All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[PwrdOn]

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pushes program to streamline removal of migrant families without valid asylum claims

This kind of bold leadership is why we need more moderates in office...

[numberthirty]

This kind of bold leadership is why we need more moderates in office...

On the one hand, I actually think that it would make sense to process a bunch of claims that will be rejected in order to get a more "Let's Level With Folks From South Of America About The Actual Reality Of Current U.S. Asylum Laws..." message to folks who might be thinking of making the trip North.

On the other hand, yeah. That's about what I'd expect from a more "Moderate..." fix.

[PaulBullion]

More evidence that more civility would fix all our problems:

The Trump administration is prosecuting fewer and fewer sex trafficking cases

Federal prosecutions of sex trafficking under the same law that is currently being used to prosecute Jeffrey Epstein have decreased each year under the Trump administration, according to a new analysis from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) system.

If the current pace of sex trafficking prosecutions remains, the number of these cases the Justice Department decides to prosecute will have fallen nearly 27 percent year over year by the end of September. This represents a steep reversal of Obama-era trends that saw sex trafficking prosecutions rise nearly every year and more than double over the eight-year period from 2009 through 2016.

Compared with just five years ago, prosecutions under the same sex trafficking statute used against Epstein will have fallen 32 percent by the end of fiscal year 2019.

The declining trend for this sort of prosecution stands in contrast with the way the Trump administration has pursued other crimes, according to TRAC. The report notes that "overall, federal prosecutions for all crimes are up significantly since 2016," while these sex trafficking prosecutions have fallen.

But I am sure if the GOP officially becomes the party of pedophiles, the news media will just hire younger anchors.

[Tendrin]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/th...cid=spartanntp

© CNN Melba Coody stands at the graves of Bazán and Longoria in Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

From the sedan's back seat, Melba Coody watched as the mesquite-lined flatland of South Texas rushed by. About a century ago, she explained, her family owned all this property, as far as the eye could see.

Christine Molis, her hands on the wheel, knew that already, of course. It was a critical detail of the story her 76-year-old mother was about to retell, the story of what happened in this place -- the single event that, in their view, altered their family's destiny.
The narrative had always been there, in relatives' musings about what might have become of the family's wealth and influence if not for the killings so long ago of hundreds of Mexican-Americans by members of the vaunted Texas Rangers who took justice into their own hands.
The saga -- known as La Matanza, or The Massacre -- had recently crept onto the public stage with a push for historical markers acknowledging the slayings, along with the era's anti-Mexican rhetoric and unequal treatment of Americans of Mexican descent in the border region.

Read it. Read it and remember We have people operating with impunity on the border again.

[jetengine]

Civility isn't defined by thoughts; it's defined by actions. That's why I think holding back doesn't demonstrate civility; it's about how one presents themselves.

Holding back is an action Mets. Presentation isnt an action. Many of the shittiest politicians dressed nice and acted calm whilat ensuring people die in misery.

[worstblogever]

Back in 2014, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published our profile of the former shamed Speaker of the House and 2012 Presidential Candidate, Newt Gingrich, a race-baiting, egomaniacal hypocrite who was the poster-child of the Republican Red Wave back in 1994 that took over Congress, and immediately went about setting standards for partisanship that we’ve come to see from the GOP today. Under his watch there were two separate government shutdowns, and after a series of witch hunts against President Clinton, Newt finally thought Clinton’s dishonesty about cheating on his wife was enough to wield a hammer to try and impeach him. This from a supposed "Family Values Republican" who himself has been married 3 times, and handed his second wife divorce paperwork while she was in a hospital bed with cancer, and his mistress (now third wife) waited in the hall. Newt’s 2012 campaign had several bizarre moments, like when he said he was “bit by a penguin”, or how he promised that America would colonize the moon by the end of his second term in office, and in spite of that, for a time he actually managed to pull ahead of Mitt Romney in the polls. In the end, Newt not only came up short in votes, but in cash, as of April 2015, his long-deceased presidential campaign from three years earlier still was $4-5 million in debt (no word on where that number is these days).

