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

[aja_christopher]

Right-wing violence is a non-issue because this is a country of 300+ million, and the number injured/ killed is relatively low. Pushing solar would raise energy costs more than fracking/ nuclear power, and come with more uncertainty (What if it wasn't as cost-effective as initial predictions suggested.).

So you just gloss over Republican and right-wing attacks -- both physical and political -- on "minority" Americans and blatantly ignore the fact that the Republican party is doing nothing to address climate change because you are "optimistic" about the future.

Again -- thanks for letting me know where you stand on the matter.

I'll be honest -- given the behavior of the Republican party over the past decade or so I most likely won't be voting for a Republican during this lifetime: maybe you see that as "divisive" but I see it as common sense given their track record and their tendency to treat "minority" Americans like second class citizens.

The irony is that if maybe "conservatives" like you openly addressed those issues instead of trying to sweep them under the rug, you might actually get more votes from "minorities" -- something both Steele and Powell already mentioned repeatedly, so I won't waste my time since it only resulted in Republicans nominating Trump to represent their party on the national stage.

It's also worth noting that the "optimism" you're citing usually involves Democratic administrations coming in and cleaning up Republican messes -- as scary as the thought might be, one has to wonder what will happen if due to Republican attacks on our democracy, America doesn't get another "Obama" to pull us out of another Republican-led, George Bush Jr like recession under Trump.

Not saying it will happen, just that if history is precedent then concern is merited.

[Tendrin]

Right-wing violence is a non-issue because this is a country of 300+ million, and the number injured/ killed is relatively low.

Jesus Christ.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Right-wing violence is a non-issue because this is a country of 300+ million, and the number injured/ killed is relatively low.

That's damn cold comfort to the victims of said violence. You disappoint me, Mets, despite your affiliation to the GOP, I thought better of you and had a modicum of respect for your opinions. That respect ends today, to me, you're no better than the brainless, thuggish knuckledraggers who blindly support Trump.

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

Donald Trump Criticizes Media Just Hours After Pipe Bomb Scare

The president urged unity after Democrats and CNN were targeted, but didn’t mention his own attacks on the free press during his Wisconsin rally. Well, of course he didn't. What an asshole. Meanwhile....

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Chris Cuomo: Trump ‘Is At The Head Of The Hate Parade’

The CNN host criticized the president for ordering the media “to be better and less negative” without accounting for his own behavior. Something Trump WON'T do, not even if his life depended on it.

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Pro-Trump Pundits Claim Without Evidence That Mailed Explosives Are ‘False Flag’

Instead of condemning the explosive devices sent to former presidents and journalists, some pro-Trump pundits suggest Democrats planted them. Predictable, and predictably disgusting.

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Fear Dominates Final Weeks Of The 2018 Campaign

President Donald Trump is leading a strategy of scaring Republicans into voting. At the end of the day, fear is all Trump and the GOP have to offer their base because their policies have sucked eggs. What worries me is that strategy could work because of how rock fucking stupid and gullible Republican voters are.

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Twitter Explodes After ‘Gaslighter’ Sarah Sanders Accuses CNN Of Dividing America

“So it was bad when Trump implied it might be fun if someone shot Hillary Clinton.” Baghdad Betty is a peach, right?

[Tami]

Robert DeNiro may have received a mail bomb like the one sent out to George Soros and the others.

Pipe Bombs Sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and CNN Offices

And before dawn on Thursday, investigators discovered that another package had been sent to Robert De Niro, the actor and filmmaker who has been an outspoken critic of President Trump.

There is a long list of outspoken critics of Trump. Until they catch the one who is doing it, I would not be surprised if more mail bombs are enroute.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Robert DeNiro may have received a mail bomb like the one sent out to George Soros and the others.

Pipe Bombs Sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and CNN Offices



There is a long list of outspoken critics of Trump. Until they catch the one who is doing it, I would not be surprised if more mail bombs are enroute.

I just got an alert about DeNiro. This business stopped being a coincidence yesterday, now it's very much a disturbing trend. Someone here already mentioned Kathy Griffin being a possible target, I'll add Jim Carrey who's brutally lambasted Trump and the GOP with his scathing cartoons. By the by, the Delaware home for former VP Joe Biden was searched yesterday after a suspicious package was said to have arrived there, but had been returned to sender.

[ed2962]

The question is will these bombing attempts be characterized as domestic terrorism? Or will that angle be played down considering who the targets were?

[Tami]

I just got an alert about DeNiro. This business stopped being a coincidence yesterday, now it's very much a disturbing trend. Someone here already mentioned Kathy Griffin being a possible target, I'll add Jim Carrey who's brutally lambasted Trump and the GOP with his scathing cartoons. By the by, the Delaware home for former VP Joe Biden was searched yesterday after a suspicious package was said to have arrived there, but had been returned to sender.

