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

[Kirby101]

That's the one hitch.

The wall being stupid has nothing to do with that The United States Of America has absolutely blown way more money than that and wound up with nothing to show for it.

Point taken.

[Lammasu]

Has Giuliani always been like this and I just never noticed? I mean he was Time Man of the Year for keeping his crap together during 9/11. Or is the Trump administration a bigger disaster than September 11th?

[Mister Mets]

Has Giuliani always been like this and I just never noticed? I mean he was Time Man of the Year for keeping his crap together during 9/11. Or is the Trump administration a bigger disaster than September 11th?

There are a few possibilities that don't necessarily contradict one another.

One is that people revert to the mean. Giuliani had good moments, especially in handling 90s crime and 9/11, but he's also had major flaws. I mean, his second wife found out he was leaving her when he did a press conference about the divorce.

There is a toxic element of being surrounded by yes-men, who reinforce one's worse qualities. And in Giuliani's case, the only election he worried about since 1997 was the 2008 presidential primary, which he lost.

There is one other potential factor.

https://www.thenation.com/article/th...talking-about/

[Kirby101]

Has Giuliani always been like this and I just never noticed? I mean he was Time Man of the Year for keeping his crap together during 9/11. Or is the Trump administration a bigger disaster than September 11th?

He was a **** as mayor, racist and dictatorial. His performance during 9/11 was more flash than substance. He was out on the site so much because he had the emergency command center built at the WTC instead of Brooklyn as recommended. He did this so he ould have a love nest to cheat on his wife. He also lied to the men working on the pile about the air, resulting in many ofhem getting sick and dying.

And Mets, crime started going down under Dinkins, it was mostly Police Chief Bratton who was responsible.

And since then he has become a laywer to despots and dictators.

[PwrdOn]

Has Giuliani always been like this and I just never noticed? I mean he was Time Man of the Year for keeping his crap together during 9/11. Or is the Trump administration a bigger disaster than September 11th?

The one good thing about the 24 hour news cycle and the flood of social media is that it's virtually impossible for shitheads to hide their true nature from the public anymore. Giuliani was always a scumbag but most people never really knew that because all they ever saw of him was that footage running around on 9/11, it's impossible to maintain any kind of respect for him after actually listening to him talk. The same is true for most Republicans really, their entire legitimacy rested on the assumption that imperious old white men always know what's best for everyone else and so we should just listen to whatever they tell us to do. That perception fades pretty quickly though after you hear any of these morons try to express what they actually think.

[InformationGeek]

Says it all, doesn't it?

James Shaw, Jr. took a bullet stopping a mass shooter at a Waffle House in Tennessee, and then raised over $200k for the shooter's victims and their families.

Not even a word of thanks from the President.

And yet...

*Sigh*

Fine, Trump called him a month later.

These kids heckled Omaha elders and got their White House invite before a full week had even passed.

I'm not gonna bother explaining the problem with that.

[Tazirai]

Dem lawmaker calls on Democrats to ‘give Trump the money’ for border wall

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) called on his Democratic colleagues to give President Trump the funding for his long-desired border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, saying its construction is inevitable.

“Give Trump the money,” Peterson told KFGO’s “News & Views” on Tuesday. “I’d give him the whole thing … and put strings on it so you make sure he puts the wall where it needs to be. Why are we fighting over this? We’re going to build that wall anyway, at some time.”

The 15-term congressman said top Democrats look at him “cross-eyed” when he makes this suggestion.

Duckworth calls Supreme Court decision on transgender military ban 'disheartening'

Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, in a series of tweets called the decision "disheartening" and urged the court to make clear "that this sort of discrimination has no place in our military."

"Today’s decision is disheartening not only because it will help the Trump Administration discriminate against an ever-shrinking portion of our population who are willing to serve in uniform, but also because it enables the Administration to further disrupt to our military and weaken our national security," Duckworth tweeted.

[Tazirai]

The Border Wall Isn't The Only Reason Democrats Oppose Plan To End The Shutdown

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Dem lawmaker calls on Democrats to ‘give Trump the money’ for border wall

An abysmally STUPID suggestion, and that's being kind. Beyond the fact a wall WILL NOT WORK, as I said yesterday, it's not about the money, it's about not giving in to a hostage taker in Trump who's all too willing to play the shutdown card again and again to get what he wants. That CANNOT be allowed to happen. PERIOD!