In 2015, in 2016, 2017, as well as 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Greg Heartsill, a member of the Iowa House of Representatives who has represented District 28 in Iowa now since 2012. We noted that Heartsill was also making some noise as a member of Ted Cruz’s leadership team in his bid to win the 2016 Presidential election, and how in his first term in office, he had filed legislation to allow a doctor performing an abortion to be sued for malpractice if their patient simply felt regret over the entire decade following the procedure. Heartsill also demanded school conferences for LGBTQ Youth regarding bullying be cancelled, because he claimed “obscene” materials would be passed out to students, and speakers might use profanity. However, when quizzed by the media as to what the LGBTQ acronym even stood for, Heartsill was unable to do so. This embarrassing gaffe still did not deter him, and Heartsill sent a letter out to all school superintendents in Iowa to gather the attendance numbers for all faculty, staff, and students in attendance, as well as a list of the costs so he could work towards defunding the event in the future. We covered Heartsill’s issue positions, including his support for Fetal Personhood, so there’s also that. As much as he was terrified of the thought of school children being exposed to lectures about being more accepting of fellow youths who were LGBTQ, what Heartsill isn’t afraid of is letting those same children start packing heat. That’s right, Greg Heartsill voted for Iowa’s HF 2281, a bill to authorize kids under 14 to be allowed to possess a handgun. We’re sure no kids will be hit by a stray bullet, but hopefully they’ll be able to dodge all those dreaded kind words about gay kids, though. That’s what you’ve really got to watch out for. Heartsill spent his last term in office on his Evangelical crusade attacking a woman’s right to choose, voting to strip funding from Iowa Planned Parenthood clinics and trying to place a ban on abortion at 20 weeks. We do, however, have some great news… Heartsill announced he wouldn’t run for office again in March of 2018, and Iowa is far better off without this homophobe in its legislature. As such, we’re going to 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 767-40, since this was established in July 2014.)

[worstblogever]

Janice Arnold-Jones

Welcome to the 767th original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today we’ll be discussing Janice Arnold-Jones, former four-term member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, a failed candidate for Governor of New Mexico in 2010 who only got 3% of the vote in that race, and failed in her first attempt to get elected to Congress in 2012 against Democratic Congresswoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham. Arnold-Jones went mostly quiet for six years, but emerged as Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Mexico’s 1st Congressoinal District in 2018, in the hopes that she could flip the district after Lujan-Grisham would run for Governor of New Mexico. Her opponent, coming out of the Democratic primary, was Deb Haaland, who was seeking to become the first Native American woman to serve in Congress.

Honestly, there isn’t a lot of extremism in Arnold-Jones’ record as a legislator, save for the times she voted against bills aimed at curbing domestic violence, not just in terms of creating a commission to decrease it, but a bill that would block domestic abusers from becoming members of New Mexico law enforcement. We will note, however, she also voted against just domestic partnerships, let alone her opinion on same sex marriage. The worst rhetoric you would see coming from her direction would be standard GOP lies about the Affordable Care Act “killing jobs”.

Of course, the election did not go well because Janice Arnold-Jones decided the best way to chip into the lead that Deb Haaland had in the early polls would be to go on Fox News “correct the record” about Haaland’s heritage, and insinuate that she wasn’t actually a Native American.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/201...n-On-Faux-News

Ainsley Earhardt: “Your opponent, she would be the first Native American, as a woman, in Congress.”

Janice Arnold-Jones: “That’s what they say, yes.”

Earhardt: “‘That’s what they say?’ What do you mean by that?”
Arnold-Jones: “Well, there’s no doubt that her lineage is Laguna. But she’s a military brat, just like I am, and so [long pause], you know, it evokes images that she was raised on a reservation. She belongs to a pueblo.”

Welcome to 21st Century Republican politics, where they will re-frame the heritage of people to claim they’re either not actually U.S. citizens, or if their heritage is inspiring, deride it as not being genuine (See current events with Kamala Harris supposedly not being African American, and Donald Trump, Jr. spreading the story for another example). And for those not aware, New Mexico has one of the highest Native American populations in the country, so having a blonde, blue-eyed lady like Arnold-Jones go on Fox News to whine to another blonde, blue-eyed lady about if people “belong on a reservation or a pueblo” didn’t exactly sit well. She only ended up mustering 36% of the vote.

We’re not expecting her to make another run for office after burying her foot in her mouth all the way to her knee.

[Darkspellmaster]

Found this on another forum I frequently visit. Everyone there is slightly freaking out. Apparently on Thursday this was reported by a site owned by gizmodo. Can anyone verify on another news site about this? Apparently the Arctic was on fire.

https://earther.gizmodo.com/satellit...ire-1836500468

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Embraces Her Maverick Role In First Town Hall Since High-Profile Spat

The diverse and progressive crowd that greeted the New York congresswoman showed a more idealistic side of the party than the one that holds sway in Washington. The more I heard and read about AOC and her platform, the more I like her, and the more I understand why Republicans fear her, and Republicans hate what they fear.