Thinking Rob Reiner and Stephen Colbert.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Thinking Rob Reiner and Stephen Colbert.

How about Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah and Samantha Bee.

[InformationGeek]

Thinking Rob Reiner and Stephen Colbert.

Same with Seth Meyers, Bill Maher, Chelesa Clinton, Corey Booker, Chuck Schumer, and Diane Feinstein. There's horrifying too many targets out there.

[aja_christopher]

"Republicans Are Working Feverishly to Stop Minorities from Voting"

"The effects of 2018 voter suppression laws are being felt, state by state, as Republicans work across the country to restrict the number of people—with policies that disproportionately target minorities—who can cast ballots in the midterm elections on November 6.

In Ohio, voters who have been inactive for a few cycles can be purged from the rolls, a decision upheld last year by the Supreme Court. A new voter ID law in North Dakota will disenfranchise minority voters and seems aimed specifically at Native Americans, who often don’t have residential address and thus won’t be able to vote under the new law. In New Hampshire, students are facing barriers to participating in the state's general election thanks to a new law requiring voters have in-state driver’s licenses. And Dodge City, Kansas, which is 60 percent Hispanic, has moved its only polling place outside of town and a mile from the nearest bus stop in a move seen as calculated to depress turnout among the 27,000 residents.

But Georgia, where thousands of voters have been purged from the rolls and African Americans involved in get out the vote efforts are being harassed, might be ground zero in the fight. A confluence of voter suppression activity in the state is attracting attention in part because of the Republican nominee for governor is the one in charge of state elections. As Secretary of State, Brian Kemp has power over voting in Georgia. He's already made use of that power, suspending over 53,000 voters—70 percent of whom are black—and purging more than 107,000 voters for not voting in the last election.

That Kemp was recorded saying he had concerns "if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote," as Rolling Stone's Jamil Smith reported on Tuesday, has only added to the controversy over his actions...

The current battle over voting rights goes back a decade. After the election of Barack Obama in 2008, efforts began in earnest on the state level to roll back the Voting Rights Act, enshrined into law in 1965. While 2008 didn't mark the beginning of the struggle by the right to undo the advances of the Civil Rights movement—that effort began immediately after the successes of the 1950s and 60s—it was the dawn of a new era in political regression. "There was a shift after the 2008 election," said Lakin.

After that, Lakin said, a new wave of voter suppression laws began to be instituted in states around the country, with the effects falling disproportionately on voters of colour. The reason for that is clear, Lakin said, if you look at the demographics of the voters in 2008.

"It was the most diverse turnout with the most young voters in history," said Lakin.

The Voting Rights Act was the first line of protection, but after the law was gutted by the Supreme Court’s five conservative justices in in 2013, the floodgates opened. By 2014, new laws limiting voting rights were in place in 15 states for the federal election. Voter ID laws and restrictions on registration were among the tactics used to set back the right to vote in these states, presenting new hurdles.

"2013 and 2014 were difficult for voting rights advocates," said Lakin. A recent VICE News analysis found that a disproportionate number of polling stations closed in jurisdictions previously governed by the VRA, especially in minority neighborhoods.

The destruction of the legacy of the VRA is definitely being felt in Georgia, said Changa. She told VICE that the history of what's being done is resonating with many people in the state, both for the older population—like the elderly people on a get out the vote bus who were harassed last week—and the new generation.

"For a lot of young people, myself included, I never imagined we would be fighting for access to the ballot like this," said Changa."

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/8...es-from-voting

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Same with Seth Meyers, Bill Maher, Chelesa Clinton, Corey Booker, Chuck Schumer, and Diane Feinstein. There's horrifying too many targets out there.

Don Lemon, Stephen King, George Takei, Whoopi Goldberg, David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez. The list goes on and on.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

"Republicans Are Working Feverishly to Stop Minorities from Voting"

"The effects of 2018 voter suppression laws are being felt, state by state, as Republicans work across the country to restrict the number of people—with policies that disproportionately target minorities—who can cast ballots in the midterm elections on November 6.

In Ohio, voters who have been inactive for a few cycles can be purged from the rolls, a decision upheld last year by the Supreme Court. A new voter ID law in North Dakota will disenfranchise minority voters and seems aimed specifically at Native Americans, who often don’t have residential address and thus won’t be able to vote under the new law. In New Hampshire, students are facing barriers to participating in the state's general election thanks to a new law requiring voters have in-state driver’s licenses. And Dodge City, Kansas, which is 60 percent Hispanic, has moved its only polling place outside of town and a mile from the nearest bus stop in a move seen as calculated to depress turnout among the 27,000 residents.

But Georgia, where thousands of voters have been purged from the rolls and African Americans involved in get out the vote efforts are being harassed, might be ground zero in the fight. A confluence of voter suppression activity in the state is attracting attention in part because of the Republican nominee for governor is the one in charge of state elections. As Secretary of State, Brian Kemp has power over voting in Georgia. He's already made use of that power, suspending over 53,000 voters—70 percent of whom are black—and purging more than 107,000 voters for not voting in the last election.