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

Competing Bills To End The Shutdown Set For Senate Votes, But Unlikely To Pass

The measures may give senators some political cover, but offer little hope for reopening the government. And the Trump authored hostage crisis continues....

**********

Giuliani’s Media Blitz Draws Ire Of Trump And Some Allies

The president reportedly told confidants that Giuliani had “changed the headlines” for the worse. I'm surprised it took THIS long for Dolt45 to fall out of love with Rantin' Rudy who's been a one man dumpster fire for months.

**********

Passenger Confronts GOP Congressman Over Flying First Class During Shutdown

“Do you think it’s appropriate?” he asked the lawmaker. “Taking that as a yes.” More proof of Republicans having ZERO shame. Meanwhile....

**********

Coast Guard Chief Slams ‘Unacceptable’ Shutdown As Members Set To Miss Pay Again

“You, as members of the armed forces, should not be expected to shoulder this burden,” Adm. Karl Schultz said. Once again, with feeling....TRUMP DOESN'T GIVE A ****!

**********

Faux News talking heads being dumbass morons:

Sean Hamhocks Tries To Give New Nickname To Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Fails Miserably

Laura Ignoramus Makes Wild Defense Of MAGA Hats From KKK Hood Comparison

[Iron Maiden]

Says it all, doesn't it?

They got invited to the WH? smh. Trump is truly an idiot.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

They got invited to the WH? smh. Trump is truly an idiot.

No, Trump is playing to his base who'll eat it up like a starving man at a Golden Corral buffet.

[worstblogever]

In 2015, in 2016, and in 2017, “Crazy Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of Gary Kiehne, a candidate for Congress hoping to represent Arizona’s 1st Congressional District in 2014 and 2016. Kiehne is a local rancher and Tea Party wild card who lost in 2014 to State Senator Andy Tobin by a mere 407 votes. It is remarkable that the race was that close, considering Kiehne supported the cause of Cliven Bundy to the extent that he wanted the Bureau of Land Management to lose their control over protected government lands, referred to Arizona law enforcement as "Nazi and SS Officers" during a 2011 wildfire evacuation, and during a primary debate when the conversation turned towards gun control, made the outlandish claim that 99% of all mass shootings are perpetrated by Democrats. Well, Gary Kiehne took another crack at politics in 2016, and again Kiehne managed to lose again, this time finishing second in the GOP Primary by a much wider margin of about five thousand votes. To whom, you might ask? Paul Babeu. Yes THAT Paul Babeu, the anti-immigrant sheriff who got outed as gay when he was threatening to deport his illegal immigrant boyfriend, and who once was the headmaster of a private school where the staff were systematically abusing children there. Kiehne has, at least for now, given up on his dreams of becoming a Congressman.

It was on this date in 2018 that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Dan Kirby, a former four-term member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for a decade first elected back in 2008. During his eight years in office, he was frequently absent during votes, but when he was present, supported Republican Voter Suppression tactics via stricter Voter ID laws and opposed minimum wage increases during the greatest period of income inequality in perhaps our nation’s history. Kirby made headlines right at the end of 2016, prior to the new session of the Oklahoma State Legislature though, after news surfaced that the 58 year old Kirby not only sexually harassed a legislative aide three decades his junior, not only responded to her reporting him by firing her (which would be a violation of whistleblower protections), but that he settled her lawsuit against him by using $16,000 of legislative funds meant to be used on cleaning supplies to keep the Oklahoma House of Representatives all spotless and lemon-scented. While that scandal would easily be enough to force a lawmaker’s resignation, Kirby actually tried reversing his resignation a few days after making it, but he finally relented and went off into the sunset in shame. We’ll go ahead and retire his profile at this time, and go ahead and take a look at a different kooky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 723-30, since this was established in July 2014.)


