Monthly Archives: April 2020
Tea’s Weird Week: Today’s World (couch) Quarantine Report
Good morning, and welcome to Tea’s Weird Week. I don’t know what day or time it is, but today I’ve got a special report for you. We’ll start in my kitchen, get some coffee, then move back to my couch. Don’t worry, you can trust me, I’ve got a blog.
Silverware Drawer Report: 9 forks, 9 knives, 12 spoons, 2 corkscrews, 6 rubber spatulas.
Sports News: When I was young, I worked as a cashier at a place called the Brady Street Pharmacy. It was a greasy spoon/ pharmacy counter/ convenience store and other things kind of hard to explain in a sentence. One of the regulars for the diner was a man named Pete. He was a big Italian guy that was always trying to catch his breath, had grey skin, a brown leather jacket, and a sharp widow’s peak, his hair dyed jet black. He looked like a cross between a character on The Sopranos and a vampire.
Pete would come in every evening after dinner and drink coffee. Afterward, he’s pay his $1.75 at the cash register, and talk to me for a few minutes. He would stand there with hands on the counter, leaning on it and trying to catch his breath between sentences. One night he decided that instead of small talk or news-of-the-day, he wanted to tell me about the terrible gambling addiction he used to have. It ruined his life at the time and he “owed money to people you don’t want to owe money to,” he said, shaking his head in shame. He started on horses, but after awhile he was betting on football, baseball, dog races, basketball, car races, tennis…and hockey.
“Let me tell you, that’s when you know you got a problem, when you start betting on hockey games,” Pete told me.
Anyway, this story just popped into my head this morning after I thought “what are sports gambling addicts like Pete doing during all this?”
Entertainment News: Everything is cancelled except sitting in a lawn chair in your backyard or alleyway and drinking Mad Dog 20/20.
My Coffee Cups, Ranked: (by use) 1.) Dali Lama mug 2.) Krampusnacht sticker travel mug 3.) “I Want to Believe” X-Files mug.
Ask the Magic 8-ball: Question: I know that Bill Gates has given over $28 billion to charities, has worked to eradicate polio and global sanitation problems (among other things), but on the other hand, a guy I know on Facebook says that he secretly created COVID-19 so he could add some extra pocket money selling mandatory vaccines that will secretly microchip people and force them to buy and sell with his Microsoft app that is patent number 666– should I believe them?
I Made a YouTube Playlist Dept.: I did– I have an “American Madness” channel that has playlists of videos related to different conspiracies, including a new “COVID-19 Conspiracy Craziness” list I’m adding videos to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoFCwzjjghaVXSWUwEZx27g/playlists
Sci-fi stuff I’ve binged: Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: Universe, Eureka, Doctor Who, The 100, the Alien franchise.
#TrumpConspiracyCounter: Has hit 236. This week, among other things, I talk about the ouster of Trump friends Diamond & Silk, who were too conspiracy crazed for FOX. Yes, you read that right. More here: https://teakrulos.com/2020/04/29/trumpconspiracycounter-236/
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
It’s on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52486773-american-madness
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
#TrumpConspiracyCounter: 236
Trump’s tweet binges drift between trying to seem “presidential”– a stream of retweets from the CDC or endorsements of fellow Republicans, but he can rarely make it a couple of days without an off the rails blast about enemies not being happy about the number of ventilators being produced or the “lamestream media” and their “Noble Prizes.” In one of his most famous moments this month, he talked about combating coronavirus by UV lights or by injecting disinfectants (seems he might have picked this up from a “church” called Genesis II as a miracle cure.) Here’s the full quote:
TRUMP: So supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful, light — and I think you said that hasn’t been checked but you’re going to test it — and then I said suppose you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that, too. Sounds interesting.
Then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside? Or almost a cleaning, ’cause you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it’d be interesting to check that. So you’re going to have to use medical doctors but it sounds interesting to me, so we’ll see but the whole concept of the light. The way it kills it in one minute, that’s pretty powerful.
It’s been an intense month for conspiracy theory and Trump has been doing what he does best– trucking along with it.
202.) April 17: As quarantine protests (filled with conspiracy theorists, 2nd Amendment activists, and anti-vaxxers) begin to happen in cities across the country, Trump tweets out “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”
203- 214.) April 17: 11 retweets from Charlie Kirk, author of The MAGA Doctrine.
215.) April 18: Retweets an endorsement of Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist running for Congress in Florida. A future Tea’s Weird Week column will be talking about the campaigns of her and other conspiracy theorists.
216-222.) April 20: 7 retweets of Gregg Jarrett, author of The Russia Hoax and Witch Hunt.
223-224.) April 20: 2 retweets by Dawn Michael, a sex therapist and QAnon supporter.
225.) April 26: Retweets John Cardillo. I haven’t looked into who he is yet, but I think he tweet counts: “Three failed coup attempts: 1 – Russia Collusion hoax during campaign 2 – Mueller’s sham 3 – Illegitimate impeachment. Do you really think these lunatics wouldn’t inflate the mortality rates by underreporting the infection rates in an attempt to steal the election?”
226-227.) April 26: Bongino! Two retweets from InfoWars turned FOX talking head Dan Bongino.
228-230.) April 26-28: Three more from Gregg Jarrett.
231.) April 26: Retweets someone calling themselves “Joe Friday” that doesn’t seen to have “just the facts” with references in their twitter bio referencing “Spygate” and “Deepstate actors.”
232.) April 27: Trump cuts funds for EcoHealth Alliance after conspiracy theories circulates. Source:
“Trump cut funding for a group researching bat-to-humanvirus transmissions after unfounded conspiracy theories linked it to the Wuhan lab, report says,” Business Insider
234.) April 28: Retweets Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch.
