Trump's debate disaster - wrecked by Kamala Harris, humiliated on Twitter after telling lie that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating pets

Democratic presidential nominee (and present VP) Kamala Harris (right) enjoys watching Republican presidential nominee (and former president) Donald Trump (left) thoroughly humiliate himself during Tuesday night's debate.

In case you've been living in a cave and haven't heard about Tuesday night's presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris made a lot of people's dream come true. She completely eviscerated Donald Trump. In hindsight, it should have been expected. Harris is a very accomplished woman in spite of all of the lies told about her competence. In contrast, Trump's an idiot, a moron who got into the White House by a combination of a fluke and him being a useful idiot to folks seeing him as a gateway to power.

How good was she? Check out the links:

The debate between Harris and Trump wasn’t close — and 4 other takeaways 

  The Most Satisfying Moment of the Harris-Trump Debate 

Republicans fret Trump debate performance could haunt him at polls in November 

Panicking Trump Has Desperate New Excuse Not to Debate Harris Again 

What will most likely be remembered as the standout moment of the debate was when Trump attempted to slam Harris on immigration by repeating a debunked claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are stealing and eating pets. Days before the debate, far right conservatives on social media spread this awful smear. By the time of the debate, it was already thoroughly debunked. However, no one seems to have told Trump (it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway if they had). 

Not only was Trump factchecked by David Muir, one of the moderators, but then Harris proceeded to figuratively pick his bones simply through her facial expression.

   

And check out just two examples of how folks on Twitter are simply dragging The Donald:

I better go superviral for this... pic.twitter.com/00Laf5QUrx

— Fearghas Kelly (@FearghasKelly) September 11, 2024

A key point missing in a lot of post debate analysis is that Trump’s claim about immigrants eating pets almost perfectly syncs up to the piano in the Peanuts theme song. pic.twitter.com/6icWLe1sPN

— Noah Garfinkel (@NoahGarfinkel) September 11, 2024

South Carolina teacher sues state lawmaker and four others for defamation after being labeled as a 'groomer'

From my state of South Carolina comes possibly more payback for those who like to brand folks as "groomers.

From The Island Packet:

Mardy Burleson, a multimedia design and engineering teacher, accused several parents and community members of labeling her as a “groomer” — defined as a predator who builds a relationship with a child to abuse them — on social media and podcasts last year, according to court filings. This followed her distribution of a student survey in her class that included a question about preferred pronouns. Burleson claims the defamation has damaged her reputation and put her safety in jeopardy. 

 The harassment occurred after the movement to ban books in Beaufort County schools, which garnered national media attention including from CBS News’ 60 Minutes. Many of the defendants supported the ban, claiming the 97 books pulled from school libraries were inappropriate and pornographic. Ultimately, only five books were banned. 

 Attorney Meg Phelan of the Equality Legal Action Fund, a group consisting of volunteer attorneys and advocates who represents educators, public officials, elected officials and members of the LGBTQ+ community against defamation, took on the case pro-bono.

 According to The Island Packet, five people were named in the lawsuit including a state lawmaker, SC Representative for District 10 Thomas Beach. It also said that the lawsuit charges that these individuals of using social media to claim that Burleson sexually grooming kids:

 In addition to defamation, Burleson argues that the defendants’ accusations of grooming were particularly damaging because they falsely implied criminal conduct involving sexual abuse of minors. The defendants portrayed Burleson as someone unfit to be around children, which could lead to serious consequences, including the loss of her teaching position, damage to her professional standing and even legal ramifications. 

The court filings details how the defendants continued their public campaign against Burleson across social media platforms, podcasts and even school board meetings, calling for her removal as a teacher. Burleson claims that these actions have not only harmed her professional reputation but also caused her personal anguish, fearing for her safety and that of her family, especially after her child was mentioned in these defamatory attacks.

 

 One person named in the lawsuit, David Cook, was banned from Beaufort County school properties last year after he not only harassed teachers but threw chicken feed at board members. According to an August 2, 2023 edition of The Island Packet, Cook had already made a name for himself by stalking and threatening teachers including one in particular, Kathleen Harper: 

 During the week of May 29, he hand-delivered a “thank you” note to the school accusing Harper of indoctrinating students. It was the last week of school and Cook also posted on Facebook “If you’re in support of giving sexually explicit material to children, it’s important to remember......Dead Pedophiles Don’t Re-Offend.” “I was scared,” Harper said. “I was frightened.” 

The Island Packet said Burleson is suing for libel and slander and actual, special, and punitive damages. If Burleson succeeds in her lawsuit, she will be the third person this year who successfully struck back after falsely being accused of sexually grooming children.

