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

[Tami]

Texas county GOP set to vote on whether to remove vice-chairman because he’s Muslim

Shahid Shafi identifies as a Republican because of his firm belief in small government, lower taxes and secure borders. But his commitment to core GOP values hasn’t shielded him from ire within his own party.

A group of Tarrant County Republicans will vote Thursday evening on whether to remove Shafi as vice-chairman of the county party after a small faction of members put forth a formal motion to oust him because he’s Muslim.

Dorrie O’Brien, one of the precinct chairs leading the charge to recall Shafi, did not respond to The Tribune’s request for comment. She’s previously said, however, that her support for ousting Shafi stems not from his religion, but whether he supports Islam or is connected “to Islamic terror groups,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In a series of lengthy Facebook posts, O’Brien wrote that she “never doubted” her side has “the votes to rescind Shahid Shafi’s ratification as vice chair.”

“We don’t think he’s suitable as a practicing Muslim to be vice chair because he’d be the representative for ALL Republicans in Tarrant County, and not ALL Republicans in Tarrant County think Islam is safe or acceptable in the U.S., in Tarrant County, and in the TCGOP,” O’Brien wrote on Facebook, adding that “there are big questions surrounding exactly where Dr. Shafi’s loyalties lie, vis a vis Democrat and Republican policies.”

[Tami]

Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Trumpian Theology

Like many Christians, I read Jerry Falwell, Jr’s New Year’s Day interview with the Washington Post with both my mouth open and my heart racing. “He can’t be saying what I’m reading!” I thought. As I kept working through the interview, I realized that Falwell, the president of Liberty University—the second largest Christian university in the world with over 100,000 students—meant exactly what he was saying. Falwell wasn’t just dabbling in politics on a personal level. He was making a full-throated theological case for why the church in America should get behind President Trump.

Specifically, Falwell said that he can’t imagine President Trump doing anything that is not good for this country, that it might be immoral for Christians not to support him, that the poor never gave anyone a job or produce charity of any real volume, and that it is a mistake to impute the personal teachings of Jesus toward toward a nation-state.

As eyebrow raising as all of that was, what grabbed my attention most was Falwell’s assertion that

There’s two kingdoms. There’s the earthly kingdom and the heavenly kingdom. In the heavenly kingdom the responsibility is to treat others as you’d like to be treated. In the earthly kingdom, the responsibility is to choose leaders who will do what’s best for your country.

Falwell seems to think that the roles of the church and the state should be totally separate and that the only role of the Christian is to help choose leaders who will “do what’s best for your country.”

But, who decides what’s best for our country? Falwell says that he can’t imagine Trump doing anything that isn’t good for America and that it might be immoral for us not to support him. But on what basis can anyone make such a judgment? If what’s best for America is whatever Trump does because Falwell trusts his intentions, then this makes Trump himself the arbiter of good and evil, more god-king than fellow man.

I’m not sure that Falwell has thought this through thoroughly, but the rest of us ought to. Trump is not the standard of right and wrong. He, is like all of us, subject to a Higher Standard. The role of the church is to speak to that Higher Truth as revealed in Scripture and in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And we are to speak it to Donald Trump as well as every ruler and authority figure on the planet.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Trumpian Theology

Like the bulk of bible thumpers, Falwell got in bed with Trump after he promised to kill Roe v. Wade if elected. That's why he's been slurping the Orange Menace like there's no tomorrow and, like Trump's brain dead lemmings, believes Dolt45 can do no wrong. There's no reasoning, no compromise with holy rollers who've made striking down abortion their crusade and are fervently convinced god is on their side, and that makes them dangerous.

[kidfresh512]

Like the bulk of bible thumpers, Falwell got in bed with Trump after he promised to kill Roe v. Wade if elected. That's why he's been slurping the Orange Menace like there's no tomorrow and, like Trump's brain dead lemmings, believes Dolt45 can do no wrong. There's no reasoning, no compromise with holy rollers who've made striking down abortion their crusade and are fervently convinced god is on their side, and that makes them dangerous.

