Charlie Kirk, the conservative wunderkind who built a huge platform for promoting his ultraconservative ideas, was shot and killed yesterday as he spoke on an Utah college campus. He was 31.
He was just 18 when he co-founded the conservative platform Turning Point USA and rocketed up as the Right became ultra-right. He became a darling of the MAGAsphere.
We do not know the facts of the murder other than Kirk was at one of his debate events on campus. He was speaking about mass shootings when a sniper shot him in the neck. We do not have a suspect, nor a motive. It's widely believed that it was a political assassination. But as of this writing we do not know the facts.
When I heard about Kirk's death, my first thought was "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
I did not feel sad. I did not mourn.
I do not mourn his death, but I do not celebrate it.
Against Charlie Kirk's very own wishes, though, I do feel empathy. I feel deeply for the people who loved him. He leaves behind a wife and two small children. Their lives have been torn apart and their hearts will never be whole again. Gun violence has entered their lives, a trauma that will last them forever. This is truly tragic. No one should have to endure that. My heart aches for them.
Also against Charlie Kirk's own beliefs, I believe that one gun death is too many. Every life is precious. We don't count lives as currency; no lives are expendable.
Kirk himself would think that his own death was an acceptable "cost." He would be ok with being a victim of gun violence as he was for thousands of others, calling it a cost that is "worth it" to protect the Second Amendment.
"I think it's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect out other God-given rights." (Charlie Kirk, 2023).
And so, I do not mourn the loss of this man. Would he want me to?
He made millions spreading ideas that were toxic, detestable, and demeaning. He was racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic. He embraced hate and advocated violence.
I wish he had been silenced by louder, more righteous voices, but I do not mourn the silencing of his words.
Today, the Right is shouting from the rooftops that the Left is "at war." It is as if the Left invented political violence, that they are the perpetrators of hate.
Once again, they are simply holding up a mirror.
Political violence? You wanna talk about it, MAGAts?
Let's talk about January 6.
Let's talk about the beating of Paul Pelosi (which would have been the murder of Nancy Pelosi under a different circumstance).
Let's talk about the kidnapping attempt of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer.
Let's talk about the assassinations of Minnesota State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and the attempted assassination of Hortman's colleague Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
Let's talk about the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
All of those were met by shrugs at best or applause at worst from the Right, including the Apricot Pol Pot.
When it's one of their own – and I condemn the "assassination attempts" on djt – their outrage suddenly emerges (though some of it half baked, as it was for the man who actually lost his life at the shooting in Pennsylvania).
Let's talk about Dear Leader's rhetoric from day one. He has advocated for violence his whole political career – probably his whole life. His leadership for those who embrace violence has given permission for a legion of bad actors to commit hate crimes, and yes, political violence.
You know the stuff. There has been an abundance of violent rhetoric from his fetid maw. LSR outlined much of the crap in this post.
The most pertinent example: Candidate Cantaloupe called for "Second Amendment People" to stop Hilary Clinton from choosing Supreme Court candidates.
This is who they worship.
After Kirk's murder, Dear Leader went on TV, fanning the flames and riling up his base. No calls for calm, of course. No calls for waiting for the facts. He went straight to blaming the "radical left."
Political violence breeds political violence. It's not ever right. It does not solve problems. It is wrong in every instance.
Charlie Kirk's murder by gun? It was just another day in the United States. One more gun death. His family mourns just as deeply as the families of the two children critically injured at Evergreen High School near Denver yesterday.
No, Charlie. It's not worth it.
"A lie doesn't become truth, wrong doesn't become right, and evil doesn't become good, just because it's accepted by a majority." – Booker T. Washington
There was a period a week or so ago that was eerily quiet. There were no rumblings from Mr. Diarrhea Mouth. No calls to Faux News. No helicopter-pad press conferences. No word salad. No ambushes of foreign dignitaries. And his not-tweets were sensical, spelled properly, and with proper punctuation. Something was going on.
It was so weird. People were speculating that he was dead. If only!
Finally, he emerged to make an Important Announcement in the Oval Office.
Here he is, surrounded by the Stepford Cabinet.
The eyes. They are dead inside.
Unfortunately, Diaper Don looked and sounded like his normal. He was his normal orange. No signs of a stroke. The only thing amiss was his hair was not to its usual every-piece-plastered-in-place.
I guess the rotting hand cannot grasp a comb.
The substance of his announcement was equally mussed.
The press was notified. Cameras were turned on. The whole nation gathered. We turned on our televisions. News channels at the ready, anxiously waiting for 45 minutes' delay.
