Say It To My Face

Today's Ironic Thing

We can't prove who invented the fire hydrant because the documentation for the patent was destroyed - in a fire.

Today's Death Of Irony, Part ∞

Just let me state the obvious: I think these flim-flammers care nothing about bad shit that happens because of their flim-flammery.

And they sure as hell don't care that they look like idiots or assholes after they've been killed by the thing they insisted wasn't real, and anyway the gubmint cain't make me take a shot or wear a mask and blah blah fucking blah...

... and FREEDOM!!!

Conservative Activist Dies of COVID Complications After Attending Anti-Vax ‘Symposium’

Kelly Canon had celebrated her vaccine exemption a few weeks before she fell ill with the virus and wound up on a ventilator.

A well-known conservative activist in Arlington, Texas, who peddled COVID-19 vaccine misinformation has died of complications caused by the virus—just a few weeks after attending a “symposium” against the shots.

The Arlington Republican Party confirmed the passing of Kelly Canon on Facebook.

“Another tragedy and loss for our Republican family. Our dear friend Kelly Canon lost her battle with pneumonia today. Kelly will be forever in our hearts as a loyal and beloved friend and Patriot. Gone way too soon We will keep her family in our prayers,” the Arlington Republican Club said in a statement.

Friends and colleagues of the Republican figure flooded social media with tributes on Tuesday, lamenting what they said was her death “from COVID-related pneumonia.”

“I Had just texted with her yesterday and she said she was doing well, fighting off this damn Covid in both of her lungs that turned into double pneumonia, so I am quite shocked to get this news,” wrote one friend who identified herself as Jennifer Talbert Frank.

“I am truly heartbroken to learn that my dear friend Kelly Canon has passed away from complications from Covid pneumonia. Just yesterday around 4pm she told a group of friends that she definitely felt better and that the docs had told her she had ‘turned the corner’ with improved blood test results. She was talking about wanting to come home. Later last night she developed an acute abdominal issue, was given pain meds and put on the ventilator,” wrote Maggie Clopton Wright.

Canon had announced on Facebook in November that her employer granted her a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“No jabby-jabby for me! Praise GOD!” she wrote at the time.

Canon was prominent in Republican circles for her grassroots organizing and campaign to ban red light cameras in Arlington. She also made headlines in 2017 for going public about sexually explicit photos allegedly sent to her by then-GOP Rep. Joe Barton, a scandal which ultimately ended in Barton stepping down.

More recently, Canon had been an outspoken critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and pandemic-related restrictions. In one of her final Facebook posts, Canon shared several links to speeches she attended at a “COVID symposium” in Burleson in early December devoted to dissuading people from getting the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available. The event was organized by God Save Our Children, which bills itself as “a conservative group that is fighting against the use of experimental vaccines on our children.”

Canon had shared similar content on Twitter, where her most recent post was a YouTube video featuring claims that the coronavirus pandemic was “planned” in advance and part of a global conspiracy.

As news of her death spread Tuesday, pro-vaccine commentators flooded her Facebook page with cruel comments and mocking memes, while her supporters unironically praised her for being a “warrior for liberty” to the very end.

The Death Of Irony, Part ∞

Variety:

Trump’s Truth Social Is Banning Users Who Post About Jan. 6 Hearings, According to Reports

The irony is rich: Truth Social, Donald Trump’s Twitter copycat claiming it is “free from political discrimination,” has reportedly banned users who posted information from Thursday’s congressional hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — in which the former president is a key focus.

That’s according to several posts on Twitter by users who claimed Truth Social was censoring them. Reps for Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns and operates Truth Social, did not respond to a request for comment.

Travis Allen, whose Twitter bio describes him as an information security analyst, on Thursday evening posted a screenshot from the Truth Social app that said “Account suspended,” and he wrote: “My Truth Social account was just permanently suspended for talking about the January 6th Committee hearings.”

He added, “So much for ‘free speech.’ This is censorship!” Allen did not provide details about what allegedly led to Truth Social kicking him off the platform.

“Seeing a lot of folks getting banned from Trump’s Truth Social for posting updates about the January 6 Committee hearings,” Max Burns, communications director for Democratic New York State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, tweeted Friday. “Apparently free speech has its limits even in Trumpland.”

Also Friday morning, another Twitter user reported, “Just put out my first post on Truth social and they deleted it. Real freedom of speech champs there.”