There is nothing that motivates them more than abortion and stopping the gays.

Evangelical group wants gays removed from anti-lynching bill

The U.S. Senate last month unanimously passed a bill that would explicitly make lynching a federal crime. Not everyone, however, is pleased with passage of the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act.

Liberty Counsel, an evangelical nonprofit that opposes gay rights, and its chairman, Mat Staver, are taking issue with the bill’s inclusion of LGBTQ people.

Ignore all the other commandments in the bible. Proclaim a soulless, narcissistic liar the saviour of the nation and excuse everything he does. But those damn gays better not be mentioned in anti lynching bills!

[Tami]

Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through

President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall, which he described as "absolutely critical to border security" in his Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday. But Department of Homeland Security testing of a steel slat prototype proved it could be cut through with a saw, according to a report by DHS.

A photo exclusively obtained by NBC News shows the results of the test after military and Border Patrol experts were instructed to attempt to destroy the barriers with common tools.

The Trump administration directed the construction of eight steel and concrete prototype walls that were built in Otay Mesa, California, just across the border from Tijuana, Mexico. Trump inspected the prototypes in March 2018. He has now settled on a steel slat, or steel bollard, design for the proposed border barrier additions. Steel bollard fencing has been used under previous administrations.

However, testing by DHS in late 2017 showed all eight prototypes, including the steel slats, were vulnerable to breaching, according to an internal February 2018 U.S. Customs and Border Protection report.

[Tami]

The GOP, the party of inclusion, yo.

====================

Senate Republicans Won’t Fund The Government If It Means Defying Trump

They’re just not feeling that whole “coequal branch of government” thing. Three words about Republicans: GUTLESS. FUCKING. COWARDS.

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FDA Postponing Some Food Inspections As Shutdown Drags On, Commissioner Says

The partial shutdown is on track to be the longest since the 1970s if the government doesn’t reopen by Saturday. if someone dies as a result of food poisoning because there weren't any FDA inspections, THAT will be on Trump's head.

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Trump Threw ‘Temper Tantrum’ After Dems Refused Border Wall, Chuck Schumer Says



THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is the President of the United States, an overgrown, spoiled brat pitching an unholy fit that's threatening nearly a million people because he refuses to compromise.

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Evangelical Pastor Defends Trump’s Border Plan: ‘Heaven Itself Is Gonna Have A Wall’

Robert Jeffress cited the Bible on “Fox & Friends” to support the president’s plans for a border wall — but not all Christians agree. Well, of course bible thumpers like this shitstain supports the wall.

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Donald Trump’s Old Advice About How To Defeat A Wall Comes Back To Haunt Him

[JCAll]

Trump keeps saying 5 Billion but I suspect it'll cost 10 times that before it's finished and 100 times for repairs before the Democrats tear it down.
On top of everything else, this wall would be an endless money pit.

[kidfresh512]

Trump keeps saying 5 Billion but I suspect it'll cost 10 times that before it's finished and 100 times for repairs before the Democrats tear it down.
On top of everything else, this wall would be an endless money pit.

I don't think this aspect is getting nearly enough coverage in this mess. You see people saying this is a "pittance" just give it to him.

One of the main arguments should be this is the BEGINNING of the money pit. Who the hell would trust this administration with a blank check. You give in here where does it stop?

They also have no REAL plan? Where do you want this wall. Exactly how far is it covering, how many peoples land are you claiming imminent domain over? How much will the legal battles cost taking peoples land? We know they don't care about science or the environment but have they done actual studies of what they want will effect the environment and wildlife?

They literally change what this thing is 3 times every interview and speech. They had prototypes built which were steel and concrete. Now its steel slats in the last 3 weeks after 2 years of concrete.

One of the segments last night was about how the money ask has changed over his campaign till now clips of him asking from 4- 20 billion. All this indecision, and vague bs, and you want billions for it? Recipe for a money pit, over budget disaster

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through

Now imagine bad guys equipped with acetylene torches which could do the job of cutting through those slats a lot quicker.