235.) April 28: Ineitha Lynnette Hardaway and Herneitha Rochelle Richardson, aka Diamond & Silk, are two Trump loving sisters who developed a following during the 2016 campaign and quickly became Trump favorites, appearing at campaign rallies and White House appearances. They gained their own air time on FOX Nation, but apparently the platform has severed ties with the duo after their promotion of conspiracy. You know it’s got to be bad if FOX can’t hang with it, and it is. Daily Beast reports:
Among their many wild remarks about the virus, Diamond & Silk at different times suggested that COVID-19 was “engineered” possibly with “a little deep-state action;” that Bill Gates was pushing a vaccine as a means of population control; that 5G technology was being used to deliberately infect people; and that the death toll of the pandemic was being inflated.
Trump, of course, rushed to their defense. After the duo tweeted they were the victim of “haters,” Trump retweeted them and wrote “But I love Diamond & Silk, and so do millions of people!” Maybe they can find a job at InfoWars instead.
“‘I Love Diamond & Silk’: Trump backs Fox News personalities who spread coronavirus conspiracies,” Politico
236.) (backdate April 15): Trump appoints conspiracy theorist Michael Caputo to a top position in the Department of Health and Human Services. Caputo is an ally of Roger Stone, and has spread conspiracies about Ukraine, the Bidens, and George Soros. Before being hired he deleted thousands of tweets.
Source: “The US health department’s new communications chief is a Trump loyalist and Roger Stone associate who spread conspiracies about Ukraine and Hunter Biden,” Business Insider
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
It’s on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52486773-american-madness
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
Tea’s Weird Week: Ask Tea Anything (Pandemic Edition)
Tea’s Weird Week started as an outlet to write about whatever I wanted to once a week, engage readers, and promote stuff I’m working on– books, articles, events. In this year of crazy 2020, I’ve mostly been writing about “conspiracy theories in the news.” I have a book out in August titled American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness and quite a few people I wrote about have big in 2020: Alex Jones (most recently for leading an anti-quarantine protest in Austin), David Icke (“5G is Coronavirus”), Roger Stone (“Bill Gates is Coronavirus”), QAnon, and Anti-vaxxers have all been in the news this month.
There are new conspiracy stories in the news every day, but I thought I would take a break from analyzing them this week and answer my friend’s questions, solicited through social media. Here’s answers about anti-quarantine protests, doomsday bunkers, cryptozoology, and more.
Real talk. I know you’re all about the absurd and crazy shit. I just gotta know because I care about you- are you planning on going to one of these wingnut anti-stay-at-home/ pro-plague rallies to document? Because, if so, please be safe friend. This is obviously not an encouragement to go be a journalist at one of those. I’m just saying, if you do, be safe as fuck. Also please live long enough to get your own Netflix special because I know you’re capable of that.–Concerned
First, thanks for caring about me. Your message has reminded me that I should be spending some of my spare time messaging people to check in.
Here’s the thing– I really enjoy writing about things that I am enjoy and am genuinely interested in. I have become friends with a lot of people I write about. But sometimes I like getting out of my comfort zone and want to observe something I don’t understand up close. Some examples of this would be attending one of Bob Larson’s “exorcism seminars” for my book Monster Hunters, attending an anti-vaxxer rally and flat earth conference for my book American Madness and most recently, attending a Trump rally (in January, I wrote it up for the Shepherd Express.)
I’m going to sit this one out. I’m processing enough crazy stuff as it is. Watching a bunch of MAGA-hat wearin,’ Gadsen flag wavin’, 2A militia types, anti-vaxxers, etc. shouting about how they demand haircuts just ain’t doing it for me. As far as a Netflix special– as long as I don’t end up getting eaten by a tiger, I’m in!
Joshua A. Bickel took this iconic photo, which is sure to be used in future texts about this era.
Any thoughts on those fallout type shelters/bunkers at the moment? Or if you know if people are using theirs in the face of pandemic? Just curious and interested in what qualifies those who own space in one to activate its use. –Aims
I think Aims is referring to the Survival Condos, which I toured with my friend Paul while working on a chapter (“Doomsday Bunkers of the Rich and Famous”) for my book Apocalypse Any Day Now. Built into an old Atlas missile silo in Kansas (with more being developed), the building featured several condo units (all sold) and recreation levels.
One thing we were told is that the condo owners had access whenever they wanted. There had recently been a football watching party, and owners would sometimes “vacation” there. As such, it’s possible that the owners could ride out the entire pandemic there if they wanted, and it certainly would be the ultimate quarantine.
Tea at the Luxury Survival Condos in Kansas.
What’s one conspiracy that most others find false; but, you kinda believe in?— Mando
I’m skeptical about most conspiracies, but I think it’s worth noting that some stuff that seems like conspiracy later turns out to be true. I talk about a few of those in American Madness, the CIA’s Project MK-ultra (a mind control program) being one one quick example. The most believable conspiracy to me is that there has been some kind of UFO cover-up. I don’t mean necessarily extra-terrestrial, but some secret program. There’s just so many compelling UFO cases, I think something is going on. The truth is out there (winking emoticon).
What was really normal, too normal, about one of your subjects that you researched?–Addo
I really love those moments. In my book Heroes in the Night I shared a funny story about how me and Real Life Superhero The Watchman got lost and couldn’t find his car in a parking garage. It was humorously mundane. A lot of Real Life Superheroes were pretty normal outside of their secret lifestyle, as were a lot of paranormal investigators.
One of the major stories I tell in American Madness is that of conspiracist Richard McCaslin. He told me some of the most wild ideas I’ve ever heard– Reptilian aliens secretly controlling our world, Satanists eating babies, all sorts of crazy and terrible things.
Meeting him in person several times, I found I got along with him pretty well and he was friendly and could be oddly normal. I visited him at his house and I remember walking into his kitchen to find him drinking orange juice and laughing as he watched some baby jackrabbits chase each other around his yard in what seemed like a game of tag. It was the first time he said “you gotta see this!” and wasn’t referring to some Illuminati code he had cracked.
