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

[Kirby101]

Hey, remember when people would suggest that ICE was totally okay and just doing their jobs because legalism? I do!

Abolish ICE.

But, but, but then...OPEN BORDERS!!!

[worstblogever]

The latest Republican attack on American Health Care will begin oral arguments in front of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in... about 8 days or so.

In 16, Robert Mueller testifies before the House about Trump, Russia, and how they colluded to interfere in U.S. elections, as well as all the times Trump obstructed justice.

Louie Gohmert is already practicing whatever it is he does, referring to the Special Counsel as an "anal opening". Between Gohmert, Gaetz, Jordan, and Nunes, that hearing will feature a bunch of GOP Congressmen trying to do everything short of throwing feces around the room to distract from the fact that Trump is criminal who is likely to be compromised by our enemies.

[Tami]

But, but, but then...OPEN BORDERS!!!

Can't we have an OPEN White House as well? Open and empty of anyone named Trump and those who suck up to him.

[worstblogever]

Hey, remember when people would suggest that ICE was totally okay and just doing their jobs because legalism? I do!

Abolish ICE.

I can't say I'm happy that our tax dollars are going towards committing human rights abuses against women and children who were seeking asylum... and it's being done on American soil. No sir, I don't like it.

[Tendrin]

I can't say I'm happy that our tax dollars are going towards committing human rights abuses against women and children who were seeking asylum... and it's being done on American soil. No sir, I don't like it.

Something something apologia limiting principle etc.

[worstblogever]

Something something apologia limiting principle etc.

Repeat, our tax dollars are going towards concentration camps. 140 experts on the Holocaust are now saying, "yes, AOC was correct, that's what they are. They are concentration camps."

[numberthirty]

- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/harva...b03d61163fd36d

Ex-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Who Oversaw Flint Water Crisis Named Harvard Fellow

[Kirby101]

- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/harva...b03d61163fd36d

Priveledged Rich White Assholes gotta protect their own.

[Tami]

Democrats running out of options to stop Trump from moving two USDA offices

Members of Congress representing many of the D.C.-based federal workers whose jobs are about to be reassigned or moved to the Midwest are running out of ways to try to stop the Trump administration from relocating those offices.

Democratic lawmakers have written a flurry of letters, bills and amendments in a race to block the measures before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, with little success.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue last month finalized plans to move about 550 jobs at two scientific agencies in the Agriculture Department from Southwest Washington to the greater Kansas City region.

In a separate move, the administration has threatened to furlough and possibly lay off 150 workers at the Office of Personnel Management, the federal workforce’s human resources agency, if Congress blocks the administration’s plans to eliminate the department.

Proponents of the changes say they want to streamline operations, save taxpayer money, spread the economic effects of federal jobs beyond the nation’s capital and bring workers closer to the people they serve.

Opponents of the USDA’s move, including Democratic lawmakers and unions representing federal workers, say the agencies will hemorrhage talent because many scientists and researchers would rather quit than move their families 1,000 miles from the District.

[Perspective: Stark choice for USDA employees: Move to Kansas City or lose your job]

Capital region lawmakers say both of the administration’s proposals are part of a long-standing Republican campaign, bolstered by President Trump, to paint federal workers as unnecessary bureaucrats.

“In the White House, there is, among some people, a real disrespect for federal employees, animated by their disrespect for the government generally,” House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), whose district includes part of Prince George’s County, said in a brief interview. “So if you’re hostile to government, you’re then . . . hostile to those who work in government.”

[Mister Mets]

In 16, Robert Mueller testifies before the House about Trump, Russia, and how they colluded to interfere in U.S. elections, as well as all the times Trump obstructed justice.

Louie Gohmert is already practicing whatever it is he does, referring to the Special Counsel as an "anal opening". Between Gohmert, Gaetz, Jordan, and Nunes, that hearing will feature a bunch of GOP Congressmen trying to do everything short of throwing feces around the room to distract from the fact that Trump is criminal who is likely to be compromised by our enemies.

Mueller did have a press conference to announce that everything he needed to say is in the report.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...-facts/590494/

He might be able to resolve questions of nuance, but the best Trump critics can hope for is some viral moment regarding information that's been public knowledge for some time.

i didn't say "only" address the current conditions in the camp -- I said address the basic human needs of those people first instead of trying to present hypotheticals for what to do afterwards. Nothing you are saying beyond that matters to me, especially when there are parents and children involved.

Mets -- stop trying to force people to "debate" (i.e. come up with "solutions") with you when you know many of us feel you often have a very loose take on "facts" and, more importantly, completely disagree with your priorities.

Just accept that my solution is to vote the obstructionist Republican party out of office and move on.



