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

[Gray Lensman]

I'm not really a fan of him getting charged. I get that it's his job, but it's a dangerous as **** precedent to say you are going to convict someone for not going into a dangerous situation. Fire him and strip of his pension for inability to due his duty. Convicting him of criminals acts is a step too far. Also I can see it causing an issue with certain trigger happy cops

For some reason I can't shake the thought that the reason he is being charged is for busting the "good guy with a gun" myth.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

White Supremacists Keep Beating The Federal Government In Court

The latest setback in a domestic terrorism-related case shows how much tougher it is for the feds to prosecute neo-Nazis than Muslim extremists. Well, it sure doesn't hurt that Muslim extremists are seen by whites as more in the way of bad guys thanks to 9/11.

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Adam Schiff Calls William Barr ‘Second Most Dangerous Man In The Country’

The House Intelligence Committee chair said the attorney general is “willing to dissemble” and “has the veneer of respectability to camouflage what he’s doing.” It's no secret Droopy Dog Barr is shitting on democratic norms to protect Trump.

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Republicans Are Angry About Trump’s Tariffs. Will They Do Anything About It?

Some GOP senators are warning the president he could face a veto override on his trade plans for Mexico. They can warn all they want, at the end of the day, those gutless cowards will obediently fall in line and give Trump their blessings on his tariffs. You know it, I know it, EVERYONE knows it.

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Alabama Mayor Advocates For ‘Killing’ Of LGBTQ Community On Facebook

Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chambers issued an apology claiming his remarks inciting violence were “taken out of context.” Well, golly gee whillickers, isn't that ALWAYS the case when Republicans say disgusting ****, then get called out for what they said?

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Trump Defends Transgender Troop Ban With Bogus Claim About ‘Massive’ Cost Of Drugs

“I’m proud of them, but you have to have a standard,” the president said in an interview with Piers Morgan in London. Considering the 2019 U.S. defense budget is said to be close to ONE BILLION DOLLARS, Trump's claim is pure bullshit.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Amid London protests, Trump appears in denial over his standing abroad

It was an uncomfortable spectacle for an American president — thousands of protesters greeting his arrival in London for a state visit with the queen.

For President George W. Bush, the moment called for a direct response.

“The last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames,” Bush said at Whitehall Palace in November 2003, referring to a recent stunt by illusionist David Blaine. “A few might have been happy to provide similar arrangements for me.”

Bush’s stab at self-deprecation did not spare him — in Britain or elsewhere — from withering criticism over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that year. But his response to the public dissent — acknowledging that the war was unpopular and attempting to rebut his critics — stands in sharp contrast to President Trump’s reaction to thousands of demonstrators who have taken to the streets during his three-day state visit to London this week.

Instead of recognizing the public’s expressions of anger, which included a 20-foot-tall, diaper-clad “Trump baby” blimp flying above Parliament Square, the 45th president has adopted a different tactic — denial.

“I heard there were protests,” Trump said during a news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday. “I said, ‘Where are the protests?’ I don’t see any protests. I did see a small protest today when I came — very small. So a lot of it is fake news, I hate to say.”

Trump’s efforts to minimize opposition to his presidency on the first stop of a week-long tour of three European nations represented his latest attempt to misrepresent his public standing and rewrite perceptions about the popularity of his agenda — an effort that began on his first week in office, when a White House spokesman argued, against evidence, that the president had the largest inauguration crowd in history.

The president’s claims in London were just as easily proved false. After the news conference, CNN aired footage of the demonstrators, including a giant Trump robot sitting on a toilet and repeating two of his catchphrases: “Fake news” and “witch hunt.” On social media, photos circulated of protesters holding signs reading “Trump climate disaster,” “Don’t attack Iran” and “Trump, you are a mind-bending [expletive] human being.”

Organizers estimated that 75,000 people turned out for the demonstrations.

To Trump’s critics, the display showcased a president refusing to come to grips with the reality that he remains deeply unpopular around the world and that perceptions of U.S. global leadership have plummeted during his 2½ years in office. Although Trump has expressed support for Britain’s decision to exit the European Union, his stances on Iran, climate change and other matters have been met with widespread opposition.

This is what happens when you have a president who's so consumed by his ego and pride, who's so ridiculously thin-skinned and temperamental that he can't, or rather, refuses to accept the fact that he's practically an international pariah. And that's a status all of his own making.

[worstblogever]

On the transgender troop ban...

Yes, Donald Trump loves our military so much he repeatedly dodged the draft for bone spurs he doesn't have, insults war hero POWs for "getting captured", attacks Gold Star families for supporting his opponents, demands sailors hide what ship they're on, tells war widows that "they knew what their husbands signed up for", tries to ban transgender troops for the armed services, and oh, by the way, we have just learned that his prenuptial marriage agreement with Marla Maples specified that if any children Donald Trump had plans to join the military, he would halt child support payments towards them.

That last one... that is a VERY specific thing to declare as a way to void caring about your kid. "Sign up to serve and protect this nation?!? F*** YOU, I AIN'T PAYIN' IF YOU'RE NOT MY LITTLE CHESS PIECE!"

