Nation Getting More And More Stupid

No Corona beer has nothing to do with a virus

There have always been a lot of stupid people around.  Frankly, I'm not especially smart, but there seems to be a big, intensifying competition out there about how extreme stupidity can get.

I don't want to be a part of that competiton.  However, I can gawk at it, because there's tons of examples out there.

I'll start with a relatively mild one, and then let it go downhill from there. You are going to be rolling your eyes and shaking your head, guaranteed.

CORONA BEER CAUSES COVID-19?

Then there was the poll that suggested 38 percent of Americans would never drink a Corona beer because it's similarly named to the Coronavirus.  As if you could get the illness from anything with the word "corona" in it.

By that logic, I guess you could get the illness by going outside on a sunny day.  After all, the sun has a cornona, right?

To my relief, this 38 percent number in the poll could easily be misleading because the poll was poorly worded.

According to HuffPost, the questions and some of the answers went like this:

Question: "Is Corona related to the coronavirus?"  Disconcertingly, 16 percent of beer drinkers were "confused" at this.  Hopefully, the respondents were drunk when they were asked.  Everybody is confused when they're drunk.

Question: "In light of the coronavirus, do you plan to stop drinking Corona?"  Four percent of people who say they usually drink Corona beer would stop because of this. Dummies.

Question: "Would you buy Corona under any circumstances now?"  This was the magic question that got all the publicity. Thirty-eight of beer drinking Americans said they would not.  I'm just hoping and praying most of those who said they would not simply don't like Corona beer and wouldn't drink it even if the coronavirus wasn't a thing.

Or, as HuffPost notes, people might stop drinking Corona because it reminds them of something unpleasant they'd rather not think about, or that drinking a Corona in front of friends or in public would set them up to be the butt of a joke.

So, my bad for not thinking through the logic, or lack thereof, in the way the poll question was worded.

That doesn't mean there's a lot of stupid people out there.  It gets worse. Keep reading.

IT'S THE DEMOCRATS' FAULT

Some of Donald Trump's most ardent supporters have noted that so far, early in this coronavirus epidemic, the majority of cases have been reported in states and cities run by Democrats.

There could be lots of reasons for that.  Bad luck? More widespread testing in those districts? More people in these areas that have traveled to countries that have been particularly hard hit? All plausible explanations. Who knows, right?

Well, the MAGA crowd sure knows what's going on, apparently.   According to Raw Story, here are some of the reasons why the coronavirus has hit places like Washington State and California, both blue states.

I don't want to provide links to these people's Twitter accounts because I don't want to reward them, here's a sampling:

Some moron named Bob Berger tweeted, "Have you noticed all new cass of the coronavirus are in Democrat states Wash. Or. Cal. I'll (sic) RI. do you think the dems are dumb enough to get sick to make Trump look bad just saying."

Yes, because people always want to come down with a potentially deadly illness to own the MAGAs.

 They get worse:  "Prediction: Democrat run cities in the US will start announcing many sick people with coronavirus "symptoms" to crash the Mkts to hurt Trump. It's sad that this is where we are as a country but it's the truth. Democrats know the only chance to beat Trump is a mkt crash."

I'll repeat the above refrain: Destroy their own 401ks to own the MAGA's? Really?

A couple more before my headache gets too extreme: "Notice how the virus is located in Democrat states? Are the Dems purposely contaminating these people? It's a fair question."  So Democrats are into committing genocide?

The answer is apparently yes according to the most stupid MAGAs.  Like this tweet: "Democrat run Blue States will infect the poor with the virus in State Run Hospitals to exploit their deaths against Trump, because, well, it's the Democrats."

This almost, but not quite, makes me wish these ignorant tweeters would come down with the virus. But that would be mean.

GARTH BROOKS AND NOT THAT SANDERS

Garth Brooks wearing a Sanders football jersey.  It references
Barry Sanders, not the Bernie Sanders. But people are too stupid
to understand that, apparently

So this happened to country music legend Garth Brooks last week:

He was in Detroit and part of the plan was to honor Barry Sanders, one of most notable running backs and Detroit Lions NFL players on record.

Brooks wore a #20 Sanders football jersey at his show, and shared a photo of him wearing it on Instagram.

I get it that not every Garth Brooks fan knows who Barry Sanders is.  But it was clearly a football jersey, right?

Nope. Some now erstwhile Garth Brooks fans exploded in anger. The football jersey Brooks wore said "Sanders" so these ignoramuses just automatically assumed Brooks was campaigning for presidential candidate and Democratic-Socialist Bernie Sanders.

As Snopes reported, one person wrote: "I had no idea you wer a big freaking liberal socialist! I've listened to your songs for the last time!" Another wrote, "If this is for Bernie Sanders, I'm done with you. I thought you wer a true American that loves our country."

You wouldn't believe how many similar declarations there were out on social media over the past few days.

As far as anybody can tell, Garth Brooks has in actuality not given any kind of opinion on who he favors for president. Other than perhaps Barry Sanders, who tweeted, "Hey @garthbrooks, want to be my VP? #Number20For2020."

Brooks tweeted back, "I would run any race with you."  At least the country music star is keeping a good sense of humor about this whole thing.

TIN HAT TIME!

I'll leave you with this, um, creative theory from an actual U.S. Congress candidate Joanne Wright who apparently approvingly retweeted the following now-deleted missive:

 OK, my headache just got much worse. Time to shut this post down for today.

