Remember Michael Fanone, the plainspoken former DC cop who was assaulted and nearly killed by the violent mob Donald Trump wound up and sent to the Capitol on 1/6/2021? Fanone is not happy about CNN hosting a Trump 2024 campaign townhall tonight.
Fanone has been a CNN contributor for more than a year, but he put his money where his mouth is in a Rolling Stone piece published today: “CNN Is Hosting a Town Hall for a Guy Who Tried to Get Me Killed — Donald Trump tried to end American democracy. Why is CNN throwing him a rehabilitation party?”
Good question. After reminding readers that Trump is “an authoritarian who will use any means at his disposal, including violence, to remain in power” and noting Trump’s ongoing valorization of violent insurrectionists and white supremacist scumbags in his quest to regain power, former Officer Fanone answers his own question, excoriating the network and calling out its “leadership,” scare quotes and all.
The whole thing is worth reading, but here’s an excerpt:
In a recent trip to CNN’s Washington, D.C. Bureau, I sat silently in the green room as guests, anchors and employees filtered through and clamored about how outrageous it was that CBS would give Marjorie Taylor Green an interview on its prestigious 60 Minutes series. Good question? I hope my fellow CNN employees have the balls to raise those same questions with the network executives.
CNN is a major American cable news outlet whose viewers trust that they are being given accurate reporting of events to the best of the network’s ability. With this trust comes an obligation and commitment to their viewers. In the past, CNN has recognized the dangers of allowing election deniers a public platform and would not allow them on-air. Under new “leadership,” that policy has been discarded as evidenced by CNN’s decision to allow the chief election denier, former President Donald J. Trump, a prominent time slot in its evening lineup. As if Trump was a normal candidate, who had not attempted to steal an election by force. In the wake of Jan. 6, Trump’s ability to communicate to the masses was essentially stripped away from him. Twitter banned him for “life”. No major media outlets would have him on. So what has changed?
I’ve heard the network’s attempts to justify this clear reversal. The “He’s the frontrunner in the Republican primary” argument. Somehow the network’s ”ethical” responsibility changed from preventing election deniers a platform regardless of the topic, to giving those same individuals a huge platform to disseminate their lies. I don’t believe for one second that this is about journalistic integrity. It’s about ratings and money. Sometimes things are exactly as they appear, and this appears to be an attempt by a major media outlet struggling with its ratings to attract disenfranchised viewers. To me, allowing Trump an open forum on a major television news network is the moral equivalent of putting an AR-15 in the hands of someone mentally unstable. Whether words or bullets — and I have seen firsthand the effects of both — they are equally dangerous in the mouths or hands of those who have shown us time and time again what their true intentions are.
Well, the man is right. I hope CNN boss Chris Licht, who signed off on the decision to throw a rehabilitation party for Trump, doesn’t double down on that error by firing Fanone.
Kaitlan Collins, whom Trump once ejected from a Rose Garden event because he was peeved about an earlier question, will be the moderator. She used to work for Tucker Carlson’s online rag and tends to fluff Repubs in general, IMO, if not Trump specifically.
The audience will be Repub primary voters in New Hampshire, so I don’t envy Collins the task of trying to keep the townhall from going completely off the rails if she attempts to interrupt The Beast’s litany of grievances. I’m almost tempted to watch because it is sure to be a trainwreck. But Fanone is correct, damn it. I’ll stick with baseball this evening.
Open thread.
rikyrah
The absolute dedication to the maintenance of White Supremacy is what’s going on here.
The gaslighting that we were subjected to for four years…they are still at that point.
Like everything we didn’t already know was true about Trump….We still know.
And, they pretend.
Their dedication to BOTH SIDES.
And, to normalize this muthaphucka will never not grate on me as Black American.
There is absolutely. In no way whatsoever. That anyone non-White would be afforded this.
And, even though I always knew in my mind…to see it happen in real time, in front of my face, will never cease to irk me.
Baud
Given how the Rays are playing, I would too.
The Pale Scot
Things are going to hell in Portsmouth
“Portsmouth has become a Marxist hellhole since the Conservatives got voted out 3 days ago” “I couldn’t watch the coronation of King Prince Charles without fearing for my life!”
They’re all snowflakes
Jerzy Russian
Well put, I agree with everything you said.
Also too, even if T***p was a normal politician and the GOP were a sane party, it is still 18 months to the election. Christ, can’t we have a rest for even a bit?
Brachiator
Damn good question. It is reprehensible that the media insists on treating Trump as though he is an ordinary candidate running for president.
They should not ignore his lies and obfuscations. They do not have to give him a free, convenient political platform, especially if they are unwilling to challenge him in any way.
Trump can do his rallies. CNN does not need to give him a forum.
Ajabu
My wife is terrified that TFG is going to get back in. We moved here from Saint Croix 12 years ago. I suggested going back. Her response was the USVI is an American territory and we can no longer be safe there. She may be right, but I hope not…
RaflW
Fanone’s piece is excecllent. I’d add that, given the jury verdict yesterday, CNN is also saying that being found liable for sexual assault and defamation to the point of a $5M judgement isn’t basis for cancelling an hour long free campaign spot for a candidate.
What other politician, what other race would a network say “Sure, he’s now been officially marked by a jury of nine as a sexual assaulter, but we just gotta run with this”?
CNN can ESAD. They’re flat out saying “Me too is over. We’ll put a sexual assaulter on TV and be proud of it.”
trollhattan
“Even the liberal CNN…”
The media cannot quit Trump. These are the same asshats who would show an empty dais and adoring crowd, while waiting for the perpetually late Trump to arrive at his rallies. You NEVER saw this for Hillary events. Free teevee is best teevee and they’re lined up again, to give him all he wants. Now that he’s a
rapistsexualassaultist it makes him more interesting.Elizabelle
Good for Officer Fanone.
CNN is shameless. I hope this blows back so badly on them. They should cancel it.
Elizabelle
I hope this results in Chris Licht getting fired.
ETA: Is it possible Trump could end up in more legal trouble if he continues to defame EJ Carroll?
E.
Simple problem inherent to capitalism. Trump has enormous exchange value to CNN. The fact his use value is deeply negative to the country is not relevant. Capitalism cares about exchange, not value.
eversor
@rikyrah:
White CHRISTIAN supremecy quit dodging the role of that horrid religion in all of this. As long as you avoid it they win, and you are helping them win. They keep openly saying its about Christianity and people keep giving it a pass and everyone who is not actively anti Christianity might is just as fucked up as the Trump voters.
artem1s
One mention of stolen elections by TFG on CNN’s air and I hope Dominion files another lawsuit.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: The Rays have been amazing this year! Such a joy to watch!
Wanderer
CNN and other networks began this mess by their coverage of endless empty podiums after that fateful elevator ride. I am insulted that CNN continues this practice after yesterday’s court decision. Just STAY HOME CNN. There is nothing to be gained by irresponsible actions.
tobie
Good for Fanone for speaking up.
