All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[Jack Dracula]

Political blogger Nate Silver and his team at FiveThirtyEight have repeatedly used DW-NOMINATE scores to gauge the ideological location of major political figures and institutions.[30][31][32][33][34]

It seems that 538 uses this method repeatedly, so it's accuracy does seem to be more than advertised. Then there's the evidence of Trump, DeSantis, Johnson, Green, Gosar, Gaetz, Paxton, etc to which there is no real response. I also see no arguments that the Left hasn't moved any, the opposite in fact.





The more extreme the parties get, the harder it is to meet in the middle. The fact that one of the parties has a large history of backstabbing, hypocrisy, & going back on agreements also hinders things, since if you can't trust conservatives in negotiations what motivation is there to try? Moderate & Conservative mindsets are absolutely necessary in politics, but with the madness infecting conservative philosophy these days it's hard to see a way forward when they won't do anything to police the behavior of their own. They have to be able to control the radical elements and accept the consequences for GoP officials/politicians when they are guilty of fraud, insurrection, or any other crimes they stand accused of. If the consequence is a swift trial that exonerates them then that seems worth it to me.

If political parties can't agree on things like norms, acceptable practices, and other basics of living in a society with others that ordinary people have to deal with, there can be no end in sight for this radicalization and the violence that comes along with it. If they won't do it by choice their voters have to find a way to show them it's unacceptable, and the most extreme case of that which doesn't get into violence is by refusing to vote for them en-masse and contacting them to let them know.

Quoting this in agreement.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Americans have been financially struggling in one form or another for decades. Focusing on just one year because you don't like Biden doesn't mean any other president, least of all Trump did any better when it came to combatting inflation.

Yea but today, the majority of Americans are struggling more than in the recent past. Biden lying about inflation doesn't paint him in a positive light.

[shooshoomanjoe]

And here I thought he just hated trains, as nearly every comment has some dig about that too.

I'm just poking fun at that because a poster here said the media needs to talk about how Biden saved Amtrak.

[aja_christopher]

Clinton actively participated in rolling back welfare and financial regulation, and passing the "super predators" law.

The DLC had way too much influence for a long time.

Both Clinton and Obama tried to move to the "center" to appease Republicans who obstructed them at every turn showing exactly what happens when you try to meet them in the "middle".

Conversely, Republicans have only gotten more extreme and authoritarian -- from Reagan to Bush to Trump -- and there is little middle ground to be found with an open bigot.



Republicans don't celebrate the diversity of ideas and freedom to choose within our nation -- they actively campaign against them with lies and fearmongering.

Clinton played into their nonsense and was impeached for his efforts while Obama's praise for Reagan and corporate America earned him nothing but a lost Supreme Court appointment and Trump as a replacement.

----

"Statement from President Joe Biden Marking International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia"

"On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, my Administration stands in support and solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people around the world as they seek to live full lives, free from violence and discrimination. This is a matter of human rights, plain and simple. The United States applauds those individuals and groups worldwide working to defend the rights of LGBTQI+ people wherever they are under threat. And we are grateful for the contributions that LGBTQI+ people make every day across our nation.

From Day One of my presidency, my Administration has made advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ people a priority. In my first month in office, I signed a Presidential Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World, directing that our diplomacy and development work around the world be conducted in a manner that reflects our commitment to the equal human rights of this population. We have stood up against laws that target LGBTQI+ people for criminal prosecution; worked to protect LGBTQI+ refugees, who are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse; and launched a Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally, to ensure that our efforts to confront the scourge of gender-based violence address the unique risks and barriers that LGBTQI+ people face. I also signed an Executive Order directing my Administration to work to prevent the use of so-called “conversion therapy” – an abusive and discredited practice that often targets children. And my Administration continues to engage with governments, faith leaders, families, and communities worldwide to protect and promote respect for human rights, including LGBTQI+ rights.

Efforts like these have yielded tangible results. During the past year, the United States has responded to abuses of LGBTQI+ people abroad. WeÂ’ve developed an approach to foreign assistance that ensures LGBTQI+ people arenÂ’t overlooked in our work. WeÂ’ve expanded access for LGBTQI+ people through our refugee programs. And the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, whom I appointed, is driving rapid response to proposed anti-LGBTQI+ legislation around the world. WeÂ’ve seen how American leadership makes a difference; over the past decade, a growing number of nations have decriminalized same-sex conduct, often with the encouragement of the United States.