Woman Calls Cops On Black Guy Because His Dog Humped Her Dog Horrors!

"Dog Park Debbie" calls the police to a dog park
because a black man's dog humped her dog

In a ridiculous video, one that might have racial issues like "Barbecue Becky," "Permit Patty" and "Cornerstone Caroline"  we have a white woman calling the cops on a black man at a dog park.

This time, it's because the guy's dog started trying to hump the woman's dog, as dogs tend to do. They don't always behave, do they?

The man got the dog off the woman's dog, and neither animal appears to have been harmed. The man, named Franklin Baxley, did have to get his dog off the woman's a couple other times. Later, the woman's dog did the same to Baxley's but I guess that's OK.

But in a classic overreaction, the woman called the Attleboro, Massachusetts police.

I don't know if the woman was being racist, because I don't have a lot of context from the video. But it appears to fit a pattern of white people calling the police on black people for just doing things that normal people do, like having a barbecue in the park, entering their own apartment building, or allowing their kid to sell bottled water on the sidewalk during a hot afternoon.

To Baxley, this did seem racial, and I can see why he thinks this way: He told Yahoo News: "The woman wanted to impress upon me that she was superior...Her first instinct was to call the police when in conflict with a black person."

This kind of thing just doesn't stop, does it?  I mean, the woman could have kept her dog away from Baxley's dog if she was that upset, but nope! First reaction is to call the police. I'm sure she's going to enjoy her 15 minutes of fame.

I'm sure the cops were a bit annoyed by the waste of time they had to endure sorting this out. Can we please not call the cops unless we have an actual emergency? Here's the video:

President Trump Just Proposed An Original, Awesome Idea For The Fourth Of July

President Trump proposes making the Fourth of July
all about him because of course. 

How's this for an idea to celebrate our nation's birth.

On July 4, have a nice, big parade, with bands, floats and cheering crowds. Throw in a great afternoon of picnicking and partying, then top it all off with a big fireworks display.

Nobody thought of this great idea until our fearless leader, President Donald Trump announced the idea today. 

Well, OK, there have been juuuusst vaguely similiar events on the Fourth of July for many years.

Such as what happens on July 4 every year: A nice, big parade, with bands, floats and cheering crowds. Throw in a great afternoon of picknicking and partying, then top it all off with a big fireworks display.

But Trump announced the idea today. So it's new! And his idea has an added bonus: "An address, by your favorite president, me!"

Of course, if Trump isn't your favorite president, I guess you're not invited.

Never mind that Washington DC has been home to a Fourth of July celebration for decades at least. Now, it's going to be all about Trump. Because everything has to be all about Trump. I mean this blog post is all about Trump. See?

Trump's Fourth of July idea seems to have garnered a few skeptical responses on Twitter and elsewhere.

Most of the comments are along the lines of, you idiot, we do that kind of thing every year.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-CA wrote on Twitter:

"If this goes well, I think we should follow it with a big party in Times Square the night before New Year's Day."

Wow! All these great ideas emerging! What will they think of next?

Christmas Gifts Only The Weirdest Could Love

I'm sure all of your friends would just LOVE a nose
warmer that looks like a spider! 

The Huffington Post recently put up an article that is sure to bring joy, or pain to every holiday shopper out there.

It's a comprehensive list of some of the more, um, novel Christmas gifts you can share this year.

I'll let you read the whole story, but I will cherry pick some of my favorites from this list.

One of these special Christmas gifts is a Trump bottle opener, which has the sound of Trump ranting. One of the messages spouts off about fake news when you use it. Frankly, I hope my nice cold bottle of beer is not fake news when I open it, so I'll pass on this one.

Ugly Christmas sweaters are all the rage in recent years, and I think I found the worst yet. It depicts Santa, sitting on a chimney, pants down, taking a dump down the chimney into somebody's fireplace. I think that qualifies as worse than getting a lump of coal in your stocking.

Here's the sales pitch from the company that sells this thing. "Ugly Christmas sweater has a whole new meaning when you rock up wearing something that literally takes a dump all over the Christmas season. He delivers to every boy and girl in one night, folks - when you gotta go, you gotta go."

I don't think this sweater is turning into a hit. At last check it was on sale - meaning they're trying to unload this, um, mess. The price keeps going down. It started at $84.95, went down to $78.95 and at last check was a low, low $59.95.

Still too pricy for me. Even so, you might want to continue on with this shitty Christmas idea. You can combine the above gift with the book "We Wish You A Poopy Christmas."

Honestly, the sales pitch for this book is even worse than the one for the poopy Christmas sweater:

The worst possible ugly
Christmas sweater.

"Curl up by the fire with some steaming hot chocolate and listen to Fudgy the Poopman offer his unique take on your favorite Christmas tales. You're probably familiar with Rudolph and his red nose, but in this book, you hear how Christmas was saved by Rupert, whose case of IBS has left him with shining red spot on the opposite end of the reindeer body."

I'm not sure why our nation's recent infantile obsession with poop is so rampant, but this Christmas stuff proves it's jumped the shark and must end now.

Moving on, the Christmas season is often chilly, especially for us northerners. We wear coats, hats, mittens, and even ear muffs. But what if your nose gets cold?  Well, of course there's a Christmas gift solution!

