Check out the full 2023 List Tournament bracket here.
THE 1-SEEDS
David Pakman [March 27] - #1 Overall Seed
Offense: "Very surprising that there would be a mass shooting at a Christian school, given that lack of prayer is often blamed for these horrible events. Is it possible they weren't praying enough, or correctly, despite being a Christian school?"
Terror Alarm [June 13]
Offense: "New: #Nashville trans shooter Audrey "Aiden" Hale's autopsy report shows that the transphobic Police officers used nearly 30 bullets to kill 28-year-old trans accused of the mass shooting in a Christian school. #AudreyHale"
Rolling Stone [May 25]
Offense: "A furry fandom con in Florida just announced it would ban minors based on the governor's ridiculous laws"
Brent Hennrich [April 14]
Offense: "Amber & I have compiled a true emergency kit for Briana & her friends. Plan-B, condoms, pregnancy tests. Just found out that I can add Narcan for free to that kit. I hope we never need to use it. But it will be there. You can see if you are eligible."
"Briana is 12. So we are in a similar situation. I can't live with my head in the sand. So unfortunately my kids are being forced to grow up quicker than I was."
THE 2-SEEDS
The Mirror [March 30]
Offense: "Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale could have been a children's illustrator as their artwork was "whimsical" and "childlike", a former teacher has revealed."
BLM Chicago [October 7]
Offense: "That is all that is it!" [displays photo of Hamas paraglider on their way to massacre Jews--innocent men, women, and children--on 10/7]
Charles Jaco [February 3]
Offense: "The only thing the neo-Nazi "parents groups" need to be targeted with is a truckload of ammonium nitrate."
Tariq Nasheed [July 25]
Offense: "This is Derek...... Derek had a lot of negative things to say about Black people on twitter.. He was also against FBA getting reparations.. Derek's girlfriend cheated on him, and evidently the heartbreak put him to sleep....FOR GOOOOOD!!!! Should we be sympathetic to Derek or should we act the way THEY do when WE suffer a tragedy?"
THE 3-SEEDS
Occupy Democrats [March 11]
Offense: "Epstein may have been an evil predator, but he was a perceptive judge of character."
ACLU [June 16]
Offense: "The state of Florida never provided medically necessary gender-affirming care to Duane Owen — causing her enormous suffering and violating her right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment for the more than 30 years she was in state custody."
Alyssa Mackenzie [April 15]
Offense: "I am warning all LGBTQ+ Floridians, members of the media, lawyers, attorneys, allies and essentially anyone who will listen. I understand the seriousness of what I'm about to say: This law will be used to murder LGBTQ+ people or ANYONE who affirms LGBTQ+ youth."
Chelsea Clinton [April 27]
Offense: "Over 50% of the attempted book bans last year involved books with LGBTQ+ characters & themes. Books are a vital way that children, adolescents and adults learn about themselves and our world. Bans such as these are nothing but harmful:"
THE 4-SEEDS
Gretchen Felker-Martin [November 11]
Offense: "Can pretty safely state that bin Laden and I did not, uh, agree on much, but blowing up the World Trade Center is probably the most principled and defensible thing he ever did."
Sam Grady [February 20]
Offense: "New Palestine disaster filling the Ohio River with dangerous chemicals, poisoning the water of yokel central. Gee, that's too bad. Perhaps they'll reevaluate their voting patterns a bit! (They won't)"
Matthew Rife [November 5]
Offense: "6 million? How? Their numbering system only allowed for 999,999 at the most. During world war 2, if a German mechanic was caught with a hammer in his toolbox he was put to death. This is because they were a highly detailed people who prided themselves on accuracy. Yet, I'm..."
Politifact [May 3]
Offense: "Teachers union President Randi Weingarten advocated for reopening schools with pandemic safety measures. She criticized the Trump administration’s 2020 calls to reopen schools fully, but it’s misleading to claim that she opposed reopening at all."
THE 5-SEEDS
Michelle Lujan Grisham [September 13]
Offense: "Today a judge temporarily blocked sections of our public health order but recognized the significant problem of gun violence in this state. I refuse to be resigned to the status quo, and I will never stop fighting to prevent other families from enduring these tragedies."
