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

[Kirby101]

False dichotomy. Socialism and capitalism work together in most advanced countries. Including our own.
Give me an example of a purely capitalistic country today that isn't a mess.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Seriously, we're getting a week long golf trip, Omarosa tapes, pretending John McCain doesn't exist, and accusing a reporter of being "the real racist". This while Manafort is likely getting ready to head to jail, and Rudy Giuliani continues to go on cable news to f*** up Trump's story and make him look more like the liar that he is.

It's been two and a half days since that Trump update, and all that has happened.

You left out the visit to Bedminster by those bikers on Saturday, one of whom sported an "SS" (and I don't mean "Super Sport") tattoo for all to see. To call this ongoing mess with Trump a joke is a woeful understatement.

[worstblogever]

False dichotomy. Socialism and capitalism work together in most advanced countries. Including our own.
Give me an example of a purely capitalistic country today that isn't a mess.

Exactly. They're not opposing forces.

[Iron Maiden]

Exactly. They're not opposing forces.

For the GOP it is when they give the upper 1 % a huge tax break, with another in the works . And then the other hand takes away by wanting to make huge cuts in social programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and wanting to keep young people up to the necks in debt with student loans.

[Kirby101]

[Tami]

Manafort Trial: Defense Rests. Though there is some talk of a possible mistrial. Still up in the air.

[Iron Maiden]

Kirby101's Captain America post makes me wish there was a like button here.

[Kirby101]

Kirby101's Captain America post makes me wish there was a like button here.

Thanks, I have wished that many times.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Manafort Trial: Defense Rests. Though there is some talk of a possible mistrial. Still up in the air.

Mistrial? On what grounds?

Kirby101's Captain America post makes me wish there was a like button here.

I second that emotion!

[Malvolio]

Can a defense attorney demand a mistrial based on his own incompetence?

[worstblogever]

On this date, in both 2014, as well as in 2015, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who was trying to force any woman seeking to get an abortion to undergo a mandatory medically-unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound, re-interpret the 14th Amendment so that the children of immigrants were not guaranteed citizenship, and an obsession with upholding anti-sodomy laws that would have outlawed any kind of sexual penetration not of the P-into-V variety, which kind of already was a moot point after several previous Supreme Court hearings. "The Cooch" was unsuccessful in his 2013 run for Governor of Virginia, and considering he was being investigated in scandals for accepting gifts illegally while AG, similar to the scandals that ended the career of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, it seems like Cuccinelli has opted to move out of the political arena, after his hard-right social conservative agenda has been rejected repeatedly by the American people. Instead, Cuccinelli is trying to get by as an oyster farmer (really). Since the only real notes we have to update on Cuccinelli are that he was a delegate on the floor of the Republican National Convention and working as a part of the “Never Trump” movement to try and prevent The Donald becoming The Nominee and doing untold damage to the GOP (and failed)

[worstblogever]

On this day in both 2016, and 2017, that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” presented a profile of the sitting U.S. House Representative from Texas’ 31st Congressional District, John Carter, now in his eighth term in Washington, coming into office back in 2002 after spending two decades as a district court judge in the Lone Star state. Carter almost always coasts to victory when his seat comes up for re-election, with his worst showing being a still-impressive 58% of the vote back in the “blue wave” election year of 2006. Due to the extensive bounty of Texas Republicans out there exhibiting obvious signs of mental deficiency or psychological imbalance out there, you might not have heard much about Rep. Carter. Well, that and when you do a Google search of "John Carter" you either get news about a movie that completely tanked at the box office, or art inspired from the book it’s based on featuring a shirtless guy posing with a scantily clad Martian woman wrapped demurely around his leg. I'll wait a moment while everyone tests that fact to ogle some cheesecake and/or beefcake.

Okay, back to Congressman Carter, now. Our main objection to John Carter being in Congress is not just that he opposes climate change, but to the extent that he does. He actually thinks a phenomenon proven by the great majority of scientific studies is just the result of some massive campaign to trick the populace into supporting it:

“Global warming is simply a chicken-little scheme to use mass media and government propaganda to convince the world that destruction of individual liberties and national sovereignty is necessary to save mankind, and that the unwashed masses would destroy themselves without the enlightened global dictatorship of these frauds."

And that's right off his campaign website. If that quote alone doesn't show you how deep he's into the cause of climate change denial, feel free to read some of his other comments from the Congressional record on January 24th, 2011.

John Carter was also a huge proponent of the 2013 Government Shutdown, and he was in full spin mode in the build up to it, trying to convince the American people that his cause was noble, and if he didn’t bring the federal government to a screeching halt, and the Affordable Care Act was allowed to go forward, that all would be lost:

“We must postpone this overreaching and damaging law that I believe will bankrupt the hard-working every day American.”

One of the things about John Carter that we find unsettling, though, is that he is the Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, and one of his responsibilities is preventing cyberterrorism. It's quite troublesome that Rep. Carter cannot even pronounce the word "cyber", admits "I don't know anything about this stuff", and then proceeds to try and conduct a hearing to discuss encryption where he would demonstrate how much of an understatement that really was. Now in his mid-seventies, John Carter doesn’t “get” technology, and doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to figure it out, with our national security hanging in the balance.

