The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for December, 2016

December is one of those months in which the calendar allow us three, rather than two, Fridays on which to heap dishonor on worthy ass clowns. I think we'll need all of them. For now, though, it's time to announce

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown

for

December, 2016

and the dishonor goes to

Paul Horner

No Photo Available

Paul Horner is one of the most prolific authors of the fake news articles that are the mainstay of the credulous idiots of the far right and far left who are unable or unwilling to separate satire and whole-cloth propaganda from actual fact. Here are a few quotes from a recent interview with Mr. Horner:

"Honestly, people are definitely dumber. They just keep passing stuff around. Nobody fact-checks anything anymore — I mean, that’s how Trump got elected. He just said whatever he wanted, and people believed everything, and when the things he said turned out not to be true, people didn’t care because they’d already accepted it. It’s real scary. I’ve never seen anything like it."

and,

"My sites were picked up by Trump supporters all the time. I think Trump is in the White House because of me. His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything. His campaign manager posted my story about a protester getting paid $3,500 as fact. Like, I made that up. I posted a fake ad on Craigslist."

and,

"Someone posts something I write, then they find out it’s false, then they look like idiots. But Trump supporters — they just keep running with it! They never fact-check anything! Now [Trump's] in the White House. Looking back, instead of hurting the campaign, I think I helped it. And that feels [bad]."

You can read the entire story and interview here. 

I was torn between bestowing this award on Mr Horner and bestowing it on The American Electorate, which has shown itself to be singularly unfit to choose a local dog catcher, much less a president. I have decided to go with Mr Horner because I've already given The American Electorate one award (you can review that post here). And also because - despite the fact that he recognized the horrendous effect of his fake news, he continued to post new stories and not to call out the credulous fools who accepted them unquestioningly as fact.

For his efforts that almost certainly contributed to the election of the most disastrously unfit person ever to win the presidency, Paul Horner is named the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for December, 2016.

I'd tell you to fact-check things before you swallow them, but if you're reading my blog, chances are you do that anyhow. Thanks.

Have a good day. Come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday - more thoughts then.

Bilbo

P.S. - Now that we're down to the final month of the year, it's time to start thinking about the selection of our Ass Clown of the Year for 2016. By December 30th (the last biweekly award for the year) I will have named 26 individual awardees in 2016, all of whom are eligible for the annual award. Of course, if there's someone I missed, you are free to vote for the candidate of your choice. Here are the basic ground rules for the Ass Clown of the Year voting:

- Chicago Rules apply: you may vote as many times as you want, for as many candidates as you want. You may cast votes on behalf of yourself, your family members, your friends, your pets, your friends' pets, or anyone else, living or dead. In the interest of fairness, I ask that you not cast more than ten votes at any one time for any one candidate ... just vote more often.

- You may vote for any of the 26 biweekly award winners (I will publish a list later in the month), or for anyone else you wish.

- You need not be legally authorized to vote in an official American election.

- Photo ID is not required. Brain is.

- Votes will be accepted from now until 11:59 PM on December 31st. You may vote by leaving a comment on any blog post; by sending me an e-mail; by sending me a PM on Facebook if we are connected there; or in person if we should happen to meet. 

The Ass Clown of the Year for 2016 will be announced in my blog on Sunday, January 1st. 

Vote early, vote often. Let your voice be heard!

Bilbo