Yet we know there is much more to do. LGBTQI+ communities around the world still face hate-fueled violence and discrimination. They still struggle to attain equal access to healthcare, housing, employment, education, and justice. Like all human beings, LGBTQI+ people deserve equality – equal rights, equal citizenship, equal dignity. It is our shared moral responsibility to fight back against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, just as we must fight back against all hate-fueled violence, at home and abroad.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of when the World Health Organization made the wise and overdue decision to declassify ‘homosexuality’ as a mental disorder. That was a victory for LGBTQI+ people and human rights defenders everywhere. 30 years later, the work of equality continues. The Biden-Harris Administration is proud to be a part of it.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...-and-biphobia/

[Kirby101]

If only Bernie Sanders were President. All the Republicans in Congress would vote for Universal Healthcare and a 50% tax on millionaires.

[CaptainEurope]

Both Clinton and Obama tried to move to the "center" to appease Republicans who obstructed them at every turn -- even attempting to impeach Clinton -- showing exactly what happens when you try to meet them in the "middle".

Conversely, Republicans have only gotten more extreme and authoritarian -- from Reagan to Bush to Trump -- and there is little middle ground to be found with an open bigot.



Republicans don't celebrate the diversity of ideas and freedom to choose within our nation -- they actively campaign against them with lies and fearmongering.

Clinton played into their nonsense and was impeached for his efforts while Obama's praise for Reagan and corporate America earned him nothing but obstruction and a lost Supreme Court appointment.

----

"Statement from President Joe Biden Marking International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia"

"On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, my Administration stands in support and solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people around the world as they seek to live full lives, free from violence and discrimination. This is a matter of human rights, plain and simple. The United States applauds those individuals and groups worldwide working to defend the rights of LGBTQI+ people wherever they are under threat. And we are grateful for the contributions that LGBTQI+ people make every day across our nation.

From Day One of my presidency, my Administration has made advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ people a priority. In my first month in office, I signed a Presidential Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World, directing that our diplomacy and development work around the world be conducted in a manner that reflects our commitment to the equal human rights of this population. We have stood up against laws that target LGBTQI+ people for criminal prosecution; worked to protect LGBTQI+ refugees, who are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse; and launched a Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally, to ensure that our efforts to confront the scourge of gender-based violence address the unique risks and barriers that LGBTQI+ people face. I also signed an Executive Order directing my Administration to work to prevent the use of so-called “conversion therapy” – an abusive and discredited practice that often targets children. And my Administration continues to engage with governments, faith leaders, families, and communities worldwide to protect and promote respect for human rights, including LGBTQI+ rights.

Efforts like these have yielded tangible results. During the past year, the United States has responded to abuses of LGBTQI+ people abroad. WeÂ’ve developed an approach to foreign assistance that ensures LGBTQI+ people arenÂ’t overlooked in our work. WeÂ’ve expanded access for LGBTQI+ people through our refugee programs. And the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, whom I appointed, is driving rapid response to proposed anti-LGBTQI+ legislation around the world. WeÂ’ve seen how American leadership makes a difference; over the past decade, a growing number of nations have decriminalized same-sex conduct, often with the encouragement of the United States.

Yet we know there is much more to do. LGBTQI+ communities around the world still face hate-fueled violence and discrimination. They still struggle to attain equal access to healthcare, housing, employment, education, and justice. Like all human beings, LGBTQI+ people deserve equality – equal rights, equal citizenship, equal dignity. It is our shared moral responsibility to fight back against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, just as we must fight back against all hate-fueled violence, at home and abroad.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of when the World Health Organization made the wise and overdue decision to declassify ‘homosexuality’ as a mental disorder. That was a victory for LGBTQI+ people and human rights defenders everywhere. 30 years later, the work of equality continues. The Biden-Harris Administration is proud to be a part of it.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...-and-biphobia/

I think the moving to the center was much more because, back then, Democrats were still much more of a diverse party. Joe Manchin is an exception today, but remember Zel Miller? "Blue Dog" democrats would have stopped any version of the ACA to the left of what you got. I believe both of those presidents were too smart to believe they would get much out of Republicans.