Keep your schnoz warm with a Spider Nose Warmer. I just love how the marketers of this thing in their sales pitch have absolutely no command of the English language. I'll quote it verbatim, with no editorial corrections:

"Nose warmer pom pom Christmast gadget. Funny nose gift nose heath Vegan friendly, Nose cozy winter heater. Your noise never been worn, it's made just for you....A unique practical way to keep your nose warm. Sure to be a hit with all. Fun and useful, great for everyone. Loops on each side of the Nose Warmer hook behind the ears, stretchy easy and comfortable to wear. And feets all."

Feets all? I thought it was a nose warmer. No thanks, I'll pass. They say a cold nose is a sign your dog is healthy. I'll just assume that if my nose is cold, I'm healthy.

I haven't finished my holiday shopping yet. I'm a last-minute kinda guy. But rest assured, family and friends! You're not getting any of the items listed above. If that disappoints you, buy 'em yourself!

How Not To Own The Libs: Colin Kaepernick Edition

Colin Kaepernick is in a Nike ad, which is really annoying
some really dumb Trump fans. 

As you heard all over the news, Nike hired Colin Kaepernick for its latest "Just Do It" ad campaign, commemorating 30 years of this theme.

I know the Kaepernick thing pales in comparison to the historic week we're having, but the Nike ad is still a pretty good Rorschach test of what people are thinking.

By the way, the Nike ad is pretty damn good. Watch it at the bottom of this post.

And the people who hate the Nike/Kaepernick ad are really revealing themselves as being, well, not too bright.

Kaepernick, as you might remember, led the "Take The Knee" protests in which NFL players kneel during the National Anthem at games to demonstrate for racial quality and against police brutality.

Many conservatives, including Donald Trump and his cult members supporters insist the kneeling is all about hating the National Anthem, America and veterans. I'm not sure how they leap to that conclusion, but they do leap, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Try as they might to find it, there's no evidence Kaepernick or those kneeling NFL players ever said they "hate America." Plus, peaceful protests such as this fall squarely under First Amendment rights, and people who peacefully demonstrate against real or perceived injustices have long been regarded as patriots.

Not by the Trumpsters, though. Intelligence isn't the strongest suit among many of those Trumpsters.

The backlash against Nike and Kaepernick over the past day or so is a case in point.  Many of them have taken to social media with videos and GIFs of them burning their Nike shoes, shirts, shorts etc. in protest of the Kaepernick campaign.

They're burning items they already own, that they've paid for, that Nike has already collected the money on. So who's "winning"?

These trumpsters have becoming the laughing stock all over social media, especially Twitter.

As in tweet from Tony Posnanski says: "I just wrote "Nike" on twenty dollar bills and burned them to own the libs."

At @Emma_Rafter tweeted: "Republicans are boycotting Nike because of an ad. Some are even riping the logo off from their clothes and are in uproar because they sponsor Colin Kapernick. But liberals are the 'snowflakes'?"

Tea Pain has been great on this issue:

"NARRATOR: 'In the late 1930s, white supremacists burned books they opposed politically. By 2018, racists were mostly illiterate and burned their shoes instead.'"

@DanielWatsonSD tweeted in part. "same group that refused to believe their 'leader' isn't anti-American as he conspired with Russia."

@CoolTrainerEl raised a very good point: "Nike made Kap the face of their campaign. The face of Under Armour told the POTUS he's not visiting the White House. Puma made Jay-Z, who supports Kap, brand ambassador. Adidas has rappers on the payroll who support Kap's message. What are you going to wear, white people?"

I hope something. I'd really hate to see most of these Trumpiters naked.

More comments:  @markloughney tweeted: "Since when did people become stupid enough to set their own stuff on fire?"

Oh, honey, there have been stupid people for a long time. The only difference now is that they seem proud of it.

@mjf1958 : "You know what you should do...go to the store and get more Nike stuff to burn... that'll teach 'em!

A lot of people on social media wondered why these angry Trumpsters didn't just give away their Nike stuff to homeless people, particularly homeless veterans.

Apparently, Nike is going to run the Colin Kaepernick ad during Thursday night NFL. That should be fun to watch. Here's the ad:

 

You Are Treasonous If You Don't Bow To His Lordship Trump, Apparently

Trump thinks anyone who criticizes him is treasonous
Time to teach this boy a lesson

Donald Trump, as always, was pissed today.

One of the many things that made him pissed was the fact that Democrats in Congress did not applaud him at all, or nearly as much or as enthusiastically as they should have.

During a speech near Cincinnati today, Trump said this: "Even on positive news - really positive news, like that - they were like death and un-American. Un-American......Somebody said treasonous. Yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."

Yeah, yeah, I know, Trump says dumb, divisive things multiple times every day. And a huge amount of what Trump says is terribly damaging and divisive for the United States. We're right to react against it, but it's hard, because this stupidity is becoming old hat.

But Trump's comments today are a big step forward in his efforts to become some sort of autocratic dictator, and today's comments should really bring the outrage level to new heights. And notice Trump went to his usual trope, "somebody said." As if he thinks pawning his thoughts off on some anonymous loser gives him cover. What an idiot!

As NPR helpfully explains, the U.S. Constitution defines treason against the country  "only in levying  War against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

As is obvious, the Democrats who did not applaud Trump did no such thing. Again, as is obvious, the Democrats were exercising their First Amendment rights. They were publicly disagreeing with the President, which we all have the right to do. So technically, the Democrats were actually being patriotic in voicing their dissent. Even if you don't agree with them.