Do you have a favorite cryptid?— Matt …and have you ever had a personal experience with one or saw one?— Lynn
If you don’t know, cryptids are creatures studied in cryptozoology. I’ve not had a cryptid encounter myself, but while working on Monster Hunters, I did go on expeditions looking for Sasquatch, a Lake Monster (“Champ” of Lake Champlain), a Skunk Ape, went to the Mothman Festival, and took a ride down Bray Road looking for the Beast. It was all really fun and interesting, I love cryptozoology. I’m working on a writing project about Mothman. I love ’em all, but because of this project, I’m going to declare Mothman as my favorite cryptid, a close second would be Chupacabras.
Me and Jim Sherman of Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization out in the woods of Michigan on the trail of the Sasquatch.
Would you want to have a really scary experience (alien abduction, possession, angry ghost) just to prove to yourself that it was real? What, if any, would be “too much”?— Judy
When faced with a tough question like this, I try to break it down. On the one hand, it would be pretty intensely transformative to have an experience like that, to witness a deep mystery of the universe. On the other hand, most people wouldn’t believe me anyway, and I know of several cases where people experienced stuff like this (or thought they did) and it damaged them forever. Final conclusion: I’d rather keep it a mystery. I enjoy not knowing.
Of all the people/things you interviewed or investigated was there any thing that you felt you were getting too deep into, or anything that you felt was getting too dangerous or did you fear for your life?— Gregory
The one things that stands out is the crazy night I spent on patrol with Real-Life Superhero Phoenix Jones while working on my book Heroes in the Night. He had pepper-sprayed a group of people that were fighting and they got angry and attacked us. I got punched in the face. At one point it looked like they were trying to get a gun. Then they tried to run us down with an SUV. “I hope this was worth it, cause now you’re going to get murdered,” was definitely a thought that crossed my mind as I was running from the angry, pepper-spray soaked mob. Other experiences– investigating Bobby Mackey’s, a notoriously haunted bar, and diving into some of the conspiracy stuff, has produced frightening moments, but nothing like that.
Thank you all for your questions! I’ll do another “ask me anything” to tie into the release of American Madness in late August or early September– pre-order info below!
Please Clap Dept.: I’ll leave you with some positive vibes– here’s an article I wrote for Milwaukee Magazine on a social distancing nightly dance party: “This Riverwest Neighborhood Dances Every Night at 8.”
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
It’s on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52486773-american-madness
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
#TrumpConspiracyCounter hits 200: April 15
I don’t know how I fell behind on this seeing I’m stuck in home, but it’s been a busy, crazy month for conspiracy in general (see my last several “Tea’s Weird Week” columns). I’m going to catch the counter up through April 15 today and will finish catching up a week from today. Wheeew. Well, in the middle of a pandemic, Trump is still retweeting members of QAnon and far right outlets. Here we go!
178.-186.) April 3: Retweets from John Solomon and his site justthenews.com. If you think it’s unlikely Trump follows a site that actually reports “just the news,” you’re right. Solomon helped spread Ukranian conspiracy theories: https://www.mediaite.com/news/john-solomon-who-helped-spread-conspiracy-theories-about-ukraine-launching-a-site-devoted-to-facts/
187.) April 3: Retweets Brandon Straka, a former liberal who leads a campaign called #WalkAway, who once warmed up a Trump rally and ended his speech with QAnon slogan “where we go one, we go all.”
188-191.) April 4: I enjoy Joe Rogan as much as the next person, he’s an entertaining interviewer. He’s also promoted conspiracy. Trump flouted Rogan’s recent comment that he’d rather vote for Trump than Biden, retweeting the endorsement 4 times via sources like One America News and The Daily Wire.
192.) April 5: One point here for retweeting gas mask fetishist Matt Gaetz’s retweet of a Breitbart article. Breitbart is a conspiracy site.
193-195.) April 10: Trump retweets three random QAnon supporters in a row: Zeus (American flag, 3 stars) No Collusion, No Obstruction, who shared a Breitbart article and included the hastags #QAnon #QAnon2018 #QAnon2020 #DemocratsHateAmerica right in the post! He also retweeted Red Lily, who had #wwg1wga in her bio and TrumpsSedonaGirl who has several QAnon retweets.
196-197.) April 10: Retweets from fequent #TrumpConspiracyCounter guest Gregg Jarrett, author of Witch Hunt and The Russia Hoax.
198.) April 10: Retweet from frequent #TrumpConspiracyCounter guest Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch.
199.)April 11: I’m counting this Trump tweet. Saying anonymous sources don’t exist is conspiracy.
When the Failing New York Times or Amazon Washington Post writes a story saying “unnamed sources said”, or any such phrase where a person’s name is not used, don’t believe them. Most of these unnamed sources don’t exist. They are made up to defame & disparage. They have no “source”..Does anyone ever notice how few quotes from an actual person are given nowadays by the Lamestream Media. Very seldom. The unnamed or anonymous sources are almost always FAKE NEWS.
200.) April 11: Another one from John Solomon of justthenews.com.
201.) April 12, Easter: Retweet of DeAnna Lorraine, who was one of the QAnon candidates running for Congress (she suspended her campaign after getting less than 2% of the primary vote) that included a #FireFauci hashtag. Read my Tea’s Weird Week column from last week for more: “Dr. Fauci vs Trump’s Q Army.”
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
It’s on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52486773-american-madness
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
Tea’s Weird Week Trivia: Round 3
The third round of Tea’s Weird Week Trivia happened this last Saturday. Congrats to Tom and Andrew who each won a round and Jessica who won two.
