Trump, Ever The Good Christian.

Donald Trump, left, stands next to the Easter Bunny, right (Screen cap).

Donald Trump, left, stands next to the Easter Bunny, right (Screen cap).

Before entering Bethesda-by-the-Sea Church for Sunday services, Trump stood in front of the front doors and answered questions about his call on Twitter to end deportation protection for so-called Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. as children.

When he was asked about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Trump blamed Mexico for “not helping at the border.”

“If they’re not going to help us at the border, it’s a very sad thing. Mexico has got help us at the border. And a lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA. And we’re going to have to really see,” the president said.

There’s the christian that all the lunatic, asshole christians love, taking an oh so pious stance (look, I’m going to church!) and then denying responsibility for and degrading children. Can’t you just feel that christian love? Afterwards, the Tiny Tyrant did the bunny and egg roll stuff, with a by now standard idiotic word salad message to all the sprogs:

In his address to the children at the event, Trump began by referring to the White House as “this house or building or whatever you want to call it because there is no name for it, it is special.” Trump then said that he and his staff keep the White House “in tip-top shape, we call it sometimes tippy-top shape, and it’s a great, great place.”

He then pivoted to talking about the military, which he said would soon be “at a level it’s never been before” and “you see what’s happening with funding” and “just think of $700 billion, because that’s what’s going into our military this year.”

My, who knew there was no name for the white house? When did that happen, because I certainly missed it. So, I guess we now have Tippy-Top Shape House. That seems to accord well with the Tiny Tyrant’s mentality. Moving on, what’s more joyful to talk about on Ēostre Day, to children, than a military sucking up yet more money, a bloated horror of a tick sucking the lifeblood out of the country? I suppose you can’t start priming the next gen of cannon fodder soon enough, eh?

Both stories via RawStory, one, two.

The Black & White of Voter Fraud.

Reid Wilson:

NC white woman who admitted voter fraud: No charges.

CO white man convicted of voter fraud: Probation, comm service.

IA white woman convicted of voter fraud: Probation, $750 fine.

TX black woman convicted of voter fraud: 5 years IN PRISON. Which of these is not like the other?

Clear as crystal, isn’t it? But we just don’t have a gosh darn problem with racism in Amerikka, no. You can read more about this at RawStory.

“Clock Activated. Red Castle. Green Castle.”

Oh, all the conspiracy theorists are having themselves a little meme war, which they think will set the stage for a video which will take down all those nefarious liberal elites, who are busy with demonic activity, and doing horrible things to children, all this stuff they just know is true, but there’s never even the slightest scintilla of evidence. They are now positive that “the storm” is going to break.

Conspiracy theorists tapped in to “The Storm” have declared today to be the day in which they “post a continuous barrage of memes” in order to prepare the nation for the release of a video that they believe will serve as the “nail in many coffins” for liberal politicians who are involved in a massive alleged pedophile cult.

The Storm is a conspiracy theory that has captured the imaginations of “Pizzagate” truthers who believe that the highest ranking liberal political and business leaders are engaged in a secret satanic pedophile ring dedicated to trafficking and abusing children. At the helm of The Storm sits an anonymous poster on 4chan and then 8chan message boards known only as “Q.” Many followers of The Storm believe “Q” to be a high-ranking government official whom President Trump has ordered to leave cryptic clues—dubbed “crumbs” by conspiracy theorists—about supposed behind-the-scene efforts to unravel the alleged pedophile ring. An archive site of QAnon posts has documented nearly 1,000 cryptic messages since late October of last year.

Since the theory began in October, hordes of people have been engaged with it. YouTube videos about “QAnon” regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. The most dedicated participants in the conspiracy theory, including Infowars Washington bureau chief Jerome Corsi, spend hours per day in Discord chat rooms attempting to decode posts written by “Q.”

I don’t know who is behind the whole Q business, and I can’t say I much care, but they must be laughing their ass off on how easy it is to manipulate these people. You can read and see more of the full conspiratorial stew at RWW.

Talking About Obama’s Birth Certificate. Again.

Joe Arpaio, screengrab. Just look at all those old white men.