Of course, nobody has to agree with the Democrats for not applauding. Trump and everyone else is free to criticize them for not showing support for the President's policies.

How, exactly, is it un-American to speak up against someone or something to which we disagree. I always thought it was patriotic to stand up for what you think is right in this country, and to blast anything you think is wrong. Don't we all have a duty as Americans to influence the best ways to run this nation?

Republicans regularly failed to applaud former President Barack Obama during his speeches. If you didn't like Obama and his policies, you were free to say so. Then South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" to Obama during one of his speeches in 2009.

Yep, Wilson was rude, but he wasn't treasonous, and his remarks fell well within his First Amendment rights.  You didn't want to applaud Obama during his State of the Union addresses? Well, that was totally, 100% your right. So, how is it treasonous to criticize Trump?

It isn't. But Trump thinks of himself as the Grand Pooh-Ba, and that anyone who disagrees with him is somehow against America. Yes, he's that stupid, but what are you going to do

I'll tell you what we're going to do. If you don't like Trump, hate his policies, hate his attitude, we speak up louder than ever.

Again, being Captain Obvious here, we do not owe Trump or any other politician absolute loyalty. We either vote for them, or we don't. And that's where it needs to stand.

Trump's rhetoric is dangerous as well as spectacularly ignorant. If you think Trump's policies and opinions are awesome, then terrific! Support him all you want. But despite what you might think, you are totally un-American and unpatriotic if you consider any criticism of Trump or any other politician "treasonous."

If you do think such criticism is "treasonous." I suggest you move to North Korea. If you don't like dissent and think it should be crushed, North Korea is the nation for you!

Latest Dumb Teen Trend: Eating Tide Detergent Pods

In their never ending quest to be as stupid as humanly
possible, some teens and adults are eating Tide Pods,
apparently because it's funny on YouTube, or something.

Teenagers and some adults are always finding creative ways to be stupid, get sick and endanger themselves.  

The latest seems to be the Tide Pod Challenge. Please don't be stupid enough to try this at home.

Tide Pods are those brightly colored little balls of concentrated laundry detergent Tide puts out. It's supposedly easier and less messy than pouring laundry powder or liquid into the washing machine.

Whatever.

First, there was the concern that little toddlers were starting to eat them because they look like candy. Understandable. A three year old doesn't know better, so best to keep the Tide pods up on the high shelf, away from curious little hands.

But teens, some of whom are always looking for fame and fortune and internet clicks on YouTube, have taken up the Tide Pod Challenge. On camera, they bite into and chew and grimmace eating these things.

In case  you don't already know this, laundry detergent is great if you want clean clothes. It's dangerous if you eat it. Duh!

Swallowing even a small amount of the detergent causes vomiting and diarrhea, and it can get into the lungs to really cause breathing difficulties. Plus, not everybody knows if they have underlying health problems, which can make illness from this worse.

Just this month the American Association of Poison Control Centers has reported 37 incidents of exposure to Tide Pods among teens, and at least half of those were intentional, says the Chicago Tribune. 

It might now be hard to find Tide Pod Challenges on YouTube, because YouTube is wisely pulling them off the internet. You don't want more copycats than there already are.

The Tide Pod Challenge has gotten so out of hand that New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, no stranger to exuberant behavior, has put out a PSA begging teens to not eat Tide Pods. "What the heck is going on, people!" the Gronk says.

When The Gronk has to reign in your behavior, you know things are out of control. Take it from Gronk in the video below:

Check Out What This Drunken Driving Suspect Was Wearing

In Newville, Pennsylvania recently, police arrested a guy named Elwood R. Gutshall III, 44 for allegedly driving under the influence. 

Police there said he committed several traffic violations and that his blood alcohol level was up there at 0.217 percent.

He was also driving with a suspended license.

Gutshall's booking photo is in this post.

Check out what he was wearing

The Saddest Loser In the Trumpcare Debacle. Plus, Some Premature Partying

This man in the White House is trying to be
intimidating. It ain't working 

When there's a train wreck, I often like to look for the most tragic piece of the disaster.

With the collapse of Trump's "repeal and replace Obamacare idiocy, I nominate Steve Bannon.

No, I don't have any sympathy for him, but if news reports are right, he's turned into the picture of pathetic.

A lot of these reports are not wonderfully sourced, so I don't trust them completely, but the descriptions of Bannon during this debacle are striking.

Bannon fancies himself a tough guy, the authoritarian boss who gets things done. He can bully anyone into submission, and he will push until he gets his way. Or so he thinks.

The web site Axios reported that hardline conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus went to the White House as the Trump administration lobbied them to go along with the Obamacare repeal.

Bannon reportedly told the Congressmen: "Guys, look. This is not a discussion. This is not a debate. You have no choice but to vote for this bill."

Riiight.

If anything, such attemps at bullying probably prompted the GOPers to dig in their heels against the bill.

Axios said one of the Congressmen replied to Bannon: "You know, the last time someone ordered me to do something, I was 18 years old. And it was my daddy. And I didn't listen to him, either."

Now, apparently, the recalcitrant Republicans are on Bannon's "shit list."

Oooh! A shit list! How scary!

Apparently, the Republicans against Trumpcare are going to face he wrath of Bannon and Trump, but the pair have repeatedly proven they are paper tigers, so there's that.

There's nothing more laughable and silly than a bully trying to bully people who aren't afraid of the bully.