Truth Social’s terms of service state, “We reserve the right to, in our sole discretion and without notice or liability, deny access to and use of the service (including blocking certain IP addresses), to any person for any reason or for no reason… We may terminate your use or participation in the service or delete [your account and] any content or information that you posted at any time, without warning, in our sole discretion.” (Twitter’s terms of service include similar language.) In the U.S., under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, internet platforms like Truth Social have legal protections for their content-moderation decisions — a carve-out that Trump unsuccessfully sought to revoke when he occupied the White House.

Twitter permanently banned Trump in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot citing the risk of ongoing violence after he posted a video praising the violent mob seeking to overturn the 2020 election. Billionaire Elon Musk, whose $44 billion bid for Twitter is pending, has called Twitter’s ban of the ex-president a mistake and a decision he would reverse.

Earlier this year, as a counter to the imagined anti-conservative bias of Big Tech, Trump launched Truth Social. It’s not clear how many users are on Truth Social. Trump currently has 3.2 million followers on the app; before he was banned from Twitter, he had more than 88 million followers.

As of March 31, 2022, Trump Media & Technology Group had not generated any revenue to date and has warned investors that “TMTG may never generate any operating revenues or ever achieve profitable operations.” Sarasota, Fla.-based TMTG had approximately 40 full-time employees as of the end of March, per a regulatory filing by Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that intends to merge with TMTG.

At some point, Trump’s media company plans to launch a subscription-streaming service called TMTG+ with a range of right-wing and “non-woke” content, including “Trump-specific programming” as well as “blue-collar comedy” and “cancelled shows.”

TMTG is led by CEO Devin Nunes, the former Republican congressman who once unsuccessfully sued Twitter and anonymous parody accounts Devin Nunes’ Cow and Devin Nunes’ Mom, alleging defamation.

Trump also sued Twitter unsuccessfully. In a complaint filed last year, the ex-president and others asserted that Twitter was a “government actor” and therefore bound to the First Amendment’s prohibition against abridging freedom of speech — i.e., that Twitter’s ban on Trump was unconstitutional. A federal judge rejected that argument and dismissed the case last month.

Death Of Irony, Part ∞

Notice how the people

who bitch the loudest

about "the woke mob"

are the same people who're

pimping "The Great Awakening"

A Thought

I have to marvel every day at what the billionaires and DumFux News have pulled off so far.

They got wage-earning folk to hate the very people who want them to have better pay (and to enjoy some of those fringe benefit thingies that should go along with every job) - who want them have safe drinking water and clean air to breathe, affordable healthcare, decent education opportunities, and the power to push back against big banks and the giant corporate conglomerates that eat companies and shit people.

It is a wonderment. But I s'pose that's always the way.

@GhostPanther

Today's Republican Logic

Essential workers are not worth the cost of paying them a living wage.

The Death Of Irony, Part ∞

CNN:

They stormed the Capitol to overturn the results of an election they didn't vote in

They were there to "Stop the Steal" and to keep the President they revered in office, yet records show that some of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol did not vote in the very election they were protesting.

One was Donovan Crowl, an ex-Marine who charged toward a Capitol entrance in paramilitary garb on January 6 as the Pro-Trump crowd chanted "who's our President?"

Federal authorities later identified Crowl, 50, as a member of a self-styled militia organization in his home state of Ohio and affiliated with the extremist group the Oath Keepers. His mother told CNN that he previously told her "they were going to overtake the government if they...tried to take Trump's presidency from him." She said he had become increasingly angry during the Obama administration and that she was aware of his support for former President Donald Trump.

Despite these apparent pro-Trump views, a county election official in Ohio told CNN that he registered in 2013 but "never voted nor responded to any of our confirmation notices to keep him registered," so he was removed from the voter rolls at the end of 2020 and the state said he was not registered in Ohio. A county clerk in Illinois, where Crowl was once registered, also confirmed he was not an active voter anywhere in the state.

Crowl was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of destruction of government property and conspiracy for allegedly coordinating with others to plan their attack. He remains in custody after a judge said, "The suggestion to release him to a residence with nine firearms is a non-starter." In an interview cited by the government, Crowl told the New Yorker that he had peaceful intentions and claimed he had protected the police. Crowl's attorney did not provide a comment about his client's voting record.

But it's not irony at all. Not really. It's a complete abandonment of reason and the very "common sense" these assholes are always posting about on social media.

This is brainwashing at a level unseen for a very long time. And it's not that these clowns are having ideas put in their heads - their brains are being scrubbed clean of any cogent thought at all, so they can be reprogrammed on the fly and sent off to do whatever their handlers tell them to do.

Podcast

First tho: The Death Of Irony, Part ∞

From a local news station in Australia.