Joe Arpaio. Apparently, still grieving over not being sheriff anymore, so he’s running for senate in Arizona. Here’s a bit of what he had to say to people about his pro-Trump platform:

In a speech to a small group at the event, which was posted on YouTube by the channel Tru Conservative TV, Arpaio recalled introducing Trump at a campaign rally in 2015 where he spoke about his and Trump’s shared interest in cracking down on immigration and in investigating Obama’s birth certificate.

“I talked about another thing that made a little news,” Arpaio said. “I don’t talk about it anymore—until I become the U.S. senator…but that’s something to do with a document. If I ask you guys—I’m a nothing now, but if I was still the sheriff I could ask for your birth certificate.”

“So I’m kind of dropping that right now,” he said, “but I’m going to tell you something: 100 percent we proved that’s a fake document. One hundred.”

For someone who is not talking about “it”, you seem to be spending time talking about it. Unbelievable, all these old, white, conservative christians are like a terribly scratched record, it’s all skip, screech, bumpity bump bump.

No, you did not 100 percent prove the birth certificate to be fake. You couldn’t get anywhere at all with that, even though you put years into your “investigation”. Well, I suppose focusing on such nonsense is better than Mr. Arpaio attempting to address current affairs.

The full story, with links and video is at RWW.

Nazis: All About Taking Guns Away.

Image credit: STILLFX.

Frances Swaggart, wife of Jimmy Swaggart, has been mouthing off about the recent marches for gun control and reform, and she doesn’t like it, no sir. Ms. Swaggart did pop up with some interesting reasoning, which she claims is historical fact:

“Hitler’s regime took away guns from the people in Germany and then he herded all of those who did not like it into box cars and shipped them to concentration camps where they were enslaved, beaten, raped and murdered,” she said. “The victims didn’t fire a shot in self defense because their guns had been taken away. That’s a fact.”

“And that’s why evil people want to take the guns away from law-abiding citizens here in the United States of America,” the host opined. “Everybody says, ‘Let’s get rid of the guns.’ It’s the worst decisions that could be ever made. Get rid of the guns. No! No! No! Put God back into the schools.”

Um…how in the hell do you even address this level of wrong? I, uh, can’t even figure out where to start. Perhaps with this: if everyone was armed, maybe the time to go on a nazi shooting spree would have been before the herding into box cars? No, I just can’t do this, it all seems terribly frivolous to even address this monstrous falsity in the face of such evil. I certainly know where the evil lies in this country, and that’s with christian conservatives, who keep falling further off the cliff of lunacy. Dangerous lunacy. Unfortunately, there’s more of this, but even reading it makes me feel sick. You can read the rest at RawStory.

A ‘Separation Of LGBT And State’.

Scott Lively, a man who thinks executing queer folk is a great idea is running for governor of Massachusetts. I most sincerely hope the people of Massachusetts bury this evil asshole in a blizzard of no votes at all.

Lively asserted that “there is no human right based in sodomy” and promised that if he becomes governor, he will ensure that the rights of religious individuals will always triumph over the rights of LGBTQ people.

“The two things that I would do in Massachusetts,” Lively said, “number one is what I call the First Amendment supremacy clause … It just simply says that whenever there is a conflict between [sexual orientation nondiscrimination] regulations and the First Amendment, the First Amendment has to prevail. It has to prevail; you cannot have newly invented laws and policies superseding the most fundamental right of Americans.”

Oh, how I wish these hateful, bigoted asshole christians would get the fuck over the whole sodomy thing. Men who happen to be gay are not the be all end all of LGBTQ, but you’d never know it going by Lively and those like him. Naturally, it’s all about the mighty, terrifying, all powerful penis! A teensy bit of education could go a long way here – all gay men don’t indulge in anal sex, and plenty of hetero people do indulge.

Of course you can have newly invented laws and policies, you flaming dipshit. They happen all the damn time. For all your waving about of the word amendment, you seem to be remarkably unaware of what it means. Oh, the irony!

