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

[The Overlord]

Nixon/Murdoch/Ailes are known as the trifecta that birthed American neo-WASP savorism (aka race-centric crypto-facism) according to most historians.

I say it was Goldwater:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dBJIkp7qIg

[Tami]

The Case of Al Franken

A remarkable number of Franken’s Senate colleagues have regrets about their own roles in his fall. Seven current and former U.S. senators who demanded Franken’s resignation in 2017 told me that they’d been wrong to do so. Such admissions are unusual in an institution whose members rarely concede mistakes. Patrick Leahy, the veteran Democrat from Vermont, said that his decision to seek Franken’s resignation without first getting all the facts was “one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made” in forty-five years in the Senate. Heidi Heitkamp, the former senator from North Dakota, told me, “If there’s one decision I’ve made that I would take back, it’s the decision to call for his resignation. It was made in the heat of the moment, without concern for exactly what this was.” Tammy Duckworth, the junior Democratic senator from Illinois, told me that the Senate Ethics Committee “should have been allowed to move forward.” She said it was important to acknowledge the trauma that Franken’s accusers had gone through, but added, “We needed more facts. That due process didn’t happen is not good for our democracy.” Angus King, the Independent senator from Maine, said that he’d “regretted it ever since” he joined the call for Franken’s resignation. “There’s no excuse for sexual assault,” he said. “But Al deserved more of a process. I don’t denigrate the allegations, but this was the political equivalent of capital punishment.” Senator Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, told me, “This was a rush to judgment that didn’t allow any of us to fully explore what this was about. I took the judgment of my peers rather than independently examining the circumstances. In my heart, I’ve not felt right about it.” Bill Nelson, the former Florida senator, said, “I realized almost right away I’d made a mistake. I felt terrible. I should have stood up for due process to render what it’s supposed to—the truth.” Tom Udall, the senior Democratic senator from New Mexico, said, “I made a mistake. I started having second thoughts shortly after he stepped down. He had the right to be heard by an independent investigative body. I’ve heard from people around my state, and around the country, saying that they think he got railroaded. It doesn’t seem fair. I’m a lawyer. I really believe in due process.”

Former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who watched the drama unfold from retirement, told me, “It’s terrible what happened to him. It was unfair. It took the legs out from under him. He was a very fine senator.” Many voters have also protested Franken’s decision. A Change.org petition urging Franken to retract his resignation received more than seventy-five thousand signatures. It declared, “There’s a difference between abuse and a mistake.”

A big part of Franken’s political problem was the way the story broke. KABC-AM released Tweeden’s material on its Web site, giving it the look of a proper news story. In reality, the station, which is owned by Cumulus Media, was a struggling conservative talk-radio station whose survival plan was to become the most pro-Trump station in Los Angeles. Three top staffers there had been meeting secretly for weeks, after hours, with Tweeden to prepare her statement, but it hadn’t been vetted with even the most cursory fact-checking. Nobody contacted Franken until after the story had been posted online. The station gave Franken less advance warning than it gave the Drudge Report, which it tipped off the previous day. After posting the story, Tweeden embarked on a media tour, starting with a live press conference and proceeding to interviews with CNN’s Jake Tapper (who had been alerted the previous day), Sean Hannity, and the cast of “The View.”

Lomonaco, Franken’s former chief of staff, said, “Typically, reporters will reach out to you for comment, so you have a heads-up, and some opportunity to put your best foot forward. But KABC posted it first and only then reached out to us. It was such an important framing moment. It had the veneer of a legitimate news story without having to abide by any of the conventions of journalism.”

McIntyre, Tweeden’s former co-host at the station, told me that he had “bluntly” lobbied to give Franken more time to respond but was overruled by Drew Hayes, the station’s operations director, and by Nathan Baker, the news director, both of whom feared that the story would leak. McIntyre and Baker confirmed to me that nobody fact-checked Tweeden’s account. They evidently didn’t ask for the names of the people on the U.S.O. tour whom Tweeden said she had confided in at the time; in fact, they made no effort to reach anyone who’d been on the trip. They didn’t check the date of the photograph, or look at online videos showing other actresses performing the same role on earlier tours. They didn’t realize that although Tweeden claimed she never let Franken get near her face after the first rehearsal, there were numerous images of her performing the kiss scene with Franken afterward. Nor did they review the script or the photographs showing Tweeden laughing onstage as Franken struck the same “breast exam” pose.

I am formerly petitioning WBE to retract his blog post about Al Franken and take him off of his April 1st list.

[Malvolio]

Trump yelling that Democrats are criticizing the US, yet he has done it himself hundreds of times.

Criticizing the government in America only becomes unpatriotic when a Republican is in the White House. Everyone knows that.

[Tami]

The dumbest President in History meeting with the dumbest member of Congress...

Trump met with Nunes to talk intel chief replacements

President Donald Trump recently spoke to top House Intelligence Republican Devin Nunes about replacements for the country’s intelligence chief — the latest sign that Dan Coats’ tenure may be short-lived.

Nunes, who grabbed national attention with his controversial allegations of Obama administration surveillance abuses, met with Trump and other senior White House officials last week to discuss who could take over for Coats at the Office of Director of National Intelligence, according to three people familiar with the get-together.

[Tami]

Trump’s New Favorite Channel Employs Kremlin-Paid Journalist

If the stories broadcast by the Trump-endorsed One America News Network sometimes look like outtakes from a Kremlin trolling operation, there may be a reason. One of the on-air reporters at the 24-hour network is a Russian national on the payroll of the Kremlin’s official propaganda outlet, Sputnik.

Kristian Brunovich Rouz, originally from the Siberian city of *******irsk, has been living in San Diego, where OAN is based, since August 2017, reporting on U.S. politics for the 24-hour news channel. For all of that time, he’s been simultaneously writing for Sputnik, a Kremlin-owned news wire that played a role in Russia’s 2016 election-interference operation, according to an assessment by the U.S. intelligence community.