Woman trampled in Capitol riots had 'don't tread on me' flag

A woman trampled to death during the riot at the US Capitol had been carrying a flag reading: "Don't tread on me".

Rosanne Boyland, 34, was killed in the crush when a few rioters started pushing people, her friend Justin Winchell said.

"They basically created a panic, and the police, in turn, push back on them, so people started falling," Mr Winchell said.

"I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking (on top of her).

"There were people stacked two-three deep…people just crushed."

Paramedics desperately tried to revive her but were unable to.

Another "patriot" martyred to the cause.

Driftglass has dubbed the shit that went down on Jan 6 "The Incel Insurrection."

The Professional Left Podcast, Episode 580:

Send 'em some love

Mail a check payable to:

The Professional Left Podcast

PO Box 9133

Springfield, IL 62791-9133

Today's Ammosexual

The Death Of Irony, part ∞

When the law-n-order crowd is one of the main causes of this totally fucked up anarchical libertarian mess.

Denver Post:

The Loveland man who allegedly held two roofing salesmen at gunpoint because he thought they were members of antifa reportedly kneeled on the neck of one of the victims, who is African-American, and pointed a gun at his back, according to an arrest affidavit.

Scott Gudmundsen, 65, is facing charges of felony menacing and false imprisonment in connection with the alleged incident that took place June 11 in the 600 block of Edinburgh Drive in Loveland.

According to his arrest affidavit, the salesmen told the police they had been in the neighborhood the day before, on Wednesday, selling roof inspections. They contacted Gudmundsen at his home, and he asked them to leave.

While they were talking to another resident, Gudmundsen approached them and demanded to see their identification, the affidavit said. They showed him their IDs, and Gudmundsen reportedly apologized and left.

While they were canvassing a different area of the same neighborhood Thursday, Gudmundsen approached them again with what looked like a small assault rifle, the affidavit said. He started yelling at them to get on the ground and calling them terrorists, the affidavit said, saying that they were with antifa and that he would shoot them.

The two victims are not being named to protect their privacy. One of them is a football player for Colorado State University.

According to the affidavit, one of the victims told police he did not want to die so he lay on the ground as Gudmundsen ordered.

The other victim, who is African-American, told police that Gudmundsen kneeled on his neck and jammed a gun into his back.

“He asked Gudmundsen not to kill him,” the affidavit said. “Gudmundsen told him he was not going to kill him; the police would.”

Gudmundsen called police to tell them that he was holding antifa members hostage. Several witnesses also called the police to report that a man was pointing a gun at people.

Loveland Police Department officer Matt Sychla responded to a 911 call and arrived at the scene to see Gudmundsen standing over the victim pointing a pistol at his back, the affidavit said. Gudmundsen was armed with two loaded pistols and had more ammunition in a tactical vest he was wearing.

Officer Geoff Reeves responded to a 911 phone call from Gudmundsen on Thursday in which he told dispatchers that he was confronting antifa members in his neighborhood.

“Gudmundsen reported he was wearing tactical gear, was armed and was a former police officer,” the affidavit said. “He told dispatchers when we arrived he would drop to the ground to show he was not a threat.”

Dispatchers received additional calls about a standoff, and when Reeves arrived at the scene at 6:02 p.m. Sychla was holding Gudmundsen and the two victims on the ground at gunpoint, the affidavit said. The officers took Gudmundsen into custody at 6:14 p.m.

Gudmundsen was released from Larimer County Jail on a $500 bond and is scheduled to have his first appearance in court Thursday.

Gudmundsen has no prior criminal history in Colorado, according to court records.

That Song

That Song In Every Musical That No One Likes --Sara Smallwood Parsons

The City Of Brotherly Love

A fight broke out in a theater during the Mr Rogers movie.

We have reached Peak Philadelphia.

SOTU

Ironically, the State Of The Union target audience is The Confederacy.

-- Rocky Mountain Mike

When it was announced that Rick Perry was the Designated Survivor this year:

Like millions of other atheists, I experienced a Temporary Situational Conversion and offered up a little prayer.

We truly need leadership to unify the nation at this time. After two years of division and demagoguery, President Trump has spoken some words about unity. Unfortunately, what the TelePrompTer giveth, the President’s daily actions and hourly tweets quickly taketh away. #SOTU

— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) February 6, 2019

Don’t worry, we saw your sign! pic.twitter.com/MKX5gSpvA1

— W. E. B. Dem Bois (@WEB_DemBois) February 6, 2019

WaPo:

President Trump’s State of the Union speech once again was chock-full of stretched facts and dubious figures. Many of these claims have been fact-checked repeatedly, yet the president persists in using them. Here, in the order in which he made them, are nearly 30 statements by the president.