I’ll be back this Saturday, April 18 with four more rounds– Andrew won the chance to pick a trivia topic and he chose “Hollywood urban legends” and other categories include Philip K. Dick, Zombies, and “Puppets that ain’t for kids.” Prizes will include books (authored by myself and others) and other weird swag. Tune in this Saturday, 5pm (central), on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/theTeaKrulos
Here’s the questions from last week if you didn’t get a chance to play. You can get a feel for the trivia and host your own trivia session with your roommate. Answer key is way at the bottom of the post. For this week, I am encouraging that trivia players to check out Lion’s Tooth, who have a great book/zine/comic subscription and are doing an Indiegogo for a brick and mortar store here:
Warm-up: Conspiracies in the News
Which of the following conspiracy news happened in the last two weeks?
A. A man derailed a train in LA trying to hit a hospital ship he believed was part of a conspiracy.
B. People believing 5G internet causes coronavirus destroyed at least 20 5G towers around the UK.
C. QAnon followers began talking about a theory that coronavirus is a cover up to rescue “mole children” living in tunnels under Central Park.
D. All of the above dammit.
Paranormal Reality TV Personalities
- This show host often searches for paranormal or cryptozoology topics. He came to Milwaukee to search for a treasure hidden in Lake Park. He ditched the search after a thunderstorm rolled in. He also searched for a similar treasure in Florida and helped a family find one in New Jersey. Points for name of host and show.
- The daughter of this pioneering ghost hunter has a show that premiered in October that reopens her father’s case files. A point for the name of the father and the show.
- Ghost Hunters had three official spin offs, a point for each one.
- This new show explores a notoriously weird and frightening ranch in Utah. What’s the name of the ranch?
- The very first episode of Ghost Adventures took Zak Bagans and company to which location?
A. Transallegheny Lunatic Asylum
B. Bobby Mackey’s Music World
C. Winchester Mystery House
D. Ohio State Reformatory
Art Heists
- At the end of March, a Dutch museum closed because of coronavirus was broken into. A painting titled “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” was stolen. Which Dutch painter was the artist?
- In 2014 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond left a performance when he was tazed and his 300 year old instrument was stolen. Bonus point if you guess anywhere of the price range of how much it’s worth.
- The largest art heist of all time took place in 1990. The two watchmen were duct-taped to chairs as thieves stole 13 works of art including ones by Rembrandt, Degas, and Manet. The case remains unsolved. Which city did it happen in?
A. Paris
B. New York
C. Boston
D. Vienna - In 1994 thieves stole a painting in 50 seconds from a museum in Oslo, Norway. The 1893 painting is considered to be the most famous piece of art created by a Norwegian. Another version of the painting was stolen in 2004. A point for the artist and painting name.
- The Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911 from the Louvre by an Italian man who kept it hidden in his apartment for 2 years. What did he say his motivation was:
A. He said the Mona Lisa’s mysterious smile made him believe that they were soul mates.
B. He believed the painting depicted his mother in a past life.
C. He believed it was his patriotic duty to return the painting to Italy.
D. He wanted to sell it to the Pope
1.) This new theory suggests that Jimi Hendrix didn’t die but changed identities and careers and became which actor?
2.) This classic story says that which blues singer got his guitar playing abilities by selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads?
3.) Paul is Dead is the theory that Paul McCartney died in a car crash and was replaced by a lookalike. Theorists say clues can be found on the front and back cover of which album? Bonus point for what year it came out.
4.) This singer that likes to party is accused of being a franchise of look alikes that perform different shows. Andrew WK
5.) This urban legend says that Marilyn Manson was a child actor on which show?
Dystopian Novel or White House Pandemic Press Conference?
This round sponsored by the Apocalypse Blog Book Club
Identify if this quote is from a novel (and a bonus point if you name the novel) or from Trump at a coronavirus press conference.
1.) “My mother once told me that no woman is naked when she comes equipped with a bad mood and a steady glare.”
2.) “Stay inside and let’s win this and let’s get our country as soon as we can. I think it’s going to be sooner than people think. Things are going really well.”
3.) “Better never means better for everyone..it always means worse for some.”
4.) “That’s all anybody can do right now. Live. Hold out. Survive. I don’t know whether good times are coming back again. But I know that won’t matter if we don’t survive these times.”
5.) “There will be a lot of death, unfortunately, but a lot less death than if this wasn’t done. But there will be death.
ANSWERS BELOW
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
It’s on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52486773-american-madness
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
Answer Key
Warm up: D. All of the above dammit. Paranormal Personalities: 1. Josh Gates/ Expedition Unknown 2. Hans Holzer/ The Holzer Files 3. Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Hunters Academy, UFO Hunters. 4. Skinwalker Ranch 5. B. Bobby Mackey’s Music World
Art Heists: 1. Vincent Van Gogh 2. Stradivarius violin valued at 5 to 6 million dollars 3. C. Boston 4. Edvard Munch, The Scream 5. C. He believed it was his patriotic duty to return the painting to Italy.
Urban Legends: 1. Morgan Freeman 2. Robert Johnson 3. Abbey Road, 1969 4. Andrew WK 5. The Wonder Years.
Dystopian Novel or White House Pandemic Press Conference? 1. Feed, Mira Grant 2. Trump 3. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood 4. Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler 5. Trump.
Tea’s Weird Week: Dr. Fauci vs Trump’s Q Army
I wrote a column here titled “Laughing My Ass Off at These Bonkers Trump Paintings,” in which I showed some works by Jon McNaughton, a painter who depicts scenes of Dear Leader literally teaching a man to fish, literally running a football down a field, and speaking to the press who are literally clowns. I shared these and cracked a bunch of jokes. You got to understand that this was back in a simpler, carefree time….February 27.
One painting in particular had me ROFLMAO. Take a look at the people aboard the S.S. Trump in “Crossing the Swamp” and see if it jumps out at you.
That’s right, about half the crew is now gone: besides Nikki Haley and Sarah Sanders, you have 4 former administration members who were fired/ forced to resign because they butted heads with Trump. Good-bye to James “Mad Dog” Mattis, Jeff Sessions, John Bolton, and John Kelly (and take your duck hunting costumes with you).
