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

[Tazirai]

N.C. election workers admit counting ballots before polls closed
Elections officials also said the election was marred by falsified signatures, blank ballots that consultants could complete and disappearing documents.

The state elections board on Tuesday heard from Bladen County poll workers who admitted tallying results on the Saturday before Election Day when early, in-person voting ended. That’s contrary to proper practice.

The poll workers, Agnes Willis and Coy Mitchell Edwards, said that while they and others could see who had the early lead in Bladen County sheriff’s race, they didn’t tell anyone.

That testimony contradicted the account of another poll worker, Michele Maultsby, who said earlier Tuesday that she never saw anyone view the tape listing the voting results that Saturday. Agnes Willis must have made an honest mistake when she said people saw the early voting totals, Maultsby said.

When Edwards was asked by board executive director Kim Strach if he knew that tallying results early was not allowed, he answered, "I haven't been told that until you just" said it.

House could have final say on new elections in N.C. election fraud case
Local elections board could deadlock after monthslong investigation, leaving House with final authority



How Republicans cheat

In response to Democrats winning state-level races, GOP state legislative majorities are rushing to strip those seats of their powers. In other states where Democrats won a sizable majority of votes, Republican gerrymandering preserved lopsided conservative majorities. And in North Carolina's 9th District, it increasingly seems like a Republican operative straight-up rigged the election.

Let's take these in turn. In Michigan and Wisconsin, Democrats won all six big statewide races — for governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. But as Joel Mathis points out, Republicans are attempting to drastically scale back the powers of those offices in the lame-duck session. Wisconsin Republicans are pushing through a slate of bills to stop the new governor from withdrawing from an anti-ObamaCare lawsuit, limit early voting, move the 2020 presidential primary to help a conservative judge, and erode the governor's administrative authority in several areas.

[Tazirai]

Supreme Court will decide census citizenship question
Decision could affect congressional delegations and appropriations

The high court’s decision ultimately could affect congressional delegations and appropriations. The census is used to determine the total population of the United States, regardless of immigration status, to fairly distribute federal funds to states and localities, and to reapportion congressional seats and districts, among other things.

A federal judge in New York this month stopped Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from adding the question to the census, ruling that the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The Supreme Court action Friday means the dispute leapfrogs over the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.

[numberthirty]

Honestly I want Beto to get the nod. Trump attacked him for a reason a week ago because he senses Beto is young , can draw a fucking crowd and people just love his speeches. Right now O'Rourke is touring the mid-west it seems on a tour to possibly get his name out and showcase himself. He could be the young star the party needs to counter Trump.

Using that metric, Democratic primary voters seriously dropped the ball not nominating this Sanders fellow last time out.

[Malvolio]

People pushing 80 get like that.

My grandma used to wake me at 6 to tell me stuff like "remember to bring the power drill when you come next weekend, you wanted to fix my shelves."

How old was Benjamin Franklin when he first said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise?"

Seriously, though, my parents are in their 70s and do seem to be getting up and going to bed earlier and earlier all the time.

[Tazirai]

Amy Klobuchar doesn’t think America is ready for Medicare-for-all and free college yet
The Green New Deal is among the policy proposals she’s deemed an “aspiration.”

“I think it is something that we can look to for the future, but I want to get action now,” she said when asked about Medicare-for-all. As she explained, she sees Medicare-for-all as a “possibility” down the line and thinks pursuing a “public option” could be a more immediate alternative. Klobuchar cited her support for a bill from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) that would enable states to give all residents the ability to buy into Medicaid.

Unlike Medicare-for-all, which would guarantee government-run insurance coverage for all Americans, a public option would mean that the government — state governments, under the Schatz bill — offers its own alternative to private insurance.

“I am not for free four-year college for all, no,” Klobuchar said. “If I was a magic genie and could give that to everyone and we could afford it, I would.” Instead, she pitched an expansion of Pell grants, free two-year community college, and streamlined refinancing programs.

“I think they are aspirations. I think we can get close. I don’t think we are going to get rid of entire industries in the US,” she said, when asked about the goals of the Green New Deal. “This is put out there, as an aspiration, in that it’s something that we need to move toward. Do I think we could cross every ‘t’ and dot every ‘i’ in 10 years? Actually, I think that would be very difficult to do.”

