I’m never going to be dismayed by the ongoing Cruz Flambé. I especially enjoy the subtle twists of the knife, the artful uses of burning acid, the pungent spice of it all.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Any chance for some context regarding this post for us non-US readers?
@1, I’m also at a bit of a loss. Some admittedly-quick searching find the most recent abomination is Cruz becoming so abusive towards an airline employee the police were called, but the list of recent nuttiness is a long one, including: Upset Star Trek made Stacy Adams “President of the World”, something about Biden making nuclear war likely, having a meltdown after a transgender individual won a swimming race, still complaining about mask mandates on aeroplanes (this seems to be a separate incident) — all apparently reported within the last five days or so.
@1 — The key to understanding this joke is to understand the Menendez brothers story. In 1989 they murdered their parents in Beverley Hills. A long, sordid courtroom drama ensued, the kind that so many Americans salivate over. The joke is that Cruz attended the same college at the same time as the brothers which must have been tough on the brothers. It doesn’t sound as funny in the retelling.
This is really stretching for an insult. We all went to school with hundreds of people we never met. This means nothing.
Cruz is insultable enough in his own right without having to invent something stupid.
#4 It is stupid. Sometimes stupid is funny.
Also stupid, but not as funny:
The hunt for Nigerians who can change into cats
I guess many people here have already seen this but in case not, Sam Bee’s epic old introduction to Ted Cruz here from, er, a few years ago now.. but still spot on.
PS. Happy equinox y’all.
FWIW Wikibasics :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_and_Erik_Menendez
&
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz
Then there’s also this bitof political nostakgia from, can we sa happier times already from
Colbert as well here, well hyperlinkedy thingy back there anyhowz..
How does Cruz still have supporters and people who actually vote for him..?
Rhetorical but also seriously, just .. how? The. Fuck?
Texas.
Reginald Selkirk @ #10
At least enough Texans, or gerrymandering, or maybe outright election fraud, or some combination. I know quite a few Texans through work. Being busy bees we don’t talk politics too much, but when something comes up relevant to TC or Texas politics in general you can practically hear the eyes rolling. These are basically middle-class people, as opposed to us wild and crazy Californians, but it’s obvious they don’t see him representing their interests or positions. But I get the sense that they feel powerless to change Texas politics given “the rest of Texas.” I’m not sure how to change that self-defeating position.
On the subject of assholes, a Republican (Micharl McCall the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs committee) finally called out Tucker Carlsson last week for being a propaganda megaphone for Putin and the Russian government . Little Tucker got very angry on Thursday and accused McCall of essentially be in cahoots with the horrible democrats.
Reginald Selkirk @ 6
As I have sometimes mentioned, I am a great fan of God Awful Movies , a Youtube podcast that is humoristically mocking bad films with religious content.
A recurring target is the Nollywood “Vultures of Horror” film franchise, about eevil Nigerian people who use black magic for stuff like killing enemies, or – get this- marginally increase the profit of a bodega.
-These films are crappy at every possible level but they have a viewership because belief in juju is still very widespread.
I use to complain about the muslims for having a 100% fucked-up world view but this is actually worse, with human murder victim body parts used in rituals. The muslims at least forbid magic rituals.
As far as I can determine, they did not attend university together, and wouldn’t even have been in Princeton, NJ at the same time.
Wikipedia reports that Ted Cruz did indeed attend Princeton University (and they wonder why I won’t give them any money) in the class of 1992, so was presumably there 1988-1992.
There’s no mention of any college for the Menendez brothers. It mentions that they went to Princeton Day School, which is a primary and secondary school (preK-12) and AFAIK has no particular relation with the University. That would have ended in 1986 when the family moved to California.
A recent tweet I liked:
“The way ted cruz supporting those truckers you’d think they insulted his wife.” — https://twitter.com/covie_93/status/1502300101808693248
(Presumably referring to the
Fuckhead“Freedom” Convoy.)There’s some confusion in the responses here.
Cruz appears to have attended Princeton at the same time as Lyle Menendez. (Two side details: The murders were committed at this time – in 1989. Also, Cruz’s and Menendez’ fathers were both emigrants from Cuba, the former fleeing Batista and the latter Castro.)
The insult/joke isn’t that Cruz attended college with the murderers. It’s what R. L. Foster described @ #3: “The joke is that Cruz attended the same college at the same time as the brothers which must have been tough on the brothers” but isn’t an excuse for their having become murderers. It’s funny and not stupid, but if you don’t know the background and it has to be explained much of the humor is lost.
I still think Al Franken, before his disgrace, had the best line about Cruz, calling him “the love child of Dracula and Joe McCarthy.”
I went to Princeton Day School for a couple of terms in 1968-69 … mwahahahaha
It was a weird experience coming from the UK, the flag pledging and the insistence that in order to play on the climbing frame your knickers had to match your dress cme to mind immediately.
Reginald Selkirk, @ #6
Thanks for the article link. Similar things happen here in South Africa — here we call it muthi (which means medicine). It’s used for prosperity (getting a job, bringing in customers etc), but also curses, love spells, and of course healing. It’s interesting to see the similarities and differences.
The murders and mutilations are horrific (as well as myths like curing HIV through r*pe of a virgin), and something that’s very hard to crack down on, but I think Mr Adewoyin is right that it needs to be tackled early on in education (though that’s a privilege in and of itself).
Whether or not the details are true, I think it’s funny, and really good sarcasm.