Daniel Dale, Toronto Star:

“We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of co-operation, compromise and the common good,” Trump, who has repeatedly spoken of his fondness for punching back at enemies, told a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

“Together, we can break decades of political stalemate. We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future,” he said. “The decision is ours to make.”

Trump’s kumbaya pitch was sure to be greeted with widespread skepticism. He has followed previous moves toward high-minded statesmanship by reverting immediately to his usual bellicosity.

Oh, Melania

In case you've started to think more kindly towards FLOTUS - uhhhm - no, don't.

Today's WTF

Dan Avery, NewNowNext:

MassResistance is an anti-gay hate group that opposes marriage equality and anti-bullying programs as attempts to “normalize homosexuality.” Members even attacked Governor Mitt Romney as being too soft on LGBT rights.

So it’s a little surprising the group’s Texas chapter opened its teen summit with… this.

That is possibly the best combination of Coming Out and Fuck-You-Trolling ever.

Truth Lives On

While irony dies a thousand deaths.

Emily Shapiro, ABC News:

A man accidentally shot himself and his wife in their Tennessee church after he had taken his gun out during a discussion about weapons in places of worship, police said.

The man, 81, and his wife, 80, both suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The incident happened Thursday afternoon as members of the First United Methodist Church in Tellico Plains -- about 60 miles southwest of Knoxville -- were gathered at the church for a pre-Thanksgiving lunch, Tellico Plains Police Department Chief Russ Parks told ABC News.

The church members were discussing weapons in places of worship on the heels of the shooting at a Texas church earlier this month that killed over two dozen people, Parks said, and "one of the gentlemen said, 'Well, I take my gun with me everywhere.'"

You Know It's Likely

In some ways it's kind of a cheap shot. At least it's a little too easy and obvious.

But I think we know that a year from now - even tho' a lot of 'em will still be getting payouts from Treasury - because it'll still be pretty fucked up down there - somebody will shake that Etch-A-Sketch and jagoffs like these guys will be right back at it.

And I might as well put my cynicism to work here and make the point that lots of cronies are about to get rich(er) because of their sudden realization that they have a burning passion to provide "relief goods" to all those poor innocent victims.

Today's Good News / Bad News

It gets clearer and muddier at the same time.

Clearer that there was an Olympian amount of fuckery going on.

Muddier because the Circle of Fuckery gets wider with each new bit revealed.

Four reporters and 3 different sources - Boston Globe:  (beware the pay wall)

WASHINGTON — Before arranging a meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer he believed would offer him compromising information about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Jr. was informed in an e-mail that the material was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s candidacy, according to three people with knowledge of the e-mail.

The e-mail to the younger Trump was sent by Rob Goldstone, a publicist and former British tabloid reporter who helped broker the June 2016 meeting. In a statement Sunday, Trump acknowledged that he was interested in receiving damaging information about Clinton, but he gave no indication that he thought the lawyer might have been a Kremlin proxy.
E-mail.  An e-mail cracks it open and takes 'em all down?

But then:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump’s eldest son during the presidential campaign said she was summoned to Trump Tower and asked if she had damaging information on Hillary Clinton, painting a very different picture of the encounter from the one that Donald Trump Jr. has described.

Trump Jr. has said his June 2016 meeting with attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya was arranged through an acquaintance so that he could hear information helpful to the Trump campaign. Distancing himself from the source of the information, he has said he didn’t even know the name of the person he was to meet with in advance.

The dueling depictions of the meeting, arranged just after Trump had clinched the Republican nomination, come as congressional committees and Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigate whether Trump campaign associates and Russia coordinated to tip the election in Trump’s favor. Though neither Veselnitskaya nor Trump Jr. has described the meeting as fruitful, it'll likely be dissected by investigators trying to determine whether collusion took place.

Today's Irony

There is something very wrong here.
The political party currently holding all the power is moving to cut back on almost all of the rights guaranteed under US law, while encouraging people to take up arms for fear the federal government is taking away our rights.

There Are No Trees In That Forest

Wired:

The Canadian research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen, an Arctic expedition vessel, will not be venturing north for its planned trip this year. The highly anticipated voyage aimed to monitor and understand the effects of climate change on Arctic marine and coastal ecosystems. But due to warming temperatures, Arctic sea ice is unexpectedly in motion, making the trip far too dangerous for the Amundsen and the scientists it would be carrying. In other words, the climate change study has been rendered unsafe by climate change.