theaters in Burbank, CA, Orange, CA, and Spokane, WA, on January 23rd, with additional markets opening in the weeks following.” There will also be a screening for critics in Los Angeles Jan. 13.

The release goes on to say, “‘The Principle’ brings to light astonishing new scientific observations challenging the Copernican Principle. The film explores, from all sides, the question of Earth’s station in the universe and whether it could, in fact, have a unique importance. Astonishing results from recent large-scale surveys of our visible Universe disclose surprising evidence of a preferred direction in the cosmos, a so-called ‘Axis of Evil,’ aligned with our supposedly insignificant Earth.”

The Copernican Principle, of course, is the centuries-old scientific discovery that the Earth is not the center of the universe/solar system. And no, I do not have time for this bullshit. I do not have the patience to deal with pseudoscience and conspiracy nonsense any more.

And that goes for the stuff coming from my friends on the left, too. I get a lot of crap from my New Age-y friends making all sorts of ludicrous claims and I simply do not have the patience to deal with this any more. I do not want to hear about climate change denialism by people who know only politics not science, nor do I want to hear about the latest health scam from people who know only New Age bullshit not medicine. I don’t want to hear about how people’s thoughts can change water molecules or that ujjayi breath boosts the immune system or any of the crap peddled by practitioners of ayurvedic medicine.

But back to our film:

The force behind all of this is a man named Robert Sungenis. He’s quite a piece of work. The author of a book titled Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right, Sungenis is angry because the heliocentric model has cast doubt on the authority of the church and its leaders. He has written, “Prior to Galileo, the church was in full command of the world, and governments and academia were subservient to her.” (According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Sungenis is also an anti-Semite who denies the Holocaust.)

Um, AMC? You wouldn’t show The Interview but you will show this? What the hell is wrong with you people? Do you have no standards? None at all?

Also, Kate Mulgrew and the others who were duped into participating in this crank’s propaganda film: learn to Google, you idiots. You’ve just given credibility to a most obscene form of scientific denialism, not to mention endorsed the views of an anti-Semitic crackpot. Slow clap, folks.

The writer and producer of this film is a guy named Rick DeLano who claims years in the film business but his IMDB profile came up with a big fat nothing. However, he claims that negative reaction to his film is all a giant conspiracy. Of course he does. That’s what they all say — even my friends on the left when I tell them the water molecule thing is bullshit. “Oh, that’s just what they want you to think.”

Honestly I am so over this. When did everyone in the world decide that reason was a bad thing and crazy unfounded theories were the truth?

As the story says, “never underestimate the power of slickly-produced propaganda.” How long before this nonsense is taught in our schools?

Where Are The FEMA Camps?

Notorious crackpot/tinfoil hat conspiracy monger and former Ron Paul pal Lew Rockwell asks if you know where your neighborhood FEMA camp is located.

Excellent question! Next time the jackbooted gummint thugs and UN black helicopters descend, I would like to know where I can go to wave at my loved ones through the barbed wire (just like in Red Dawn, remember?) Here’s what he says about Tennessee:

TENNESSEE

Ft. Campbell – Next to Land Between the Lakes; adjacent to airfield and US Alt. 41.Millington – Federal prison camp next door to Memphis Naval Air Station.Crossville – Site of WWII German / Italian prison camp is renovated; completed barracks and behind the camp in the woods is a training facility with high tight ropes and a rappelling deck.Nashville – There are two buildings built on State property that are definitely built to hold prisoners. They are identical buildings – side by side on Old Briley Parkway. High barbed wire fence that curves inward.

Fascinating. These are very cryptic instructions, but ones I noticed that were taken from the US Concentration Camp Locator, no doubt another pack of conspiracy loons and nutters who’ve spent too much time listening to the static on their short-waves.

First of all, let me say: as someone who lived and worked at Land Between The Lakes and explored just about every inch of the place, there are no FEMA camps on LBL property. There are regular old campgrounds and a facility used for summer camps. But no FEMA camps. If there are, they’re underground (or under water).

Highway 41-A is miles and miles and miles from LBL, by the way. There’s no “adjacent to 41-A and LBL.” The highway turns into Ft. Campbell, the big military base, and there’s a lot of military land between 41-A and LBL. Is there a prison camp there? I have no idea. Probably. It’s a damn military base. Saying there’s a prison at a military base is like saying there’s tuna fish at Kroger.

As for the Nashville site, I was trying to figure out from the vague directions where they’re talking about. Briley Parkway is a highway that makes a nearly complete circle around the city. Interestingly, it does traverse through state-owned land with some actual prisons on it. Riverbend, aka the Tennessee state pen, is here. So is the Tennessee Prison For Women as well as juvenile facilities. They’re all located along Briley Parkway north of the city. I used to volunteer at the prison so I’m pretty familiar with it. So yes, there are prisons here, but ones that hold actual offenders. But none seem to meet the description of “two identical buildings, side by side” surrounded by barbed wire. I mean, there are a dozen buildings up there surrounded by barbed wire.

The US Concentration Camp locater offered a helpful link to Google maps, which I followed, but it seemed to take me to the dam at Percy Priest Lake, which is Army Corps of Engineers, not state property. And no identical buildings or barbed wire, just a fence to keep you from jumping into the dam.

So count me disappointed that at least two of Tennessee’s alleged FEMA camps seem to be a big bust. Where are your FEMA camps?

Hillary’s Head Injury Glasses

Karl Rove opened his yap and some stupid fell out and we’re all supposed to be shocked? No one is shocked, certainly not the Big Dog:

Former president Clinton obliterated the former Bush’s brain. Clinton said, “I got to give him credit, you know that embodies that old saying, ‘Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.’First they say she faked her concussion, now they say she’s auditioning for a part on The Walking Dead. She works out every week, she is strong, she’s doing great. As far as I can tell she’s in better shape than I am now…I was sort of dumbfounded. You can’t get too upset about it — it’s just the beginning, they’ll get better and better at it. I’m still waiting for them to admit there was nothing in White Water.”

Of course they’ll get better at it. They’re still trying to find something in #Benghazzzzziiii, too. I’m sure in about six months we’ll see the Regnery Publishing start churning out its Jerome Corsi-penned Benghazi exposes (yours free with your subscription to WingNut Daily!).

It’s unbelievable to me that the news media is even bothering to play along. Look, folks. Let me make it real simple for you: when Karl Rove starts trying to delegitimize the presumptive Democratic nominee with a crackpot conspiracy theory, this tells you everything you need to know about every single conspiracy furball the right has ever coughed up about the Clintons, President Obama, etc. Because much as the establishment Republican Party would like to pretend that birtherism, FEMA camps, Clinton’s serial rapist past, John Kerry’s Vietnam War record, etc. are all promulgated by some fringe on the extreme right (that they have nothing to do with!), clearly it’s all been coordinated from the heart of the GOP.

Karl Rove just tipped his hand because he forgot we live in an age where there are no secrets anymore. They’re trying to delegitimize any Hillary Clinton candidacy/presidency based on a weird conspiracy theory that they’ve just started.

Let the chain emails to Aunt Edna and Uncle Elmer fly.