Yeah, we're moving Space Force to Huntsville.
Yawnsville!
Who cares?!
It was obviously just a proof of life video, though he claimed "I didn't hear" – I mean, "I heard" – I mean – "I didn't hear" about the rumors of his timely demise.
Anyway, he's alive and (his version of) "well."
For now, we just have to dream. And we can enjoy the memes that came out of all the speculation. I didn't have the time to find them myself, so here is one of my favorite creators (and I recently learned she is a SLP!!) with the ones she compiled.
It wasn't quiet at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament Final
Da Baby was boo'd incessantly.
By the way, did you notice that many seats are empty? Why? Because when the Orange Selfish One decided to attend, additional security measures needed to be implemented. Longer lines followed, and people were stuck in line instead of watching the tennis tournament that they paid hundreds of dollars to watch.
Epstein survivors speak out
Several survivors, plus Virginia Giuffre's brother and some of the survivors' pro-bono attorneys, held a press conference and shared a smidge of their pain. They called for justice in their support of a bill co-sponsored across the aisle by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif). Empty Gee was also on hand.
Notably, they said that they are compiling their own list. Here's survivor Lisa Phillips speaking. She definitely retook some power as she announced that many survivors are getting together and compiling their own client list, by survivors for survivors. A half smile, a twinkle in her eye, and I can just see IQ47 shitting his already-full diaper.
BELIEVE THE WOMEN! They need justice.
The more The Liar-in-Cheat digs in to the "hoax" hoax, the more we understand that he is deeply involved. We want accountability. These women and the nation need to understand what happened. Keep the pressure on Congress to release the files!
What if Bill Clinton is on the list?! the MAGAts cry.
And I answer: what if? Then he gets brought to justice. We don't want him or any of the other perpetrators protected, BECAUSE WE AREN'T IN A CULT!
The toad Nancy Mace made it about herself. She met with some of the survivors and was seen leaving the meeting in tears.
She is a survivor of sexual assault, so I understand that she was triggered. Horribly, she has suffered a trauma. I wouldn't wish that for anyone, and my heart goes out to her.
If she showed humility and compassion all the time and felt deeply for all people who have been victimized, demonized, and dehumanized, I might feel for her more.
And it's just gross that after you broadcast that you had a "full panic attack," bringing attention to yourself and away from the survivors, the next day you are complicit in protecting the Assaulter-in-Chief, writing on not-Twitter, "President Trump is the one who banned Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. President Trump is the one who cooperated with the feds to get this guy. President Trump is the one who is COMMITTED to protecting women and kids."
Please. Woman, you need some therapy. Congress is not the place for you.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, aka AssKissy McLickspittle, tried to say that the Traitor Tot was a FBI informant for the Epstein affair.
What - so now it's not a hoax?!
Li'l Johnson had to walk back his comments when he realized that an informant is usually one who is mired in the shit they are tattling about and are subject to investigation and charges regardless of their informant status.
House Democrats released that birthday card that The Groper-in-Chief sent to Epstein in 2003. It's as gross as you thought it would be.
What is the secret, Donnie? I'm sure the files will tell us. We need to see them.
I can't help but that think that his core base of supporters – young men – will just whoop and high five about this shit.
What America is Not
Add to the list of atrocities that do not jive with our image of a Nation of Laws.
Marmalade Mussolini ordered a missile attack on a supposed drug-running boat in the Caribbean Sea. Eleven souls were obliterated. No attempts to stop the boat. No arrests. No evidence. No trials. Just straight to executions.
The Executioner-in-Chief claimed that the boat out of Venezuela was running "a lot of drugs" by so-called "narcoterrorists" on behalf of the Tren de Aragua gang.
Ok, so now the president can murder people at will and get away with it? Well, it's not Fifth Avenue, but yeah. The Supreme Court said as much last year.
This is not normal. This is not legal. This is not OK.
And yet, the NG troops in D.C. have been reduced to picking up trash. I don't know if this is what he meant when the Orange Menace said they were going to "clean up the streets."
I heard that about 300 guardsmen and women are still in LA. I wonder.... my kitty litter needs sifting. Can I get a couple troops over?
California got a win when an appeals court ruled that most of his tariffs are illegal. They ruled that the power to levy tariffs lies with the legistlative branch, and SCROTUS overstepped his bounds.
Of course, he immediately called on his buddies on the Supreme Court to quickly overturn that decision, pressuring them by saying that disallowing tariffs "would be a total disaster for the Country” and “would literally destroy the United States of America." We can guess what SCOTUS will do.