In August, a New Hampshire legislator, David Love, paid $200,000 to settle with two drag queens after he falsely labeled one as a sex offender and accused the other of dancing with kids in a sexual manner.

In May, drag performer Eric Posey was awarded a $1.1 million judgement against a far-right blogger who falsely accused him of exposing himself to children during a performance. 

Moms for Liberty founder admits that Trump lied about schools performing surgeries on trans kids but still defends the lie.

Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice (left) dances with Donald Trump after a town hall conversation in which Trump said that schools are performing surgeries on trans children. Justice later admitted that Trump was lying but also said she was happy for the lie.

CNN just called out Trump's lie that schools are performing surgeries on trans kids. It's a very good write up. And in the midst of it was something interesting pointed out to me by Joe Jervis (JoeMyGod).:

CNN reached out to four conservative organizations that monitor how schools handle gender issues to check if they had any evidence that might corroborate Trump’s claim. None of these organizations said they had – though the two that responded in detail defended Trump’s remarks nonetheless. 

 Tiffany Justice, the Moms for Liberty co-founder who conducted the public conversation with Trump, said in a Tuesday interview: “Are kids getting surgery in school? No they’re not.” But she continued that she was still “thankful to President Trump” for making the claim – since, she said, his remark has drawn attention to the important issue of schools facilitating children’s social transitions without parental consent. Justice said of Trump’s claim: “It grabbed your attention, and we’re talking about it now, and that makes me very happy.” 

These conservative groups and personalities - Justice in particular - are aware that Trump told a lie, but they don't care because the lie gets people talking. And while they are busy basking in the attention, Justice and the rest also don't seem to care that Trump has wrecked their entire premise They claim that gender-affirming healthcare is harmful to children and that schools are attempting to usurp the right of parents to raise their children by pushing this healthcare and various other nefarious endeavors. But if this were true, then why are they defending an obvious - and absolutely pathetic - lie which damages the credibility of their narrative. Probably because their claims were full of sh!t from the start. 

That's the common thread in all anti-LGBTQ propaganda. By design, its intent is to shock and exploit people's fears and prejudices.  In the early 1980s, a discredited researcher named Paul Cameron (google him on this site. I've talked about him a lot) told a lie about gay man mutilating a young boy in public restroom. That story garnered enough attention to kill a pro-gay ordinance even though it was proven to be false.

Decades later, we see how this hasn't changed via the various lies told about drag queens supposedly exposing themselves to kids or encouraging kids to fondle them. These stories were proven to be lies, but they were still effective in creating anti-drag laws.

To people like Justice, it's never been about protecting kids. It's always been about garnering power through prejudice and fears. The only good thing I can say about Donald Trump is that he encourages people like Justice to dispense with all of the proper talking points and show their true faces of bigotry.

No, Donald Trump. Schools are not performing surgeries on transgender children.

With the following claim, Donald Trump's desperation to gain ground on Kamala Harris is so blatant.

From The Advocate:

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, continued to push his transphobic rhetoric during an appearance at the annual Moms for Liberty Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday. 

Speaking with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, Trump criticized the growing acceptance of transgender Americans in society and opposed transgender inclusion in sports and health care. 

 During the hour-long discussion, Trump reiterated his belief that transgender women should be barred from participating in women’s sports. He also lied about access to gender-affirming care for minors. 

 “Think of it, your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” Trump falsely claimed, misrepresenting the complex and highly regulated process of gender-affirming health care for minors in the United States. 

 “The school decides what’s going to happen with your child. And many of these childs, 15 years later say, what the hell happened? Who did this to me? They say, who did this to me? It’s incredible,” Trump said. 

No children are going to school and receiving surgery there for gender dysphoria. 

 . . .Major medical associations in the U.S. support gender-affirming care for transgender youth and adults. Trump’s appearance comes after significant setbacks for Moms for Liberty. In November 2023, voters across the United States largely rejected candidates endorsed by the group in school board elections. The group saw major defeats in states like Pennsylvania and Iowa. 

 We all know Trump's propensity for lying but this particular one underscores yet again his lack of style. On this site, I routinely spotlight anti-LGBTQ claims in order to expose them for the lies they are. In this case, I think exposure isn't necessary.

Granted, there are probably some folks out there who actually believe this. But there are times in which belief in the inane isn't power. It's simply a sad form of exhibitionism.

 Regardless though, it's going to be a long two months before the election and based upon the "throwing mud at the wall and hoping that it sticks" campaigning he's doing, Trump's fear of losing is palpable. 

 Good.