Shalimar
I have high blood pressure. I will only watch Trump if you promise he will spontaneously combust like a Spinal Tap drummer.
JMG
There is no need to ever watch Trump on TV. Someone, either online or in real life, will tell you all about it shortly after or during his appearance. If I want to see a train wreck tonight I’ll watch the Maple Leafs.
Michael Bersin
The final set of images, audio, and transcripts from Monday’s Warrensburg, Missouri City Council meeting – during the public comment portion of the agenda. Right wingnut pearl clutchers have been demanding a city ordinance banning drag shows (most of the complainers live outside the city limits) because of a family friendly Pride Festival scheduled at a private venue on June 3rd.
One of the ringleaders (obviously fuzzy about all kinds of simple concepts):
…Um, we’ve talked a lot about rights. And what I realize, I think, anyway, what I realize is there was no vote taken about having a drag queen show in the Warrensburg area. It just appeared. So anybody who didn’t particularly want it really never even got to have a vote about that.
So now, belatedly, we’re coming forward and saying we don’t want that for children. We simply don’t want it for children.
[….]
The bottom line is that drag queen exposure for kids just helps confuse them. And it’s a mean trick. It obvious, it, I mean, it is. If somebody had thrown that in my face when I was a kid I probably would have run out screaming. And that’s the truth. I would have started crying and run away.
Um, it’s, it’s not fair. It is just not a fair thing to do to children. It mixes them up, it confuses them.
So, I do also request that the city do, uh, a municipal ordinance to ban drag queen shows for children, for children. Let’s not mix them up anymore. Life’s hard enough. Thanks.
The venue and vendors have been receiving threats.
Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council Meeting – May 8, 2023 – part 5
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
I’ll think I’ll stick to watching clips posted here. Good on Fanone for sticking to his principles
Shalimar
@eversor: As an atheist, fuck off. None of these racist assholes would be any less racist without their church. Christianity isn’t at fault for everything.
Omnes Omnibus
@eversor: Please find a consenting goat and blow it, you bigot.
different-church-lady
[FREEZE FRAME]
SUBTITLE: “Six weeks later he doubled down on that error and fired Fanone.”
Josie
I totally agree with Officer Fanone. I read his book, and I encourage anyone who has not to pick it up. This guy is the real deal. CNN would do well to pay attention to what he is saying. They are helping to imperil us all.
different-church-lady
@eversor:
So they did the New Math in your school system, eh?
E.
@Shalimar: Actually I suspect a great many of them would be less racist without their church. But it’s the church, not the religion, promoting the racism.
Citizen Alan
@trollhattan: THEY CUT AWAY FROM ONE OF HILLARY’S VICTORY SPEECHES TO SHOW THAT FUCKING EMPTY PODIUM!!!
Butch
Well, I just deleted CNN.com from the bookmarks and then realized the sock drawer is such a mess that I couldn’t possibly take time away from that task to watch CNN. I’ll just have to pass.
Citizen Alan
@eversor: Did someone look in a mirror by candlelight and say “Jesus Christ” three times to summon you or something?
different-church-lady
@Citizen Alan:
Uhh… wait, was that bad?
MattF
I avoid watching Trump. Liar, whiner, rapist, criminal. Et cetera.
Shalimar
@Elizabelle: E. Jean Carroll has cause of action for a new lawsuit every time he defames her, yes. And “he keeps saying exactly what a jury already found was defamation” is a great legal argument.
different-church-lady
I’m looking forward to the Chyron that says, “SEXUAL PREDATOR AND FORMER PRESIDENT TO SPEAK MOMENTARILY”
E.
@eversor: Eversor have you ever read the Bible? The Gospels, at least the first three, are full of elegance, grace, and poetry. They are a beautiful argument against power politics in favor of communal values. As a non religious person I can separate the religion from the church. There are many churches, one Bible. I have never attended church but I can readily see how far many have diverged from their Biblical foundations.
Jackie
@Elizabelle: And it’s not an *open* town hall. 400 selected GQP and right-leaning Independents will be the audience. No Democrats.
Just call it what it is: A CNN hosted MAGA RALLY.
trollhattan
@Michael Bersin:
This cracks me up. Does every single thing in the city which “just appears” require a vote ahead of time? The ice cream truck? Snow? Migrating birds?
“No vote, no blizzard. It’s the law.”
Frankensteinbeck
I’m tellin’ ya, it’ll be ‘cudlips’ any minute now.
BellyCat
@E.: Yup. And anyone watching the CNN coverage reinforces their capitalist incentives. (Fanone is a treasure — PREACH IT!)
different-church-lady
@E.: When I was a kid I read the New Testament for kicks. I was thinking, “Wow, lotta good stories in here.”
I think our friend the Sor has a point: there’s a lot of unhealthy resonances between the fascists and the theocrats, but that point has been taken too far. And your point is correct: there’s religion, and then there’s what’s done with religion, and they’re not always the same.
Citizen Alan
@Michael Bersin: And at the risk of sounding like Eversor, I do wish someone would point out to this Talibangelical freak that the only reason Christianity exists in this country is because Christian parents expose their children to that religion as soon as possible after birth and pressure them to “accept Jesus” as young as 6 or 7 without the slightest exposure to any other religions. (Which, to be fair, is how all religions propagate, in light of the relatively small numbers of converts to and from other religions.) If allowing kids to attend a drag show along with their parents is “grooming,” then so is mandatory Sunday School until the kid is old enough to say no.
...now I try to be amused
@different-church-lady:
Edited.
different-church-lady
@Jackie:
More like a long-form political commercial.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Frankensteinbeck:
What’s that?
Shalimar
@E.: I agree the racism is increased in a group, but it could just as easily be the Bleeker Street Jets bar as the Bleeker Street church. The religion itself is incidental to the group of assholes gathering.
different-church-lady
@…now I try to be amused:
We crack ourselves up.
JoyceH
If this were the CNN of even several years ago, I’d start to suspect that they were doing this to give Trump enough runway to crash and burn in front of a national audience. But under this new management, I don’t know what is going on. I do think it’s going to be a train wreck, though, and it could backfire on Trump spectacularly.
The news showed clips of Trump making that Statement yesterday after the verdict, and maaaan, it was BAD! They have this little setup at Mar a Lago where he can stand in front of flags and make a statement like him are a real president-type person, all official and whatnot. (Except for the weirdly dim lighting, which gives the whole thing an ominous look.) And given that quasi-official setting, having him rant in the manner that has become his norm recently just looked entirely deranged. Give him an hour? In the familiar stomping grounds of the ‘televised town hall’? It’s gonna be something else. Only the Trumpheads who follow him from rally to rally watch his whole speeches anymore, and I think even the average Trump voter is going to be shocked to see what he’s devolving into.
sdhays
“CNN: Our normal programming is so shitty, we think we can improve it by putting a confirmed sexual predator and known liar on air.”