Trump remains an embarrassment, and a mentally ill one at that.

[worstblogever]

In 2015, 2016, 2017, and as well as 2018, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of Iowa State Senator Brad Zaun, a man with a record of stalking an ex-girlfriend, by banging on her windows to call her a slut, and a reputation for being so obnoxious that in spite of him winning the primary for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in the 2014 elections, the GOP used a rare technicality that he did not exceed the 35% threshold of votes, so they just gave the win to current Congressman David Young, who finished in fifth. Zaun believes life starts at conception, that climate change doesn’t exist, that gay couples shouldn’t marry, and somehow presents terrible math to claim the Affordable Care Act costs double what it actually does. Brad Zaun also turned heads when he defended his carrying a firearm into the Iowa state capitol, saying that he “didn’t want to end up like Gabby Giffords”, which is a really distasteful comparison (especially because Giffords wasn’t shot in a capitol building).

In 2018, Brad Zaun voted for two separate fetal heartbeat bills, which would effectively ban abortion at six weeks, a time when most women don’t even yet realize they’re pregnant. That’s right, not once, but twice.

Zaun is not up for re-election until next year, and is currently trying to win over his district by handling important business, like attacking public educators at Iowa universities by trying to do away with tenure.

Take note, Urbandale, Iowa… and stop electing this moron.

[InformationGeek]

That's not good. I'm not sure if you were going to profile her or not WBE, but it probably be best to hold off for a bit in this case.

BREAKING: Former State Senator Linda Collins-Smith reportedly found dead from a gunshot wound according to her former press secretary Ken Yang. Yang says her death is being investigated as a murder.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

For some reason I can't shake the thought that the reason he is being charged is for busting the "good guy with a gun" myth.

We’ve seen instances of cops being way to trigger happy at the mere shadow (sometimes less) of danger and we’ve seen instances of cops hesitating when confronted with danger.

But let’s arm teachers and perpetuate a narrative of cowboy citizens who are going to save everyone like they are John Wayne.

[GOLGO 13]

I think it might also be that some in Trump's administration like seeing him look the fool. I can almost see some intern about to tell him and Kelly Anne Conway holds him back, saying "Nobody tell him."

Seen this happen all the time as the workplace. We love watching douchebags self ownz.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

On the transgender troop ban...

Yes, Donald Trump loves our military so much he repeatedly dodged the draft for bone spurs he doesn't have, insults war hero POWs for "getting captured", attacks Gold Star families for supporting his opponents, demands sailors hide what ship they're on, tells war widows that "they knew what their husbands signed up for", tries to ban transgender troops for the armed services, and oh, by the way, we have just learned that his prenuptial marriage agreement with Marla Maples specified that if any children Donald Trump had plans to join the military, he would halt child support payments towards them.

That last one... that is a VERY specific thing to declare as a way to void caring about your kid. "Sign up to serve and protect this nation?!? F*** YOU, I AIN'T PAYIN' IF YOU'RE NOT MY LITTLE CHESS PIECE!"

Trump remains an embarrassment, and a mentally ill one at that.

That's our Commander-in-Chief, boys and girls, the man on whose orders, our courageous servicemen and servicewomen would dutifully march off to fight and die in foreign lands. Of course, if Donnie Draft Dodger were to be confronted with the Newsweek story, he'll angrily call it fake news and deny everything until the cows come home. As a veteran, Trump infuriates me no end with his blatant disrespect of the people who proudly serve in the military.

[TheDarman]

An issue with a pathway to citizenship is that it can create incentives for new people to come in illegally, since they'll expect the same treatment.

Not necessarily. There needs to be an incentive to come here in the first place. If the idea is that you institute nationwide e-Verify following the pathway to citizenship, it means that there will be nothing for someone in the mid-term period of trying to come here illegally. Especially if we streamline the legal process, we can expect that the incentives would likely shift for people to come here legally instead.

As for the numbered points...

1. There is no majority advocating for decreasing or increasing immigration levels, due to the percentage of the population that likes the current levels. So it remains factually true that a majority is against any increase of any kind.

There's also a distinction between some kind of increase, and what PwrdOn was advocating. There could probably be some realistic deal that allows for smaller increases, but even with that, there is the potential for a backlash.

Of course, the "current levels" is a confusing statement. What if undocumented immigration decreased as a result of changing legal standards and a compromise is made to ensure that undocumented immigration is stymied? I think that this will probably, like most things, break down on largely partisan lines. It seems unlikely that the backlash would be particularly large to big, positive reforms also leading to increases in legal immigration if the consequence is that there is much fewer undocumented immigrants.

2. I do want to be clear that I'm responding to his point about pretty much unlimited immigration, rather than a doubling of our current numbers. So with what you seem to want, the infrastructure needs won't be as urgent.

I think unlimited immigration isn't particularly realistic. People do want immigrants vetted and ensure that we don't exist in an "open border" society. I expect that working within our system of Visas is realistic and, in fact, necessary. Even doubling both kinds of Visas to be more receptive to our economic needs is probably appropriate and can also act as yet another disincentive to needing to immigrate here illegally.

