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

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, as well as 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of Arizona State Senator Steve Yarbrough, a member of the Arizona House of Representatives who was one of the co-sponsors of Arizona’s draconian anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, sued former Governor Jan Brewer for approving the Medicaid Expansion in Arizona, and voted for Arizona’s version of the Birther Bill, as well as trying to nullify that United Nations’ Agenda 21 environmental conspiracy, presumably because he thinks it somehow is a plot for global domination. Yarbrough is also yet another Republican we’ve profiled who supports drug testing welfare recipients, in spite of how failed of a policy that’s been whenever it’s been implemented around the country. Yarbrough has also voted to attempt to nullify federal firearms laws, and voted to pass legislation that would force Arizona businesses to also accept gold and silver as legal tender. On social issues, Yarbrough is also an extremist, though, having once tried to pass what amounted to a “Personhood Plus!” bill that said life started at ovulation, and was the sponsor of Arizona’s own attempt at passing a “religious freedom” bill to stop same sex couples from getting married once the Supreme Court started working towards overturning bans on it. Steve Yarbrough was term-limited in 2018, and was so was desperate to find a way to hang onto his office, he actually submitted legislation in his last term to try and re-write the law on term limits for Arizona State Senators to be four-year terms, so that he would get eight more years before he would actually be term-limited in the way the law is written. It fortunately failed and he’s now out of office, so we will retire his profile, and go ahead and take a look at a different wacky Republican on this date instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 731-30, since this was established in July 2014.)


Alice Novoa
Welcome to the 731st original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today we’ll be discussing Alice Novoa, a former write-in candidate for Governor of Arizona in 2014, who was trying a tad bit harder to get on the ballot to be Arizona Secretary of State in 2018, and failed miserably in both attempts to be elected to office. Novoa first came onto the scene in Arizona politics, however, back in 2010, and by that we mean she showed up at a rally in support of the mostly unconstitutional anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, where she appeared alongside Neo-Nazis, militia groups, conspiracy theorists, nativists, and other lunatics. She qualifies for at least two of those categories of attendees. Novoa was more than happy to be interviewed by the Phoenix New Times at that event, where she introduced herself as a candidate for Justice of the Peace in Douglas, Arizona before warning the paper of a conspiracy that includes pro-Aztlan forces, the Catholic Church and radical Muslims intends to take back the Southwest and get rid of all white people. This massive conspiracy went all the way to Pope Benedict, and her source of information was “the Internet”. (Because we all know if there’s one thing that’s been proven through the years, is how often and effective team-ups between the Pope and Muslims can be, right?) In 2015, Novoa was quoted at an anti-immigration protest about her beliefs that Mexico has plans to invade the United States to execute all the Christians (???).

Not long after Alice Novoa’s latest failed attempt to be elected to office in 2018, she emerged in headlines with a new Birther conspiracy, as the day before the 2018 general election, she filed a lawsuit against Democratic Arizona state legislator Racquel Teran, claiming that she isn’t actually an American citizen. This would be the second time, however, that Novoa has attempted to disqualify Teran from office, pulling the same insane and racist trick back in 2012. You would think that after Teran presented her birth certificate six years ago and that lawsuit was dismissed immediately, that would have been the end of it, but Alice Novoa is a special kind of nutter. Anyway, we’re not sure how many times Novoa decides to keep running for some kind of elected office in spite of being patently insane, but in Arizona… well, these right-wing kooks seem to have a knack for failing up.

[Kirby101]

As we head for a possible second shutdown over Trump's Wall. How much of a priority is resolving the issue of border security. Border security has always been funded, and there wasn't much difference between the Parties before Trump. (nothing that couldn't be resolved in conference).

So on the list of challenges that we face, how important is this? Trump has made it the #1 issue. Is it? is it in the top ten?

[C_Miller]

Yesterday Donald Trump Jr at a rally called all teachers losers and encouraged students to "fight back" with their promotion of socialism. Now, while I will comfortably admit that most teacher lean to the left, I have never seen socialism preached in schools. Taught yes, endorsed, no. Taught the understanding that the United States is a mixed economy with elements of socialism and capitalism operating side by side? Absolutely.

I work in a school and am training to be a teacher and one of the things I'm learning while observing is how hard the teachers work to not teach to their biases at least when it comes to modern day politics. Donald Trump Jr. has a very skewed idea of what happens in a classroom, but that's not surprising. Frankly, I fully support the Estate Tax and I can lay out hundreds of reasons, but Donald Trump Jr himself proves my points way more than I ever could.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

As we head for a possible second shutdown over Trump's Wall. How much of a priority is resolving the issue of border security. Border security has always been funded, and there wasn't much difference between the Parties before Trump. (nothing that couldn't be resolved in conference).

So on the list of challenges that we face, how important is this? Trump has made it the #1 issue. Is it? is it in the top ten?