**********

Trump Reverses Again, Says Crowd Chanting ‘Send Her Back’ Are ‘Patriots’

Trump returned to a familiar pattern: ignite a firestorm, backtrack, then strongly reaffirm his original, inflammatory position. Now, Donnie, those deplorables are racists, just like you.

**********

Ana Navarro Blasts Marco Rubio For Calling Outrage Over ‘Go Back’ Tweet ‘Self-Righteous’

The senator said people had gone “crazy with their outrage” after Donald Trump attacked four progressive congresswomen. I'm not the least bit shocked RoboMarco put support of Trump ahead of morality, since HE'S just as subject to the 'go back' taunt as a Latino as AOC and company.

**********

Michelle Obama Speaks Out After ‘Send Her Back’ Chants: Diversity Makes America Great

“We must remember it’s not my America or your America,” the former first lady said. “It’s our America.” No surprise the former FLOTUS came out against Trump's hate speech while the current FFLOTUS (Fake First Lady Of The United States) has been silent as a mime.

**********

Crocodiles Are Thriving Outside Of A Florida Nuclear Plant

Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point power plant has created an ideal habitat for the reptiles. A year from now, Florida could be dealing with fifty foot long, irradiated crocs with a taste for human flesh. It's a SyFy Saturday night creature feature come to life!

[shooshoomanjoe]

More evidence that more civility would fix all our problems:

The Trump administration is prosecuting fewer and fewer sex trafficking cases



But I am sure if the GOP officially becomes the party of pedophiles, the news media will just hire younger anchors.

That's disappointing. Websites like Craigslist took down their dating forums because the trump administration was getting too hard on sex trafficking. I should have known it was just more tough talk.

[Tami]

U.S. spy chief creates a new head of election security for intelligence agencies

ASPEN, Colo. — The nation's top spy has created a new job to coordinate the U.S. response to election security threats.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats announced Friday he has established the position of intelligence community election threats executive — and appointed a career official, Shelby Pierson, to serve in this new role.

Pierson will serve as the agency's principal adviser on threats to elections and matters related to election security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement. She will coordinate and integrate all election security activities, initiatives and programs across spy agencies and synchronize intelligence efforts in support of the broader U.S. government, the statement said.

Sounds like someone is taking the threat to the 2020 elections seriously

[Mister Mets]

I bring his and the rest of the Republican party's "shortcomings" up all of the time and you never answer directly.

Now you're trying to harp on "civility" while dodging my question regarding why we should ignore how Republicans treated the very "civil" Obama for eight years -- it's not about Trump, it's about the Republican party that elected him as president.

Being "civil" with you does nothing to keep my voting rights from being curtailed and children from being abused by Republicans -- it didn't do anything for Obama and it isn't proving any more effective with you; despite months of discussing the same old issues with you, your party is worse than ever before.



Obama proved that "civility" only allows Republicans to treat you like dirt, and with that in mind, I'm done even discussing the subject.

If it seems I keep dodging your question, it might be that I didn't realize you directly asked it.

If you want my thoughts on it, Obama benefited significantly from civility. It allowed him to win the presidential race with coattails that led to a supermajority in the Senate. It later helped him win reelection, in an election that saw gains in the Senate.

I haven't suggested that you should ignore how Republicans treated Obama. I'm sure many will believe their incivility was a problem. Though if the video is counting Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly, there's been rude comments about Republicans from the media.

Once again, this "civility" argument is nothing new. They told Black civil rights activists in the 1960s to calm down and be more civil. Yeah, because civility got them so much, right? <sarcasm>

"Civility" is what the bully cries when we make him take a little bit of his own medicine.

Incivility would apply to bullies more. No one is going to claim Trump is particularly civil.

Oh, poor Mr. Mets. He has to live in a district where his voice is marginalized and irrelevant. Welcome to my world. And before you start with "Ah, you got Andre Carson, and before that his mother Julia Carson", the district was held by Republicans for over 50 years. In a state dominated by Republicans, that votes Republican in national elections (where I'm still baffled we went with Obama in 2008).

Seriously; if it's so rough for him, there's always Staten Island. Aside from the Expressway, it's practically New York's Republican outpost.

You seem to be responding to things I haven't said.

I didn't complain about living in a mostly Democratic district; I was responding to someone's suggestion that I should stop my politicians from going with policies he dislikes. In that case, it is relevant to point out who my elected officeholders are.