Meanwhile, there was a little bit of premature celebrating among some Republicans, particularly a GOP super PAC, which launched television ads Friday evening encouraging viewers to thank their Republican reps for killing Obamacare.

Ooops.

The ads ran during "March Madness" NCAA college basketball tournament games Friday, so there were a lot of viewers to see it.

The ads said in part, according to The Hill: 

"'Republicans are keeping their promise, with a new plan for better health care,' one of the American Action Network advertisements said. 'Thank (California) Congressman Darrell Issa for keeping his promise and replacing the Affordable Care Act with the better healthcare you deserve."

Or not.

Here's the ad:

"Pizzagate" Just Keeps Getting Weirder And Weirder

Dallas Mavericks center Andrew Bogut was sidelined by a knee
injury, which wouldn't be exciting news except for the fact
the weird Pizzagate conspiracy theorists say Bogut
is actually being punished for publicizing Pizzagate.  

We now live in a world where a big subset of people will believe anything, and the biggest proof of all is Pizzagate, which believe it or not, is getting even weirder, which I never thought was possible.

As the New York Times explains this convoluted conspiracy theory, it was borne from Wikileaks, which released emails hacked from John Podesta, who was Hillary Clinton's campaign manager.

Note, you really have to read this New York Times explainer. It is SO amazing people will leap to such weird conclusions as fact. God help us.

Anyway, within Podesta's emails were mundane missives, including plans between Podesta and his brother, lobbyist Tony Podesta, to meet at a Washington DC pizza restaurant called Comet Ping Pong  for dinner.

Somebody on 4chan, a wacko extreme right wing message board, noted the phrase "cheese pizza" in the emails.

According to the nuts on 4chan, pedophiles use the initials "c.p." to denote child pornography. "Cheese pizza" has the same initials, so naturally, according to the wonderful minds on 4chan, Podesta was running a child sex ring at this pizza place, and that of course meant Hillary Clinton was also running this child sex ring.

Totally logical, right?

That, of course led to a another nutcase from North Carolina to head up to Washington DC to personally investigate Comet Ping Pong and rescue the children from the nonexistent sex ring in the nonexistent basement of the restaurant.

He shot up the place, but alas, rescued no children, since there were no children to be rescued.

That hasn't stopped the Pizza Gate conspiracy people, who won't let facts get in the way of their juicy scandal. They're still threatening employees of the pizza place, and people who work at neighborhing businesses, since they're in the same neighborhood and are obviously in on the crime.

In the latest development, some of Donald Trumps most paranoid, weird supporters are claiming NBA Dallas Maverick's center Andrew Bogut was banned from playing because he sort of agreed that Pizzagate might actually be a thing,  says the Daily Beast. 

The theory goes that Bogut was exposing "the truth" about Pizzagate, so they forced him to stop playing to silence him.

In reality, he was sidelined by a knee injury, that thousands of people saw on TV, but never mind eyewitnesses or reality.

There's a surprising number of people who subscribed to the "They're Silencing Bogut" theory.

As the Daily Beast notes, Reddit, which can be a swamp of weirdness anyway, has a lot of people on this "story." For instance, one headlined "Bogut Risked His Career To Help Expose The Truth,", written by WhiteGenocideXLV, had over 8,000 upvotes on Reddit.

As the Daily Beast also notes, this post was put up just a few hours after Bogut played 22 minutes in a Mavericks' 12-point win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

And never mind a whole bunch of people actually witnessed Bogut getting injured, and, again, there's a widely viewed video of Bogut injuring his knee on YouTube.

But video proof of something isn't good enough for the Pizzagate enthusiasts, no siree!

This will remain alive forever. It also helps explain why so many people voted for Trump. If some people are willing to suspend disbelief and become convinced Hillary, Podesta and even Barack Obama are running a child sex ring out of a Washington DC pizza parlor, they'll believe anything.

Even Donald Trump's slightly less fanciful statements and promises.

We blame the politicians for the failures and embarrassments and corruption in the United States. But let's face it, they're totally aided and abetted by too many head smackingly stupid, moronic people who will believe anything they hear, as long as it feeds their ignorant emotions.

As I've said before, too many of us live in a fact-free world, and that is at all of our peril.

Dumb Homeowners Wanted View; Now Face $1.6 Million Fine and Their Houses Might Slide Down A Hill

Homeowners face huge fines for cutting down trees
on city owned land to improve the views. Plus, cutting the trees
has increased the risk of landslides that could wreck these homes.   

Everybody wants a million dollar view.

Especially if its from their million dollar house.  

Some people in a West Seattle, Washington neighborhood cut down about 150 big leaf maple trees and Scouler willows because the vegetation was blocking their spectacular views.

Here's the problem: The trees were not on their property. It was on city land. And nobody got permission to cut down the trees, says The Stranger,  a Seattle area alternative paper. (and a very good one!)

Now the city has filed two lawsuits in King County, Washington Superior Court, seeking $1.6 million in damages.

Ouch.

A bigger ouch, according to The Stranger, is why the city planted the trees in the first place. The steep hill on which the trees were growing is prone to landslides. The city figured, correctly, that the trees' roots would help hold the hillside in place.

Now that the trees are gone, there's an increased danger that the hillside, and the houses owned by the people who wanted the views, will slide down the hill during any of Seattle's notoriously rainy winters.