“The second [policy] is what I call the separation of LGBT and state,” he continued. “To the extent that religion is restricted in government, so should the LGBT political movement because it is basically the counter to it. They’re opposite political forces and movements competing for influence in society and government should get its thumb off the scale when it comes to that and let’s get back to like we had it in the ’40s and ’50s.”

So much for the constitution love. Interesting how that goes straight out the window when it comes to separation of church and state. You don’t get to institute separations to cater to your unhinged hatred, Mr. Lively. It doesn’t work that way. As for the 1940s and 1950s, no, let’s not go back there. I wouldn’t mind if you went back there, Mr. Lively, then we’d be well shot of you. Can someone get on that time machine already? Please?

The full story with video is at RWW.

Sunday Facepalm: AFSS.

Remember Space Force? Oh, AFSS: Amerikka First Space Strategy! Yeah. The Fucking Idiot thinks he’s on to something here.

The White House on Friday unveiled President Donald Trump’s “America First” space strategy, only 10 days after the commander in chief called for a Space Force to militarize low Earth orbit.

“The Trump administration’s National Space Strategy prioritizes American interests first and foremost, ensuring a strategy that will make America strong, competitive, and great,” the plan claims.

The plan officially includes Trump’s promised focus on militarization of space.

I haven’t yet gone and inspected the great plan. Haven’t had enough tea yet. There might not be enough tea for this one. Oh yes, screw science or trying to fix anything here on the planet, the most important thing ever is a dick waving contest in space. I’m imagining the Tiny Tyrant at his desk with a coke and greasy fries, playing with Lego’s Star Wars.

“Trump’s National Space Strategy recognizes that our competitors and adversaries have turned space into a warfighting (sic) domain. While the United States would prefer that the space domain remain free of conflict, we will prepare to meet and overcome any challenges that arise,” the space strategy reads. “Under the President’s new strategy, the United States will seek to deter, counter, and defeat threats in the space domain that are hostile to the national interests of the United States and our allies.”

“Warfighting”, because I guess war isn’t descriptive or clear enough. You want “space domain” to remain conflict free? Easy, stay out of it. Plenty to do planetside, y’know. What fucking threats? Has the empire shown up? Space invaders from Mars? We have plenty of war threats right here on good old Terra Firma. I’d like to see those avoided, but that’s no doubt a forlorn hope.

Space wars are one of the four pillars of the new America First space strategy.

Space Wars! First thing, you’re gonna have to rebrand, you would not believe the amount of things with the name Space Wars attached. Don’t want to get lost in the shuffle or anything.

“Strengthen deterrence and warfighting (sic) options: We will strengthen U.S. and allied options to deter potential adversaries from extending conflict into space and, if deterrence fails, to counter threats used by adversaries for hostile purposes,” the plan directs.

This would be bafflegab for “Donny really really wants to play with nukes!”, right? I have to wonder if making for real light sabers is part of the plan somewhere…

Via Raw Story.

“You left us to die on battlefield like William Dafoe in Platoon.”

Oh my, the devoted, never say die Trumpholes are ever so upset, they have been betrayed! Even worse, they’ve been cucked by the Tiny Tyrant! Their tiny sky is falling.

Trump signed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill at the White House this afternoon, which sent right-wing media figures who have established themselves as unabashed Trump defenders into a fit.

Earlier this morning, Trump had tweeted that he was considering vetoing the bipartisan omnibus spending bill because it did not address DACA recipients and lacked full funding for his promised southern border wall. Hours later, however, Trump signed the spending bill into law in what he said was a “ridiculous situation” and claimed he would “never sign another bill like this again.”

Naturally, pro-Trump pundits were furious that Trump had compromised with establishment Republicans and Democrats on a spending bill that appeared to contradict his campaign promises.

Just a few choice responses here, RWW has a full page of the wailing disappointment…

“I will never sign another bill like this again” Yeah, because you’ll be impeached. – Ann Coulter.

Disastrous decision @realDonaldTrump. The people advising u are idiots. Tough guy? Art of Deal? Worst negotiation EVER. U rolled over like a puppy to Marxists, frauds, traitors & corrupt greedy swamp. When I leave, u can turn out lights. #TRAGICMISTAKE – Wayne Allyn Root.