NBC News [June 27]
Offense: "The “coming for your children” chant has been used for years at Pride events, according to longtime march attendees and gay rights activists, who said it’s one of many provocative expressions used to regain control of slurs against LGBTQ people."
Karen Lopez [March 27]
Offense: "5 times @cnn misgendered. No correction. A mass shooting is horrible. Misgendering does not make anything better."
Cynthia McKinney [September 11]
Offense: "I know where I'll be and what I'll be watching at 6:00 pm EASTERN time today!"
THE 6-SEEDS
Briahna Joy Gray [December 4]
Offense: "“Believe all women” was always an absurd overreach: woman should be heard, claims should be investigated, but evidence is required. The same is true of the allegations out of Israel. But also, this isn’t a “believe women” scenario bc no female victims have offered testimony."
CTV News [November 13]
Offense: "Canadian peace activist Vivian Silver, who went missing after Hamas attack, has died."
Joe Biden [April 25]
Offense: "Our children are our nation’s future, and they are in the hands of teachers. This White House will always have their back."
Image reads: "Rebecka put the teacher’s creed into words when she said: “There’s no such thing as someone else’s child.” Our nation’s children – they’re our children. And that’s why – our Administration supports the teachers who care for them. - President Biden"
Ffrenchie Thee Stallion [June 15]
Offense: "Hot Girl Summer in full effect"
THE 7-SEEDS
New York Times [May 27]
Offense: "Disney's live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid," with Halle Bailey starring as Ariel and a diverse cast, "reeks of obligation and noble intentions," Wesley Morris writes. "Joy, fun, mystery, risk, flavor, kink — they’re missing.""
UN Human Rights Council [October 9]
Offense: "On Monday afternoon, the @UN Human Rights Council observed a moment of silence for the loss of innocent lives in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere. #HRC54"
Courier Journal [January 27]
Offense: "Holocaust Remembrance Day is a time to remember more than one atrocity"
BBC World [March 9]
Offense: "Mental-health crisis from pandemic was minimal, study suggests"
THE 8-SEEDS
NIRH Action Fund
Offense: "Abortions are beautiful and we’ll never stop celebrating them"
Rev. Jacqui Lewis [September 6]
Offense: "Abortion access is holy and life-honoring."
Alexandra Erin [February 12]
Offense: "JK Rowling killed a girl. Her name was Brianna Ghey. Rowling did not act alone. But Brianna is not the only victim."
Hindustani Lion [November 15]
Offense: "If you're a girl, your father definitely imagined having sex with you as you went through puberty, probably numerous times, and you're delusional if you think otherwise."
THE 9-SEEDS
Richard Hanania [November 4]
Offense: "Let's say Jeffrey Epstein wants to have sex with a 14-year-old girl, and will pay her $10 million. The money will go into a mutual fund that will pay out when she's 21. The girl agrees, as do both of her parents. Should this be allowed? And are you male or female?"
Sameera Khan [October 10]
Offense: "Yes, you may think Israel has the right to defend itself. Under international law, Israel does not have the right to defend itself."
Benjamin Ryan [March 27]
Offense: "Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, featured here in his family's Christmas card, represents Nashville, Tennessee, district in which the Christian school was shot up by a 28-year-old woman today, killing six, including three children."
Benjamin Dixon [March 28]
Offense: "These White Christians Devils went from "thoughts & prayers" to actively calling for revenge and violence as soon as they saw the mass shooter wasn't one of their own for the first time in history. Keep that same energy for the daily, white, cis, incel mass shooters."
THE 10-SEEDS
Polygon [July 21]
Offense: "The hottest Disney animal characters, ranked — and a scientific explanation for why some people find animated animals sexy https://trib.al/JMHZl4E"
- Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine [December 5]
Offense: "We will be having our second teach-in this Wednesday the 6th at 12pm, in room C-03 of the Social Work building! We will discuss the significant of the Palestinian counteroffensive on October 7th and the centrality of revolutionary violence to anti-imperialism. See y'all there!"
