What Donald Trump and the GOP hath wrought?

This is truly a very sad story.

Via NBC News:

A Pennsylvania family found shot dead in their backyard last week in what police say appears to be a suicide pact, included a mother and daughter who loved bowling and were devout Christian conservatives, people who knew them said.

Morgan Daub, 26, and her parents, James Daub, 62, and Deborah Daub, 59, were found dead on the ground in the backyard of their home in York County, Pennsylvania, on the morning of Jan. 25, after police responded to a request for a welfare check from a neighbor. 

The West Manchester Township Police Department has since said that notes left inside the house indicate that the family recently made a “joint decision” to end their lives. Police believe Deborah Daub shot and killed her husband and then was shot and killed by Morgan, who died by suicide. Police said there were no signs of forced entry or struggle and no evidence that anyone else had been present.

An investigation into the deaths has been closed.

A sad story, right? But here is the reason why they did it:

Stabley said the Christian, churchgoing family “was never shy about letting anybody know what their beliefs were” when it came to religion and politics. Morgan and Deborah “very, very huge” supporters of former President Donald Trump, Stabley said.

“They were just so hell-bent on Trump winning, like this could be in the end if he doesn’t,” Stabley said, referring to an instance when he saw them just before the 2020 election. He said he stopped seeing the two after that.

A neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of personal or professional retaliation in their town, said the family had a “preoccupation with religion, especially on the dad’s part.” The family’s front yard was also “littered” with Pro-Trump political signs during the elections, and anti-abortion signs when Roe v. Wade was overturned, the neighbor said.

This is what they did:

The West Manchester Township Police Department has since said that notes left inside the house indicate that the family recently made a “joint decision” to end their lives. Police believe Deborah Daub shot and killed her husband and then was shot and killed by Morgan, who died by suicide. Police said there were no signs of forced entry or struggle and no evidence that anyone else had been present.

It gets worse:

Gabley said he was disturbed to see recent videos appearing to show Morgan on YouTube. In the videos, which the West Manchester Township Police Department has also said appear to show Morgan, the young woman speaks in stream-of-conscious fashion about God, the Antichrist and conspiracies about Trump and the 2020 election. Stabley said he is haunted by Morgan’s laughter in the videos.

“I never, ever, ever saw Morgan in that state,” he said.

Detective Timothy Fink said in a statement to NBC News on Friday that Deborah Daub left a written document, signed Jan. 19, in which “she speaks of a joint decision” by her and Morgan to end their lives. It refers to the “evil that has mounted against Morgan,” but does not go into further detail, Fink said.

Morgan and her father also left notes indicating that the family had planned how to carry out the shootings and made other preparations, including what to do with the family dog and assets.

Those notes were dated Jan. 24, a day before the bodies of the family were found.

Police said that the positioning of the bodies, the two guns found at scene, the shell casings and other evidence “support the account put forward by the written documents left behind by the family,” that “all three family members decided to end their lives on 1/24/2023.”

You see folks, this is what happens, when perfectly normal, Conservative Christian, people get caught up in conspiracy theories.  Things like this above happen.

I do not normally like to get on the blame Donald J. Trump wagon on much of what people like to blame him for; but this, this is just too much. Yes, I blame Donald J. Trump, QAnon, The GOP, Fox News Channel, and all the rest of the idiotic fools, who spouted conspiracy theories about the election of 2020. Had Trump never started that fools errand of claiming the election was stolen, this family might still be alive.

My Prayers are with the family of these poor people.

Update: This is a video from Fox43, it seems there a bit more at play here, just being Trump Supporters: (Via UPI)

Fox News needs to FIRE Tucker Carlson

Because, at this point, Tucker Carlson is nothing more than a shill for the Russian Federation.

The Video:

 

The story via Mediaite:

Tucker Carlson teed up Ron DeSantis to complain about federal assistance, vis-a-vis President Joe Biden, amid Hurricane Ian and its catastrophic impact on Southwest Florida. But the Florida governor did not take the bait and instead focused on optimism of collaborative governance during a time of such dire emergency.

The harmonic convergence may be upon us.

DeSantis appeared on Fox News prime time while the eye of Hurricane Ian traveled across his state. As the interview wound down, Carlson seemed unable to resist seeking a political hit on the Biden administration.

