JANUARY 2021 IGNOMINIOUS ABSURDITY OF THE MONTH: THE IGGY

1. Ferris State University Professor Thomas Brennan. Although Brennan does not fit the “celebrity” criteria necessary for nomination for an IGGY, I’m making an exception in this professor’s case. The St. John university student newspaper, The Torch, covered comments Brennan made on a Twitter account under his full name about the novel coronavirus pandemic, as well as a number of slurs that allegedly appeared on the same account. According to screenshots, Professor Brennan allegedly tweeted that COVID-19 was a “stunt” to form “a leftist new world order.” According to MLive, during a virtual meeting for Ferris State University’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Education department in August, Brennan reportedly commented that “COVID-19 death rates in the United States were exaggerated, and the pandemic and rioting were leftist stunts.”

According to The Torch, the Twitter account also allegedly tweeted bizarre and horrifying remarks like “Covid19 is another jewish revolution” as well as homophobic and racial slurs. An anonymous student in a class of Brennan’s spoke to The Torch and reportedly told the outlet that the professor talks about conspiracy theories related to cellphones during class time.

In terms of racial slurs, Brennan wrote that he is “not racist against black people,” added that he loves and respects them, and argued, “the ’n-word’ is a mind-control spell designed to make us hate each other.” He went on to say that he used the word in order to “neutralize” its power. Yikes!

In speaking to local outlet wzzm 13, Brennan explained that he didn’t use the N-word “lightly,” and suggested that we’re “heading towards such a crescendo of madness where we're about to all be enslaved because of this COVID crisis." He added to the outlet that he said “some hyperbolic things to draw attention to what it is I wanted to say.”

In response to the controversy evoked by Brennan, FSU President, David Eisler, said: “We strongly reject these statements, condemn them and will not tolerate them. We have worked diligently to become a more diverse university, and these statements demonstrate vividly how one person can set back the work of many.” Brennan has been on administrative leave since Nov. 19, though it’s unclear whether the leave is specific to the alleged Twitter remarks, the COVID-19 remarks during the August meeting, both, or neither.

Brennan is clearly the kind of scientist Republicans can get behind.

2. Tennessee State Rep. David Byrd. Cases of the novel coronavirus are increasing at a rapid rate across the U.S. Despite this, some individuals are still refusing to wear masks. As a result, many of those who once denied the severity of the virus are now suffering the consequences of doing so after infection. While some have expressed regret and warned others to not take the virus and safety measures lightly, others—like Donald Trump—continued to deny its severity despite multiple hospital visits.

Longtime COVID-19 denier and Tennessee state Rep. David Byrd is another Republican who once dismissed the virus as a hoax only to contract it. Byrd was hospitalized and on a ventilator for over a month. The controversial Republican posted on Facebook Thursday begging friends for prayers and a “miracle” after being hospitalized over the weekend with pneumonia following a positive COVID-19 test.

"I really need a miracle today!!" Byrd wrote Thursday. "My doctor said if my oxygen level doesn't improve then he has no choice but to put me on a ventilator. So please pray that God will breathe His healing spirit into my lungs!!"

Byrd tested positive for the virus less than two weeks after attending a meeting with almost 70 House Republicans in attendance in the House chamber on Nov. 24. During the meeting, the 63-year-old representative was seen without a mask on the House floor.

But it doesn’t end there: Days before the meeting, Byrd even hosted a dinner with a number of his fellow caucus members at a restaurant to kick off a series of Republican retreat events. According to NBC News affiliate WBIR, one of the events was overnight.

Not only has Byrd been spotted without a mask on multiple occasions but in June he also voted in support of a House resolution that insisted that "mainstream media has sensationalized the reporting on COVID-19 in the service of political agendas,” the Tennessean reported. Byrd is the second Republican Tennessee House member to be hospitalized after contracting the virus. Rep. Mike Carter, who also voted in support of the same legislation, was hospitalized earlier this year with COVID-19.

In case you’re wondering, this is the same state representative who was accused in 2019 of sexual assault by a woman on the basketball team he coached. Great guy! A perfect fit for today’s GOP.

3. California Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove. Grove touted a conspiracy theory on Twitter claiming that the mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters who overtook the U.S. Capitol for several hours on January 6^th were actually members of the disorganized left-wing movement Antifa.