Steven McLaughlin
Welcome to the 723rd original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today we’ll be discussing Steven McLaughlin, a former member of the New York Assembly representing District 107 who rose to office as part of, what else, the 2010 Tea Party Wave. His voting record saw him trying to prevent some of the rather reasonable progressive ideas New York has had over the past few years, like his votes against minimum wage increases, pay equality for women, protecting marriage equality, or a vote against a ban on gay conversion therapy on minors. And, during his seven years in office, McLaughlin was certainly not a shrinking violet, as in 2013, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was pushing for gun control legislation, McLaughlin decided to compare Cuomo to just… y’know, Hitler. And Vladmir Putin.

“We’re told basically to shut up and vote, and that’s what this is all about. Just don’t question it, just vote. That’s basically the message here. If that’s not dictatorial, I don’t know what is Hitler would be proud. Mussolini would be proud of what we did here. Moscow would be proud, but that’s not democracy. How does Putin act over in Russia? Same thing. Dictate to the Legislature what they’re going to do. They’re rubber-stamping it. I’m not calling the governor a dictator; I’m saying that this was the dictatorial thing to do.”

McLaughlin, over the years, also began to embrace what the Republican Party has been coming under Donald Trump, such as when he was running to be the Rensselaer County Executive, and he referred to the Times Union Leader as “fake news” and a “worthless rag” because he didn’t like their reporting about him, like say hey they covered his sexist harassment of one of his aides, in which the audio had him telling her, “You’re still fat. You are. Not attractive — and you’re a (expletive) awful human being.”

McLaughlin resigned from the New York State Assembly after that aide successfully filed sexual harassment charges against him, and he was sanctioned by having all legislative aides removed from his charge for his last month in office. McLaughlin had already won a four-year term as Resselaer County Executive, however, and remains in that role at this time. He seems unlikely to win any other political office when his term is up in 2021. At least, we hope.

[Tami]

Student tackled by police for 'stealing' own car settles suit for $1.25M

EVANSTON, Ill.— A Chicago suburb has tentatively agreed to pay a former doctoral student $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit alleging police officers tackled him to the ground and arrested him for stealing a car that turned out to be his own, his attorney said.

Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz confirmed a settlement was reached with Lawrence Crosby, who was 25 and an engineering doctoral student at Northwestern University in 2015 when the incident occurred.

Bobkiewicz declined to provide the amount of the settlement pending final approval by the City Council next week. Crosby's attorney, Timothy Touhy, told the Chicago Tribune that the amount was $1.25 million.

[Tami]

4 Arrested and 23 Guns Seized in Plot Against Muslim Enclave in Upstate N.Y.

Just another day...... *sigh*

A seemingly offhand remark in a high school lunchroom set off an investigation that uncovered an arsenal of weapons and a plot to attack a Muslim enclave in upstate New York, law enforcement officials said.

The comment was made by a 16-year-old student at Greece Odyssey Academy in Greece, N.Y.

On Friday, he showed classmates a photo of someone and said that person looked like a potential school shooter, authorities said.

The statement alarmed fellow students, who reported it to school officials. The local police became involved and started interviewing people at the school to determine whether there was a potential threat.

The threat, it turned out, came from the 16-year-old whose comments had triggered the investigation, authorities said on Tuesday. He and three young adults stockpiled 23 firearms and three homemade bombs as part of a plan to target the secluded Muslim enclave of Islamberg, a rural settlement about 150 miles northwest of New York City, authorities said.

[Tami]

Anti-nepotism bill introduced in South Dakota after governor appoints daughter to staff

PIERRE, S.D. -- Three South Dakota lawmakers have introduced a bill hoping to prevent state officials from employing family members to the state.

Senate Bill 39 was introduced Sunday, Jan. 6. If passed, it would bar state employees from hiring or appointing their "parent by birth or adoption, spouse, son or daughter by birth or adoption, stepchild, brother or sister by whole or half blood or by adoption, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, or son-in-law or daughter-in-law" to a state employment position that would report to them.

The bill comes after Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in December appointed her daughter Kennedy Noem to her staff to work as a policy analyst. Kennedy Noem graduated in fall 2018 from South Dakota State University with a degree in political science and earns a salary of $50,000 in her role.

If the bill passes and a relative as defined by SB 39 is hired and paid, three times the amount of that relative's compensation would be deducted from the violating state official's pay.

The bill's primary sponsor, Republican Sen. Stace Nelson of Fulton, said he decided to file the bill after hearing from constituents who were "outraged" by Noem's appointment.