The title of this post was from yet another frothy tweet from Mr. Root, who couldn’t bother to get poor Willem Dafoe’s name right.

Well — @realDonaldTrump just signed his impeachment papers. The GOP will be slaughtered in the mid-terms. – Todd Starnes.

I have to say, I’m more than a bit amused. You can see all the other responses to this horrible betrayal at RWW.

Fiends of Darkness With Dastardly Phrases!

Stanislas de Guaita. Le Serpent de la Genèse: Le Temple de Satan. Paris : Librairie du Merveilleux, 1891.

Stanislas de Guaita. Le Serpent de la Genèse: Le Temple de Satan. Paris : Librairie du Merveilleux, 1891.

C-Fam is all busy “fighting the fiends of darkness with their dastardly phrases”, at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, of course, because where else?

Last year, the Trump administrated invited a representative from Austin Ruse’s C-Fam—which works with some of the world’s most repressive regimes to resist reproductive rights and LGBTQ equality at the UN—to join the official U.S. delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. This year, C-Fam isn’t in the official delegation, but Ruse is fundraising off his group’s advocacy against the inclusion of “dastardly phrases” such as “sexual orientation” and “reproductive health” in commission documents.

Ruse wrote in a fundraising email yesterday (emphases his):

The bad news is that “sexual orientation”, “gender identity”, “reproductive health”, and “comprehensive sexuality education” are all in the CSW documents we have been negotiating at the UN since last Monday.

The good news is that each of these dastardly phrases have been bracketed and are on the verge of being deleted altogether.

We have been working on this literally for months and we are on the verge of a great victory against the fiends of darkness.

As you know,

Sexual orientation and gender identity is code for odious sexual behavior and gender lunacy,

Reproductive health is code for abortion,

Comprehensive sexuality education is a blue-print for kids to lose their lives and their souls.

These wicked ideas are being pushed by hard-leftists at the UN and by diplomats from Europe.

But, they did not count on the pro-life and pro-family coalition!

We have five more days of negotiations before we know whether we have routed the enemy. …

Odious sexual behaviour? Okay, how about we talk about the massive cheating and porn addiction problem in conservative christians? Gender lunacy? Okay, how about we have a little chat about the damaging, rigid stereotypes imposed on children of conservative christians?

Reproductive health is code for reproductive health, you mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging doucheweasel. The ability to terminate a pregnancy successfully is a part of that, whether or not birth is the termination point. Let’s not forget about something else you absolutely loathe: contraception. Contraception goes a long way to keeping a whole lot of people safe and sane, and yes, that includes men. It’s worth mentioning a fact you do your best to ignore: certain contraceptives are often prescribed for specific reproductive health problems, and that is very important indeed to those who suffer such health problems. Pain is not fun.

A blue-print for kids to lose their lives? No, that’s not what comprehensive sex ed does at all. Comprehensive sex ed saves lives by making sure kids engage in sexual activity when they are ready, not before, and that they do it safely. Sex ed also teaches consent, which is vital for all kids to know and understand, which can and does prevent rape, something you asshole christians don’t have much of a problem with. Sex ed also provides answers and security to those kids who are thinking they are all alone in their orientation, and sex ed teaches kids to be accepting to others, yet another thing you asshole christians don’t like, you’re much more at home with intolerance and hate.

Unfortunately, there’s more of this hateful fucking garbage, and you can read it all at RWW.

A Wee Bit Late.

In his latest video, Lance Wallnau has a prayer:

“The left needs to shut up and Father, we just pray in Jesus’ name that your hand will be on this president and on his marriage and on his wife, that their ears will be deaf to the salacious, cruel accusations and toxic utterances that are coming at them from all directions. And I pray for a swift and speedy blocking of this subject from entering into the middle of the national narrative.”

You need to keep up, Lance. Rather late in the day to ask Jehovah to stomp all over Ms. Daniels. As for being salacious, cruel, and toxic, it seems the Tiny Tyrant has all those covered, with more to spare. It really takes a special kind of man to go out and cheat on his wife while pregnant, and after giving birth to yet another heir. That’s a particular cruelty, one which will reside in Ms. Tiny Tyrant’s head forever.