Dorothy A. Winsor
Maybe Trump will violate his gag order. That would be fun.
Citizen Alan
@Shalimar: While I don’t agree with Eversor, I will say this: If there were no such thing as organized religion, I believe that good people would do good things and bad people would do bad things. But I think you would see a lot less of good people doing bad things because the preacher told them they would go to hell otherwise. Things like rejecting their LGBT kids or insisting that the family intentionally have more kids than they could afford or arguing that rape and incest victims as young as 12 should be forced to carry the resulting pregnancy to term because they’re “pro-life.” I mean, is there any reason at all to be anti-choice or anti-gay or anti-trans that’s not grounded in religion?
different-church-lady
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Be more fun to see him gagged.
Elizabelle
@Butch: I am washing my hair.
@Shalimar: Oh, please, please, please…
@Jackie:
It gets worse. What, is CNN taking instruction from business genius Elon Musk?
CNN has mainstream advertisers who might not be thrilled with this.
RaflW
@eversore: Pie now. See ya … never again.
different-church-lady
@RaflW: “Pie Felicia.”
Citizen Alan
@E.: Agreed. My biggest objection to contemporary evangelical Christianity is that they’re not following Jesus’s commands to love their neighbors!
sdhays
Umm…yes? “They ain’t like us” is pretty much all you need.
RaflW
@Shalimar: I’d imagine it’d be a difficult case, but I’d enjoy seeing E. Jean Carroll’s lawyers file a case against them tomorrow if TFG does defame her on air. Argue that CNN knew he’d do it, and with reckless disregard aired him anyway.
Case might be dead on arrival, but just making CNN have to deal with responding, and the media attention, might be worth it?
Omnes Omnibus
@Citizen Alan: The Soviets were very anti-gay. Communist Romania banned abortion. Just off the top of my head.
Michael Bersin
@Citizen Alan:
One of the true believers stated (in Part 4):
“…I want to start off by reminding everyone here that our children are our future. They are our heritage. God states in his words that every child is a gift and every child is a reward.
We live in a society where our children are constantly being told they have to believe a particular way, otherwise they are wrong or perhaps they are a bad person or even a hater.
Some would argue that we here today, we might be haters, fearmongers, or the dreaded homophobics because we don’t bow down and agree to the senseless immoral, perverted, corrupt garbage that is being thrown around and forced on us.
We, in fact, we embrace the right to choose. We’re speaking on behalf of the children. We also embrace reality. Normal moral and ethical living. Living is right, living right is not rocket science, it’s common sense. And like the most of us in this room I think we’re strong in that part. [….]”
There’s just too much to unpack there.
Addressing Bigotry – Warrensburg, Missouri City Council Meeting – May 8, 2023 – part 4
Jeffro
I couldn’t agree more with Fanone. trump has no business being allowed to
see daylightrun for public office, ever again, and any & everyone who enables trump from J6 onwards should be shunned, boycotted, and shamed.different-church-lady
@Michael Bersin:
…and our future is being gunned down in alarming numbers.
Gin & Tonic
@Frankensteinbeck: You win the internets today.
Gin & Tonic
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): You don’t want to know.
...now I try to be amused
@different-church-lady:
Heh. But on a more serious level, I have to wonder how much is sinking into the minds of the “uncommitted” potential voters who don’t pay much attention. If you’re the sort who thinks “Where there’s smoke there’s fire,” Trump is smoking plenty:
I believe it will erode his support at least somewhat.
catothedog
@rikyrah:
Correct. I have commented on this before
I don’t discuss this anymore with white people, even liberals, because they refuse to see. Paraphrasing MLK, the great evil today is the particular population of white liberals, who refuse to give up white privilege – CNN, NYT, Dick Durbin, Feinstein.
Power…..we will bestow you lesser people with your liberties and rights , at our benevolence… so stay in your place, and don’t upset us by questioning our privilege to rule over you
different-church-lady
@Frankensteinbeck:
Whoever that
guygal was,heshe was nuts.Betty
@Elizabelle: His new bosses are all in on the new approach.
Betty Cracker
@JoyceH: I think you’re right. The only way I can envision this townhall NOT backfiring is if Trump doesn’t make it about himself, hears the voter questions and addresses them in a way that projects empathy and policy acumen. I couldn’t even type that with a straight face. He’s not capable of that.
E.
@Omnes Omnibus: Jesus’ message was delivered as a rebuke to political interests that kept people divided in power relations. That’s the whole point of so many of the stories, dining with prostitutes and so forth. Obviously large social groups have been discriminatory, murderously so, forever. Christianity posed as a remarkable corrective to that. But not any more. I wish we could recapture how revolutionary and freeing that original sentiment was. Now it’s just “My God is strong and will crush you, yay.”
zhena gogolia
@The Pale Scot: I love “King Prince Charles”!
Frankensteinbeck
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
A former commenter who was eventually banned for her(?) declarations that white evangelical Christians were genetically inferior liked to insult people with the term ‘cudlip’. Other obsessions included Islam being un-proselytizable and Assange changing the world by ushering in an era where it was impossible for governments to have secrets.
zhena gogolia
@different-church-lady: You think it will take 6 weeks?
Kay
I think Trump talking on tv is good for Democrats politically, in terms of next cycle.
I agree that it’s bad for the character of the country, though, longer term, and of course that CNN is horrible goes without saying.
zhena gogolia
@Citizen Alan: Any familiarity with the USSR, 1917-91? Particularly 1917-1953?
Frankensteinbeck
@different-church-lady:
That boy needs therapy.
Michael Bersin
@different-church-lady:
That, too, was pointed out by an LGBTQIA ally who spoke before the city council.
dww44
@Butch: I just unsubscribed from the CNN newsletter email that told me I should watch the Trump Town Hall. And that was after spending a good few minutes trying to find contact info for Chris Licht, John Malone (cause you know it’s his mission to make CNN more right leaning) and Kaitlyn Collins. I finally found a form that may or may not make its way to a human and told them much the same that others have said in the forgoing comments.
Good for Fanone for pushing back. I do hope that CNN pays a price for doing its part to normalize Trump’s candidacy a second time around. They deserve to suffer for this decision and I blame the unseen hands behind Chris Licht, willing accomplice though he may be. Their vaunted neutrality/move to the right is not good for our democracy.
Elizabelle
Michael Fanone’s book is gently priced at Amazon.
The hardcover is $14.57. Kindle is $14.99.
Just ordered the hardcover, because I have been meaning to support Officer Fanone and read his book.
You can “look inside” and read enough of an excerpt to see if it is for you.
Meanwhile, here’s what seems to be a good Politico magazine article from October 2022 about Fanone.