“When a natural disaster like this strikes the state, it is common; I think it’s always the case that the state receives federal aid,” Carlson noted. “Given how politicized things are at the moment, are you confident you’re going to get the federal support Florida needs?”

It is a deeply cynical question suggesting that President Biden would keep aid from suffering Floridians because of “politics.” And yet, that very idea is inserting politics into disaster relief. Carlson appears to be doing the very thing that he is preemptively complaining about with Biden. Shocker.

DeSantis’s answer was refreshingly thoughtful and, well, not bait-takey.

“So I actually spoke with the president. He said he wants to be helpful,” DeSantis replied, echoing thoughts he shared on Hannity the previous night. “So we did submit a request for reimbursement for the next 60 days at 100%. That’s significant support. It’s a significant storm.”

“So we haven’t heard back from it. I’m actually cautiously optimistic that we do,” he added. Overnight, President Biden approved the major disaster request DeSantis referenced.

“As you said, Tucker, we live in a politicized time, but when people are fighting for their lives, when their livelihood is at stake, lost everything, if you can’t put politics aside for that, you won’t be able to,” DeSantis added. “I’ll work with anybody who wants to help the people of southwest Florida and throughout our state.

This is bad, even for Tucker. Here at the house, when Trucker Carlson comes on, we switch it to either BBC or local news. There was a time, when Tucker Carlson was a decent person to listen to. That time, I am afraid, has long passed.

This is the same knucklehead who said that the United States actually sabotaged the Nordstrom Pipeline. 

Others: Associated Press, The Hill, CBS News, New York Post, New York Daily News, PoliticusUSA, One America News Network, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Florida Politics, The Post Millennial, PolitiFact, Townhall, ABC News, Twitchy, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, NPR and CNN

God Bless Shepard Smith at Fox News Channel

For this gem of a smack down of Donald Trump: (H/T to Mediaite)

https://youtu.be/weHjxfa4bvA

Shepard Smith is correct, we need NATO, no matter what people like Pat Buchanan might say.

A brutal take down of the so-called “Conservative Movement”

This is rough, tough, and brutal. I am in agreement with Vox Day on this one, he calls it “Devastating. Absolutely devastating” and he is very much correct. Yes, I know, I have had disagreements with Vox Day in the past. But, on this, he is spot on. (I cannot seem to locate the posts, I may have pulled them.)

This article by a John Kludge over at ricochet basically sums up my feelings as well:

Let me say up front that I am a life-long Republican and conservative. I have never voted for a Democrat in my life and have voted in every presidential and midterm election since 1988. I have never in my life considered myself anything but a conservative. I am pained to admit that the conservative media and many conservatives’ reaction to Donald Trump has caused me to no longer consider myself part of the movement. I would suggest to you that if you have lost people like me, and I am not alone, you might want to reconsider your reaction to Donald Trump. Let me explain why.

First, I spent the last 20 years watching the conservative media in Washington endorse and urge me to vote for one candidate after another who made a mockery of conservative principles and values. Everyone talks about how thankful we are for the Citizens’ United decision but seems to have forgotten how we were urged to vote for the coauthor of the law that the decision overturned. In 2012, we were told to vote for Mitt Romney, a Massachusetts liberal who proudly signed an individual insurance mandate into law and refused to repudiate the decision. Before that, there was George W. Bush, the man who decided it was America’s duty to bring democracy to the Middle East (more about him later). And before that, there was Bob Dole, the man who gave us the Americans with Disabilities Act. I, of course, voted for those candidates and do not regret doing so. I, however, am self-aware enough to realize I voted for them because I will vote for virtually anyone to keep the Left out of power and not because I thought them to be the best or even really a conservative choice. Given this history, the conservative media’s claims that the Republican party must reject Donald Trump because he is not a “conservative” are pathetic and ridiculous to those of us who are old enough to remember the last 25 years.