As for the national narrative, when has the Tiny Tyrant’s salacious, cruel, and toxic behaviour not been a part of it? Donny is guilty of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and cheating all over the damn place. That’s all on him. The man is a walking scandal of criminal activity. I can’t speak for all The Left™, but this little part of it is not going to shut up, so I’m afraid yet another prayer has fallen on deaf ears. The only reason the lunatic fringe wants this all hushed up is that you can’t stand people looking at your hypocrisy, supporting an adulterer in spite of your so-called morals and family values. Oh, that spotlight is hot, isn’t it? Unfortunately for you, right wing asshole christians are more likely to be lapping up every bit of, um, exposure given to Ms. Daniels, more than the average person. Fundamentalist christians have a fatal attraction to porn, and the more they yell about it, the more they are watching and listening. Repression never works the way it’s supposed to, and you’d think you idiots would figure that one out, but no. Even remonstrations use clickbait titles: Don’t watch super-whore Stormy’s interview!, knowing that ‘super-whore’ is a magnet to christians. So, it would be you fucking idiots feeding the frenzy you’re upset about.  If I were a god, I wouldn’t pay attention to you either.

That’s not all that Lance has been praying about:

Wallnau warned that if “the midterm elections prove that the fury and froth and madness stirred up by propaganda by the left” is effective enough to shift control of Congress, then this nation will never have peace or unity because “there is a corrupt root so strongly embedded” in the Democrats.

“I’m telling you now,” Wallnau declared, “the spirit of darkness wants to neutralize this presidency in September [sic] of 2018, but we decree and declare that there is a turning over of the tables for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen, for that reason this man was given a title a honor as president. Though he did not know God fully when he started, he knows that there is a God of Israel right now. Father, we pray, though you have been a God who hides himself, that you will now reveal your arm and foil even the false signs of false prognosticators, counselors, coordinators and schemers working within the political apparatus, the media apparatus, the television, the entertainment, the grassroots organizing, even to dry up the resources of those who are using their wealth as a mechanism to choke the future of the United States.”

Y’know, it wasn’t that long ago we had democracy. Eight years of it. And while it wasn’t as good as it could have been (as with all things), it was pretty good. Made a lot of progress, and there wasn’t so much as a whiff of scandal of any kind. No porn stars, no hush money, no cheating, no sexual assault, no harassment, no mass amounts of criminal activity.  I’d be absolutely thrilled to have that again, and I’m hardly alone in that one.

“Though you have been a God who hides himself“, oh yes, for thousands of years! Actually, since this god was dreamed up and cobbled together. Nice of you to sort of admit it, Lance.

The full thing is at RWW.

Sunday Facepalm.

Students protest for tighter gun laws in Washington, DC, on March 14, 2018. (Photo: Bradley Williams for People For the American Way).

Students protest for tighter gun laws in Washington, DC, on March 14, 2018. (Photo: Bradley Williams for People For the American Way).

Master of rabid frothery Kevin Swanson is upset about guns, sort of. He can’t seem to figure out why those meddling kids are upset, but da youth is going to destroy Amerikka, yessir, just like every generation gone before them.

Radical right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson was not impressed with yesterday’s nationwide walkout in which thousands of students left school to protest gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting last month at a Florida high school, saying that the fact that the movement is being led by young people is a sign that America is under the judgment of God.

[Snips irrelevant passage from Isaiah]

“In other words, the young folks have all this revolutionary zeal but no real wisdom to govern what they are doing,” he said. “This is the result of the breaking of the commandment of God. Things are not going well with us in the land, we are not seeing things going well for tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of people across the country largely because the massive violation of the Fifth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother.”