Here's what McConnell said after the last Republican president drove us into needless war and recession -- no matter what you say here, this sums up the Republican party's view towards "compromise" in our government, especially when it comes to people of color.

When I describing "the problem with only addressing the current conditions in the camps" I meant in the context of what they should be doing right now. I didn't suggest that you were claiming that the other stuff can't be addressed later. However, I do still think people active in politics should consider the big picture. The Democratic frontrunners are a private citizen and Senators in the minority party. I think we'd all prefer the problems in the detention centers be resolved by the time the next presidential administration begins, so they're going to have to be able to articulate what they want to do about immigration and asylum claims when they're in the White House, and they're going to have to be able to do this before voters make key decisions in terms of donations and primary votes.

I fully understand that others can disagree with my priorities. I am always interested in an articulation of priorities, so I can see where the specific disagreements are. There are many issues that people can come at from different frames of reference. Sometimes it could be due to different priorities, but it could be something else (IE- differences in solution, one person wanting to discuss an injustice/ another thinking everyone's in agreement the injustice is wrong so the argument has to be about something else.)

People are completely free to ignore anything I have to say. I am more likely to respond to what I feel are misunderstandings about my character.

While some may feel I have a loose take on facts (which contradicts the criticism I've heard a few times that I'm pedantic), I do think much of that comes down to people prefer hearing things that support their own views, and treating contrary information with greater skepticism than friendly information. I tend to cite my sources, and am willing to criticize people on the conservative side.

As for McConnell's comments about wanting Obama to be a one-termer, is there anyone who thinks Democrats don't want to win the White House in 2020? That they didn't want to make George W Bush a one-termer?

[aja_christopher]

As for McConnell's comments about wanting Obama to be a one-termer, is there anyone who thinks Democrats don't want to win the White House in 2020? That they didn't want to make George W Bush a one-termer?

Part of the problem is that you keep making biased assumptions and asking misleading questions.

There's a world of difference between saying you want to win an election and claiming that defeating your political opponents is your number one priority -- especially when the nation is still dealing with the effects of a worldwide recession that your party created to begin with.

Even more so when said candidate repeatedly attempts to work with you "across the aisle" and your only goal is to obstruct his every move -- the goal of politicians should be to do the will of the American public as a whole, not to constantly put party over country as the Republicans do.

That said, it explains why you have no problem with your party routinely cheating in elections, suppressing the votes of "minorities" and blatantly subverting democracy via Russian influence in order to win, even if it means separating families and making (brown) children sleep on floors while being denied humanitarian medical treatment in order to motivate your "base" to vote for said party.

If you did, you wouldn't be sitting here trying to defend them by constantly trying to raise other "hypothetical" issues instead.

And I can't even take your arguments about considering "the bigger picture" seriously -- your party is literally ignoring Russian interference in our democracy and going full-bore white nationalist under Trump, while creating record deficits (again) and starting trade wars with centuries old allies as he supports and praises authoritarian dictators around the globe and spreads lies about climate change, and you're sitting here wondering why people don't want to bother discussing theoretical "limiting principles" with you while your party separates children from their families just to "deter" them from seeking asylum.

Here's an idea: why don't you try "limiting" the damage your party is doing to our nation -- and world -- by not voting for them anymore.

[aja_christopher]

"Do the Republicans Even Believe in Democracy Anymore?"

They pay lip service to it, but they actively try to undermine its institutions.

"A number of observers, myself included, have written pieces in recent years arguing that the Republican Party is no longer simply trying to compete with and defeat the Democratic Party on a level playing field. Today, rather than simply playing the game, the Republicans are simultaneously trying to rig the game’s rules so that they never lose.

The aggressive gerrymandering, which the Supreme Court just declared to be a matter beyond its purview; the voter suppression schemes; the dubious proposals that haven’t gone anywhere — yet — like trying to award presidential electoral votes by congressional district rather than by state, a scheme that Republicans in five states considered after the 2012 election and that is still discussed: These are not ideas aimed at invigorating democracy. They are hatched and executed for the express purpose of essentially fixing elections.

We have been brought up to believe that American political parties are the same — that they are similar creatures with similar traits and similar ways of behaving. Political science spent decades teaching us this. The idea that one party has become so radically different from the other, despite mountains of evidence, is a tough sell.

It’s a hard sell to make for one very simple reason: It doesn’t have a name, this thing the Republicans are trying to do. It’s not true democracy that they want. But it’s also a bit much to call them outright authoritarians. And there’s nothing in between.

Or is there?

A couple of weekends ago, I tripped across a 2010 book called “Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War,” by Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way. If you pay close attention to such things, you will recognize Mr. Levitsky’s name — he was a co-author, with Daniel Ziblatt, of last year’s book “How Democracies Die,” which sparked much discussion. “Competitive Authoritarianism” deserves to do the same.