[CaptainEurope]

David DePape sentenced to 30 years in hammer attack on ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband

The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday morning.

David DePape, 44, was given the 30-year sentence by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in a federal courtroom in San Francisco. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.

DePape was tried late last year for attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Jurors convicted him on both counts on Nov. 16, 2023.

DePape's early morning break-in at the Pelosi home in October 2022 resulted in federal as well as state charges. A second trial in state court will start in the coming weeks.

In a letter to the court, Nancy Pelosi asked the judge for a "very long" sentence for DePape, saying the attack "[f]illed me with great fear and deep pain." Meanwhile, Paul Pelosi's victim statement to the judge noted that he is still suffering dizziness, headaches, balance problems, nerve pain and walking challenges from the health impacts of the vicious attack.

[CaptainEurope]

And now very disturbing video of Diddy beating up his then-girlfriend in a hotel corridor, from 2016.


What a year this week has been in news.

[scourge]

For a bit of good news:

Book Banning Bigots in Maryland shut down hard

We need more of this. More bigots being told to pound sand and GTFO.

[Dalak]

By letting Greene disrupt the proceedings they’re helping her cause, which is to hamper the process.
Instead of engaging with her they should ignore her like the petulant child she is.
At the end of the meetings they can leak her comments to the press and she’ll look like the fool she is.

As the proceedings were to hold Merrick Garland in contempt for not handing over the audio to that 'Sleepy Confused Man' report the DOJ released to much uproar, I don't think much was harmed by the disruption.

Quoting this in agreement.

Thanks! I wish such statements didn't have to be made, but that's the world we live in.

Both Clinton and Obama tried to move to the "center" to appease Republicans who obstructed them at every turn showing exactly what happens when you try to meet them in the "middle".

Conversely, Republicans have only gotten more extreme and authoritarian -- from Reagan to Bush to Trump -- and there is little middle ground to be found with an open bigot.



Republicans don't celebrate the diversity of ideas and freedom to choose within our nation -- they actively campaign against them with lies and fearmongering.

Clinton played into their nonsense and was impeached for his efforts while Obama's praise for Reagan and corporate America earned him nothing but a lost Supreme Court appointment and Trump as a replacement.

----

"Statement from President Joe Biden Marking International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia"

"On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, my Administration stands in support and solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people around the world as they seek to live full lives, free from violence and discrimination. This is a matter of human rights, plain and simple. The United States applauds those individuals and groups worldwide working to defend the rights of LGBTQI+ people wherever they are under threat. And we are grateful for the contributions that LGBTQI+ people make every day across our nation.

From Day One of my presidency, my Administration has made advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ people a priority. In my first month in office, I signed a Presidential Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World, directing that our diplomacy and development work around the world be conducted in a manner that reflects our commitment to the equal human rights of this population. We have stood up against laws that target LGBTQI+ people for criminal prosecution; worked to protect LGBTQI+ refugees, who are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse; and launched a Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally, to ensure that our efforts to confront the scourge of gender-based violence address the unique risks and barriers that LGBTQI+ people face. I also signed an Executive Order directing my Administration to work to prevent the use of so-called “conversion therapy” – an abusive and discredited practice that often targets children. And my Administration continues to engage with governments, faith leaders, families, and communities worldwide to protect and promote respect for human rights, including LGBTQI+ rights.

Efforts like these have yielded tangible results. During the past year, the United States has responded to abuses of LGBTQI+ people abroad. WeÂ’ve developed an approach to foreign assistance that ensures LGBTQI+ people arenÂ’t overlooked in our work. WeÂ’ve expanded access for LGBTQI+ people through our refugee programs. And the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, whom I appointed, is driving rapid response to proposed anti-LGBTQI+ legislation around the world. WeÂ’ve seen how American leadership makes a difference; over the past decade, a growing number of nations have decriminalized same-sex conduct, often with the encouragement of the United States.

