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

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, 2015, 2016, as well as 2017, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of Lawrence Lockman, a member of the Maine House of Representatives since 2013, who spent most of the 1980s forming an anti-government militia group that called for the dissolution of the IRS, even once dressing up as Dracula outside of a local IRS office to protest their presence, eventually instead focusing his attentions to spreading misinformation about the AIDS virus publicly (he liked to warn people you could catch it from toilet seats), and using it as a part of the public consciousness to demonize the gay community whenever possible,. In the 1990s, Lockman was claiming that tolerance of gays was leading to a point where children would be “indoctrinated” as homosexuals in schools. The disgusting opinions Lockman holds know no bounds, and he freely provided them in opinion editorials in Maine newspapers, including one where he expressed his humble opinion that “If a woman has (the right to abortion), why shouldn’t a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman? At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t (in most cases) result in anyone’s death.” Yes, he’s that terrible, and after laying low from 2000-2012, he reappeared to run for the Maine House of Representatives, winning office for the first time in 2012, before anyone really did much digging into his past to learn how extreme he truly is. Lockman’s name turns up every now and then in the local Maine papers, as one of the few people who tries to spin the ramblings of insane Governor Paul LePage and argue as to why LePage shouldn’t be impeached.

Lockman was, regrettably, re-elected in 2016 to a third term in office, with a personal best 61% of the vote which is higher than you would want to see a rape advocate and HIV Truther get after he only snuck into office by less than a hundred votes only four years earlier. And by no means has Lockman ever apologized for his previous controversies, or learned his lesson. He’s become fervently anti-immigrant of late, echoing Donald Trump, and when he got a speaking engagement at Portland State University in February of 2017, he got hundreds of protesters to show up and cuss him out. Hell, it was only a few months ago back in March of 2017 that he wrote yet another opinion editorial in the Bangor Daily News where he raged against illegal immigrants in Maine, inflating the statistical number of illegal immigrants in their state from the actual less than 1,000 there to “over 5,000” an falsely claiming that they receive welfare benefits and whining about how that money (that isn’t being given to them) would be better given to our veterans while blaming “liberals” for it.

How much of a s*** is Lawrence Lockman? Well, he doesn’t believe in legal protections for women, or minorities LGBT citizens, but yet, he drafted legislation that would shield politicians from being investigated or prosecuted for their political views, including (but not limited to) climate change denialism… because THAT totally is a form of bigotry in this country. But if there were any doubt of whether or not Lockman is racist, look no further than a mass e-mail he sent out in January of 2018 where he claimed that immigrant welcome centers are a part of “the Left’s War on Whites”. Fit this man for a robe and pointy hat, ladies and gentlemen.

Lockman’s opponent this fall is Douglas Bunker, and we’re hoping he can drive a metaphoral stake through the heart of this former Dracula cosplayer on election day.

[worstblogever]

Oh WBE! Here's someone that has an automatic pass to join your profiles.

Between this guy, and Paul Nehlen... I'm wondering what's in the water up in Paul Ryan's district.

[Tendrin]

Between this guy, and Paul Nehlen... I'm wondering what's in the water up in Paul Ryan's district.

But we shouldn't be concerned about right wing terrorism. We should be concerned about real problems, like brown people voting and the poors trying to, like, unionize and stuff.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

If you're focused on an issue that injures/ kills a relatively small number of people, that means there will be less resources available to deal with issues that mill a larger number of people/ prevent them from reaching their full potential. The trade-off is irresponsible.

Say that to the victims who have to struggle with the pain, grief and anger from losing loved ones to madmen. Whether one person is killed or one hundred, it's still totally unacceptable. Plain and simple, there is no tradeoff.

The more you espouse views as repugnant as those, the more respect for you I lose.

[BeastieRunner]

Between this guy, and Paul Nehlen... I'm wondering what's in the water up in Paul Ryan's district.

Drinking lead makes you go crazy.

FYI.

[JackDaw]

Times crossword clue today.

“Gangster and president having much in common” (5 letters)

Disappointingly the answer is not Trump! (It was alike...which means “having much in common”. Made up of Al (short for Al Capone, gangster) and Ike (past American President).

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Times crossword clue today.