The Secret Tapes of Michael Fanone
In a new memoir, the hero cop is naming names like Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham and his own union bosses.
...now I try to be amused
CNN sold their soul for a mess of pottage when they sold out to the Right. The latest polling shows that right-wingers didn’t get the memo — they still don’t trust CNN.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck:
What does that mean?
Chief Oshkosh
As long as we’re relating our fondest hopes and dreams, I hope CNN boss Chris Licht steps on a rake.
Elizabelle
In his book, Fanone goes straight for the jugular with Kevin McCarthy. Starts setting it up on the very first page, and the first chapter includes an account of a June 2021 visit to McCarthy’s office, with late officer Brian Sicknick’s mother, Gladys Sicknick, and with US Capitol police officer Harry Dunn.
Kevin … does not come off too well.
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
M_C believed that nobody could ever be convinced to convert from Islam to another religion, and said so repeatedly during his/her/their/its rants.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck: Thanks. That’s a new one for me.
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle: Just ordered it! thanks for the prompt.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: they were also very hostile to Christianity (I guess that’s what prompted the original comment).
We recently read a biography of W. S. Gilbert. The woman he first proposed to refused him in order to marry the Reverend Pender Hodge Cudlip.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: I don’t know. If she were still here, we could try to set them up.
lowtechcyclist
@Michael Bersin:
We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee,
We don’t take our trips on LSD,
We don’t burn our draft cards down on Main Street,
We like livin’ right and being free
Kay
Good article about how the mindlessly repeated “Clarence Thomas isn’t corrupt because he would always vote in line w/Crow anyway” – is not true. He’s changed positions to align with Crow:
trollhattan
I don’t use Uber and would like to know: can I insist on a driver who is not packing heat?
Not just prosecute, maliciously prosecute. Of course, none of this would be necessary if Mr. Foster didn’t maliciously die.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: We can be a book club of two!
Baud
@Kay:
“After further consideration over a glass of 25-year-old scotch while sailing on the Mediterranean on my friend’s out, I have come to the conclusion that the Framers would not approve of Chevron.”
Captain C
@The Pale Scot:
Perhaps the caller is secretly a member of an underground Jacobite society* dedicated to the restoration of Catholicism and the Stewart line, all these centuries later, and had deluded themself that the Conservative government of Portsmouth was on their side and protecting them. Also, I’m sure Pompey being interminably stuck in League One has something to do with it as well.
*Possibly consisting exclusively of the caller.
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
I’m a Muslim, and I’m fucked if I know.
Lapassionara
@Betty Cracker: I’m wondering if they will let people in the audience start leaving if they get bored, or if they will be forced to stay in their seats for the duration. I think most of Trump’s ramblings are incoherent and dull. Hard to see how he fixes that problem.
Elizabelle
NY Times breaking news. Places in between? LOL.
Representative George Santos pleaded not guilty to a 13-count federal indictment that included wire fraud and money laundering.
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 2:33 PM ET
Mr. Santos was released on a $500,000 bond. He will be confined to New York, Washington, D.C., and places in between.
Omnes Omnibus
@Amir Khalid: Didn’t she tell you that you were the Muslim equivalent of an Uncle Tom?
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
Ooh, which biography?
fancycwabs
Today I learned that there’s a “Conservative AI Chatbot” called GIPPR, and I have never seen a robot backpedal so hard as when it told me that people who commit sexual assault should be held accountable for their actions, and I responded “so we agree Trump should be held accountable for his actions.”
Jeffro
@Kay: also, since “gifts” can be used to keep justices in line (as opposed to becoming more
enlightenedliberal over time), they’re inappropriate even if the giver and the justice are ideologically aligned.Why are we even arguing with these people? If it was a D-appointed justice, they’d be literally HOWLING day and night until the justice resigned. And they’d be right.
trollhattan
Knowing Santos, he will be in all of them simultaneously while working on his Nobel acceptance speech, getting his 100-meter time under 9.5, curing herpes.
Elizabelle
From the FTF NY Times updates on Santos:
Throughout the proceedings, Santos’s position as a sitting congressman was never far from the surface. His lawyer discussed his intent to seek re-election as part of the bail setting and said that he would need the ability to leave the state “to engage in that election activity.” The judge permitted additional travel, so long as Santos received prior authorization from court officials.
“I always tell people, don’t assume that it’s OK,” she cautioned Santos. “Ask first.”
** Santos was released on $500,000 bond secured by three individuals, whose identities are not public. He will be confined to New York, Washington, D.C., and places in between. He may travel to other places with advance approval.
** for months, Mr. Santos has denied any criminal wrongdoing, even as he has admitted to lying about going to Baruch College, playing volleyball there and later working for prestigious Wall Street firms.
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
I have to say, I could never make enough sense of that accusation to think up a response.
Steeplejack
@The Pale Scot:
I hope everybody knows that’s a spoof account.
“Love to the family!”
Betty Cracker
I wonder which anonymous former Trump senior staffer said this?
Ivanka maybe.
Dr. Jakyll and Miss Deride
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Others have already answered this question, but the person we’re talking about was only one of a band of trolls, weirdos, and nuts who used to infest this place. They could all derail any thread simply by showing up.
As far as I understood it, “cudlip” was supposed to signify that anyone who disagreed with him/her/it had a bovine “cud-chewing” mentality, unlike the commenter him/her/itself. But his/her/its prose was so impenetrable that I could well be wrong.
Elizabelle
@trollhattan: I was hoping to hear Santos was wearing an ankle bracelet, and had had to surrender his passport.
But this was fun, again from the FTF NY Times roundup:
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: You, sir, are more evil than I had ever imagined.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: Come on, man. You wish you had thought of it.
Mike in NC
Boycott CNN for trying to rehabilitate the stinking fascist traitor.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker: “Majorly” sure sounds like family. “Daddy taught me bigly.”
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Hard to argue with that.
Miss Bianca
@eversor: Y’know, if you ever get confused about just *why* people react badly to your screeds on this subject, just try substituting “Muslim” or “Jew” or “Hindu” or, hell, “Zoroastrian” for every time you write “Christian” and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find yourself going, “Shit…that guy sounds like an asshole.”
Baud
@Elizabelle:
It’s always projection with Republicans.
Baud
@Steeplejack:
Little known fact: Actual crazy right wingers died out in the pandemic. Everything you see now are people mocking crazy right wingers my mimicking them.
Burnspbesq
ICYMI, over-the-counter oral contraception is a step closer to reality.
nbcnews.com/health/health-news/opill-over-counter-birth-control-fda-advisory-committee-vote-rcna8350…
Elizabelle
Author Stephen King’s tweet.
Jackie
Boebert and Santos want to make the AR-15 the official gun of America!