3. The 50,000,000 new immigrants to vote at 100% rates to have a major impact, especially since they won't be randomly distributed. They presumably won't immediately get to vote, but it'll happen soon enough.

There were well north of 130,000,000 voters in the last election. Even assuming that fifty percent of the population that we get with immigrants vote (which is actually fairly high for immigrant communities), that's only an expansion of 25,000,000 voters in the next twenty or so years. That's not a lot when you have a lot of new voters becoming eligible every year from just being born here. It can have an impact, but I don't think that there is a reason to be any more fearful of immigrants that have lived here for the better part of a decade than any other changes that are inherent within our current socio-political climate.

I wouldn't assume they'll all immediately be on board the standard Democratic agenda. They might want things that are weird and unpredictable.

Neither would I. I would simply say that it is unlikely to change the two-party system. There is unlikely to be a successful third party that can carry these "weird and unpredictable" positions, even if 100% of them would give their support to it. As a result, they'll likely fall under the Republican or Democratic constituencies. There might be a small shift in policies to court these voters but, again, they aren't a big enough portion of the overall electorate that they would gravelly change our political realities.

4. This assumes all the immigrants will be able to find work. This is likelier under your system of increasing the number of Visas by a manageable number with an emphasis on skill-based immigration rather than PwrdOn's stated preference of letting almost anyone in.

Well, I'd also support refugee increases and the like. However, economics literature would support the idea that increased consumption would lead to more demand for products which should increase the demand for labor. If that doesn't work out that way, it might be time to evaluate why our economy isn't working the way that it is theoretically supposed to.

As for impeachments, it gets messy since support for it will be higher with the base than with the voters in general. The main punishment for the base is the prospect of losing primaries, and that remains a concern.

Sure it remains a concern. Of course, if you hold off a vote for impeachment until it becomes politically viable with independent support as well, no one can hold it over your head in a primary that you didn't vote for Trump's impeachment. It just never came up for vote. So, that's why I think they are waiting until it is generally politically appropriate. Once it is, I expect Democrats will be more willing to go with it and then the Democratic Party will vote for it because of their collective fear of falling in a primary.

[Malvolio]

White Supremacists Keep Beating The Federal Government In Court

The latest setback in a domestic terrorism-related case shows how much tougher it is for the feds to prosecute neo-Nazis than Muslim extremists. Well, it sure doesn't hurt that Muslim extremists are seen by whites as more in the way of bad guys thanks to 9/11.

**********

Adam Schiff Calls William Barr ‘Second Most Dangerous Man In The Country’

The House Intelligence Committee chair said the attorney general is “willing to dissemble” and “has the veneer of respectability to camouflage what he’s doing.” It's no secret Droopy Dog Barr is shitting on democratic norms to protect Trump.

**********

Republicans Are Angry About Trump’s Tariffs. Will They Do Anything About It?

Some GOP senators are warning the president he could face a veto override on his trade plans for Mexico. They can warn all they want, at the end of the day, those gutless cowards will obediently fall in line and give Trump their blessings on his tariffs. You know it, I know it, EVERYONE knows it.

**********

Alabama Mayor Advocates For ‘Killing’ Of LGBTQ Community On Facebook

Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chambers issued an apology claiming his remarks inciting violence were “taken out of context.” Well, golly gee whillickers, isn't that ALWAYS the case when Republicans say disgusting ****, then get called out for what they said?

**********

Trump Defends Transgender Troop Ban With Bogus Claim About ‘Massive’ Cost Of Drugs

“I’m proud of them, but you have to have a standard,” the president said in an interview with Piers Morgan in London. Considering the 2019 U.S. defense budget is said to be close to ONE BILLION DOLLARS, Trump's claim is pure bullshit.

They always say they were "taken out of context." Either that, or they claim that they were just kidding. I had no idea there were so many Republican comedians.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

They always say they were "taken out of context." Either that, or they claim that they were just kidding. I had no idea there were so many Republican comedians.

I know, right? Who knew GOPers were such amazing cutups? Makes you wonder why they waste their time in politics when they could storm the stand-up circuit and put the country's top funnymen out of business.

[Dalak]

They always say they were "taken out of context." Either that, or they claim that they were just kidding. I had no idea there were so many Republican comedians.

I know, right? Who knew GOPers were such amazing cutups? Makes you wonder why they waste their time in politics when they could storm the stand-up circuit and put the country's top funnymen out of business.

I guess my posting about this got lost last night, but how are these fucks still considered Pro-Life? That and it puts the lie to every GoPeon going on about how inclusive/tolerant they are this Pride month.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I guess my posting about this got lost last night, but how are these fucks still considered Pro-Life? That and it puts the lie to every GoPeon going on about how inclusive/tolerant they are this Pride month.

Maybe that's because those clowns are actually Pro-WHITE Life, and the only inclusivity they care about is among rich, straight, gun loving, God fearing WHITE people. Just a thought.

[worstblogever]

That's not good. I'm not sure if you were going to profile her or not WBE, but it probably be best to hold off for a bit in this case.

She was found shot to death, and Republicans honor her passing by commending her record on making guns easier to get.

I'm sure that's exactly what her family are thinking right now.