Klobuchar opts for pragmatic approach in town hall

Sen. Amy Klobuchar placed herself firmly in the center lane of the Democratic primary on Monday, calling popular progressive policy platforms “aspirational,” and declining to fully commit to them.

The Minnesota Democrat called the Green New Deal “aspirational” and said that Medicare-for-all is “something we can look to in the future,” during a CNN town hall hosted in Manchester, N.H., on Monday night. On free four-year college, Klobuchar said: “No, I am not for four-year college for all.”

[Tazirai]

Former Trump Administration Official To Lead 2020 Coverage For CNN
Sarah Isgur Flores previously served as the leading spokeswoman at the Justice Department under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sarah Isgur Flores, who worked as the primary spokeswoman at the Justice Department under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is expected to join CNN as a political editor next month.

Her jump from the Trump administration to CNN is notable, given the president’s antagonism toward the network. Trump has repeatedly referred to CNN as “fake news” and frequently spars with Jim Acosta, the network’s chief political correspondent.

[numberthirty]

So this doesn't get lost in the shuffle...

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articl...r-faiz-sh.html

Bernie Sanders Picks up Progressive Superstar Faiz Shakir for Campaign Head

And, at only 39 years old, he will be the first Muslim-American manager of a major presidential campaign.

[numberthirty]

Another one that's worth the mention...

https://www.apnews.com/008636d69c8447059dc27a81f416d2d3

The Latest: Sanders’ 2020 campaign raises $4M in half a day

Bernie Sanders’ campaign says he has raised more than $4 million in the 12 hours since announcing his 2020 presidential campaign.

The Vermont senator said Tuesday that nearly 150,000 individuals had contributed to his Democratic bid.

Previously, the biggest first-day fundraiser in the race had been California Sen. Kamala Harris, who raised $1.5 million in the first 24 hours of her campaign.

[Tendrin]

The Trump administration sought to rush the transfer of American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of the law, a new report from the House Oversight and Reform Committee alleges.
Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings' staff issued an "interim staff" report Tuesday, citing "multiple whistleblowers" who raised ethical and legal concerns about the process.
"They have warned about political appointees ignoring directives from top ethics advisers at the White House who repeatedly and unsuccessfully ordered senior Trump administration officials to halt their efforts," the report states. "They have also warned of conflicts of interest among top White House advisers that could implicate federal criminal statutes."

/Yiiiiikes/.

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/69595...ntent=20190219

[BeastieRunner]

/Yiiiiikes/.

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/69595...ntent=20190219

I tried bring that up earlier but people were too busy arguing about Bernie .

Giving Saudi nukes sounds like a great idea ...

[JCAll]

I tried bring that up earlier but people were too busy arguing about Bernie .

Giving Saudi nukes sounds like a great idea ...

I wonder if this feeds in to John Bolton's dream of invading Iran.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Using that metric, Democratic primary voters seriously dropped the ball not nominating this Sanders fellow last time out.

That Sanders fellow ran a **** campaign in the South of the United States. When someone is interviewed before voting and they go..."Who is Bernie Sanders ?" before a primary then yeah...your candidate ran a **** campaign there. He is taking another shot at it. But he has to work the south vote to win primaries as we saw. He failed at that last time.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

So on Daily Show ; Trevor Noah dedicated a segment where Fox News targeted the Democratic field of some candidates and well....the scandals were so insane silly. Kamela Harris smoked weed in college and joked about listening to 2pac and Snoop Dog. Fox dedicated a segment to revealing those albums came out later. But folks the best was Corey Booker.


Booker is a vegan and eats that way as he claims its healthy. He would become the 1st Vegan president if elected. He also said he can't eat eggs because of his spirit (which as Noah joked means its digestion issues). Anyhow what happened next in the segment showed a crazy as **** network who had various talking heads detail how Booker was gonna take away the right to eat meat and impose his vegan beliefs. AND THEY WERE SERIOUS.

Hannity and various others ranted on Booker because he doesn't eat meat and will take away the peoples right to eat meat. WOW...

[jetengine]

Remember these are the same people that freaked out over a man using Djonn mustard on his Hot Dogs.

[Tendrin]

Remember these are the same people that freaked out over a man using Djonn mustard on his Hot Dogs.

And someone once wore a tan suit.