“An AR–15 style rifle chambered in a .223 Remington round or a 5.56x45mm NATO round is hereby declared to be the National Gun of the United States.”
denverpost.com/2023/05/10/lauren-boebert-national-gun-ar-15-remington-assault-rifle-hr-1095/
PST
@Shalimar:
It’s even worse than that for Trump because it’s more than just an argument. New York recognizes the doctrine of collateral estoppel (aka issue preclusion). Any issue that was actually and necessarily decided in the first lawsuit between the parties, and in which there was a full opportunity to contest the issue, is done and dusted. If Trump repeats his defamatory statements, he can no longer defend himself by claiming that the incident never happened. For all practical purposes, assuming that the judgment holds up on appeal, Trump can’t do much more than contest damages. Ka-ching!
Burnspbesq
@Dr. Jakyll and Miss Deride:
Cole could have made $$$ selling cudlip t-shirts. I would have bought one. It was a badge of honor.
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus: Ooh, I remember that!
Shana
@Elizabelle: any word on where Santos’ bail funds came from?
Geminid
@Elizabelle: I guess prosecutors figured that with his experience as a Green Beret, they have no way of stopping Santos if he wants to escape.
He also probably picked up some good tips during his stint with the French Foreign Legion.
zhena gogolia
@SiubhanDuinne:
A fairly old one, Jane W. Stedman —
amazon.com/W-S-Gilbert-Classic-Victorian/dp/0198161743
It’s good if you want trivia about every burlesque he wrote. Not so good on the personal aspects (I was hoping to get the sources for Topsy-Turvy).
Jackie
@trollhattan: Who paid his bail? If it was Santos himself, it’d better had been in cash!
zhena gogolia
@Betty Cracker: Oh, she would never be so vulgah!
trollhattan
@Shana: Loan from the First National Bank of George Santos.
zhena gogolia
@Mike in NC: How do you boycott something you never use?
Paul in KY
@eversor: It is ‘Christian Identity’, which is not in any way the ‘Christianity’ I grew up with.
Elizabelle
@Shana: Bail from three individuals, so far not disclosed.
I am seriously interested in that one, myself.
Miss Bianca
@Jackie: I can’t even with this bullshit. I don’t even live in CD-3 anymore (thank God fasting), but I may have to start contributing to Adam Frisch again just on general principle.
As for Boobert, she can eat the business end of an AR-15, far as I’m concerned.
Gravenstone
That’s mildly amusing given how Reagan would actually be perceived by today’s rabid rats masquerading as the contemporary Republican party.
Paul in KY
@Baud: I think it means that anyone who tries to convert a muslim is in fear for their life and that the religion is so interwoven into the social/political framework of the Islamic nation-state that the convertees see that they would be nuts and in danger of their lives if they converted.
The Moar You Know
@eversor: you are not wrong, but this is an argument you are never going to win and what you are positing is not going to happen. Not in America, not in Europe, not in the Western world. Just because a plurality of people identify as atheist/agnostic nowadays does not mean that aren’t still tied at the brainstem to cultural Christianity. The entire culture is. It will be a thousand years from now. Find another way.
different-church-lady
@Miss Bianca:
Nah.
The Moar You Know
@Burnspbesq: I would have too. I think any of us who were here back in the day got called the term more than once.
Miss Bianca
@different-church-lady: I know, what was I thinking, right?!
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Trump’s approval ratings get better when people don’t hear him talk.
They’re birdbrains. They’ve forgotten how horrible he is already. I’m glad he’s back to remind them.
That, of course, is separate from whether the multimillionaire media personalities at CNN are horrible and ethically bankrupt and bad for democracy – they are.
bjacques
Shorter Officer Fanone:
Only an idiot would give a loaded revolver to a madman
Gravenstone
@The Moar You Know: To be fair, they tended to spread the word around like manure. Aimed it at basically any cohort not themselves.
Suzanne
Some sad blog-world news: Dooce has died. It appears to be suicide. Wow.
A tragedy.
Steeplejack
Dianne Feinstein returns to the Senate—recovered, rested and ready!
And she already missed a vote today. (Allegedly.)
trollhattan
FTFY
Mallard Filmore
Jesus was a candy assed girly man. Don’t pay him no never-mind. Grab your AK, go forth and kill.
2liberal
It wasn’t an error. It’s a management level lurch towards the Nazification of his network.
Omnes Omnibus
@The Moar You Know: He is wrong. He is effectively arguing for eliminationist actions. That always ends badly.
CaseyL
I don’t watch CNN, but I do check headlines on their website. And one thing I’ve noticed is: no ads for the town hall. No banner, no buttons, no mention at all.
Don’t they usually hype these kinds of programs?
Geminid
@Mallard Filmore: You are talking about the squish Jesus who gave the Sermon on the Mount. Conservatives think of the tough Jesus who turned over the moneylenders’ tables, and the scary Jesus of Revelations.
UncleEbeneezer
Can’t say that I blame you. We are absolutely exhausting in our collective ignorance, defensiveness and obstinance. Unless I see that a fellow white person has made some effort to educate themselves on White Supremacy 101 (like beginner Anti-Racists and Intersectional Feminists), I rarely have the patience for engaging, though I try to make an effort when someone seems to have a good-faith interest in learning and willingness to listen.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
He won the presidency and has never in his life been any better than what he proved he was over those 4 yrs.
Now I get that we’ve never had a president as shitty as SFB but still, in any way glorify him because of his shittyness? How is that in any way reasonable? I believe that the rethuglican party has lost everything, it’s mind (such as it ever was), it’s concept of government (such as it ever was). The only thing it hasn’t lost is the overwhelming concept that the rich should keep every damned dime they ever earned/stole/found and the rest of us should shut the fuck up and fall in line, and give them more money.
Ruckus
@Shalimar:
My BP is OK and I won’t watch that shithead unless he is being put in chains and hauled away. Because laughter is the best medicine.
The Moar You Know
@Omnes Omnibus: not in this particular post, but he does. Frequently. And I agree that always ends very badly.
That mall shooting in Texas being just the latest example thereof.
NotMax
“I will once again remind the audience to please remove your tinfoil hats. The reflections play hob with the set’s lighting.”
Steeplejack
@Baud:
Checks out. 🧐
Dopey-o
@Miss Bianca:
As a life-long Catholic, i am quite proud of the Roman Church’s stand on the death penalty, immigrant rights, unionization, living wage, and many other topics.
Doesn’t absolve them of anything regarding women, or raping minors and covering it up. But what can we expect from a bunch of transvestites in long black dresses…
As for Ever-Sore, “phhht!” as St Scalia used to say.
The Moar You Know
@Ruckus: I really like how you phrased that and am going to steal it.
Ruckus
@Citizen Alan:
so is mandatory Sunday School until the kid is old enough to say no.
This was my thought exactly and was one reason I read the bible cover to cover. Before I was old enough to say no. At which time I did.
geg6
@Miss Bianca:
I am one who feels about all religions exactly the way eversor feels about Christianity. But I don’t feel the need to bring it up in every comment. Too bad eversor does.