At least before the houses slide down the hill and/or the homeowners are bankrupted by the lawsuits against them, they can at least enjoy their spectacular views of Puget Sound and downtown Seattle.

Still don't think it was worth it, though.

The Stranger also reports that lots of people are doing incredibly stupid things with trees to get better views from the hilly Seattle area.    

Ugly, dangerous regrowth on a
tree that had been "topped" to improve views

One thing their doing is topping trees, which means lopping off the branches of a tree to make it much shorter than it was.

This idea of topping a tree always backfires spectacularly. You could kill the tree, or if not, cause all kinds of other problems.

In part because the trees still have a great big root system, new branches come right back and grow back more quickly and much thicker, meaning the view would soon be even more blocked than before the tree topping.

Trees that has been topped are also less stable. The new branches are weaker, the extra foliage is heavier, so the formerly topped trees are more likely to topple over onto nearby houses during storms.

Well, that's one way to improve your view. If a tree falls through your roof, you'll have a nice view of the sky from your living room, right?

Now HERE'S A Strange Plane Crash

A little clumsy when it came to moving this plane
with a crane.  

Plane crashes are always bad. People get hurt and killed, and there's a lot of destruction.

As plane crashes go this one in India wasn't so bad, and - Bonus! - nobody was killed or injured.

This time, a crane was moving an abandoned Air India Airbus A320 from a airport to a nearby flight training center.

The crane was hoisting the plane over a wall to move it. As you'll see in this video, things didn't go so great:

Walmart Is Unclear On The Difference Between Maryland And Massachusetts

Walmart said these two states look pretty much alike,
so who cares if a University of Maryland t
shirt has a Massachusetts map on it?  

At Walmart, they had  t-shirt that touted the University of Maryland.

Go Terps!

Here's the problem. The logo on the shirt shows a map of Massachusetts, not Maryland.

I'm not sure how many University of Maryland students, faculty and alumni don't know whether they are in Amherst, Massachusetts or College Park, Maryland, but I'm sure it's not many.

That doesn't stop Walmart, though, no way! Facts are stupid anyway, right?

According to Consumerist, a shopper tried to point out to Walmart that perhaps the University of Maryland is in, um, Maryland and maybe the t-shirts should reflect this notion.

I hope the initial response from Walmart was meant as tongue in cheek, but I'm not sure and that scares me.

I, and pretty much everyone else disagree on this point, but Walmart said both Massachusetts and Maryland start with the letter "M" and maps of the two states kinda, sorta look alike.

Good enough, then!

Or maybe not. The Washington Post reports, amid the growing embarrassment of these shirts, that Walmart is pulling them from the shelves and apologizing to University of Maryland fans.

Maybe Walmart could have fun, though, confusing other states and their universities. Colorado and Wyoming are both shaped like squares, so you could switch their university logo shirts.

Mississippi and Alabama look vaguely like mirror images of each other. New Hampshire looks very remotely like an upside down Vermont, and Delaware looks a bit like a mini mirror image of New Hampshire.

This is getting confusing.

Donald Trump Temper Tantrum Hilarious Proves Case Against Him Being President.

Donald Trump unwittingly, hilariously demonstrates
why he would be a comical if scary president.  

On Fox News, that Republican candidate loving network, recently featured pundit Charles Krauthammer, who loves Republican candidates, saying Donald Trump "deserved" to be at the top of a list of candidates Republicans say they will never vote for.

Yes, yes, I know the poll results are totally from the realm of Captain Obvious, but not to Donald Trump, better known as Captain Oblivious.

And hilariously, Trump proved the point of the poll by Tweeting out his outrage that Krauthammer said he deserved to be on a list of least likely presidential candidates.

The Washington Post had it right when they said Trump Tweets like a 14 year old girl. Read their compiliaton of stupid Trump Tweets. 

Read the series, below, of Trump Tweets, as lifted from Crooks and Liars. Here's the series, as lifted from Crooks and Liars. 

Just think how trump would act if Vladimir Putin insulted him. Or the creepy terrorists of ISIS

And you wonder why people won't vote for him?

Gator Vs. Car: Spoiler: The Car Loses

Here's why you shouldn't torment an alligator with your car:

Ice Cream Cooler Thief Gets Away With It Because Store Clerk Is Out Cold

Our Florida Man ice cream thief
flips the bird at the surveillance camera. 

Before you say anything, remember, the following happened in Florida, which explains everything.

Surveillance video shows a guy stealing an ice cream cooler at a convenience store.

It might seem hard to do, taking a whole Good Humor cooler from a convenience store. You'd think somebody would notice, after all.

But, according to the Miami Herald the store clerk, Beauvais Guisman,  was sound asleep, just inches away from where the cooler had been.

I never knew a convenience store was such a comfortable place to sleep. The things you learn!

I'm not sure what you'd do with a whole cooler of ice cream. You can only eat so much of it, after all.

But maybe the suspected thief, Dennis Norman, 25, was especially hungry.

The Miami Herald said police figured out that Norman was a frequent visitor to the nearby Zoo Gym Health Club. He'd probably worked up an appetite from all those hours in the gym.

From gym records, police caught up with Norman at his home. He'd stashed the ice cream in his own freezer, but said he couldn't remember what he did with the Good Humor cooler from the store.

He couldn't remember? A big cooler is not like a set of car keys. It's kind of hard to misplace.

Then again, Guisman, the store clerk misplaced the cooler, too. After all, he slept through the whole theft.