So when Mets is told that the actual important issues are Climate Change, Healthcare and income inequity, he ignores those to bring up a BS topic like civility. Yeah, that's the pressing issue of our time.
It's like the made up "immigration crisis" has to be solved before we can get the kids out of cages.
Ignore and deflect.

I was just sharing my brother's response to the question.

However, it does seem that to fix climate change, Healthcare and income inequality, we need people in politics working together. Incivility (which is not limited to Democrats or Republicans, or even Democrats VS Republicans) is one of the barriers to any kind of change.

What exactly does civility entail these days anyway? Being polite, courteous, and considerate of the sensibilities of others sounds an awful lot like political correctness if you ask me...

The bottom line is that conservatives want free rein to insult others, but can't stand it when someone dares to throw it back in their face. This is just what privilege does to people I suppose, most of us learn these lessons by age six, but if you have lived your whole life never getting called out for your nonsense, it must be pretty shocking when someone does hold you accountable.

Who has argued that one side should have free rein to insult the others? Just as the discussion as civility isn't limited to Democrats VS Republicans, it's not limited to conservatives VS liberals.

You talk about people getting held accountable for their behavior, but this isn't about holding anyone accountable as an individual. It's one thing to say that because Sean Hannity or Trump is obnoxious, the gloves come off against them; it's another to suggest that everyone in the group is accountable.

Civility doesn't prevent someone from being able to discuss policy implications. Deciding to avoid bad-faith arguments shouldn't prevent you from calling someone out when they're wrong. It just means that you're making the conscious decision not to ever be the toxic combination of obnoxious and wrong.

[aja_christopher]

If it seems I keep dodging your question, it might be that I didn't realize you directly asked it.

If you want my thoughts on it, Obama benefited significantly from civility. It allowed him to win the presidential race with coattails that led to a supermajority in the Senate. It later helped him win reelection, in an election that saw gains in the Senate.

In spite of your party's lack of civility -- not because of it.

You're also omitting the fact that Republican "incivility" (the Tea Party, "birtherism", and overt Republican "base" racism) led to Republicans taking over Congress and later the presidency (by "birther in chief" Trump) by only mentioning his "wins".

All those Democratic "gains" say nothing about the "civility" of Republicans or their party line obstruction and "Kenyan-Muslim" responses to Obama's "civility" -- conversely, the relative silence of your party in the face of blatant racism and Islamophobia proves they (and you) don't really care about civility beyond using it to attack political opponents.

If you did you'd be constantly chastising your party -- the "party of Trump" -- instead of trying to justify racism, bigotry, and child abuse.

Ironically, all you've proven is that Democrats respect civility a lot more than Republicans do.

As usual, you're still not acknowledging the faults of your party, further proving the uselessness of this discussion.

[Kirby101]

However, it does seem that to fix climate change, Healthcare and income inequality, we need people in politics working together. Incivility (which is not limited to Democrats or Republicans, or even Democrats VS Republicans) is one of the barriers to any kind of change.

If we want to fix those problems we need both Parties to acknowledge they exist. Civility is laughable when one party, yours, denies Climate Change, wants to undo the minor progress of the ACA and return to Insurance Companies with free reign anf no protection for preconditions and has been fighting and winning for decades to give the 1% a bigger and bigger piece of the pie.
Trump, your Party's leader, with full cooperation from the Senate and Congressional GOP has had an astoundingly abysmal record on all of these.

Your Party isn't looking to solve these things, the are actively making things worse,

[Malvolio]

If it seems I keep dodging your question, it might be that I didn't realize you directly asked it.

If you want my thoughts on it, Obama benefited significantly from civility. It allowed him to win the presidential race with coattails that led to a supermajority in the Senate. It later helped him win reelection, in an election that saw gains in the Senate.

I haven't suggested that you should ignore how Republicans treated Obama. I'm sure many will believe their incivility was a problem. Though if the video is counting Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly, there's been rude comments about Republicans from the media.

Incivility would apply to bullies more. No one is going to claim Trump is particularly civil.

Really? No one? So Sarah Sanders and Kelly Anne Conway don't count?

This is my point. First, the bully harasses and teases his victim. Then, when the victim fights back by telling everyone about the bullying, the bully denies doing it. So the victim makes sure that the next time, the bullying will be in full public view. Then, the bully admits doing it, but claims that it was no big deal, that the victim enjoyed. Then, finally when the victim yells, in exasperation, that, no, they did not enjoy it, the bully backs up a bit and says, "Hey, what are you getting so bent out of shape about? I was being civil."

But yeah, we have to be civil.