TheronWare
I watched CNN daily along with MSNBC but since the town hall announcement, I haven’t tuned in once. Besides, Hulu has excellent content I’d much rather occupy my time with.
geg6
@Ruckus:
Same.
narya
@Suzanne: Oh, that’s sad. Her writing wasn’t always to my taste, but I really appreciated her willingness to be open about her struggles. (Ken White/Popehat does that as well.) And her daughters are pretty young.
Miss Bianca
@geg6: I’m no friend to organized religion myself, but people who talk in that essentialist, eliminationist way about it turn me off almost as much as religious fundamentalists do.
eclare
@trollhattan:
Hahaha…
SpaceUnit
Late to the discussion, but I’ve been saying for a while that inside their boardrooms every corporate news outlet wishes they could be Fox. Hopefully CNN is about to discover why they can’t.
And I just deleted their bookmark from my computer.
West of the Rockies
@Geminid:
Conservatives are waiting for the movie trailer that begins: Jesus is back… and this time… it’s personal! Get ready for a reading from the gospel of Smith and Wesson!
West of the Rockies
@geg6:
Well, his persona is right there in the nym.
cope
After reading and thinking about this town hall business, I really can’t imagine an upside for the former guy. He won’t convince any fence-sitters, he is almost certain to say mind searingly stupid stuff and maybe eyes might be slightly opened at some other major media entities*. CNN, yes, may get a ratings jump (though not in this household) but as for the overall impact of this “event”, I’m pretty much in the “meh” column.
*OK, well, almost certainly not this last one.
lollipopguild
@SpaceUnit: You cannot just “be’ Fox. You have to be worse than Fox, a lot worse in order to compete or beat Fox.
eclare
@geg6:
Same, devout atheist, generally think organized religion is a bad idea. But some use the teachings as Jesus meant them to be used, like Joe Biden, Jimmy Carter, Raphael Warnock, William Barber…I certainly don’t think any of them are Nazis, but what do I know?
Cameron
@eversor: Didn’t take our pills today, did we?
SpaceUnit
@lollipopguild:
Best you can do is cut away a minimal slice of that MAGA marketshare, but you’ll lose your regular audience in the process.
It’s an idiotic business move.
raven
@geg6: Are you at Pitt or Penn State Pittsburg?
cain
Christianity must have really traumatized eversor. But honestly, organized religions have always been shitty. I think for Abrahamic religions – I think the idea of proselytizing turns the religion into a business.
You can’t convert to Hinduism. I suppose you can just declare yourself as a Hindu – but there is no ritual, no ceremony, no tequila shots.
cain
@eclare: I think everything about religion comes from being part of a pack. I mean if you look at those 10 commandments – pretty good rules to survive in a desert.
Elizabelle
@SpaceUnit: It is. This strikes me as a business school study of a horrible, horrible decision.
I wonder if CNN is hoping that TFG self-immolates on their broadcast, and then they can get kudos for slaying the monster.
cain
@Elizabelle: I doubt that – I heard the new CEO of CNN was interested in doing more right wing forward content.
I can’t really understand why – the demographics for these folks are not that great. Not that younger generations are even watching 24 hour news channels.
I suspect they are all gonna die along with Gen X.
Scout211
Trump. Ever the self-promoter. He’s already splashing the word that his appearance could be a “must-watch TV disaster” for all. What an idiot.
Rileys Enabler
@Suzanne: that’s a gut-punch. Followed her for years and years, saw her girls from birth to teen. Gave up the follow when she went TERF awhile back but always hoped she’d pull through. She’d come back from the brink before.
Thinking about her girls. What a terrible loss for them.
SpaceUnit
@Elizabelle:
If that’s their plan then I’ll give credit where it’s due. But I really don’t think it’s what they have in mind. Somebody sold this townhall idea as a ratings bonanza.
Suzanne
@eclare:
For me, there’s nothing more noxious about right-wing Christianity than right-wing any-other-belief-system-or-faith.
I don’t think Christianity created patriarchy. I think it’s more likely that patriarchy created Christianity.
And as someone who just…. doesn’t believe in any origin story at all…. religions are only useful insofar as they create ethical systems.
Sure Lurkalot
Unscripted Trump is pretty much incoherent these days so I hope that CNN gets what they “paid for”, a fuckton of low ratings, bad publicity and boycotts. John Malone can FOADIAF.
Just a small chime in on the religion thing that gets tossed around when a certain someone shows up. Time was, at least in my life, that your religion was a fairly private thing. In the neighborhoods where I grew up, I knew what buckets we were born into but for the most part, we didn’t self segregate and we didn’t prosletyze. Fast forward 50 years and my 16 year old great niece reports that she is becoming alienated from her bestest friends since kindergarten. Why? Everything is church, church sweatshirts worn at school, church activities after school, church on the weekends…it’s all they talk about and that creates gaps in what she can talk about.
I share her observation. Some Christians, mostly evangelical but others as well, are hellbent on making the U.S. a Christian nation and have little respect for others’ beliefs. Some congregations are eliminationist in their preachings as much as SOR is in his.
I don’t care so much that they’ve co-opted what most of us think Christianity “means” but I do object that they’ve co-opted the public square to this extent and as more and more people opt out altogether, they are more insistent and militant that we will live by their rules however hypocritically imposed.
Miss Bianca
@Scout211: “Could be a total disaster!” would be the marketing kiss of death for any other person besides Trump. For him, somehow, it’s a draw. We shall see, I suppose (or not.)
Suzanne
@Rileys Enabler: I stopped reading her quite some time ago, and I didn’t know she went TERF. I always appreciated her humor when I was a new mom. I am also very sad for her children.
Ruckus
@Scout211:
Trump. Ever the self-promoter. He’s already splashing the word that his appearance could be a “must-watch TV disaster” for all. What an idiot.
He wasn’t the sharpest stick in the pile as a kid and he grew up getting worse by the day. He has not one good thing, bit, word, idea, ideal, experience. He is worse than a waste of protoplasm, he is a human disease. And worse he has brethren in calling, those that aspire to be the shitty side of life. All for one and one for all the shitty is his motto and way in life.
geg6
@raven:
I went to Pitt for undergrad, but work at Penn State Beaver, one of the Penn State Pittsburgh campuses. Why?
raven
@geg6: I have a friend who is at Department of Physical Therapy at University of Pittsburgh and just wondered. I thought you were at PSU Beaver.
Geminid
@cain:
@geg6: This commenter has a lot to say on other topics, and I appreciate much of it because his life experiences are very different than mine. But then he’ll revert to his obsession, which as another commenter suggested, is probably of personal origin.
Among other grounds, one of my objections to this thinking is pragmatic: I cannot think of a more pointless and self-defeating a political strategy than to center a fight against Christianity, and to denounce people who won’t go along.