While the rest of Carter's opinion on national security past that, of course, is to keep out all immigrants and refugees, and his voting record since hitting office has been highly partisan, supporting a resolution towards creating a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, against the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, voted against equal pay, a woman’s right to choose, against Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, for the 2013 Government Shutdown and against reopening the government after it was over.

• February 16th, 2017: Carter votes for HJR 69, to make it legal for hunters on wildlife reserves to kill several species of hibernating bears or wolves while they’re sleeping.
• March 16th, 2017: John Carter votes for HR 1181, which would allow veterans deemed mentally incompetent to continue to own firearms, and not have them taken away without a judge's written order.
• March 28th, 2017: Rep. Carter votes for SJ Res 34, which allowed internet providers to sell the data information of their customers' internet usage to businesses.
• May 4th, 2017: Carter votes for the House GOP's healthcare plan, that would kick roughly 24 million people off their health insurance plans, allow up to 28,000 more people to die a year, give $50,000 in tax breaks to millionaires, and would eliminate coverage for pre-existing conditions which would include such medical conditions as pregnancy (current or past), postpartum depression, or prior sexual assault. Oh, and a provision in the bill would make sure that Carter would be allowed to keep his healthcare plan as it exists under the ACA, which would be repealed for the rest of the country.He and his Republican compatriots threw themselves a beer bash to celebrate taking away healthcare from millions and then gloated about it with Donald Trump at a White House press conference, as well.
• June 8th, 2017: John Carter votes for HR 10, the GOP’s attempt to repeal Dodd-Frank financial reform, because what the country really needs is to allow the big banks to make the same mistakes that imploded the economy only a decade earlier.
• October 3rd, 2017: Carter votes for HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, that would try to create an unconstitutional ban abortion at 20 weeks (even though medical science tells us fetuses do not have the capability to feel pain until 29 weeks).
• December 19th, 2017: John Carter votes for HR 1, the GOP’s $1.7 trillion tax cut to benefit the wealthiest Americans and corporations permanently that coincidentally also removes the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and kicks 13 million people off their health insurance.
• February 18th, 2018: Carter and his fellow Republicans decide that poor big businesses are suffering too much at the hands of the Americans with Disabilities Act too much, and vote for HR 620, which would strip most of the civil rights protections guaranteed by it.

John Carter got 58% of the vote in the 2016 elections, winning by over twenty points over a Democratic challenger, Mike Clark and Libertarian Scott Ballard. He’s now 77 years old, and trying for his ninth term in office. However, things aren’t looking like a cake walk for the aged Carter this time out. He’s facing down MJ Hegar, an Afghanistan war veteran whose first campaign ad, “Doors”, shows her at home with a helicopter door in the home, from the chopper that she was on that got shot down in Afghanistan back in 2009. The ad went viral in Texas 31st District, and a lot of early excitement and support stemmed out of the three-minute video. Hopefully that will set the groundwork for a big upset of John Carter and make him a bigger failure than the Disney film of the same name.

[worstblogever]

Can a defense attorney demand a mistrial based on his own incompetence?

I think you just figured out why Trump hired Giuliani.

[BeastieRunner]

Manafort Trial: Defense Rests. Though there is some talk of a possible mistrial. Still up in the air.

I don't know where you got that but asking for acquittal does not equal mistrial.

It's procedural. Every case asks for that.

Mistrial? On what grounds?

There are none. Every defense asks for one.

Can a defense attorney demand a mistrial based on his own incompetence?

No ...

[BeastieRunner]

Manafort Trial AM update:

More evidence was moved into record for the jury.

If you want a detailed accounting of them, read this link.

75% of them show how deep Manafort was into providing information about his banks and loans.

Rule 29 motion (motion to acquit) verdict was rendered.

Defense: “Federal Savings Bank was aware of the status of Paul Manafort’s finances. They came to the loans with an intent of doing business with Mr. Manafort.”

Team Mueller: “Steve Calk is not the bank. Let the court see that even though he had a different motive than that of Paul Manafort, I’m not really sure there’s evidence he knew the documents were false.”

Judge sided with Team Mueller. Rule 29 overruled. Judge ruled that there was ample evidence to convict. Defense must present its case.

“The defense rests.”

Judge next assured the court, without the jury present, that Manafort was of sound mind. Manafort affirmed.

Manafort also affirmed he did not wish to take the witness stand.

Judge asked if Manafort had counseled this decision with his defense.

“I have, your honor.”

Was he satisfied with their advice?

“I am, your honor.”

Had he decided whether he would testify?

“I have decided."

Judge: “Do you wish to testify?”

“No, sir.”

Manafort returned to his seat.

Jury to receive instructions today at 3:30PM EST.

Closing arguments scheduled to begin tomorrow morning.

Sealed portion expected to be opened next week unless defense agrees to a hearing.

Chamber conference scheduled with 1 prosecutor, Manafort himself later this afternoon.

Jury dismissed for the day now.

Judge asked both sides to shorten their arguments tomorrow.