“Patriots don’t act like this!!! This was Antifa,” Grove wrote in a since-deleted Tweet. Grove was quoting pro-Trump attorney L. Lin Wood’s claim that rioters at the Capitol were “peaceful” and that antifa was to blame for the “violence in our cities over the past several months.”

After allegedly showing giddiness while watching the insurrection unfold on TV, Trump later posted a short video to his Twitter feed, calling on the rioters to return home.

“We love you,” he said. “You’re very special...but go home, and go home in peace.”

Not to appear too unTrumpian, he also trumpeted baseless theories that the “landslide” and “fraudulent election” was “stolen from us.”

Grove spokeswoman Jacqui Nguyen said in a phone call that Grove was tweeting from her personal account. After initially posting her first statement, Nguyen said, Grove recognized it was “incomplete” and “wasn’t what she was trying to say.”

Grove then replaced it with the deleted tweet with a statement that called the riots “unacceptable and unAmerican.”

“Patriots don’t act like this!! This is the way Antifa behaves,” she wrote.

This is not the first time the Bakersfield Republican and Trump supporter has publicly promoted false information.

“I still believe ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ will be President fo(r) the next 4 years. #EXPOSETHECORRUPTION #USA” Grove wrote in a Nov. 8 tweet that included a Biblical photo that a spokesman said was meant to represent Grove’s “faith that our candidates can prevail in many of these races.”

Morons like Grove help explain why Republicans are a vanishing breed in California politics.

4. Georgia Republican State Legislators. Have you wondered how Georgia republicans would respond to the shocking defeats of Senator David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the Senatorial run of election? Could it decide to broaden its appeal among people of color? NOT!

Democrats won both seats in Georgia thanks to the incredible ground and grassroots efforts to get people registered to vote. Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock now represent the state, and Georgia is finally represented as blue. So how are Republicans responding? You guessed it; Republicans are pushing legislation to make it even harder to vote.

Voting in Georgia is already not simple. Given what we know about voter suppression efforts (especially in red states), this is not surprising, but it is incredibly upsetting. As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, however, Senate Bill 29, which was introduced on Wednesday, Jan. 27, could make it even harder to vote. Let’s look at what the bill involves and how this would create even more voter disenfranchisement in the state.

In order to cast an absentee ballot, Georgia voters would have to make photocopies of their photo ID (like a driver’s license or passport) and mail them to election officials twice. Yes, twice. Georgia voters would have to submit ID both when requesting an absentee ballot and when submitting your ballot. People who live overseas or are members of the military would be exempt.

So why is this legislation proposal such a big deal? From the start, we know that there haven’t actually been instances of widespread fraud via vote-by-mail, including in the most recent election cycle. There’s no actual need to add more barriers under the guise of protection or being more confident in election security. What’s the likely latent motivation? Making it harder for marginalized folks to vote.

On a logistical level, it’s as big a barrier as it is to have a photo ID (which, for reference, is also needed if you vote in person in Georgia, and is needed when you register to vote in the first place), but asking people to also access a printer or photocopier is also a burden. If you don’t have one at home (keeping in mind that some people do not have the internet, much less a computer), you need to find time to go to a library (or elsewhere) to access one, and potentially pay for the printing.

If you live with certain disabilities, have health issues, have children or dependents at home, or simply are too busy juggling obligations, those extra steps can create an enormous burden. Many people already find voting to be a confusing, stressful process; making people send multiple copies of a photo ID starts to really wear down the convenience factor of vote-by-mail.

You also need to get the two envelopes and two stamps, adding to the cost of the process in both time and money. To vote.

As reported by the Associated Press, some Georgia Republicans also support banning drop boxes and requiring an excuse to vote by absentee ballot. All seemingly small changes that make voting more and more exclusive.

Given that we’re still facing the coronavirus pandemic, it’s no surprise that people turned to the safety and convenience of voting by mail. We also know that Democrats, in general, are more likely to vote by mail. So, of course, Georgia Republicans want to stomp down on that voter block. And, of course, it’s up to us to fight these blatant voter suppression efforts.

The Georgia response, and similar efforts in Arizona, makes me think the Republican ballyhooing about election fraud is motivated not by believing it really happened, or by wanting to keep the Trumpster in office, but by disseminating a fiction that would justify post-election voter suppression. It already appears to be working.

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And the January IGGY winner is:

This is an easy one. It has to go to those sterling guardians of Democracy and the U.S. Constitution, Georgia Republicans.