“Gangster and president having much in common” (5 letters)

Disappointingly the answer is not Trump! (It was alike...which means “having much in common”. Made up of Al (short for Al Capone, gangster) and Ike (past American President).

Calling Trump a gangster is a hideous insult....to gangsters! Hell, he doesn't even qualify as a wannabe, he's a conman, a grifter and a cheat who literally lucked his way into becoming president.

[JackDaw]

Calling Trump a gangster is a hideous insult....to gangsters! Hell, he doesn't even qualify as a wannabe, he's a conman, a grifter and a cheat who literally lucked his way into becoming president.

Lol.

Yes, I suppose there is a sort of hard work associated with being a gangster that the Donald would be unlikely to embrace.

[Gray Lensman]

Lol.

Yes, I suppose there is a sort of hard work associated with being a gangster that the Donald would be unlikely to embrace.

His biggest hurdle would be loyalty. Benedict Donald expects it, but scores a zero at returning any.


I was just gonna say he fails at it, but that leaves too much room for misinterpretation.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

His biggest hurdle would be loyalty. Benedict Donald expects it, but scores a zero at returning any.


I was just gonna say he fails at it, but that leaves too much room for misinterpretation.

"Omerta" (A rule or code that prohibits speaking or divulging information about certain activities, especially the activities of a criminal organization) would be as alien a concept to Trump as nuclear physics, or, in his case, fifth grade math. He'd rat out his wife and kids in a New York minute if it would save his skin.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

"Omerta" (A rule or code that prohibits speaking or divulging information about certain activities, especially the activities of a criminal organization) would be as alien a concept to Trump as nuclear physics, or, in his case, fifth grade math. He'd rat out his wife and kids in a New York minute if it would save his skin.

If Trump tried to perform an oath of Onertia ceremony he’d burn the White House down

[Dalak]

Worst Liar Ever, lying about how much of a threat to national security his phone use is.

[Dalak]

Oh, in regards to the earlier Sex/Gender discussion and whether or not it's tied to bigotry or just a definition change: DOJ: Businesses Can Discriminate Against Transgender Workers

The Justice Department today told the U.S. Supreme Court that businesses can discriminate against workers based on their gender identity without violating federal law.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco told the high court that a civil rights law banning sex discrimination on the job doesn’t cover transgender bias. That approach already has created a rift within the Trump administration, contradicting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s view of the law it’s tasked with enforcing.

A Michigan funeral home wants the high court to overturn a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decision finding that the company violated federal workplace discrimination law when it fired Aimee Stephens, a transgender worker. The EEOC successfully sued on behalf of Stephens in that case, but the Justice Department has the sole authority to represent the government before the Supreme Court. The DOJ told the high court that the Sixth Circuit got the case wrong.

“The court of appeals misread the statute and this Court’s decisions in concluding that Title VII encompasses discrimination on the basis of gender identity,” Francisco said in a brief filed with the court.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide in the coming months whether to take up the case. It’s also been asked to consider two other cases testing whether sexual orientation bias is a form of sex discrimination banned under the existing law.

And there's a added bonus of including the stacked SCOTUS! Joy!

[TheDarman]

Say that to the victims who have to struggle with the pain, grief and anger from losing loved ones to madmen. Whether one person is killed or one hundred, it's still totally unacceptable. Plain and simple, there is no tradeoff.

The more you espouse views as repugnant as those, the more respect for you I lose.

It's funny how we are expected to devote billions of dollars to fight "radical Islamic" terrorism when fewer Muslims have killed Americans than radical right-wing terrorists yet the Republican Party is unwilling to devote any resources to it because it would be "irresponsible". I don't know if Mets thinks that we should be devoting as many resources to the War on Terror or what have you but it seems to be an issue of consistency to claim that one is worth addressing while the other is not.

I'm frankly stunned by how often smart people I know, that identify as Republicans, can allow for this cognitive dissonance.

[InformationGeek]

Steve King continues to be one of the worst human beings in government.

King today said visiting Auschwitz was a “very, very powerful experience” then described wanting to get a “Polish perspective” apart from the "Jewish perspective." He said asked the Poles: Who was worse, the Nazis or the Soviets?
"They don’t know the answer to that."

He went to on defend his attacks on George Soros and repeated the uncorroborated allegation that he collaborated with Nazis against his fellow Jews as a young teen.