It is this part here that really sticks out:

Third, there is the issue of the war on Islamic extremism. Let me say upfront that, as a veteran of two foreign deployments in this war, I speak with some moral authority on it. So please do not lecture me on the need to sacrifice for one’s country or the nature of the threat that we face. I have gotten on that plane twice and have the medals and t-shirt to prove it. And, as a member of the one percent who have actually put my life on the line in these wars movement conservatives consider so vital, my question for you and every other conservatives is just when the hell did being conservative mean thinking the US has some kind of a duty to save foreign nations from themselves or bring our form of democratic republicanism to them by force? I fully understand the sad necessity to fight wars and I do not believe in “blow back” or any of the other nonsense that says the world will leave us alone if only we will do that same. At the same time, I cannot for the life of me understand how conservatives of all people convinced themselves that the solution to the 9-11 attacks was to forcibly create democracy in the Islamic world. I have even less explanations for how — 15 years and 10,000 plus lives later — conservatives refuse to examine their actions and expect the country to send more of its young to bleed and die over there to save the Iraqis who are clearly too slovenly and corrupt to save themselves.

The lowest moment of the election was when Trump said what everyone in the country knows: that invading Iraq was a mistake. Rather than engaging the question with honest self-reflection, all of the so called “conservatives” responded with the usual “How dare he?” Worse, they let Jeb Bush claim that Bush “kept us safe.” I can assure you that President Bush didn’t keep me safe. Do I and the other people in the military not count? Sure, we signed up to give our lives for our country and I will never regret doing so. But doesn’t our commitment require a corresponding responsibility on the part of the president to only expect us to do so when it is both necessary and in the national interest?

And since when is bringing democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan so much in the national interest that it is worth killing or maiming 50,000 Americans to try and achieve? I don’t see that, but I am not a Wilsonian and used to, at least, be a conservative. I have these strange ideas that my government ought to act in America’s interests instead of the rest of the world’s interests. I wish conservatives could understand how galling it was to have a fat, rich, career politician who has never once risked his life for this country lecture those of us who have about how George Bush kept us safe.

Donald Trump is the only Republican candidate who seems to have any inclination to act strictly in America’s interest. More importantly, he is the only Republican candidate who is willing to even address the problem. Trump was right to say that we need to stop letting more Muslims into the country or, at least, examine the issue. And like when he said the obvious about Iraq, the first people to condemn him and deny the obvious were conservatives. Somehow, being conservative now means denying the obvious and saying idiotic fantasies like “Islam is the religion of peace,” or “Our war is not with Islam.” Uh, sorry but no it is not, and yes it is. And if getting a president who at least understands that means voting for Trump, then I guess I am not a conservative.

This is what you would call a political smack down and it is about time someone said it. This here too, is something that I high agree with:

Lost in all of this is the older strain of conservatism. The one I grew up with and thought was reflective of the movement. This strain of conservatism believed in the free market and capitalism but did not fetishize them the way so many libertarians do. This strain understood that a situation where every country in the world but the US acts in its own interests on matters of international trade and engages in all kinds of skulduggery in support of their interests is not free trade by any rational definition. This strain understood that a government’s first loyalty was to its citizens and the national interest. And also understood that the preservation of our culture and our civil institutions was a necessity.

I put in bold, underlined and turned that quote red to make a point. This above is what happened to the Conservative movement. It started after Ronald Reagan left office and got really crazy after the election and ultimate defeat of George H.W. Bush. After that, Conservationism went straight loony after that. Conservatives have no one to blame, but themselves. They put in a President, who went soft on taxes, and whom proceeded to usher in the “new world order.” and the Reaganites; which consisted of Fundamentalist Christians, like myself — went running for the hills. They knew then, that they had been duped.

Now, this many years later; along comes Trump and he dares to challenge those in the ivory towers that have created what we have now —- and the vultures are out for blood. They know that the current existing state of affairs in Washington D.C. is being threatened and they are doing everything they can to stop Donald Trump.

The question is, can Donald Trump fight them effectively enough to win the nomination?

My thoughts on the Fox debate

Here are my thoughts on the Fox News debate tonight.

Please keep in mind that I am dictating this using voice to speech on my telephone. So, if the punctuation is bad or the wording sounds a little odd that is why.

Number 1: Donald Trump bombed, horribly. He came off as an arrogant a-hole. He attacked Meghan Kelly; he came off as a misogynist, aggressive  a-hole, who respected no one else on that stage except for himself.

That might play well with his hardcore supporters and it might play well with his business friends in New York City and around the world, but it will not play well with middle America and it will not play well with women voters at all.

Number 2: Jeb Bush look like a freaking nerd. He looked like the smart intelligent geeky kid at debate club. He supports common core although he claims he doesn’t, he just wants higher standards. But, he did not look presidential he looked like he was nervous and a bit out of his element on the debate stage. I predict that he will not fare well in the primary.

