All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[Robotman]

Jeezus, it’s terrifying how much real life has gotten to parody.

[worstblogever]

In -, in 2016, and in 2017, “Crazy Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of the former candidate for the U.S. Senate from Iowa, Sam Clovis, the runner up in the 2014 GOP Primary for the U.S. Senate seat from Iowa, placing second behind Joni Ernst, on the strength of her hog-castrating platform. Clovis’ own campaign web page accused the Obama administration of strengthening America’s enemies, as well as the age-old lie that the Affordable Cart Act has brought about “healthcare rationing”. Clovis promised to, if elected, block any judicial candidate that did not follow “Biblical law”, and claimed that the American government was “destroying our churches”. He also expressed his commitment to “finding out the truth about Benghazi” repeatedly, eventually going as far as to say that the only reason President Obama had not been impeached over it was that he wasn’t white. We noted in our second look at Clovis that he was one of the first campaign cuts by Rick Perry’s 2016 campaign, and Clovis jumped to the 2016 Donald Trump campaign, instead. E-mails leaked from Clovis’ time in the Perry campaign, where he was praising the former Texas governor for saying Trump was “a cancer on conservatism”, indicating that his big fat mouth still continues to get him in trouble. And with the Trump campaign, Clovis continues to be a bumbler, stumbling his way through a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper by saying he was “disappointed” that Cooper had brought up instances of Trump flip-flopping on the record on issues, which disappointment seems to the only alternative to irrational babbling that Trump pundits show when the media calls them on their bulls***. The biggest lie (but far from the only one) Clovis told while working on the Trump campaign (admittedly, he was overshadowed by ladies like Katrina Pierson, Scotty Neil Hughes, and Kellyanne Conway) included a ludicrouss claims that Donald Trump's tax plan would create, and we quote... "a 7 trillion dollar budget surplus" (Experts actually think it will ADD 1-2 trillion to the deficit, ANNUALLY), and he defended the comments from the Access Hollywood tape of Donald Trump boasting about committing sexual assault by saying that they occurred "before he made his recent faith journey". Honestly, we can't tell if Sam Clovis is constantly squinting or if his facial features are shrinking like he's some sort of Dick Tracy villain. For his service to his orange overlord, Clovis was offered a high-paying government job working in the USDA, which if you're paying attention to any Trump appointment, he was almost completely unqualified for. However, that job opportunity fell by the wayside once Clovis became a cooperating witness after ending up to his eyeballs in federal investigators for all of the colluding he may have done as a member of the Trump campaign’s foreign policy team back in 2016.



It was one year ago today that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Stephen Humphrey, a member of the Colorado House of Representatives since first being elected back in 2012. Humphrey is a conservative in the mold of Ted Cruz, by which, we mean he’s as wanted as most kinds of fungus. Humphrey is constantly trying to undo most of the gun control measures that help keep Colorado safer in the wake of the Aurora Massacre, opposes same sex marriage, and keeps sponsoring not just “religious freedom” laws to allow for discrimination against the LGBT community, but also sponsors Personhood regulation on the regular in Colorado, as well as laws to attempt to let a man have a say in a woman’s choice to have an abortion. If you’re still unclear on how much of a fanatical God-fearing Christian we’re talking about when we give Humphrey a profile, look no further than his first term in office, when he sponsored an “academic freedom” bill that was specifically worded so that Colorado’s schools could have political discussion about evolution, global warming, and human cloning. He actually tried lying and claiming his bill was in any way political, but there wasn’t a soul in Colorado to believe him. Meanwhile, he would also like you to believe that the government is hostile towards his religion as a Christian, and supports those “religious freedom” bills to allow him the right to discriminate against gay people. And before you stop and wonder if that’s the only proof he’s comfortable harassing the LGBT community, keep in mind we’re talking about a brain donor who also voted against a ban on “gay conversion therapy” on minors in Colorado. Currently, he’s even pushing a bill inspired by the anti-gay bakery in Colorado what wants to refuse to sell cake for gay weddings, because his priorities for the state are that out of whack. He’s continued his mad homophobic quest into 2018, still sponsoring “religious freedom” legislation as Colorado continues to become more LGBTQ-friendly, and other pro-bigotry measures that have zero chance of passing, but allow him to impotently rage at same sex couples.

We’re hoping that the good people of Severance, Colorado, choose to use their votes to give Humphrey a severance package when the 2018 elections come around, because it doesn’t seem like he has any intention of governing like a sane person, especially when he and his colleagues in Colorado seem content to spend their energy attacking Senator John McCain for not killing the Affordable Care Act.