Guisman is probably the former store clerk now, as sleeping on the job, especially during a theft, is likely a no-no. I'm afraid Guisman is going to get very tired again and fall asleep in a bad location.

All that pavement pounding looking for a new job has got to be tiring.

Here's the fun surveillance video of the incident: (The thief flipping the bird at the surveillance camera is a nice touch)

Let's Ruin A Kid's Life And Psyche Over A Fake, Malicious Marijuana Charge!

The kid didn't have pot, but
he was severely punished
anyway but dumb school.  

I've written about abusive so-called zero tolerance school punishments in the past, because I find them so fascinating in an awful way, like a tragic train wreck.

But the latest one takes the cake.

Some school administrators in Virginia suspended an 11-year-old kid from a school for gifted and talented students for a whole year.

Plus, they had criminal charges filed against him and sent him downward into a spiral of depression and anxiety which will take years of treatment.

Why? Because the kid had a lighter and a leaf in his backpack. The school said it was marijuana. Three separate field tests showed that the leaf was not marijuana. The school system basically tried to cover this fact up.

They also figured since the kids might or might not have told his friends the leaf was pot, that was also enough to justify punishing the boy as if he were a drug dealing street thug.

And with the truth out, school administrators still believe they did the right thing.

Here I was naive enough to think schools existed to educate children, but I guess they're there to ruin kids lives instead. At least at Bedford Middle School in Virginia.

The article about this idiocy, reported and written by Dan Casey in the Roanoke Times, is infuriating beyond belief.

It's murky as to whether the kid was pretend bragging that the leaf in his knapsake was marijuana, or whether it was planted there by bullies, or there was some other explanation.

However, even if this was marijuana, which it was not, the punishment meted out to this kid, and the obsfucation by school leaders and police, was itself bullying against the 11 year old. And like I said, these ostensible adults consider themselves fully justified about this.

Morons.

My guess is the kid probably did joke that the leaf was pot. If that's the case, the school would have been justified in giving the boy a good talking to. That drugs aren't to be taken lightly. Or at all, actually.

It could have been one of those zillions of teachable moments kids have. But nope. It's more fun to ruin a kid's life right?

The kid's parents, Bruce and Linda Bays, have understandably filed a lawsuit.

Casey's Roanoke Times article elaborates:

"It alleges Bedford Middle School Assistant Principal Brian Wilson and school operations chief Frederick 'Mac' Duis violated his due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

It also accuses the Bedford County Sheriff's Office of malicious prosecution, because Deputy M.M. Calohan, a school resource officer, filed marijuana possession charges against the boy despite field tests that indicated otherwise.

'Essentially, they kicked him out of school for something they couldn't prove he did,' said Roanoke attorney Melvin Williams the Bays' lawyer.

'The field test came back not inconclusive, but negative,' Williams said. 'Yet she went to a magistrate and swore he possessed marijuana at school.'"

During a school hearing early on in this drama, the Bays asked to see the leaf, but the school wouldn't let them, saing it was evidence.

Again, from the Roanoke Times:

"Bruce Bays said, 'During the hearing, I asked Wilson, What about the field test on the marijuana leaf?'

The assistant principal hemmed and hawed and finally he got around to it and said 'I'm not qualified to interpret the results of the field test,' Bruce Bays said."

During a court hearing on the criminal charge, the sheriff's office asked for a continuance, claiming the leaf hadn't been to the state lab.

The Bays refused. Seeing a lame case, the judge dismissed the charges.

With the criminal charges gone, the Bays said they wanted another hearing at the school to clear their sons name and get him back into classes.

The school officials and the sheriff's office have dug in their heels.

The sheriff's attorney, Jim Guynn said they didn't pursue a malicious prosecution against the kid like his parents allege because the sheriff's deputy identified the leaf found in the boy's backpack as marijuana.

I guess to them it doesn't matter that the leaf wasn't marijuana. If the sheriff deputy decides it is, well, science and facts have nothing to do with anything.

The sheriff's office is also trying to claim the suit is filed in the wrong court, as if that would make it go away.

And under the school's silly zero tolerance policy, it doesn't matter if the leaf was marijuana or from some other plant, like a Japanese maple. If someone pretends it's pot, then it's pot, facts be damned.

I'm not sure why the lighter was in the backpack. Maybe the kid was pretending he had marijuana. Maybe he liked to play with fire like a lot of 11 year old kids do. Maybe some other student planted it there. But it seems the school isn't interested in getting to the bottom of that.

Because, DRUGS! DRUGS! DRUGS!  A Japanese maple leaf that looks vaguely like pot is DANGEROUS!!!!!!!!!!!

Under the school system's rules, the boy's parents were ordered to take the kid to a pediatric psychiatrist to be evaluated for substance abuse problems.

The psychiatrist found no such issues, but did find a lot of damage to the boy's mental health, and the school, and the sheriff's department are clearly to blame.

Writes Casey in the Roanoke Times:

"After the disciplinary hearing, 'he just broke down and said his life was over. He would never be able to get into college; he would never be able to get a job,' Linda Bays said. 

.....the events of the past six months have wreaked havoc on the formerly happy-go-lucky boy's psyche. His parents say he's withdrawn socially, and is now under the care for a pediatric psychiatrist for panic attacks and depression. "

Nice going, sheriff's department and Bedford Middle School administrators! You took what seemed to be a rather well adjusted kid and turned him into a wreck. You must be so proud!