...now I try to be amused
@Suzanne:
Christianity could be called Paulism since St. Paul shaped it as a culture and an institution more than Jesus himself. Women had more status in early Christian congregations.
My Western Religion 101 prof used the term “culture religion” to distinguish Christianity and Islam from “tribal religions” like Judaism. Only culture religions feel the need to proselytize. In a sense they create a new super-tribe of believers. But humans being humans, some Christians will want to define themselves into a smaller tribe that excludes even other Christians.
tobie
@Steeplejack: Ooof…that picture hurts.
NotMax
@>a href=”https://balloon-juice.com/2023/05/10/feeding-the-beast/#comment-8839067″>Scout211
Can we get the ineluctable braggadocio out of the way now?
“It was a Perfect Town Hall. Perfecter than Perfect!”
//
Elizabelle
@tobie: Biden should lend her his aviators.
Large sunglasses could do a world of good there. Also puts the return to DC via private jet into perspective. Who wants to be the subject for an airport full of cell phone camera junkies?
I had guessed the issue might be that she was traveling with a private nurse. And she may have.
NotMax
Sorry, Scout. Fumbled the reply citation, Fix.
@Scout211
Can we get the ineluctable braggadocio out of the way now?
“It was a Perfect Town Hall. Perfecter than Perfect!”
//
Princess
Thing is, Trump is such a bore. I can’t imagine him saying anything tonight he hasn’t said a thousand times before, and all larded with grievance and whining. And I don’t think that was the case in 2016 — he had shock value then and people on the left and right tuned in to watch his segments of two minute hate. Not sure that’s true any more.
Jeffro
What are the odds that trumpov defames EJC all over again tonight? What are the odds that he calls for violence against his opponents? What are the odds that someone in the audience asks him “why can’t you control yourself for more than two seconds?”, another audience member gets pissed, and a fistfight breaks out?
WHO CARES?
We are quite literally ‘amusing ourselves to death’. Do better, snooze media (CNN especially!)
I’ll be watching Super Bowl highlights instead.
Quinerly
Disgusting POS
al.com/news/2023/05/tuberville-on-white-nationalists-in-the-military-i-call-them-americans.html
eclare
@Suzanne:
I honestly have no idea what in my comment you are referring to.
eclare
@Elizabelle:
Same here. And she did not want the publicity of traveling with nurses.
Brachiator
@…now I try to be amused:
Islam and Christianity often practiced conversion through conquest. Tribal religions jump through hoops to maintain purity and to keep adherents from straying.
SpaceUnit
So I’m about to get hammered by a huge hailstorm. The thunder is relentless. I can see it on the Doppler radar and it’s heading straight for me.
Goddamn it I just had my windows replaced.
Suzanne
@eclare: Um….. the part I quoted?
Jackie
The hits just keep coming:
“Smartmatic
subpoenas Donald Trump’s former campaign in lawsuit against Fox News over 2020 election conspiracy theories.”
businessinsider.com/smartmatic-subpoena-donald-trump-campaign-maga-pac-fox-news-newsmax-2023-5?amp
eclare
@Suzanne:
I did not say anything about right wing religion, unless you think Jimmy is a nutjob. And I don’t think any of them have ever said my way or the highway. What am I missing?
I said nothing about patriarchy. You brought that in. My point was you can be a person of faith and use that belief to do good things, even if you don’t believe.
Origuy
@Suzanne:
Early Christianity’s main competitors, Mithraism and the Roman state religion, were more patriarchal; only men could worship Mithras and women had a very limited role in the Roman public ceremonies, mostly the Vestal Virgins. Christianity, despite Paul’s misogyny, offered women positions of power and authority by comparison
ETA: That really started to change when Constantine legalized Christianity and later emperors made it mandatory.
Suzanne
@eclare: I was merely offering my viewpoint, kind of bouncing off your comment about many people I consider excellent Christians despite that I am also generally anti-organized anything, Just continuing the conversation.
I will stop engaging with you, since I seem to have annoyed you.
cain
@Geminid: I typically filter those out. I mean I know what it’s going to be since it is quite repetitive.
eclare
@Suzanne:
Do not put this on me. You were the one who reacted when I said these were people of faith doing good things that they believed in.
cain
@Geminid: I typically filter those out. I mean I know what it’s going to be since it is quite repetitive.
@…now I try to be amused:
That’s interesting. It explains why Judaism is generally more saner than the other two. I really like reading about main line Judaism – I always felt there was some parallelism with Hinduism.
cain
@Quinerly: Dumbville is definitely trying to get the white supremacy and nazi vote.
zhena gogolia
@eclare: If I might step in, I didn’t think Suzanne’s comment was attacking yours at all. It was just adding her thoughts about Christianity. I think you’re misreading the tone of her reply. FWIW
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Has anyone else caught the news that Jenna Ellis has apparently gone fugitive? Giuliani named her as a key witness in the defamation lawsuit by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the plaintiffs tried to serve her with a subpoena, her lawyers dodged the subpoena for awhile then announced they weren’t her lawyers anymore, and now nobody seems to know where she is. Private detectives have failed to find her.
(Source: a recent Meidas Touch video. Too hard to link on the phone)
tobie
@Elizabelle: Yes, she’s not in good shape. I hope Senate Democrats are wise enough to counteract whatever narrative this may generate by putting young, energetic Senate members out there. Among the Senators, Ossoff and Booker are really good answering questions on the fly. And they exude health, intelligence, and hopefulness. Did you see this Wonkette article? Sinema’s going to be a pain in the ass as she pumps up her bestie Tim Scott and complains about Dems eating jello. Gawd, she’s awful.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
TPM has the story
Also, Rudy can’t afford a lawyer.
eclare
@zhena gogolia:
Thank you, I appreciate that. I will step off, it’s been a long week and only Wednesday. Again, thank you.
Suzanne
@eclare: Yes, and I said that Christianity can be interpreted for bad, but no worse that any other belief system (eversor is frequently singling out Christianity as especially bad and toxic).
I don’t know what your issue is. It’s a comments section, aka a sprawling conversation.
cain
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
How much money did she abscond with and to which country?
Scout211
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
The Daily Beast.
TriassicSands
CNN: Making Television Great Again!
Lighten up guys. Trump has to be given lots of air time by all the major outlets. After all, he just scored a major coup and has officially been declared guilty of sexual assault. Why wouldn’t every media organization want to showcase a sexual predator and give their viewing audiences maximum exposure to such a fine person and role model for white supremacist bigots and incels?
I mean what’s the worst Trump could do? Call for violence? That’s already been done and normalized. Defame more people? Well, he always does that, so no surprise there. Whine endlessly about being the biggest victim in the history of the world? That is always such scintillating television, who wouldn’t want to see and hear that for the millionth time?