[Tami]

Trump and congressional leaders announce critical debt and budget deal

Donald Trump and congressional leaders announced Monday that they had struck a critical debt and budget agreement. The deal amounts to an against-the-odds victory for Washington pragmatists seeking to avoid a politically dangerous tumult over the possibility of a government shutdown or the first-ever federal default.

The deal, announced by Trump on Twitter and in a statement by the Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, will restore the government’s ability to borrow to pay its bills past next year’s elections and build upon recent large budget gains for the Pentagon and domestic agencies.

The agreement is on a broad outline for $1.37tn in agency spending next year and slightly more in fiscal 2021. It would mean a win for lawmakers eager to return Washington to a more predictable path amid political turmoil and polarization, defence hawks determined to cement big military increases, and Democrats seeking to protect domestic programs.

Pelosi and Schumer said the deal “will enhance our national security and invest in middle class priorities that advance the health, financial security and well-being of the American people”. They claimed credit for winning more than $100bn worth of spending increases for domestic priorities since Trump took office.

[InformationGeek]

Now here's one for April 1st next year WBE because this is bad.

A former Florida state House candidate who claimed to have removed 77 bullets from 32 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting has admitted the harrowing story was a lie.

According to documents released by the state Department of Health on Wednesday and reported by online media outlet Florida Politics, Democrat Elizabeth McCarthy, who was running for House District 28, came clean during an investigation of the matter.

“It is a false statement. I just made it up,” she said. “I wanted to be somebody in the community, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I gave any impersonation. I knew it was wrong and I should have stopped ― by no means did I ever mean to put anybody in jeopardy.”

[Rosa Luxemburg]

Forget Al Franken.

The Democrats need more figures like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley. Dinosaurs like Franken have no place in the future of the party.

[Iron Maiden]

Forget Al Franken.

The Democrats need more figures like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley. Dinosaurs like Franken have no place in the future of the party.

They still need to learn the ropes. Besides, the Dems need to stop playing by Marquis of Queensbury rules with Congress being pretty much controlled by Mitch McConnell. He's got the inside track on Supreme Court picks, he's been getting a lot of appointments in the lowers courts that will effect decisions for decades to come. He said he's going to be the Grim Reaper and kill a lot of bills that come to him.

The Democrats should never throw one of their own under the bus again while McConnells's still in office and the Senate is in GOP control. They never say a word about Trump except a mild rebuke, if that. His accusers never got their chance to have their cases taken serioiusly.

[Tendrin]

Oh hey they're detaining a US Citizen again.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immi...ed-three-weeks

[wjowski]

Forget Al Franken.

The Democrats need more figures like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley. Dinosaurs like Franken have no place in the future of the party.

Then maybe they should consider winning more elections.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Lawyers For Trump ‘Super Fan’ Cesar Sayoc Say Trump’s Rhetoric Inspired Terrorist Plot On Democrats

“A rational observer may have brushed off Trump’s tweets as hyperbole, but Mr. Sayoc took them to heart,” his attorneys wrote. Who knows how many more lunatics like Sayoc are out there, waiting for marching orders only they hear from their dear leader to go hunting Democrats like he had. Republicans need to grow a fucking spine and tell Trump to knock it off with the rhetoric.

**********

India Calls Out Trump Lie That He Was Asked To Mediate Kashmir Conflict

“No such request has been made” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S. president, said a spokesman for India’s government, despite what Trump claimed. Our Bullshitter-in-Chief strikes again!

**********

Rashida Tlaib Responds To Racist ‘Send Her Back’ Chants: ‘I’m Not Going Nowhere’

Trump again attacked “the Squad” of congresswomen of color on Monday, calling them “a very Racist group of troublemakers” and “not very smart.” HAHAHAHAHA! A flaming moron like Trump calling someone else 'not very smart' is hilarious as hell. Meanwhile....

**********

Cops Fired For Facebook Post Suggesting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Should Be Shot

The Gretna, Louisiana, police chief said he did not feel the Facebook post represented a legitimate threat. Cops, covering for their own. No surprise there.

**********

Marianne Williamson Declines Samantha Bee’s Invite To Drop Out Of 2020 Race

The author and presidential candidate declined with a “Ha ha” while backstage at “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Oh, THAT'S who the author is! I learned something new today!

[Tendrin]

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday will propose a rule to tighten food stamp restrictions that would cut about 3.1 million people from the program, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said.
Currently, 43 U.S. states allow residents to automatically become eligible for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, if they receive benefits from another federal program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, according to the USDA.
But the agency wants to require people who receive TANF benefits to pass a review of their income and assets to determine whether they are eligible for free food from SNAP, officials said.
If enacted, the rule would save the federal government about $2.5 billion a year by removing people from SNAP, according to the USDA.
U.S. President Donald Trump has argued that many Americans now using SNAP do not need it given the strong economy and low unemployment, and should be removed as a way to save taxpayers as much as $15 billion.

Gotta stick it to the poors to pay for the tax cuts, after all.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published our profile of former Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, who quite obviously is famous for the time during a live interview, he decided to give his thoughts on abortion, and "legitimate rape". This might have something to do with the fact that Akin was long a supporter of Personhood legislation, as well. Anyway, we covered Akin's jacked-up ideology at length, and how he accidentally made everyone instantly aware of the GOP's "War on Women" with that sound bite.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Gotta stick it to the poors to pay for the tax cuts, after all.

I think I read somewhere that the excuse the White House gave for screwing around with SNAP was that some right wing millionaire applied for benefits to demonstrate that the system is rife with corruption, even though rich people don't want or need food stamps.