Humphrey won re-election in 2018 with 67% of the vote, but is term limited in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2020. We’re expecting him to take a run for the Colorado State Senate or another higher office, and meanwhile he’s feuding with his fellow Republicans if they flinch from even the most conservative positions, like when he posted a flier of women being assaulted on the streets and claimed a GOP colleague, Cole Wist was fine with it happening because his stance on firearms was not completely to the right. That may have helped lead to Wist’s loss in 2018. We’ll keep you posted on what other insanity Humphery is capable of as that election approaches.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

‘I Believe Putin:’ Andrew McCabe Claims Trump Listened To Russia More Than U.S. Intelligence

The former acting FBI Director also said the Justice Department discussed removing Trump from office via the 25th Amendment. Man! That's some heavy stuff from McCabe! Meanwhile....

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Adam Schiff Says Trump-Russia Collusion ‘Evidence In Plain Sight’

The House intelligence committee chairman lambasted the claims of his GOP counterparts that there was nothing to suggest collusion. Well of course, Republicans have to protect Trump at all costs or they fall out of power literally overnight.

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Miami Herald Lists Nearly 1200 Kids Killed By Gun Violence Since Parkland Shooting

Many Twitter users were quick to comment that the government’s inaction on gun control was “the real national emergency.” But hey, let's get all scared over imaginary caravans of brown skinned killers and rapists headed for the border.

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White House Indicates Trump To Veto Disapproval Of Emergency

White House officials say that Trump is prepared to veto any Congressional disapproval of his national emergency over the southern border. No surprise there, can't have some pesky Congressmen getting in the way of Trump's ultimate vanity project.

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Chris Wallace Sternly Fact Checks Stephen Miller: ‘How Is This A National Emergency?’

The Fox News Sunday host asked the White House senior policy adviser: “How is this a national emergency?” Kid Jackboot's fingerprints are all over Trump's fixation with that damn wall.

[Tami]

Jeezus, it’s terrifying how much real life has gotten to parody.

It's get's better (or worse depending on perspective)

Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump impersonation fools Dominican newspaper

Alec Baldwin does a pretty convincing Donald Trump impersonation – just ask a newspaper in the Dominican Republic.

El Nacional published an apology on Saturday after mistakenly running a photo of the actor doing his impression of the US president on Saturday Night Live instead of Trump himself.

Accompanying an article in its Friday edition headlined in Spanish, “Trump says settlements in Israel don’t favour peace”, a photo of a scowling Baldwin in a blond wig appears next to a photo of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

[Michael Watkins]

meme aside, what makes Chuck Norris' someone to listen to?

[jetengine]

meme aside, what makes Chuck Norris' someone to listen to?

I mean he sells total gyms....

[Malvolio]

meme aside, what makes Chuck Norris' someone to listen to?

Interesting how all the usual conservative suspects who rant about how liberal celebrities should shut up about politics never seem to have a problem whenever someone like Chuck Norris opens his pie-hole.

[Robotman]

Interesting how all the usual conservative suspects who rant about how liberal celebrities should shut up about politics never seem to have a problem whenever someone like Chuck Norris opens his pie-hole.

Or when celebrities like Reagan, Schwarzenegger, and Trump run for public office.

[jetengine]

Or when celebrities like Reagan, Schwarzenegger, and Trump run for public office.

Tbf Arnie was reasonably ok iirc.

[Dalak]

Liberals who have a problem with conservative celebrities never seem to complain about what a liberal celebrity like Jane Fonda has said or done.

Personally I don't care what a particular famous person espouses from their platform, as long as they aren't going to whine if it turns out badly for their career/status. You chose to say and/or do the thing you did, so own it and deal with whatever aftermath.

[Gray Lensman]

Liberals who have a problem with conservative celebrities never seem to complain about what a liberal celebrity like Jane Fonda has said or done.

That's what you are posting, but it isn't true. I've met several lifelong Dems who think Fonda should be tried and then executed for Treason.

But to the point you are trying to rebut, it's mostly one side that says celebs should **** up and not talk politics, except when those celebs happen to be on their side. The other one tends to criticize what gets said rather than who says it.

[norj]

The official anthem of 2019.

[Gray Lensman]

Tbf Arnie was reasonably ok iirc.

Arnie had been politically active for a while, starting with being a spokesman for a fitness initiative IIRC. Plus he had married into a political family (Maria Shriver was a Kennedy as well as a newscaster) and owns quite a bit of real estate and some businesses. Arnold has been very smart with his money.

Basically he didn't just jump from acting to high office, but had been involved with politics on at least some level for years. Reagan as well, but I have more of a problem with what he had done.

[norj]

It looks like Trump has a primary challenger, any thoughts?

[Mister Mets]

No we just live in a hyper connected world where we hear about all the fucked up **** everywhere instead of just in our own neighborhood. There’s more good than bad. They just don’t report on every plane that lands safety

Pretty much. By a lot of metrics, there has been significant improvement.