You know what? There probably should have been a vigorous prosecution in this case. But not against the kid with the marijuana leaf that wasn't.

How about charging administrators at Bedford Middle School with child abuse and cruelty to a child?

Judging from the Roanoke Times article, if I was on a jury in such a case, I'd quickly vote to convict.

Stupid Ingenuity Department: Guys Try To Use Severe Cold Snap To Cover Up DWI

Police in New Jersey said this guy figured if he
froze water on frigid pavement where he had
a car crash, he could blame the problem
on icy roads and not that he had been drinking.
Nice try, but nope. 

Police in Sparta, New Jersey have accused a guy named Brian Byers, 20 of drunken driving.

What makes this case interesting is how Byers and his buddy, Alexander Zambenedetti, 20, tried to get out of trouble, according to the Daily Record newspaper of Parsippany, New Jersey.  

Police in the town said they found Byers and Zambenedetti near an intersection very early Sunday morning while the temperature was 1 degree above zero and the wind chill made it feel like it was 15 below.  

Zambenedetti was shirtless, which is a bit odd considering the weather. He explained to police he had fallen in the snow and gotten his shirt wet.

I know, that still doesn't make sense, but oh well.

It turned out Byers had earier crossed through the intersection and hit a guard rail on the other side of the road, the Daily Record said. He then fled, driving his damaged car to his home less than a mile away.

Later, police told the Daily Record, Zambenedetti drove his own car back with Byers to scene of the crash with two five gallon buckets full of water in the car.

Why? So they could pour water over the intersection, which would freeze and make the road dangerous. That way, Byers could tell police the crash was caused by very icy road conditions, not that he maybe had a few drinks.

Well, that's one way of trying to turn unpleasant winter weather to your advantage. "It's not my fault, officer. Old Man Winter is screwing around with us. Look at how dangerous this icy road is."

Police said the pair might have made several trips to dump water on the road. The town had to send a Department of Public Works truck to the intersection to dump half a ton of salt on the ice the two guys left behind. So they must have used quite a bit of water.

The Daily Record said police saw through the guys' icy ruse. Both were charged with driving while intoxicated. And being stupid.

The Least Mature, Least Sober Guide To Tonight's State Of The Union

I know, I know, President Obama's State of the Union Address tonight is wicked important.

I'll pay attention to it, for sure.

But I also have to be totally immature about it.

So click on the image in this post to make it bigger and more readable.

It's the State of the Union drinking game.

I probably won't be participating. The game looks too grueling, and I don't have enough money to buy the large quantitites of booze you'd probably need to participate.

Even if I substituted water for alcohol with this game, I'd be up all night going to the bathroom.

I don't know how anyone can survive it. Please don't drive home after playing this game. I'm hung over just thinking about it.

Maybe I should just forward the State of the Union drinking game to John Boehner and be done with it.

Have political fun tonight, everyone!

SCOTUSBlog Gleefully Trolls The Trolls.

An on line site that reports on the Supreme Court is getting a lot of hate today. Because people are too clueless to distinguish between the Supreme Court and SCOTUSblog, which is the news site.

I'm sure many people in social media will never
get it, but SCOTUSblog is NOT part of the U.S.
Supreme Court.  

A quick, and I mean very quick, glance at their profile reveals that SCOTUS blog, or @SCOTUSblog on Twitter, is a site that offers news and analysis of what the US. Supreme Court is up to.

They're the go-to place if you want to know the ins and outs of what the High Court is doing and what their rulings mean for you and me.

But I guess social media is the land in which everybody likes to yell but nobody knows who they're yelling at.

On Twitter, people have been firing away at SCOTUSblog, yelling and screaming at them for the "ruling" they issued today saying privately held businesses like Hobby Lobby can withhold insurance coverage for contraceptives, based on their religious faith.

Of course, it was the Supreme Court that made the ruling, not SCOTUSblog, and as far as I know the Supreme Court doesn't keep a blog. But if you have to yell at somebody, might as well yell at someone who just reported on the decision, but otherwise had nothing to do with it.

What's wrong with these people? Yeah, I know there are similar sounding names on social media like Twitter, or people pretend they are someone or something they are not, but really.

So, the fine reporters at SCOTUSblog, who are only trying to help us understand what the Supreme Court did, are an outfit that "sided with the crazies" and treat women like second class citizens.

I bet the people who work at SCOTUS blog wish they had the kind of power the Supreme Court does.

At least SCOTUSblog is having fun with peoples' stupidity. Responding to someone who Tweeted: "You disgust me," SCOTUSblog responded, "But you complete us."

Someone else asked SCOTUSblog: "When will you start honoring the constitution." SCOTUSblog responded. "When you start reading our description."

Touche!!

Now, social media is alive with the correctors, the media outlets and such (like me!) that are trying to give people a clue. REPEAT!, they're saying. SCOTUSblog is NOT part of the Supreme Court.  wise up, doofuses!

But the yellers and trolls will have none of it.

Says one person, clueless upset that SCOTUSblog is having fun with the ignorant, and not part of the Supremes: "The passive aggressive way @SCOTUSblog is answering right now is horrible considering the position they just put women in. Not okay."

What's not okay is the people who are continuing with their willful ignorance. It's the American Way!!

On the bright side, this is surely making LOTS of people click on SCOTUSblog to see what all the fuss is about. It can't help the blog's bottom line, no?