That Kemp was recorded saying he had concerns "if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote," as Rolling Stone's Jamil Smith reported on Tuesday, has only added to the controversy over his actions...

The current battle over voting rights goes back a decade. After the election of Barack Obama in 2008, efforts began in earnest on the state level to roll back the Voting Rights Act, enshrined into law in 1965. While 2008 didn't mark the beginning of the struggle by the right to undo the advances of the Civil Rights movement—that effort began immediately after the successes of the 1950s and 60s—it was the dawn of a new era in political regression. "There was a shift after the 2008 election," said Lakin.

After that, Lakin said, a new wave of voter suppression laws began to be instituted in states around the country, with the effects falling disproportionately on voters of colour. The reason for that is clear, Lakin said, if you look at the demographics of the voters in 2008.

"It was the most diverse turnout with the most young voters in history," said Lakin.

The Voting Rights Act was the first line of protection, but after the law was gutted by the Supreme Court’s five conservative justices in in 2013, the floodgates opened. By 2014, new laws limiting voting rights were in place in 15 states for the federal election. Voter ID laws and restrictions on registration were among the tactics used to set back the right to vote in these states, presenting new hurdles.

"2013 and 2014 were difficult for voting rights advocates," said Lakin. A recent VICE News analysis found that a disproportionate number of polling stations closed in jurisdictions previously governed by the VRA, especially in minority neighborhoods.

The destruction of the legacy of the VRA is definitely being felt in Georgia, said Changa. She told VICE that the history of what's being done is resonating with many people in the state, both for the older population—like the elderly people on a get out the vote bus who were harassed last week—and the new generation.

"For a lot of young people, myself included, I never imagined we would be fighting for access to the ballot like this," said Changa."

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/8...es-from-voting

These are certainly perilous, if not dangerous times for America as the GOP has made it plainer than day they intend to destroy democracy in this country and will figuratively (if not literally, given the chance) wipe their collective asses on the Constitution in their naked goal to remain in power. Republicans are no longer hiding the fact (if they ever hid that in the first place) they're actively going to lie, cheat and steal to keep minorities, seniors and young people from voting because those factions lean Democrat and are against the abhorrent policies of the right that would cause them to suffer. To everyone here, I can't stress this enough, PLEASE make sure you're qualified to vote next month, don't wait until it's too late to find out your rights were stolen from you by the bastards from the GOP. Then make sure your loved ones, friends, anyone you care about are eligible to vote as well, there's too much at stake to not take any and all precautions in this upcoming election.

[Tami]

Don Lemon, Stephen King, George Takei, Whoopi Goldberg, David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez. The list goes on and on.

One was just intercepted addressed to Biden.

[Tami]

Trump administration wants to remove 'gender' from UN human rights documents

The US mission to the United Nations is seeking to eliminate the word “gender” from UN human rights documents, most often replacing it with “woman”, apparently as part of the Trump administration’s campaign to define transgender people out of existence.

At recent meetings of the UN’s Third Committee, which is concerned with “social, humanitarian and cultural” rights, US diplomats have been pushing for the rewriting of general assembly policy statements to remove what the administration argues is vague and politically correct language, reflecting what it sees as an ‘ideology’ of treating gender as an individual choice rather than an unchangeable biological fact.

For example, in a draft paper on trafficking in women and girls introduced by Germany and Philippines earlier this month, the US wants to remove phrases like “gender-based violence” would be replaced by “violence against women”.

“We are seeing this more and more coming up on the Third Committee, and this is going to be a battle in the coming weeks,” said a UN diplomat. The diplomat noted that US policy on the word is not entirely consistent.

While on a number of recent occasions, US diplomats have called for the removal of the word “gender”, at least once the same word has been added into a text on US insistence.

The diplomat, a European, speculated that the inconsistency might reflect a tussle between different members of the US mission.

To succeed in its campaign, the US will have to forge unusual alliances, with Russia and conservative Islamic states, against its western European partners.

“If you only say violence against women, it doesn’t really tell the whole story,” a senior diplomat at the UN said. “We shouldn’t be going along with encouraging their society to be regressive. And if that means a blazing row in the Third Committee, I would have a blazing row in committee because I think some things are worth cherishing and worth hanging on to.”

The US mission to the UN referred inquiries to the state department, which did not offer a comment before publication.

[Michael Watkins]

The question is will these bombing attempts be characterized as domestic terrorism? Or will that angle be played down considering who the targets were?

inevitably, one of these will turn out to be fake. Trump and the other republicans will seize upon it. downplaying it won't even be necessary. bomb threats are kind of like sexual assault accusations in that way.