No, it's not, not in my book anyway. Here's what I consider more important issues than border security (in no particular order):

--broken infrastructure
--rampant gun violence
--the healthcare crisis
--sabotage of civil rights
--erosion of the middle class
--diminished education system
--climate change
--inner city decay
--escalating racism
--widening gulf between rich and poor

And that's just off the top of my head. I'm sure others can come up with more pressing priorities. I've said this before, and it bears repeating: Trump, with the House and Senate under Republican control had TWO YEARS to obtain the funding he needed for his wall, but didn't do jack **** until Democrats reclaimed the House three months ago. Only then did it become a priority, leading to his incessant fearmongering to his rabble of brain dead supporters about hordes of marauding, bloodthirsty Hispanics storming the gates, followed by HIS shutdown of the government after having been goaded into it by right wing fuckwads like Coulter and Limbaugh and the toxic talking heads on Faux News. Border security, which I maintain Trump doesn't give a rat's ass about is only a priority because of the empty promise he made to his lemmings about the wall so they don't abandon him before the next election. That's all he cares about.

[PwrdOn]

Yesterday Donald Trump Jr at a rally called all teachers losers and encouraged students to "fight back" with their promotion of socialism. Now, while I will comfortably admit that most teacher lean to the left, I have never seen socialism preached in schools. Taught yes, endorsed, no. Taught the understanding that the United States is a mixed economy with elements of socialism and capitalism operating side by side? Absolutely.

I work in a school and am training to be a teacher and one of the things I'm learning while observing is how hard the teachers work to not teach to their biases at least when it comes to modern day politics. Donald Trump Jr. has a very skewed idea of what happens in a classroom, but that's not surprising. Frankly, I fully support the Estate Tax and I can lay out hundreds of reasons, but Donald Trump Jr himself proves my points way more than I ever could.

Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but the only teacher I ever remember getting overtly political in class was this Republican social studies teacher I had in 6th grade who would always go on context-free rants about welfare queens and how Joe Biden's plagiarism made him unfit for public office. Conservatives seem to be interpreting the simple act of teaching kids basic human decency and respect for others as indoctrination, though somehow their constant pushing of fundamentalist Christian rhetoric and sickeningly nationalistic hogwash in school districts that they control is somehow fair game.

[InformationGeek]

Ah-huh, big talk from a guy who is already wealthy and doesn't need a pension.

This morning I co-sponsored a bill to end congressional pensions with @SenatorBraun.

Americans shouldn't have to foot the bill for generous salaries and pensions for members of Congress, and I’m proud to be working on common sense solutions to make DC work for all families.

[TheDarman]

The FBI had conducted an earlier background check. A week was enough time to go through the existing claims.

If candidates have a history of being sexual predators, what tends to happen is that the first claim is followed by more within a week as the victims realize they wouldn't be alone. This happened with Franken, Moore and Fairfax.

So it wouldn't be the FBI's job to look for new allegations. If Kavanaugh really had a pattern, other stuff would have come out. The Ramirez story is instructive here, since something thinly supported (a claim by a woman who says something happened in the 1980s when she was heavily intoxicated, who told friends she wasn't sure it was Kavanaugh, and who didn't actually see him do the deed) was still found and publicized.

The individual who sexually assaulted and raped a friend of mine hasn't done it in a serial nature. Again, it seems that Kavanaugh's main issue was that he was a drunkard and that he committed sexual assault while intoxicated. THAT wasn't out of character--as verified by virtually everyone, including his old friends. Again, that doesn't seem out of character for him to be violent when he becomes drunk and sexual assault is an act of violence. It doesn't make him a serial sexual assaulter--but one is bad enough.

Again, a bigger issue with the process is that Republicans rewarded him for being a petulant and entitled child in front of a committee, yelling at half of them for being skeptical that he deserved the spot, and engaging in partisan rhetoric. It doesn't matter that it could be perceived as a natural human reaction--you don't act that way when seeking a higher position and you don't engage in that rhetoric, no matter what if you are a judge. Yet, we shattered that norm again. Because, it has become increasingly clear, that Republicans would rather shatter norms rather than just seek a replacement judge who would've been equally as conservative and without those flaws in character.

[jetengine]

Republicans would rather shatter norms rather than just seek a replacement judge who would've been equally as conservative and without those flaws in character.

For the simple reason that Kavanaugh might back up Trump if it comes to impeachment.

[InformationGeek]

Also, nuts to you too lady.

Hey ⁦@CoryBooker⁩ I support PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals. ⁦@BeefUSA⁩ #WyomingBeefCountry

[Iron Maiden]

As we head for a possible second shutdown over Trump's Wall. How much of a priority is resolving the issue of border security. Border security has always been funded, and there wasn't much difference between the Parties before Trump. (nothing that couldn't be resolved in conference).

So on the list of challenges that we face, how important is this? Trump has made it the #1 issue. Is it? is it in the top ten?

When Dan Coats (National Intelligence), Christopher Wray (FBI) and Gina Haspiel (CIA) presented their report to Congress at the end of January, they listed Russia, China and North Korea as the major threats


Instead of Trump's imaginary caravans and confusing movies on cable TV with actual events at the border, what we really are vulnerable to cyber attacks like

Russia has developed the capability to shut down U.S. infrastructure, including power and energy companies, as it did in Ukraine in 2015.