Here’s the point– if you anger Trump by disagreeing with him, you’re gone. His ego is more important than your job. His ego is more important than your life.
Let’s talk about QAnon for a moment. If you’re not at all familiar, I’ve ended up writing about them a lot this year– too much. QAnon believes that a mystery figure known as “Q” is giving them information that President Trump has a secret plan to defeat the “Deep State” of Democrats, intelligence agencies, Hollywood, the Fake News media, etc. This cabal of evil are all participating in a satanic pedophile sex trafficking/ cannibalism ring that gets high off eating human adrenal glands. It is cult-like in it’s adoration of Trump and it’s willingness to believe crazy shit. See last week’s column for their theory that the Deep State has been keeping “mole children” hidden in tunnels underneath Central Park. No, I’m not shitting you: Click Here and Pray for the Mole Children.
When I first learned about Q, I thought it was a goofy, ridiculous thing that would burn out and disappear after their early predictions that “Crooked Hillary” and company would be rounded up and sent to Guantanamo Bay failed to pan out. Instead they’ve grown and become way more dangerous than a group of kooks on a message board.
When I started the #TrumpConspiracyCounter on January 1 (trying to catalog all times Trumps promotes or retweets a conspiracy or known conspiracy theorist) I was surprised to see how many times he retweeted a QAnon supporter. He continues to do it on a regular basis. This is the President of the United States sharing these fanatics to his audience of millions. Doesn’t he have people to advise him not to do this? But then again, we wouldn’t expect an egotist like Trump to speak against a cult that worships him, no matter how wrong they may be.
Here’s why you should be concerned about QAnon: their ideas likely inspired a man to derail a train and crash it into a hospital ship in Los Angeles; QAnon are among the conspiracists spreading theories about 5G internet that has led to cell towers being burned across the UK; and there are around two dozen Q believers running for Congress.
Trump went on a tweet binge last week, retweeting three QAnon followers (most of them tipped off they were Q-balls by having hashtags #Q and #wwg1wga which is the QAnon mantra “where we go one, we go all” right in their Twitter bio).
Then, after Dr. Fauci of his Coronavirus Task Force dared to contradict him by saying more could have be done sooner, Trump retweeted Deanne Lorraine, one of the aforementioned QAnon members who was running for Congress and a regular on InfoWars. Lorraine was running against Nancy Pelosi, but suspended her campaign after receiving less than 2% in the primary (let’s hope the rest of the campaigns fizzle out, too). Lorraine’s post, which Trump retweeted on Easter, admonished Fauci for disagreeing with Trump and included the hashtag #FireFauci. QAnon has identified Dr. Fauci as their latest enemy, someone viewed by them as trying to discredit and undermine Trump and have nicknamed him “Dr. FearPorn” as they believe he is trying to inflate the pandemic as a cover up for some nefarious scheme.
So, choose your fighter: one of the world’s leading immunologists or a group of people who believe mole children are being harvested for sex and adrenal glands under Central Park.
Is Trump going to have a tantrum and fire Dr. Fauci because the doctor speaks truth instead of Trump talking points? Right now any terrible thing is possible. Be well, people.
Please Clap Dept.: My book Apocalypse Any Day Now came out last year but is being marketed as quarantine reading. Here’s a Q and A I did about it this week: https://www.ipgbook.com/blog/publicity-spotlight-apocalypse-any-day-now/
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
It’s on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52486773-american-madness
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
Every Saturday during quarantine, I’m hosting online trivia via Facebook Live:
Tea’s Weird Week: I got my own conspiracy theory, which is that the world is becoming 24 more times batshit crazy every day
OR “WEIRD DAY?” “WEIRD HOUR?” “WEIRD TIME IS AN IRRELEVANT CONSTRUCT?”
Well, my column title says it all. To support this theory, I’ll do as a conspiracist does and string some random crazy scraps together with pieces of yarn. The COVID-19 pandemic has made people snap. Yesterday we got news that a Waukesha, Wisconsin man murdered 2 family members and the family dog (and injured 2 more) back in March (the details were just made known in court) after fears of coronavirus overtook him. In Texas, a Trump supporter named Karen posted a screed dismissing the virus as a “media driven” hoax, and that:
They are leading with fear causing you to panic like sheep…you don’t need hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and Lysol. You need common sense, a sense of direction, faith, a will to fight, and of course, guns!
Well, Karen is dead. She died from COVID-19. The stories are coming in so thick and fast, this column could be re-branded as “Tea’s Weird Day.” Consider, for example, these stories from the last few days:
Conspiracy Theorists Are Destroying 5G Towers Because They Believe There is a 5G/Coronavirus Connection
Over the past week, conspiracy theorists have destroyed the following: a train (see last week’s column: “Conspiracy Theory Trainwreck“), “at least twenty” 5G towers, and quite a few of my brain cells. The hottest conspiracy this week is that 5G Internet is linked to coronavirus. The theory is that “5G radiation” is either exacerbating coronavirus symptoms or that the symptoms are from 5G and the virus was invented as a cover story. The theories are being spread by a coalition of conspiracy theorists– InfoWars, QAnon, Anti-vaxxers, and David Icke.
David Icke. Yeah.While wrapping up my book American Madness (out in August) I was like gee, I hope there’s some conspiracy stuff going on in 2020 to talk about when the book comes out. Ha! Be careful what you wish for–the last couple months have been an American Madness reunion party– Alex Jones and QAnon have been in the news frequently, and now the sudden bump in interest in Icke. If you don’t know who he is, David Icke is a British conspiracy theorist who has been ranting and raving since the 90s, churning out conspiracy books and delivering lectures, which average 9-10 hours long (that’s not a typo.) He’s most infamous for his theory that a race of extra-terrestrials called the Reptilians (aka “Lizard People”) have infiltrated earth and disguised themselves as human world leaders.