Number 3: The rest of them did rather well. I think the sparring of Chris Christie and Rand Paul paints a drastic difference between the libertarian wing and the national security/antiterrorism wing of the Republican Party. The voters in the primaries, will have to choose which side of that divide that they want to vote for. It should be interesting.

Number 4: Mike Huckabee looks like a Southern Baptist preacher talking about politics. Although I did admire his defense of Social Security. I did not however, appreciate Chris Christie’s comments about Social Security. It sounds to me like he wants to gut it and possibly stop it. He needs to be a bit more clear about that.

Number 5: The only candidate that really stood out to me during the 5 o’clock debate was Carly Florina. I very much appreciated her smart answers to the questions that she was presented especially the ones about Iran. She very much held her own, being a woman and I think that was admirable. She would really make a good vice president and probably a president after the second term of whoever wins but she runs with.

So there you have it,my impressions of the first debate of the Republicans in 2015. I’m hoping that after the first primary this field gets narrowed down. Right now there is much too many people and much of their messages are interchangeable, except for some finite details. hopefully the ones who vote in the primaries will select the best candidate.

One thing I will say as an independent conservative who’s not beholden to any particular party as a rule. I keep hearing these candidates saying that America is going down, America is in terrible shape, America is not a good place now; and all that I feel that is bad messaging myself personally.

I feel that what they should be saying is America still the greatest nation on earth. It just has poor leadership at the moment and we need to change that.

Yes, America has problems. Yes, America has leaders now we were out of touch with the rest of the world and with the people of America obviously. But to say that America is going down to me strikes me as being anti- American.

America now is still the greatest place on earth to live. just ask all the Mexican immigrants who are coming across the border illegally. Obviously, we’re doing something right or they wouldn’t be pouring into this country.

I think that needs to be addressed in the upcoming debates. It’s bad messaging and it gives swing voters like my mom,  the impression that the Republicans believe because we have a black president who is a Democrat that that makes America a bad place and that’s not a good message to be putting out to the rest of America are not necessarily Republicans.

Just my opinion and I will come yours here.

UPDATE: As I figured he would, Donald Trump is whining like a little bitch that he was picked on by Meghan Kelly.

If he can’t handle Meghan Kelly, how the hell is he going to handle the problems that he is going to meet in the White House?

The man is not entitled to be treated any differently than anybody else. I don’t give a darn how much money he has!

So, as far as I’m concerned; Donald Trump is no longer a serious candidate in my eyes and I am sure I’m not the only person that feels that way.

Update #2: Now a big story on Memeorandum.

Mixed feelings about Donald Trump’s comments about John McCain

First what “The Don” said: (via Youtube)

https://youtu.be/Jz0Vgpr8sWg

Now, the reactions:

Montel Williams:

Jazz Shaw at HotAir:

I will not pretend to know what’s been up with Donald Trump from the beginning of this road show he’s currently on. Perhaps he truly wanted to be President. Perhaps it was all part of his ongoing circus. Only the man himself can know which when he looks in the mirror each day. But this is one gigantic bridge too far. Whether he said that out of ignorance, a desire to cause a stir or – and I pray this isn’t true – because he really feels that way, I am done with him. Completely and absolutely done. Anyone who can allow those words to pass their lips is not fit to command our armed forces and is either too stupid, too oblivious or just too unamerican to serve as President of these United States.

Speaking only as one veteran who survived absolutely nothing compared to Senator McCain, I will close with a simple message. Goodbye, Mr. Trump. Your little show has been entertaining to say the least and, in your own way, you spurred some aspects of the national debate which needed a boost. But the sooner you exit the stage the better. You shall have no vote from me in any election, primary or general.

Now Trump is trying to save face, Via Fox News insider:

Okay, here is how I feel about all of that. As smart of a man as Donald Trump is; he should know, that in politics, the third rail is to insult members and former members of United States Military. It simply does not fly, especially in the Republican Party and in Conservative circles.

Now, as for John McCain? I happen to agree with Donald Trump’s comments about his performance in the Senate and as a Republican and a Conservative. It is true, he did lose the 2008 election, because of his picking of Sarah Palin. My own Mother was willing to vote for him; but because he picked that stupid Alaskan hick Fem-Nazi; she decided against it.