39. Josh Hammer [February 18]
Offense: "I heard the absolutely horrific president and (more recently) noted Hamasnik Jimmy Carter is going to croak soon, and I will not pretend that I care. I do not."
40. Dean Preston [May 10]
Offense: "Today, I'm announcing legislation to limit use of guns by security guards. We must amend local law to prohibit guards from drawing weapons just to protect property. Human life is more important than property."
THE 11-SEEDS
41. Lisa Bloom [January 23]
Offense: "We interrupt the news about the Monterey Park mass shooting to cover the Half Moon Bay mass shooting. Because we have lost our fucking minds. The Second Amendment, like slavery and subjugation of women, was one of our founders’ worst 18th century ideas. Repeal it."
42. Daily Mail US [March 28]
Offense: "EXCLUSIVE: Nashville mass school shooter was rejected by her Christian parents https://trib.al/swbAvVm"
The Transformed Wife [June 15]
Offense: "So a woman’s husband wanted sex with her but she said no. She woke up in the middle of the night, and he was having sex with her. She asked me if this was marital rape. It was the first time he had done this, and he was never physically abusive towards her. I told her, “No, don’t even think like that.” Don’t destroy a marriage over this. Show grace. We aren’t to deprive our husbands sexually (1 Cor. 7:5). Only physically abusive husbands rape their wives. If he wakes you up to have sex with you, go for it! Sex doesn’t always need to be planned. Be spontaneous sometimes!"
44. Ben and Jerry’s [July 4]
Offense: "This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it. Learn more and take action now: https://benjerrys.co/46vrYu3"
THE 12-SEEDS
45. Rolling Stone [July 7]
Offense: "REVIEW: 'Sound of Freedom,' the QAnon-tinged thriller about child-trafficking, is designed to appeal to the conscience of a conspiracy-addled boomer."
46. Peter Singer [November 8]
Offense: "Another thought-provoking article is "Zoophilia Is Morally Permissible" by Fira Bensto (pseudonym), which is just out in the current issue of @JConIdeas. This piece challenges one of society's strongest taboos and argues for the moral permissibility of some forms of sexual contact between humans and animals. This article offers a controversial perspective that calls for a serious and open discussion on animal ethics and sex ethics. Read and ponder: https://journalofcontroversialideas.org/article/3/2/255 Art generated by Open AI’s DALL-E."
47. Sarah Jones [April 8]
Offense: "The parental rights movement actively threatens the safety and wellbeing of children and by extension, democracy itself:"
48. Philip Bump [September 28]
Offense: "DeSantis didn't say "woke" last night but he did say "CCP" and "communist China." I was curious when this formulation had gained new popularity -- and found an in-retrospect predictable moment."
THE 13-SEEDS
49. Nate McMurray [July 31]
Offense: "Guess I touched a nerve with his dummy. Here’s a thing, bro, I don’t care what some idiots on the Supreme Court said. I CAN READ. There’s nothing in the constitution about an individual right to bear arms. They read that into the constitution, I. E., MADE IT UP. If it’s there show me. Because we both know it isn’t. As for your case precedent, who cares? Just like I don’t care that they said abortion is illegal. They ignored abortion precedents; so I can’t wait till we ignore Heller. Great job, though, using your lobbyists, gerrymandering, and other anti-democracy measures to suppress the will of the vast majority of the American people to enact reasonable gun control. But tick tock, tick tock, eventually we’re coming for you. You can’t fool democracy forever. #BanAssaultWeapons"
50. NBA History [July 24]
Offense: "Join us in wishing a Happy 60th Birthday to 14x #NBAAllStar, 2x NBA MVP, and 75th Anniversary Team member... “The Mailman,” Karl Malone. #NBABDAY"
51. S.V. Date [September 11]
Offense: "Osama bin Biden, after all, had never taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the United States. Our 45th president had. Ironically, the locus of his assault was the same building that was saved by the bravery of the passengers on United 93."
