Idiocracy

NPR reports: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has made no secret of his affection for The Princess Bride – the 1987 cult classic starring Robin Wright. But he’s now making it clear he’s no fan of a plan by cast members to stump for Democrats in Wisconsin next week. According to a web post by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, several …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Since the pandemic has shelved his signature campaign rallies—a source of energy for the president and his supporters—the splashy displays of approval have helped buoy Mr. Trump’s spirits in recent weeks, aides said. Aides have tried to route the president’s motorcade past boat parades, and are considering having the president participate in one in the …

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. Energy Department proposed easing water efficiency requirements for shower heads Wednesday following multiple complaints from President Donald Trump about how low water flow is impeding his ability to properly wash his hair. The plan would allow manufacturers to bypass a 2.5 gallon-per-minute maximum flow rate set by Congress in the 1990s. Under current law, each …

Surely you little people should know by know that Glorious Leader never makes mistakes. Off with your heads! Mediaite reports: Conservative author and pardoned felon Dinesh D’Souza mounted a lengthy defense of President Donald Trump’s “Thighland” moment in a lengthy series of tweets that suggested Trump’s pronunciation of Thailand was correct. Trump set the internet ablaze when he referenced “Thighland” …

Days after earning ridicule for pronouncing the name of one of the country’s most famous national parks as “Yo-Semite,” today your Glorious Leader paid tribute to the leaders of Thighland, the legendary land of thick, meaty quadriceps and hamstrings. Word has it that Thighland is somewhere near Tanzaynia or maybe, Nambia. Trump mispronounces Thailand as “Thighland” pic.twitter.com/PgTRnHpAA8 — The Recount …

“You’re never gonna know who won the election, you can’t have that. And Nevada is a big state. It’s an important state. It’s a very political state. And the governor happens to be a Democrat. “And I don’t believe the post office can be set up. They were given no notice. You’re talking about millions of votes. It’s a catastrophe …

Will Sommer reports at The Daily Beast: The federal agency primarily responsible for the distribution of foreign aid has been roiled in recent days by the most Trumpian of dramas, one involving an anti-LGBT political appointee, blundering conservative operative Jacob Wohl, accusations of stalking, prostitution, and the potential hiring of a young conservative with past racist writings. The chaos seemed …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump is expected to sign a bipartisan bill Tuesday that would spend nearly $3 billion on conservation projects, outdoor recreation and maintenance of national parks and other public lands. Supporters say the measure, known as the Great American Outdoors Act, would be the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a century. The …

Business Insider reports: The capsule bobbed in the ocean for about 15 minutes as professional recovery boats sped to retrieve the astronauts — but they weren’t alone on the water. The landing site off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, drew a crowd of onlookers in their own boats. Some got close to the spaceship, including a boat flying a Trump …

“While I’m out there talking to folks about these Paycheck Protection Program opportunities when I’m talking to them about supports needed in our rural health care system, when I’m talking about supports necessary for child care so that moms and dads can get back to work, she’s been hiding in her basement taking selfies with her dog Ringo. So, you …

The Washington Post reports: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, which runs the 40th president’s library near Los Angeles, has demanded that President Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) quit raising campaign money by using Ronald Reagan’s name and likeness. “It was simply handled with a phone call mid-last week to the RNC, and they agreed to stop,” …

Mashable reports: It wasn’t totally odd, at face value, that furniture site Wayfair was trending on Twitter on Friday. Maybe the retailer was having a giant sale? Unfortunately, Wayfair elbowed its way into the trending column with tens of thousands of tweets because of a much stranger situation. It boils down to this: Conspiracy theorists were purporting that the site …

The Daily Beast reports: In the dead of night, for reasons that are, at this point, beyond sufficient explanation, President Trump liked a tweet praising R&B star Summer Walker for bringing back a “stripper” vibe. The tweet was sent shortly after midnight Eastern Time and, at some point in the four hours after that, received a presidential seal of approval. …

RealClearPolitics reports: Donald Trump takes Kanye West seriously. In an Oval Office interview Tuesday, the president told RealClearPolitics he has been watching intently as the music mogul mulls a bid for the White House. The two are friendly, and Trump welcomed him to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue before the 2018 midterms. As Trump noted, the window of opportunity may have passed: …

The Daily Beast reports: In a round of new digital ads, the Trump campaign asks people to support the president as he stands up to the angry mobs trying to tear down iconic memorials. In one specific ad, the endangered statue that the campaign spotlights happens to be the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “The …

The Washington Examiner reports: During the evening of July 4, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn shared a video of himself leading five other people in a recitation of the oath of office traditionally given to federal elected officeholders, ending the oath with a slogan associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory. Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor who took over Flynn’s …

Politico reports: Former national security adviser John Bolton suggested Sunday that President Trump pays more attention to television than he does to his advisers. “I think it’s a combination of television and listening to people outside of the government that he trusts for one reason or another,” Bolton said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. “I think that if you …

Media Matters reports: K.W. Miller is an independent candidate running in Florida’s 18th Congressional District. Miller has repeatedly tweeted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan “#WWG1WGA” and “#GreatAwakening” (along with a hashtag for the Pizzagate conspiracy theory). He has also posted the QAnon hashtag and QAnon slogan on Facebook and repeatedly posted “#GreatAwakening” on Instagram. He also put up a …

ABC News reports: Students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have been attending parties in the city and surrounding area as part of a disturbing contest to see who can catch the virus first, a city council member told ABC News on Wednesday. Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry said students have been organizing “COVID parties” as a …

CNN reports: In hundreds of highly classified phone calls with foreign heads of state, President Donald Trump was so consistently unprepared for discussion of serious issues, so often outplayed in his conversations with powerful leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and so abusive to leaders of America’s principal allies, that the calls helped convince some …