Now, through a show called London Real, Icke has reached millions of viewers. The most recent Icke episode was removed by YouTube as the platform cracks down on coronavirus misinformation (as you’ll see in American Madness, YouTube is often too little, too late on these policies.) The YouTube ban has only given Icke more street cred. Across the UK about twenty 5G towers have been burned or otherwise destroyed or damaged, most recently in Belfast, Liverpool, and Birmingham. Some of the towers were actually 3 or 4G towers. There is a growing call on the Internet for people to destroy more. Tech engineers are being threatened on the street. Obviously, the spread of this idea has dangerous implications– communication systems are being targeted during a pandemic.
Burning 5G tower in Birmingham.
What’s even more disappointing is that several celebrities have helped entertain and spread the misinformation, including John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, M.I.A., and others (though some have since deleted their posts). I think this is a great place to note that we all want to envision someone spreading conspiracy as an obnoxious Alt-Right bloviating gas bag like Alex Jones, screaming and pounding his fist about chemicals in the water “turnin the frickin’ frogs gay!” or saying that Hillary Clinton is a literal demon, but that’s not always what it looks like. Sometimes it’ll be someone you admire or a friend. Just be aware of that, especially if they ask you to…
Holy Moley! Pray for the Mole Children
When I first started my book, I always thought I might find the bottom of the rabbithole, the craziest conspiracy of all. The Bohemian Grove? Reptilians? Flat Earth? Birds Aren’t Real? Nah, keep falling. But QAnon’s latest theory has got to be a contender– that coronavirus is actually a cover up to rescue the mole children. Yes, won’t someone think of the mole children?
Here’s the theory: QAnon says that there are thousands of “mole children” living in tunnels underneath Central Park. As Wonkette reports on the theory:
They have, of course, been bred for the specific purpose of being sex slaves, but also for being eaten and having their adrenal glands harvested so “elites” can get high on their adrenochrome. Which, for the 47,000th time, is not a thing anyone can get high off of.
The coronavirus emergency center set up in Central Park, they say, is to treat the mole children, some of whom are deformed or sensitive to light from living in the tunnels. Rescued children are then moved to hospital ships like the Comfort in New York and Mercy in LA (which was also the target of the guy who derailed the train there last week.)
Do people actually believe this? Yes. Are they praying for the Mole Children? You bet. Are they writing goddamn poetry about them? Hell yes. 
Read more: “QAnon Idiots Very Concerned About Mole Children Now,” wonkette.com
One of Wisconsin’s Darkest Days
On a personal note, Tuesday was an extremely fucked day in Milwaukee, the city I love. It was a batshit, terrible, dystopian day. We have a stay-at-home edict, Summerfest and the Democratic National Convention were both postponed, but the election was ordered to go on here. Not only that, but the usual 180 plus polling locations were reduced to 5 for the entire city of Milwaukee, population of about 600,000. Waukesha, a suburb of 70,000, had 1 open. Thousands of absentee ballots were requested but never arrived. Lines to vote stretched on for blocks of brave voters who had to choose– risk their health or vote. Trump’s words on the situation: “not my problem.” These games being played with people’s lives have left me sad and angry.
The next day, Bernie Sanders dropped out. Let’s ask the important questions here, like the 5 Ws (no, not the 5Gs, settle down) which are: Who, What, Where, When, and of course:
Ok! Excuse me now while I dunk my head in cold water and try to get through the rest of this week. Best wishes to all of you out there in this crazy world.
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
It’s on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52486773-american-madness
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
Every Saturday during quarantine, I’m hosting online trivia via Facebook Live:
Tea’s Weird Week Trivia: Round 2
The second round of Tea’s Weird Week Trivia happened this last Saturday. Congrats to Estephanie, Jessica, Tom, and Wendy who each won around.
I’ll be back this Saturday, April 11 with four more rounds– Jessica won the chance to pick a trivia topic and she chose “paranormal reality TV personalities” and other categories include some of my favorite topics– “art heists,” “music urban legends,” and “dystopian novel or 6 O’clock news?” Prizes will include books (authored by myself and others) and other weird swag. Tune in this Saturday, 5pm (central), on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/theTeaKrulos
Here’s the questions from last week if you didn’t get a chance to play. You can get a feel for the trivia and host your own trivia session with your roommate. Answer key is way at the bottom of the post. For this week, I am encouraging that trivia players send donations to the Cream City Hostel: paypal.me/creamcityhostel
Warm up Question:
Bob Dylan released his first new song in 8 years this week. The song is almost 17 minutes long and is about which event that is a major conspiracy theory topic?
A.) 9/11
B.) The time Trump said the sound of wind turbines cause cancer
C.) the JFK assassination
D.) George Washington’s induction as a Mason
Missing Persons
1.) In 1971 this man hijacked a Boeing 727 and parachuted out of it between Washington and Oregon with a ransom of $200,000. He disappeared into the night leaving only an alias behind. What was the alias he is commonly known as and a bonus point if you name the actual alias he left.
2.) In 1975 it’s believed that the mafia made union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappear. His body was never found. Who played Jimmy in the 1992 movie Hoffa and for a second point who played him in last year’s The Irishman?
3.) This rock n roll pioneer was believed to be missing or possibly dead for several days after Hurricane Katrina struck his hometown of New Orleans. He had actually been rescued by the Coast Guard and released an album the next year titled Alive and Kickin. He died in 2017.
4.) In a case that seemed to come out of their own novel, this mystery writer disappeared for about 11 days in 1926. Over ten thousand people and a team of bloodhounds searched and the writer was eventually discovered at a spa. Name the writer.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/books/agatha-christie-vanished-11-days-1926.html
5.) In 2017 a photo emerged that allegedly shows Amelia Earhardt alive and well sitting on a dock behind a group of people. Where was the photo taken?:
A. Easter Island
B. Tristan da Cunha
C. Eroda
D. Marshall Islands
Animal King, Dumb
1. The 2005 documentary Grizzly Man tells the story of Timothy Treadwell who decides to live among grizzly bears in Alaska. Spoiler: the bears end up viciously ripping him apart. Who was the director of this award winning documentary?