52. Joe Walsh [May 15]
Offense: "One more time: 1. It wasn’t a “hoax.” Russia did interfere in the 2016 election to try to help elect Trump. 2. The Trump campaign did welcome & encourage the interference. 3. There WAS collusion. Don Jr took that meeting. Manafort gave the Russians campaign secrets. The Trump campaign had an unusual # of Russian connections. Mueller couldn’t prove a conspiracy. 4. Trump did obstruct the Mueller investigation. Repeatedly. 5. And btw, our FBI was right to launch an investigation. The DOJ IG agreed, Senate Republicans agreed. Even Durham today said the FBI had cause to open a preliminary investigation. 6. Did the FBI make mistakes? Sure, but their intentions were noble: To protect this country."
THE 14-SEEDS
53. Adrienne Watson [September 11]
Offense: "We welcome this weekend’s announcement by Saudi Arabia committing $20 billion to support President Biden’s signature initiative, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure (PGI)."
54. Ion Romaru [January 30]
Offense: "Millionaire internet streamer's reaction to AI porn of herself. You won't find more fragile people than popular internet personalities (especially women)."
55. Guardian Australia [October 24]
Offense: "Israel must stop weaponising the Holocaust | Raz Segal"
56. CNN [August 10]
Offense: "Transgender and nonbinary patients have no regrets about top surgery, small study finds https://cnn.it/45q2r3R"
THE 15-SEEDS
57. Jon Miller [March 19]
Offense: "DeSandinistas be like “he hasn’t even announced yet what are you talking about??” You know what then he should be in jail. Send him instead of Trump. Because he’s running a campaign without actually filing, which is ILLEGAL. Lock him up. He’ll probably enjoy getting raped tbh."
58. Michael Spangler [April 29]
Offense: "Christian, don’t be mistaken on this: Jews are your enemies. The Bible says this. You should believe it, and not be afraid to affirm it publicly."
59. President Biden [August 14]
Offense: "2. We're laser-focused on getting aid to survivors, including Critical Needs Assistance: a one-time $700 payment per household offering relief during an unimaginably difficult time. We have staff on the ground dedicated to helping survivors navigate the registration process."
60. Associated Press [December 21]
Offense: "Israel's military campaign in Gaza seen as among the most destructive in history, experts say"
THE 16-SEEDS (INCLUDING PLAY-IN SEEDS)
- Hillary Clinton [May 23]
Offense: "Ron DeSantis's ultra-MAGA Florida isn't safe for people of color, LGBTQ+ people, or even multi-billion dollar corporations."
Bree Newsome Bass [July 4]
Offense: "I’m sorry, but anyone happily waving American flags right now is either a gleeful white supremacist or is gleefully uninformed."
Washington Post [August 3]
Offense: "LGBTQ+ communities in the Middle East face a growing crackdown, mirroring efforts by American conservatives to restrict the rights of gay and transgender people."
Salon [November 2]
Offense: "MAGA and Christian nationalism: Bigger threat to America than Hamas ever could be"
Ana Navarro-Cardenas [July 6]
Offense: "Like many, my family’s been hit by drug-addiction. So many sleepless nights fearing a call saying your loved one is jailed or dead.
Politico [August 9]
Offense: "GOP House Oversight Chair James Comer rolled out a new memo identifying over $20 million in payments from entities or individuals in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan to Biden family members.
But the memo doesn't show a direct payment to Joe Biden."
CBS News [September 19]
Offense: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is drumming a message of "medical freedom" that some critics view as "dangerous.""
68. FBI [July 12]
Offense: "In reference to the false assertions about investigating parents at school board meetings, #FBI Director Wray told the House Judiciary Committee that the Bureau is not in the business of policing speech. Read more here: https://fbi.gov/news/stories/director-wray-testifies-on-oversight-of-the-fbi#Attorney-General%E2%80%99s%20School%20Board%20Memorandum"
69. Paul Krugman [September 15]
Offense: "An inflation update: in the past I've focused on a measure that excludes lagging shelter and used cars as well as food and energy. Just to note that it adds to the evidence that inflation has been largely defeated"
Check out the full 2023 List Tournament bracket here.