What defines competitive authoritarian states? They are “civilian regimes in which formal democratic institutions exist and are widely viewed as the primary means of gaining power, but in which incumbents’ abuse of the state places them at a significant advantage vis-à-vis their opponents.” Sound like anyone you know?

I discovered the book somewhat by accident, ordered it and read it immediately. As the subtitle states, the authors, working in a field that Mr. Levitsky likes to call “comparative regime studies,” were looking at regimes in the developing world and the former Eastern Bloc in the years after Communism’s collapse — years, that is, when a number of countries were moving, however fitfully, toward democratization.

There are sections on Mozambique, Kenya and Cameroon; on Taiwan, Malaysia and Cambodia; and on Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In the late 2000s, when the authors were assembling their research, these were the kinds of countries they had in mind when they conjured up the phrase “competitive authoritarianism.”

But today, incredibly, the phrase has begun to bring to mind the United States of America. I literally gasped as I read certain passages, notably the part about the important role of a strong party in winning elections and in controlling legislatures. “Legislative control is critical in competitive authoritarian regimes,” the authors write. They list four reasons. You can bet Mitch McConnell knows every one of them, and probably a couple more.

Now, I should say that I don’t think we’re there yet. Neither does Mr. Levitsky. “For all of its unfairness and growing dysfunction, American democracy has not slid into competitive authoritarianism,” he told me. “The playing field between Democrats and Republicans remains reasonably level.”

So we’re not there right now. But we may well be on the way, and it’s abundantly clear who wants to take us there."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/o...democracy.html

[Tendrin]

https://twitter.com/IntheNow_tweet/s...91549812842499

A Florida cop has arrested dozens of innocent people after planting drugs in their cars during traffic stops

https://rare.us/rare-news/florida-of...traffic-stops/

A Florida police officer is now under fire after disturbing body camera footage shows him planting drugs in a woman’s car and arresting her. Shortly after Sheriff Deputy Zachary Wester allegedly did the same to over 100 other victims, leading to 10 arrests. According to reports Wester was fired from his job and a criminal investigation is now under works by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. No criminal charges have been filed at this time but some victims are reportedly being subpoenaed for interviews in connection with the investigation.

[worstblogever]

Mueller did have a press conference to announce that everything he needed to say is in the report.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...-facts/590494/

He might be able to resolve questions of nuance, but the best Trump critics can hope for is some viral moment regarding information that's been public knowledge for some time.

CALL OFF THE HEARING EVERYBODY! Mets knows that the questions and answers won't cover anything new!

There are going to be questions about leads that aren't discussed in the report, Mets. Trump's business ties, for example. Or what the 38 investigations that were ongoing were. Just for, y'know, examples.

[worstblogever]

In 2015, 2016, as well as 2017, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of Frank Artiles, a member of the Florida House of Representatives who first turned up in the Tea Party Wave of 2010, has a voting record featuring support for drug testing welfare recipients, unnecessary bans on Sharia Law, trying to prevent gays and lesbian couples from adopting children and find ways to deny them their legal right to be married, as well as sponsor pro-life legislation that included a measure to try and change the definition of fetal viability. At the time we gave Artiles the spotlight, he was one of the first Republicans around the country to also support transphobic bathroom legislation, wanting to fine transgendered citizens $1000 for using the “incorrect” bathroom. In our profiles of Artiles, we’ve taken great pains to be as accurate as we can in our discussion of him because he tends to threaten people who report on anything he does with libel and/or slander lawsuits, considering unflattering discussion of him or his interests “bullying”. When we factored in that, along with Artiles being investigated for assault for attacking a man in a night club a few years back, we thought we had more than enough to begin keeping tabs on him.

After six years of being a toxic influence in the Florida House of Representatives Artiles did successfully win election to the Florida State Senate in 2016 after fundraising at a rate roughly four times that of his opponent, Dwight Bullard. However, his time in the upper chamber was much shorter than perhaps anyone anticipated. One would think that after Frank Artiles had that run-in at a night club a few years back, that he might rethink where he spends time after hours in the state legislature, or to not be so combative. Well, Frank Artiles is a special brand of hostile, as in April of 2017, only four months into his first term in the Florida State Senate, went out to the Governor’s Club, a members-only bar and restaurant in Tallahassee, and called several members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus the n-word, as well as calling one female lawmaker a “bitch”, and a male lawmaker a “p***y”. Artiles actually tried defending his use of the racial slur, claiming it was the version of the word that ends in an –a, and not –er, so he felt like he was just using slang and not insulting any of them. After days of trying to justify why casual bigotry was not a big deal, Artiles made a few half-hearted apologies before resigning in disgrace and now we’re going to move on and start profiling a different wacky Republican on this date instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 681-30, since this was established in July 2014.)