Next up for CNN? Here is a short list of stellar ideas for CNN programming in the near future.
Stay tuned. CNN is just getting started.
Brachiator
@Origuy:
It is… interesting to see how women may have been deeply involved in early Christianity, even were followers of Jesus, and yet got written out of church history or greatly demoted.
karen marie
@Elizabelle: Any word on who posted his bond? He sure as fuck doesn’t have the scratch necessary.
Frankensteinbeck
@Brachiator:
Conservatives throughout history have destroyed records of more liberal periods to pretend their assholery is normal.
Citizen Alan
@Geminid: One of the most breathtaking heresies I ever encountered was when I heard a fundamentalist preacher say that Jesus did not intend the Beatitudes to be applicable to this world. They represent what things will be like post Rapture for all the Real True Christians in Heaven. Accordingly, anyone who tries to apply them to the mortal world (such as by working towards the goal of world peace) is a tool of the Antichrist.
Burnspbesq
Dems are apparently looking to gain an advantage in Senatorial basketball. They’re trying to recruit Grant Hill and Dwayne Wade as candidates in Florida. Hill would combine with Fetterman to create a formidable post presence, and there is no Republican who could guard Wade.
If nothing else, seeing Grant (who is legitimately 6’8”) next to Rubio on a debate stage would be a hoot.
Captain C
@Frankensteinbeck:
@zhena gogolia:
There was a commenter for awhile on Charles Stross’s Antipope who usually had a handle with a variation on ‘The Seagull’ and went on similar rants (with a similar vibe) to m_c; IIRC they claimed at some points to be a Culture Mind. Eventually they got banned for lashing out way too much. I’ve wondered if they were the same individual.
japa21
@Citizen Alan: The corollary to that is that helping the poor and underprivileged is not the role of government. Jesus told individuals to do that. Of course totally ignoring the many times in the Bible that the leaders of Israel were condemned by the prophets for not taking care of those underprivileged people.
Citizen Alan
@eclare: Yeah, I mean, you can be an atheist and still think that “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” is a pretty good way to live your life. My problem with Christianity is that far too many of them think that the truth of the Golden Rule is not nearly as important as the superstitious elements surrounding the story of Jesus (i.e. the Virgin Birth, the miracles, the Resurrection, and the Ascension). That is to say, if Jesus did not, in fact, turn water into wine and walk across the Seal of Galilee, then everything He said about how he wants his followers to live their lives is irrelevant.
Geminid
@Burnspbesq: I always thought Grant Hill could have a future on politics if he wanted. Running for a Florida Senate seat would be a tough way to break in, though.
Captain C
@Betty Cracker:
I have a feeling that phrasing was not accidental.
Burnspbesq
@Geminid:
Duke folks always expected it would be Shane Battier who would transition into public life once his playing days ended. We’ll see.
Geminid
@Citizen Alan: I had a good laugh one day listening on the radio to a Baptist preacher interpreting the line from the Sermon on the Mount: “…and the Meek shall inherit the Earth.”
He talked about the modern desire for “free stuff” but eventually concluded that what Jesus really meant was that “the Meek will be satisfied with what they have.”
Citizen Alan
@…now I try to be amused:
“Catholicism is the victory of Peter over Paul. Protestantism is the victory of Paul over Peter. Christian Fundamentalism is the victory of Paul over Jesus Christ.” — some witty person whose name I can’t recall.
japa21
@Citizen Alan: I understand what you are saying, but I don’t know any Christians that think that way. There would be other things about the faith that would be challenged, but most would say the values would still be relevant. Of course, there are exceptions, but I really doubt that those folks would really qualify as Christians despite how they categorize themselves.
Kathleen
I’m spending my evening with Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Vanessa Williams, and Rep Jahana Hayes who was also Teacher of the Year!
Brachiator
@Citizen Alan:
Pretty much true of every religion, which are grounded in mythology and superstition.
cain
@Citizen Alan: But see that’s where all the fun festivals come from? Day of the Dead, Diwali, and so many others are based on stuff like this.
(Christianity doesn’t have any fun festivals for some reason)
Baud
@Kathleen:
Cool.
Omnes Omnibus
@cain:
Carnival/Mardi Gras/Fasching would like a word.
Brachiator
@Frankensteinbeck:
The changing perspective of women in early Christianity may be more about which oral tradition became more dominant as the early church formed, but I take your point. I am not sure that looking at what happened as conservative vs liberal is applicable.
Elizabelle
@TriassicSands: fantastic comment. Hope you are posting it elsewhere too. Or mail it to CNN on air stars. This is who they work for.
@karen marie: three individuals, not yet identified as of midafternoon. Will keep an eye out.
brantl
Seems like Fannone has NFLTG, good for him.
RaflW
I don’t think it’s going great up in N.H.
Gvg
@Elizabelle: i think he could have anytime these last 50 years but people convinced him to be modest.
Kathleen
@RaflW: Tee hee.
E.
@RaflW: Boy was Fannone ever right. Oof.
Almost Retired
I hope this is the end of Kaitlin Collins’ career.
cmorenc
@Ruckus:
My one clear memory of vacation bible school is that we sang “Jesus loves me , this I know, because the Bible…tells me so. “. Right there are two of the three main tenets they try to indoctrinate you with as a child. The third tenet? Believe sincerely in Jesus or you will go to Hell for eternity. And by that, they meant accept what the preacher/Sunday school teacher told you about Jesus and the literal truth of the Bible or you are Hell-bound for sure.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: I count Christmas too, actually.
mrmoshpotato
For those of you
who hate yourselvesmasochists,Hal Sparks is watching (and commenting on) the orange shitstain’s CNN liefest.
It’s live on his YouTube channel.
I’ll be watching camping videos tonight.
Elizabelle
@Almost Retired: Are you watching?
FTF NY Times front page says TFG mocked E. Jean Carroll, and the audience laughed along.
No thank you.
mrmoshpotato
@cain: I’m more of a Dawn of the Dead fan myself (both original and 2004 remake).
Brachiator
Nope.
Sad, but not unexpected.
Gin & Tonic
The Knicks game is on, so zero chance I’d be watching CNN.
Matt McIrvin
@Citizen Alan: Sounds like pre-millennial dispensationalism–which is the crankery that all that Rapture business comes from. These people literally believe that God changes the absolute laws of morality from time to time. They read the Bible like it’s some kind of cryptogram and only they have the key.
Almost Retired
@Elizabelle: Yes, I was. Appalling. As is CNN’s follow up commentary.
Elizabelle
@Almost Retired: My sympathies. X number of minutes of your life that you will never get back.
catclub
@Almost Retired:
 
I hope it is the end of her boss’s.
catclub
props to CNN for publishing this.
cnn.com/2023/05/11/media/cnn-town-hall-donald-trump-reliable-sources/index.html
uniformly criticizing their judgement.