Oh, the same old shite argument: you don’t have experience! Taking action is one way to gain experience, Mr. Swanson, and all kids need to start somewhere. Also, I am sick to death of these self-righteous assholes acting as though all the high school students are toddlers. A good many of these young people are mere months away from legal adulthood and voting. Others are quite a few years away from that, but you don’t get to act as though they have no right to think about issues and come to a conclusion about them. As issues go, guns are an easy one. We don’t need the fucking things, they should be under strict control, if for no other reason, to prevent more young people from needlessly dying. Most of these kids are in favour of gun reform, so they don’t even want to completely take your lethal toys away. The kids are alright, they are doing the right thing. As for your commandment, did it not occur, Mr. Swanson, that the majority of these kids have parents who stand behind them one hundred percent? Parents who are proud of their children for taking action and refusing to back down?

I’ve always hated that idiotic commandment. A lot of people end up with shit parents, you know, and no, they aren’t deserving of honour, or obedience, or any other thing. When it comes to parents and children, that whole ‘honour’ business needs to work both ways. Parenting is a difficult business much of the time, but you are supposed to be raising up individuals who can think for themselves. Well, at least if you’re not an asshole christian, who is more into brainwashing and numb obedience.

“Young people need to come to grips with the fact that they have not honored their parents’ wisdom,” Swanson said. “For this, God is bringing his judgment upon these individuals and upon this nation.”

Uh huh. Perhaps you’d like to say that to the parents who have lost a child to gun violence. Seems to me that a lot of parents are embracing their children’s wisdom, and they are acting together for the greater good. They don’t want more dead children and parents lost in a lifetime of grief, which is more than I can say for you asshole christians, who think some dead kids here and there are an acceptable price to pay in order to keep your lethal toys.

The whole thing is at RWW.

Trophy Hunting: an enhancement to foreign wildlife conservation and survival.

Cecil the lion gained fame after he was killed by Safari Club International member Walter Palmer during an illegal hunt in Zimbabwe. Paula French/ZUMA.

Cecil the lion gained fame after he was killed by Safari Club International member Walter Palmer during an illegal hunt in Zimbabwe. Paula French/ZUMA.

Just the other day, I posted about Amerikka doing its best to reach shithole country status. Naturally, no matter how great a country truly is, there’s always the fucking idiot contingent who moans that they have higher taxes, so bad. I would be more than happy to pay taxes which went to the common good, that’s the point of taxes. Here in Ustates, taxes rarely go to the common good. They certainly don’t under the current regime. Taxes end up in the pockets of the obscenely wealthy and corrupt. Today brings you a fine example of where tax dollars in this shithole go.

The Trump administration has launched a commission at the Interior Department to promote big-game trophy hunting and the “economic benefits that result from US citizens traveling to foreign nations to engage in hunting.” The council, which will cost taxpayers $250,000 a year, is charged with making recommendations to Secretary Ryan Zinke about removing barriers to importing trophy hunting animals—such as the recently overturned ban on elephant and lion trophies from some countries—and relaxing legal restrictions on hunting and importing endangered species.

Anyone impressed by this? Anyone happy about having their pocket picked for this utterly immoral, corrupt bullshit? Wait, it gets worse.

The members of the International Wildlife Conservation Council, which is holding its first meeting Friday, include a reality-TV safari hunting guide, a former beauty queen, gun industry representatives, members and affiliates of a controversial trophy hunting group, and a veterinarian associated with an exotic animal breeding facility in Florida that sells endangered animals to roadside zoos.

“It’s really embarrassing,” says Masha Kalinina, the international trade policy specialist for the wildlife department at the Humane Society International. “I just question the qualifications of each and every one of these people. Notably missing from this trophy hunting council are legitimate representatives of the conservation community with proper scientific credentials and a record of successful conservation programs, along with wildlife law enforcement experts and biologists who have no financial stake in promoting trophy hunting.”

The council’s charter calls hunting “an enhancement to foreign wildlife conservation and survival.” Along with pushing to relax imports of trophy animals, it will also review the way the US complies with an international treaty designed to protect endangered plants and animals that guides regulation of the exotic animal trade. But the membership of the council seems heavily weighted toward people who think the best way to conserve wildlife is to kill it.