Marco Rubio is a hurtin' unit
Doesn't he look so happy to have sold his soul? It's a Stepford life for him!
ICE Raids Hyundai Plant
This week a huge ICE raid was made on a Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia. About 475 people, mostly Korean nationals, were detained.
Hyundai invests billions in the United States.
What part of "bring back manufacturing to the U.S.A." is this again? So, all 475 of those South Koreans making batteries were rapists, murders, and drug smugglers?
Needless to say, South Korea is not real happy about the situation and things got tense.
After some high-level diplomatic talks, the governments of Korea and the U.S. decided that the Korean nationals that were detained would be sent home and would not be held in a concentration camp.
The Weak Jobs Report
More not-so-good economic news came out. Jobs not only were not added in the expected numbers, but jobs were lost in certain sectors.
Hmmmm. Wonder why? It couldn't be tariff uncertainties and nervousness about the future of the economy, could it?
Sleepy Don is trying to explain away the numbers, of course (see, for example, the chart he presented below in the Dementia section).
The CDC, the agency entrusted with ensuring our health and well being (what better use for a government than ensuring the health of its citizens?) is in shambles. RFK fired the head of the agency after she refused to rubber stamp his wackadoo ideas on vaccines.
A whole 17-member vaccine advisory board was summarily dismissed by this man who was a heroin addict for years; whose brain was half-eaten by a worm; and who purposefully let dead whale juice rain down on his children, whose heads were covered by plastic bags with a mouth hole cut out, as they sped down the I-95.
Covid vaccine recommendations are an absolute mess. RFK Jr has disallowed people to get the vaccine. Unless you are over 65 or with a chronic condition. ...I think? Or unless you can get a doctor to write a prescription? ...Maybe? Or unless you live in one of the blue states that are fighting back and allowing anyone to get one? ...Does that sound right?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This mess of a human being faced the U.S. Senate this week and they let him have it, even Rethugs like Sen. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, who is a physician. His scathing comments, along with our usual hero Senators like Bernie (VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (NM), are in the snippet below:
The Department of Waaaaah!
King Coward rebranded the Department of Defense back to the Department of War, which was its name until after WWII.
Way to make a case for your Nobel Peace Prize, ya moron!
Colonel Cosplay posted the below. Here we are again. The President of The United States of America, waging war on our own cities.
WTAF.
He better be careful. Squatting like that can put real pressure on cankles! Not to mention bone spurs!
Your regular reminder that we have been fighting this fight for decades
From "The Keeper of the Flame" (1944). We won against fascism before; we'll do it again.
Dementia Don
Your regular reminder that Dear Leader is deteriorating fast:
More evidence of the rapidly accelerating dementia: Have you noticed that he is reverting to real estate talk more these days? He has framed big problems in real estate terms for a long time (remember his development plan for a devastated Gaza?)
Lately he's been perseverating on all things real estate: he bathers about grass and ceilings and marble, bringing up the subject when it doesn't have anything to do with anything.
This is also a hallmark of dementia. A person with dementia will talk about a topic that they know a lot about and that was very important to them. Remember: old memories last a long time in people with dementia. He will be able to hold on to all of his real estate development knowledge better than he can recall and talk about current issues.
How much jail time does one get for taking a flag to his shit-stained bed?
Weak jobs report? Well, just look at this chart. Pretty amazing. All new numbers!!
OK?
It's Feeling Dictatory In Here
Laughingstock
I meant to share this months ago when it was fresh, but it got missed. He is the laughingstock of the world:
According to Just Security's legal tracker, of the 397 court cases filed so far against the regime, about a third of them have had rulings in the plantiff's favor, blocking the regime in whole or in part.
Hang in there, resisters, and keep donating to legal organizations that bring these lawsuits, like the ACLU.
Bad News from the Courts
In an emergency docket ruling, SCOTUS gave the go-ahead for indiscriminate ICE raids in Los Angeles to continue, as unconstitutional as they are. Of course they did.
SCOTUS will be back in regular session next month, ready to put more pages of the Constitution through that big Constitution-sized shredder.
After the American Academy of Pediatrics went against the CDC and recommended Covid vaccines for children, the American Academy of Family Physicians recommended the vaccine for all adults, children, and pregnant people.
COUCH BOY, I’M NOT MIMICKING DOZY DON. I’M MOCKING HIM. ONLY SOMEONE WITH A LAW DEGREE FROM CHUCK E. CHEESE COULD BE AS DUMB AS YOU!!! — GCN https://t.co/NtS2TGcpjT