Yet we know there is much more to do. LGBTQI+ communities around the world still face hate-fueled violence and discrimination. They still struggle to attain equal access to healthcare, housing, employment, education, and justice. Like all human beings, LGBTQI+ people deserve equality – equal rights, equal citizenship, equal dignity. It is our shared moral responsibility to fight back against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, just as we must fight back against all hate-fueled violence, at home and abroad.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of when the World Health Organization made the wise and overdue decision to declassify ‘homosexuality’ as a mental disorder. That was a victory for LGBTQI+ people and human rights defenders everywhere. 30 years later, the work of equality continues. The Biden-Harris Administration is proud to be a part of it.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...-and-biphobia/

I think the moving to the center was much more because, back then, Democrats were still much more of a diverse party. Joe Manchin is an exception today, but remember Zel Miller? "Blue Dog" democrats would have stopped any version of the ACA to the left of what you got. I believe both of those presidents were too smart to believe they would get much out of Republicans.

There has to be a middle ground open to compromise, but it has to be genuinely sought by both/all parties for it to be a reliable compromise. The GoP is refusing to even give it thought for the most part, and only use Bipartisanship as a dirty word used to bludgeon RINO targets. Something has to change though, and it shouldn't have to be the people who aren't espousing violence and pardoning it.

If only Bernie Sanders were President. All the Republicans in Congress would vote for Universal Healthcare and a 50% tax on millionaires.

That's the Berenstien-verse, where Christopher Lee is making another new Metal Album and Michael Bay never got his hands on the Transformer's Franchise.

David DePape sentenced to 30 years in hammer attack on ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband

Why on Earth did this case take so long?

For a bit of good news:

Book Banning Bigots in Maryland shut down hard

We need more of this. More bigots being told to pound sand and GTFO.

Agreed, this is a more reasonable response when this BS is attempted than any conservative would give a similar liberal movement.

[Tami]

Cat-Fight in Congress

Johnson says personal attacks at committee meeting ‘not a good look’

The House Oversight Committee meeting on Thursday that was supposed to be focused on a resolution over whether to recommend holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.

Tensions escalated when Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Tex.) questioned why Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was airing assertions about the political motivations of a judge overseeing a criminal case involving former president Donald Trump.

“Do you know what we’re here for? You know we’re here about AG Garland?” Crockett said during the rare evening session for the committee.

“I don’t think you know what you’re here for,” Greene responded. “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.”

That’s when things began to boil over, as Greene — a political flamethrower already on the outs with some in her party over her recently failed attempt to oust Johnson from leadership — and Democrats continued to fight.

At Thursday evening’s committee meeting after Greene’s eyelashes comment, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) asked to strike Greene’s words from the record and make her apologize to Crockett, saying: “How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person.”

“Are your feelings hurt?” Greene responded in a mocking tone, later asking Ocasio-Cortez: “Why don’t you debate me?” The New York congresswoman responded: “It’s pretty self-evident.”

“You don’t have enough intelligence,” Greene told Ocasio-Cortez.

Although Greene agreed to have her words stricken from the record, she added: “You will never have an apology out of me.”

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) then ruled that the comments did not violate House rules against engaging in “personalities” during debate.

Crockett, disputing Comer’s ruling, asked: “I’m just curious — just to better understand your ruling — if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach blond, bad-built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?”

The meeting room erupted once again, with a Republican member of the committee telling Crockett to “calm down.”

[Gray Lensman]

Cat-Fight in Congress

Johnson says personal attacks at committee meeting ‘not a good look’

An apology has to be sincere to have any value, and as such one from Honey Cuckoo has none.

[numberthirty]

Americans have been financially struggling in one form or another for decades. Focusing on just one year because you don't like Biden doesn't mean any other president, least of all Trump did any better when it came to combatting inflation.

How many years during those decades did those Americans live through record inflation?

It's not like someone is focusing on a year for no reason.

Past that, telling folks...

Americans have been financially struggling for decades...

When they literally just lived through years of record inflation will most likely only serve to alienate them.

[aja_christopher]

When they literally just lived through years of record inflation will most likely only serve to alienate them.

Always a possibility but the midterms proved differently and there is no value in ignoring that reality.

The reality that issues such as abortion rights and Republican fascism mean more to most voters than illogical attacks on Democrats.

Any Trump success is not because of "economic anxiety" -- it's because there are people out there who share Trump's values and want to see him in power.

How many years during those decades did those Americans live through record inflation?

Anyone so dogmatically focused on inflation is welcome to send back the stimulus money that contributed to it.

What a surprise that you're not here advocating reparations after quoting MLK Jr on the economy.