2. Herman Melville’s Moby Dick or, The Whale is the classic tale of Captain Ahab hellbent on killing a great white whale. The story is 206, 052 words long. What is the first 3-word sentence of the book?
3. We all know Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray, but there are about 220 species of stingrays. Which kind was it?
A. Giant oceanic Manta ray
B. Short-tail stingray
C. Blue spotted ray
D. Thorntail stingray
4.) In 2003 Vegas magic and entertainment duo Siegfried and Roy had their act cut short when a tiger named Mantecore attacked one of them, causing a severed spine among other injuries. But who was attacked– Siegfried or Roy?
Bonus point: the owner of the Mirage (where Siegfried and Roy performed) said the tiger was triggered by what hairdo on an audience member in the front row?
5.) Myah Autry was arrested for trespassing in 2019 after video circulated of her showing inside a lion exhibit, dancing and taunting the lion. Which zoo did that happen at?
A. Bronx Zoo
B. Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park
C. Detroit Zoo
D. Lincoln Park Zoo
UFO Case Files
- In 1980 in Suffolk, England, several personnel reported seeing a UFO outside the Royal Air Force Woodbridge base, which at the time was operated by the US Air Force. One serviceman even claimed he touched it. The case is usually referred to as the BLANK Forest Incident for the woods where it occurred. What’s the name of the forest?
A. Notting Wood-on-Rye
B. Sherwood
C. Rendlesham
D. Beesington
- In 1997 hundreds of people saw a strange formation of lights cruising above Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico in a V shape. What are these sightings referred to?
- This couple claimed that they were abducted by extra-terrestrials from the Zeta Reticuli system in 1961 in New Hampshire, paving the way for many people who have claimed to be abductees. Need both names.
- Starting in late 2014, researchers claimed they had discovered some Kodachrome slides in an attic in Arizona which they believed showed an extra-terrestrial body from the Roswell, New Mexico UFO crash. After much anticipation the slides were released in 2015 and the image was quickly identified as being:
A.) A rubber alien prop from a 50s sci fi movie
B.) A Mummified body of a child from a museum display
C.) A Fiji mermaid taxidermy hoax from PT Barnum’s museum
D.) A surnburnt iguana
5. The former singer of this pop punk band has turned into an advocate for UFO disclosure. One point each for the singer’s name and the band. Blink 182
Xtreme Social Distancing
1. There’s some inconsistencies to this story, but the Internet commonly reports that a Hedviga Golik died in front of her TV in Croatia and was not found for how many years?
A. 1
B. 15
C. 23
D. 42
2. Estately.com did a study to determine the best cities to be an urban hermit based on things like internet speeds, food and alcohol delivery services, affordable housing, and percentage of people who work from home. What city was number one? 1 point top 5 and 2 points if number 1.
https://www.estately.com/blog/2016/10/the-best-u-s-cities-for-todays-urban-hermits/
3. In 2018 Missionary John Chau had fishermen drop him off at the remote North Sentinel Island off the coast of India. The fisherman only went so far because they knew the tribe was known for killing any outsiders. Chau took a kayak the rest of the way. He displayed a waterproof Bible to the tribe and how did they respond?
A. Told him he was too late, Jehovah’s Witnesses had already stopped by and converted them.
B.Revealed that a CD player with the original cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar in it had washed ashore some years ago and burst into song
C. Shot the Bible with an arrow and later shot and killed Chau
4.) Valeri Polyakov has the record for the longest single stay in space, staying aboard the Mir space station for how long?
A. 103 days
B. 365 days
C. 437 days
D. 535 days
5.) This book and film tells the story of Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp who hiked through Alaska hoping to live off the land. His dead body was found in an abandoned bus in 1992. Name of the book/movie?
ANSWERS BELOW
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
Answers (click highlighted links for more reading material): Warm-up: C. JFK Assassination
Missing Persons: 1. D.B. Cooper/ Dan Cooper 2. Jack Nicholson/ Al Pacino 3. Fats Domino 4. Agatha Christie 5. D. Marshall Islands
Animal King, Dumb: 1. Werner Herzog 2. Call me Ishmael. 3. B. Short-tail stingray 4. Roy. Bonus: a beehive hairdo 5. A. Bronx Zoo
UFO Case Files: 1. C. Rendlesham 2. Phoenix Lights 3. Betty and Barney Hill 4. B. mummified child 5. Tom DeLonge, Blink-182
Xtreme Social Distancing: 1. D. 42 2. Top 5 (in order 1-5) Chicago, Austin, Washington DC, San Francisco, Denver 3.C. shot him 4. C. 437 days 5. Into the Wild
Tea’s Weird Week: Conspiracy Theory Trainwreck
Yesterday, a man named Eduardo Moreno, a locomotive engineer from San Pedro, drove a train at full speed toward the Port of Los Angeles. He was holding a safety flare in the train’s cab as the train burst through a series of barriers. Moreno was hoping for an action movie like stunt where the train would jump the rails at the end of the track and fly through the air and crash into the nearby docked USNS Mercy hospital ship, which had recently arrived to help with hospital overflow from the coronavirus pandemic.
Scene of the trainwreck.
The train skidded out in a gravel lot, about 250 yards from the ship. No one was injured, though there was a “substantial amount of fuel oil” that needed to be cleaned up. Moreno was immediately arrested and charged with “train-wrecking,” which has a sentence of up to 20 years.
Moreno told authorities his goal was to “wake people up,” and said “you only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don’t know what’s going on here. Now they will.” It’s not known yet exactly what Moreno was hoping to wake people up to, other than he believed the Mercy was part of a plot for a “government takeover.” Conspiracy theories about COVID-19 are thick and heavy and often revolve around the virus being a bio-weapon or a hoax, designed to implement a Deep State coup followed by martial law.