China has the ability to launch cyber attacks that cause localized, temporary disruptive effects on critical infrastructure — such as disruption of a natural gas pipeline — for days to weeks in the United States

China is "improving" cyberattack capabilities and its ability to create influence campaigns, including "altering information online, shaping Chinese views and potentially the views of U.S. citizens."

North Korea is presently attacking banks and other financial firms in order to steal funds for government operations, in the face of global sanctions that have severely limited its import/export capabilities.

And that's just on the cybersecurity issues. Trump hasn't accomplished jack squat to stop North Korea from continuing with their development of nuclear weapons.

[TheDarman]

For the simple reason that Kavanaugh might back up Trump if it comes to impeachment.

I understood the unitary executive philosophy that Kavanaugh took to an extreme in prior legal opinions. But I don't see how that is too terribly different than Scalia (when it was a Republican at least), who is pretty much the "gold standard" for what is expected out of the Federalist Society anyway. It still stuns me that there weren't other justices the administration could've counted on for that vote.

[jetengine]

Also, nuts to you too lady.

Nah everyones an ******* there. Peta, Cheney and Beef factories.

[Michael Watkins]

more 'centrist' backstabbing

[Kusanagi]

Also, nuts to you too lady.

Bad joke but PETA's been a garbage/hypocritical organization for years.

[Mister Mets]

So the 20 years she spent in Arkansas are what define her character, whereas the 42 years spent elsewhere (including her childood in Illinois) have no bearing what so ever.
Your bias is showing...

It's also kinda bigoted for him to suggest that all Arkansans are racist.

Esquire's Profile Of White American Boy During Black History Month Stirs Controversy



Well, at least this kid has a better chance of being able to grow up, unlike kids of color his age who might never get to become adults. But hey, if this controversy helps Esquire sell more magazines, more power to them.

The backlash to the article seems to suggest its necessity.

My gut says that Beto would be more successful as a running mate/Vice President.

He'd be a good fit for any candidate who isn't a white guy or Julian Castro (although even this is based on a potential scenario in which Texas makes up the deciding electoral votes in a contested election, which probably won't happen one way or another; a Democratic ticket could win without Texas and if they win Texas, they almost certainly have at least 270 other electoral votes.) He's a team player who should be knowledgeable about matters of policy and won't overshadow the accomplishments of the top of the ticket.

As we head for a possible second shutdown over Trump's Wall. How much of a priority is resolving the issue of border security. Border security has always been funded, and there wasn't much difference between the Parties before Trump. (nothing that couldn't be resolved in conference).

So on the list of challenges that we face, how important is this? Trump has made it the #1 issue. Is it? is it in the top ten?

It probably is a top ten issue, since it affects the long-term prospects of the country in numerous ways (IE- the ability of the nation to decide who is granted citizenship and how many.) It is perfectly fine to believe that border security is adequate, but it is an important issue.

Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but the only teacher I ever remember getting overtly political in class was this Republican social studies teacher I had in 6th grade who would always go on context-free rants about welfare queens and how Joe Biden's plagiarism made him unfit for public office. Conservatives seem to be interpreting the simple act of teaching kids basic human decency and respect for others as indoctrination, though somehow their constant pushing of fundamentalist Christian rhetoric and sickeningly nationalistic hogwash in school districts that they control is somehow fair game.

I grew up in New York City, and the outspoken teachers I had tended to be very liberal. This was more in High School than middle school or elementary school, where I can't say I remember a teacher expressing political views one way or another.

The individual who sexually assaulted and raped a friend of mine hasn't done it in a serial nature. Again, it seems that Kavanaugh's main issue was that he was a drunkard and that he committed sexual assault while intoxicated. THAT wasn't out of character--as verified by virtually everyone, including his old friends. Again, that doesn't seem out of character for him to be violent when he becomes drunk and sexual assault is an act of violence. It doesn't make him a serial sexual assaulter--but one is bad enough.

Again, a bigger issue with the process is that Republicans rewarded him for being a petulant and entitled child in front of a committee, yelling at half of them for being skeptical that he deserved the spot, and engaging in partisan rhetoric. It doesn't matter that it could be perceived as a natural human reaction--you don't act that way when seeking a higher position and you don't engage in that rhetoric, no matter what if you are a judge. Yet, we shattered that norm again. Because, it has become increasingly clear, that Republicans would rather shatter norms rather than just seek a replacement judge who would've been equally as conservative and without those flaws in character.

The shattered norms with the behavior of the committee was in response to members of the committee and their staff going against established norms (holding on to evidence until the last moment, leaking the name of the accuser against her wishes, referring to spurious allegations as evidence against him.)

I understood the unitary executive philosophy that Kavanaugh took to an extreme in prior legal opinions. But I don't see how that is too terribly different than Scalia (when it was a Republican at least), who is pretty much the "gold standard" for what is expected out of the Federalist Society anyway. It still stuns me that there weren't other justices the administration could've counted on for that vote.

It's more about the precedent of allowing an uncorroborated allegation to end a judicial nomination, which would also push the President into picking someone less impressive, and extend the process in a way that advantages the opposition.