Trump keeps saying 5 Billion but I suspect it'll cost 10 times that before it's finished and 100 times for repairs before the Democrats tear it down.
On top of everything else, this wall would be an endless money pit.

Factor in lawsuits from Texans who'll face having their land taken from them through eminent domain, not to mention bidding wars on who does the actual work (what are the chances companies associated with Trump will place bids?), and it could be years before work even starts on construction. What happens with border security in the meantime? Trump's wall is part campaign promise to his base, part vanity project to sate his bloated ego, and the American taxpayer could end up footing the bill for his ultimate boondoggle.

[Gray Lensman]

Now imagine bad guys equipped with acetylene torches which could do the job of cutting through those slats a lot quicker.



Factor in lawsuits from Texans who'll face having their land taken from them through eminent domain, not to mention bidding wars on who does the actual work (what are the chances companies associated with Trump will place bids?), and it could be years before work even starts on construction. What happens with border security in the meantime? Trump's wall is part campaign promise to his base, part vanity project to sate his bloated ego, and the American taxpayer could end up footing the bill for his ultimate boondoggle.

Sadly, Trump will likely use the same legal provisions Bush did for the fence, enabling the govt to start building even before the court cases start.

[Tami]

Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics

Years before President Trump forced a government shutdown over a border wall, triggering a momentous test of wills in Washington, Representative Steve King of Iowa took to the House floor to show off a model of a 12-foot border wall he had designed.

And long before Mr. Trump demonized immigrants — accusing Mexico of exporting criminals and calling for an end to birthright citizenship — Mr. King turned those views into talking points, with his use of misleading data about victims of undocumented immigrants and demeaning remarks about Latinos.

Immigration is Mr. Trump’s go-to issue, his surest connection to his most faithful supporters, and his prime-time address on Tuesday night underscored his willingness to use fear and misleading statements to appeal to voters — just as he did with warnings about a migrant caravan before the midterm elections.

The Republican Party hadn’t always intended to go this route: Officials tried for years to come up with broad-based immigration reform that would appeal to growing numbers of Latino voters. But Mr. Trump’s preoccupation with the wall and anti-immigrant politics reflects how he has embraced the once-fringe views of Mr. King, who has used racist language in the past, promotes neo-Nazis on Twitter and was recently denounced by one Republican leader as a white supremacist.

[InformationGeek]

Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics

From that article...



Such an awful person in every single way.

[Ragged Maw]

Texas county GOP set to vote on whether to remove vice-chairman because he’s Muslim

Any damning evidence they have to go on?

[Tami]

Trump Thinks He’s His Own Best Messenger. Where Does That Leave Bill Shine?

WASHINGTON — At the beginning of the government shutdown, Bill Shine was about as far away from the capital as President Trump’s most senior communications official could get. While the president was complaining about sitting alone in the White House trying to force Democrats to accept a wall on the Mexican border, Mr. Shine was on a Hawaiian vacation.

As the shutdown presented Mr. Trump with an ever-expanding political challenge, Mr. Shine, who joined the White House staff with the expectation that he would deliver on his promise to satisfy Mr. Trump’s hunger for positive news coverage, stayed on vacation, keeping in contact with colleagues by phone.

Eventually, Mr. Shine came home early to help manage the administration’s response. But any expectation that he would be by the president’s side crafting a cohesive message would be a miscalculation of the role he has actually come to play as Mr. Trump’s latest communications director, according to interviews with over a dozen former and current administration officials.

An alumnus of Fox News, where he was known as a protector of the network’s chairman, Roger E. Ailes, Mr. Shine has confined his White House role mainly to stagecraft, people who have worked with him say, and Mr. Trump, who chafes against being managed, has openly expressed skepticism about what he has done.

[Gray Lensman]

Something interesting from Five Thirty Eight.

5 key constituencies of the 2020 Democratic primary