Indeed, the country’s largest trophy-hunting lobby seems to have an outsized role on the council. Of the 16 IWCC members, at least 10 have an affiliation with Safari Club International, which represents wealthy big-game hunters who often tangle with the Fish and Wildlife Service over permits to import of game trophies from overseas, particularly for endangered species. The advocacy group, with 50,000 members, frequently lobbies Congress and federal agencies to fight environmental regulations. It sued to overturn the Obama-era ban on importing elephant and lion trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Trump administration ended the ban earlier this month, despite the president’s earlier objections and comments that elephant hunting is a “horror show.”

Those members include Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist and asshole extraordinaire who killed Cecil the Lion.

The principal deputy director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Greg Sheehan, who is effectively running the agency in the absence of a congressionally confirmed director, oversees the IWCC. He is an SCI member and attended the group’s convention in Las Vegas last month when it awarded its “professional hunter of the year” honors to a South African man who has been fined for leading hunts of endangered black rhinos.

It gets much worse from there. It’s a sickening read, and its symptomatic of the rot spreading out like gangrene from the current regime to poison everything. Those people who want to point to higher taxes in other countries, countries which provide healthcare, free education, and many other benefits to their citizens, you need to shut the fuck up when tax dollars here go to such evil, corrupt enterprise.

Mother Jones has the full story, with all the relevant links, and you can read about all the members of this “council”.

Does 18 Make For A Shithole?

Esplanade Park in Helsinki. Finland, is the happiest country in the world, according to the newest World Happiness Report. Credit Martti Kainulainen/Lehtikuva, via Associated Press

Esplanade Park in Helsinki. Finland, is the happiest country in the world, according to the newest World Happiness Report. Credit Martti Kainulainen/Lehtikuva, via Associated Press.

According to The World Happiness Report, Ustates has plummeted to 18th on the list. If you really want to be happy and feel secure, you need to go Nordic. Finland made the top of the list.

Finland was ranked number one on the World Happiness Report, compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The country was joined by other Scandinavian nations—Norway, Denmark, and Iceland—in the top four, followed by Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia.

All these nations are based on strong social welfare structures, and look, people are happy! Looks like that evil socialism has a lot going for it. Turns out that when people feel secure, they tend to be happier and much more laidback.

“I think there really is a deep and very unsettling signal coming through that U.S. society is in many ways under profound stress, even though the economy by traditional measures is doing fine,” Jeffrey D. Sachs, an editor of the report, told the New York Times. “The trends are not good, and the comparative position of the U.S. relative to other high-income countries is nothing short of alarming.”

The drop followed President Donald Trump’s first year in office, during which the majority of Americans reported disapproval of the country’s top elected official, and hundreds of thousands protested his regressive policies on immigration, women’s reproductive rights, and gun control—as well as widespread concerns that the president is blatantly profiting off his position in public office.

The past year also saw reports of America’s widening wealth gap, with the average upper middle-class household holding 75 times more wealth than low-income families.

While other countries have focused on social welfare of all their citizens, Ustates has been in the process of removing rights and the very last shreds of social programs. We’re in the middle of dismantling education, nazis are running rampant all over the place, and you never know when you might be walking into a nightmare massacre. Sounds like a shithole to me.

The World Happiness Report ranks countries according to per capita GDP, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and corruption levels.

Going by that alone, seems Ustates should be at the bottom of the list.

Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped for the second year in a row in 2017, with researchers suggesting that the opioid addiction epidemic and inequality are related to the decline.

I expect no health care has a lot to do with that one, along with a hefty percentage of the population living in food deserts and being unable to eat well.

Reigning political ideologies in the highest-ranking nations contrast sharply with that of the U.S., noted the researchers.

The countries in the top 10 tend to “believe that what makes people happy is solid social support systems, good public services, and even paying a significant amount in taxes for that,” said Sachs.

Yep. I’m more than happy to pay taxes, when they are used for the common good. That’s supposed to be the bloody point of taxes.

Every top-ranking country also ensures that every citizen has access to free or affordable healthcare, while millions of Americans remain uninsured despite the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Oh, there it is. Yep, other countries seem to have all figured out that having healthy citizens is to their benefit. That strikes me as simple common sense, but not here in Amerikka, no. I’m quite surprised we ended up as high as 18. Now I can’t get this song outta my head:

Via RawStory.