The Mercy in the Port of Los Angeles
This story is familiar to me. I have a new book coming out in August titled American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness (Feral House). American Madness tells the story of a man named Richard McCaslin, who styled himself as a conspiracy commando and called himself the Phantom Patriot. Heavily influenced by Alex Jones (of InfoWars), Richard raided a secret society retreat called the Bohemian Grove in 2002, where he was arrested. He was hoping to “wake people up” to the alleged human sacrifices going on there. My book tells his story, but it also follows a pattern. Richard was the first one who took drastic action after listening to the words of Alex Jones (and others of his ilk) but not the last.
Richard McCaslin in his Phantom Patriot costume.
Some other conspiracy theorists who have snapped include Byron Williams, aka the I-580 Shooter, who had a shoot out with the California Highway Patrol after he was pulled over on his way to shoot up charities associated with liberal boogeyman George Soros in 2010. Oscar Ortega pulled up to the White House in 2011 and fired shots at it after seeing an Alex Jones documentary titled The Obama Deception. Jared and Amanda Miller, InfoWars fans, killed three people and themselves in a Las Vegas shooting spree.
In 2016, Edgar Maddison Welch, armed himself and raided a Washington DC pizzeria named Comet Ping Pong. Like McCaslin and Moreno, Welch was hoping to “wake people up” to a Democrats child sex trafficking ring being run out of the restaurant’s basement. That same year, two Georgia men named Michael Mancil and James Dryden Jr. were arrested in a plot to drive to Alaska and sabotage the HAARP facility, based on a conspiracy that says it’s a government brainwashing facility.
Was Moreno inspired to drive his crazy train by Alex Jones? We don’t know yet. But I doubt he came up with this theory out of the blue. Someone put the idea in his ear and I don’t think it was Rachel Maddow or Anderson Cooper. Like a bad penny, InfoWars is the one who usually shows up in these cases.
Source: “Man charged with intentionally derailing train near hospital ship Mercy over coronavirus concerns,” Los Angeles Times
Update, April 4: Moreno has been denied bail and will be arraigned May 7. It looks like a probable influence on him was QAnon, who have been spreading conspiracies about the Mercy. QAnon is saying the Mercy will be shipping COVID-19 patients to Guantanamo Bay as well as other theories that the disease is a bio-weapon designed by China and/or Bill Gates to discredit Trump. But they’ve also said the virus is a hoax to implement martial law. Let’s not forget that about two dozen of these people have campaigns running for Congress this year: https://teakrulos.com/2020/02/13/teas-weird-week-there-are-two-dozen-members-of-qanon-running-for-congress/
Source: “Coronavirus conspiracy theorists are too nuts even for a zombie-apocalypse movie scenario,” Daily Kos
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture, including QAnon. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Journalist Tea Krulos has made a curious and enlightening career out of examining groups of people with odd beliefs.” — Skeptical Inquirer
—
Oh yeah, and don’t forget that our president is a conspiracy theorist! This week’s #TrumpConspiracyCounter 2020 (now at 177 clicks) column talks about Trump’s theory that there is a face mask black market. Read it here: https://teakrulos.com/2020/04/01/trumpconspiracycounter-april-1/
—
This Saturday have some social distancing quarantine fun and play Tea’s Weird Week Trivia! You can win copies of my book, books from my library, and goofy fun prizes like bigfoot socks, shark hologram bookmarks, and more. It’s at 5pm central via Facebook Live video: www.facebook.com/theTeaKrulos
#TrumpConspiracyCounter: April 1
Unfortunately, none of the contents of today’s #TrumpConspiracyCounter are an April Fool’s Day joke. In the time of a deadly pandemic, ask yourself– do you want someone who believes, promotes, and incites conspiracy theories and gross misinformation as your leader? Trump brags that his daily coronavirus press conferences are a “ratings hit.” But is his bloviating against the “lamestream media” often dumps practical information for a “hunch” or “theory.”
Meanwhile, conspiracy continues to spread like a brush fire. Conspiracy theorists at first speculated coronavirus was a bioweapon developed by Bill Gates before settling into the idea that the virus is a hoax. The latest theory is that Dr. Anthony Fauci of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force is a Deep State “Democrat plant” being used to discredit Trump. They’ve nicknamed him “Dr.#FearPorn.”
Source: “Right Wing Influencers Are Convinced Dr. Anthony Fauci is Working WIth Hillary Clinton to Undermine Trump,” Buzzfeed News
To be honest, I’ve not been staying on top of the conspiracy counter with everything else going on. But here’s some noteworthy recent hits:
175. March 29: At a press conference, Trump floats his theory that face masks are being sold on a black market and that’s why a huge jump in demand has happened rather than the obvious cause of a rapidly escalating pandemic:
“How do you go from 10-to-20-to-300,000…even though this is different. Something’s going on…Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door?” And at the same press conference: “I don’t think it’s hoarding, I think it’s maybe worse than hoarding, but check it out. Check it out. I don’t know, I don’t know. I think that’s for other people to figure out.”
Source: “Trump Comments About Hospital Mask Thefts Spark Backlash From Doctors,” Newsweek
176. March 31: Bongino! Trump retweets conspiracy monger Dan Bongino.
177. March 31: Retweets Charlie Kirk of Turning Point America.
That’s all I got for this report. #TrumpConspiracyCounter will return in two weeks.
My upcoming book American Madness features a journey through conspiracy culture. It’s out August 25, 2020 from Feral House. To pre-order: CLICK HERE
Follow me on:
Facebook//Twitter//Instagram//YouTube
“Having just returned from the grocery store during an official pandemic, I’m reminded to highly recommend Apocalypse Any Day Now, from Tea Krulos, who went way down the doomsday prepper rabbit hole. Fun and unfortunately highly relevant. Do it.” — Brent Gohde, Cedar Block/ Science Strikes Back
teakrulos.com 