-----

"All 3 major stock indexes close at record highs as inflation slows down"

"Each of the major U.S. stock indexes closed Wednesday at record highs after new federal data showed inflation slowing down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite all rallied Wednesday after the Labor Department reported inflation falling to a 3.4 percent annual rate in April after a 0.3 percent monthly increase in prices, according to the consumer price index.

The Dow rose roughly 350 points Wednesday to close at 39,908, a gain of 0.9 percent. The S&P rose 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 1.4 percent.

The slowdown in price gains is welcome news to Wall Street after several months of higher-than-expected inflation. Federal Reserve officials had expected to cut interest rates as soon as this spring, according to projections released in December, but held off as both job gains and inflation came in hot.

If inflation continues to fall, the Fed could be inclined to cut interest rates and loosen its foot on the brake of the economy. Lower interest rates tend to stimulate the stock market as companies spend less money on debt costs and consumers have more money to spend."

https://thehill.com/business/4666442...-record-highs/

[aja_christopher]

"The past year of research has made it very clear: Trump won because of racial resentment"

Another study produces the same findings we’ve seen over and over again.

"More than a year after President Donald Trump won the election, there are still some questions about what drove him to victory: Was it genuine anxiety about the state of the economy? Or was it racism and racial resentment?

Over at the Washington Post, researchers Matthew Fowler, Vladimir Medenica, and Cathy Cohen have published the results of a new survey on these questions, with a focus on the 41 percent of white millennials who voted for Trump and the sense of “white vulnerability” that motivated them. The conclusion is very clear: Contrary to what some have suggested, white millennial Trump voters were not in more economically precarious situations than non-Trump voters. Fully 86 percent of them reported being employed, a rate similar to non-Trump voters; and they were 14 percent less likely to be low income than white voters who did not support Trump. Employment and income were not significantly related to that sense of white vulnerability.



So what was? Racial resentment.

Even when controlling for partisanship, ideology, region and a host of other factors, white millennials fit Michael Tesler’s analysis, explored here. As he put it, economic anxiety isn’t driving racial resentment; rather, racial resentment is driving economic anxiety. We found, as he has in a larger population, that racial resentment is the biggest predictor of white vulnerability among white millennials. Economic variables like education, income and employment made a negligible difference.
The survey looked at millennials because they will be the largest share of the voting-eligible population in 2018, so they’re an important bellwether for future trends. (At the same time, most millennials backed Hillary Clinton in 2016, not Trump.)

To anyone who’s been following the research on this, the findings should come as little surprise. There have now been numerous studies that found support for Trump is closely linked to racial resentment, defined by Fowler, Medenica, and Cohen as “a moral feeling that blacks violate such traditional American values as individualism and self-reliance.”

This is crucial to understanding both Trump’s rise and how to overcome Trump. As a presidential candidate, Trump made all sorts of racist comments — suggesting that Mexican immigrants are criminals and rapists, proposing a ban on all Muslims entering the US, saying a US judge should recuse himself from a case simply because of his Mexican heritage, and deploying dog whistles about “law and order.” As president, Trump equated a group of neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and white nationalists who descended onto Charlottesville, Virginia, with the anti-racism protesters who stood against bigotry. His administration has also pursued policies that will disproportionately hurt minority groups, including his travel ban, immigration restrictions, “tough on crime” policies, and potential voting restrictions.

The studies suggest that these kinds of comments and actions are not just incidental to Trump; they are at the core of his political success. If Democrats want to defeat him, they will need to overcome that racial resentment.

The latest findings are backed by many other studies -- This is not a one-off finding. At this point, the evidence that Trump’s rise was driven by racism and racial resentment is fairly stacked.

One paper, published in January by political scientists Brian Schaffner, Matthew MacWilliams, and Tatishe Nteta, found that voters’ measures of sexism and racism correlated much more closely with support for Trump than economic dissatisfaction after controlling for factors like partisanship and political ideology.This is not a one-off finding. At this point, the evidence that Trump’s rise was driven by racism and racial resentment is fairly stacked.

One paper, published in January by political scientists Brian Schaffner, Matthew MacWilliams, and Tatishe Nteta, found that voters’ measures of sexism and racism correlated much more closely with support for Trump than economic dissatisfaction after controlling for factors like partisanship and political ideology...."

https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/...-anxiety-study