The problem here is this; Donald Trump in his attempt to poke John McCain on his senate record and his record on his handling of veteran affairs, Donald Trump ended up besmirching John McCain’s military honor and service. In Conservative and especially in Republican politics; that is a fatal move and I think Donald Trump either needs to really make a serious apology or leave the race or run as an independent.

Update: Even Joe Cannon at Cannonfire, who I have had issues with in the past; he even says that Trump was out of line. Joe Cannon is also a vet as well.

Update #2: Rupert Murdoch chimes in: (via NewsMax)

Neoconservative Fox News Channel actively working to keep Rand Paul out of their coverage

Well, it seems that Neoconservative Fox News Channel is actively working with the elitists in the GOP to cut Rand Paul out of their election coverage. First you have this idiot clueless blonde dago bashing Rand Paul for daring to call out the neoconservatives on ISIS and now; this:

The Story

Once again, Fox News forgot to include Sen. Rand Paul in their coverage of a new 2016 presidential poll, even though the senator outperformed other candidates mentioned and the survey cited made Paul a significant part of their original headline.Quinnipiac released a poll today featuring the headline “Five Leaders In 2016 Republican White House Race, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Rubio, Paul Are Only Republicans Even Close To Clinton.” Yet in Fox News’ coverage, Paul apparently didn’t register enough to justify being shown on the broadcast of the poll.

Source: Fox News continues to blackout Rand Paul in their poll coverage | Rare

Check the graphics:

Fox News:

 

MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

..

If you think that Bill Kristol and John Podhoretz are not behind that, you are crazy. Why? Because they are these sort of people:

They are cyst on the ass of politics; and they should be ran out of the Republican Party and out of politics and as far as I am concerned, out of Country on a rail. 😡

 

Great, an unfunny so-called comic gets his own show at Fox News Channel

I hate to be the to pee on someone’s victory lap; but I have to speak out on this one.

Via Fox News Channel: (H/T to Hot Air)

Greg Gutfeld will host the new FOX News Channel program “The Greg Gutfeld Show.”

Gutfeld will continue to appear on “The Five” as he takes on his new gig as the solo host of the new, one-hour program.

“Every host of a new show likes to say they’re breaking new ground,” Gutfeld said in a press release. “So why should I be any different. This show will forever change the way you watch television, plus guests provide their own transportation.”

The new show will include parodies of current events and feature interviews with newsmakers, media personalities and culture critics.

Jazz Shaw says:

Greg is hilarious, with a proven track record for being sharp and witty. (You should be following him on Twitter if you don’t already.) I think Redeye missed out on a lot of the audience it might have garnered because of the odd time slot, while The Five has been a solid ratings performer. I have Greg’s latest book, Not Cool, and it lives up to his other work. There’s always a temptation to refer to Gutfeld as “the conservative Jon Stewart” but that really doesn’t do him justice. He tackles many of the same subjects and is a master of satire, but the “feel” of his work is distinctly different from The Daily Show. I’d expect that tradition to continue with his new show.

I guess the terms funny, witty and sharp are subjective terms. Because quite bluntly; and no, I am not joking at all — I do not find Greg Gutfield’s style of comedy funny at all. I feel it to be grade school yard sophomoric at best. I feel that Redeye is over-the-top silly.

Furthermore, comparing Greg Gutfield to Jon Stewart; would be like comparing Pope Francis to the late Baptist Pastor Jack Hyles. One is nothing like the other, at all. Jon Stewart pokes fun at both parties and point the absurdities with the political elite class in the United States. Greg Gutfeld is an unfunny, overrated, failure of a comedian, who lucked into a job at Fox News Channel and makes up unfunny stuff about people the network disagrees with politically. That is not comedy; that is Hitler-like propaganda dressed up in a comedic sketch.

Needless to say, he has a decent resume and being from a chosen, protected group helps too. But, as for comedy, Gutfeld doesn’t impress me a bit.

Mini-Movie: The frame job against Bashar al-Assad

This comes via Conservative-Headlines.com, and I know some people might not like it that I linked to these guys. Well, you know what? Tough! This video is a eye-opener; and I really do not even like Alex Jones for some very good reasons.

https://youtu.be/pqj4WzgnxDc

Just like Al-Qaeda, ISIS was created by the United States. Our biggest threat as Americans, is not terrorism; it is our own Government.