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

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, as well as 2018, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of former Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the man who has embodied a bigoted, corrupt, and aberrant image of "justice" for Maricopa County for decades. During his lengthy tenure, Arpaio oversaw a prolific amount of inmate deaths in Arizona’s prisons, looked the other way and not investigated hundreds of rapes and child molestations in the town of El Mirage, buddied up to xenophobic militia groups and illegal immigrant patrols (travelling down to the border and far outside his jurisdiction to do so) and has been investigated by the Department of Justice and been discovered to have pervasive racism throughout his department. The self-proclaimed “America’s Toughest Sheriff” prides himself on cruelty, bigotry, and ignorance, trying to overcome the $140 million in lawsuits (you read that right, $140 MILLION) that have been filed against him, including for letting actor Steven Seagal drive a SWAT tank into a residence on a reality TV show and killing the homeowners’ puppy, through publicity stunts to appease his more racist constituents, like an “investigation” into President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. His persona of being "tough on crime" is more important to him than actually serving and protecting the populace he is elected to, and he has vindictively battled against any political figure who has even dared to suggest that more oversight or transparency into his department is needed (he won't disclose what taxpayer dollars are actually spent on in the MCSO). Arpaio was found guilty of racial profiling after the Department of Justice investigation into his department, had deputies testify that he ordered them to defy the orders of federal judges and continue racist policies, and after being found guilty, was caught during the appeal process hiring private investigators to shadow the judge’s wife and try to find something he might be able to blackmail him with. He admitted doing this under oath, but Sheriff Joe had the audacity to try and declare that now the judge was “biased” and should be taken off the case a month later. Shortly after Donald Trump made his announcement for president and said that Mexicans coming across the U.S. border were “criminals and rapists”, Joe Arpaio came to his defense, and said that criticism of Trump amounted to “violating his First Amendment rights”… which isn't how freedom of speech works, Sheriff, but hey, what can you expect from a man who once arrested the publishers of the Phoenix New Times for writing stories about corruption in his department that he didn’t like?

Now, some people might have wondered why CSGOPOTD has focused on a county sheriff on a yearly basis. Well, let's put it this way... not only has Arpaio been a bane on civil rights, and embraced racial profiling as standard policy during his tenure... he's been hailed a conservative hero for it, primarily because his target is often non-whites. Is he influential in Arizona politics? Absolutely, every GOP candidate in the state seeks his endorsement to claim they're "Tough on immigration". And it's not just Arizona. This dithering xenophobic methuselah endorsed Donald Trump for president, and was granted a speaking slot at the 2016 Republican National Convention while it was still being considered whether or not Sheriff Arpaio would face criminal charges for contempt of court. His remarks were delivered only a day after a federal judge stripped Arpaio of having oversight over his own Internal Affairs Department.

Somehow, nobody ever batted an eye about the fact that he's a county sheriff with an election war chest of $11.3 MILLION dollars. Stop and think about that... being an octogenarian, openly racist, criminal, overtly fascist, taxpayer-paying lawsuit-magnet was not enough to have stopped Republicans from donating $11.3 million in money to his re-election in 2016. There was at least, good news that Democrats managed to have retired Phoenix police officer Paul Penzone elected as County Sheriff, ending a quarter-century of racial bigotry from law enforcement in Arizona’s most populous county. The news would get even better… On July 31st, 2017, Joe Arpaio was found guilty upon appeal. He was scheduled to be sentenced on October 5th, 2017, and while his sentence could have carried up to a six-month jail sentence, the most common belief was that he would get house arrest for his crimes, because… well, cops don’t do well in prison if they’re sent there. There’s no way an 85 year old man who spent decades tormenting his own constituents would manage to avoid harassment from fellow inmates, right?

Well, long story short, Donald Trump is an ***hole. After a poorly-attended rally in Phoenix, Arizona, where roughly 4,000 people came to see him speak, and 10,000 protesters showed up… Donald Trump followed up his heinous response to Charlottesville that White Nationalists interpreted as his blessing by talking about a pardon for a man who ignored the Constitutional rights of minorities for 24 years. His rabid supporters applauded, and that was enough for Trump to give a pardon to Arpaio as Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, because you have to prioritize helping out fellow racist fascists over saving people from flooding the likes of which the nation has never seen. And he did it before Arpaio was EVER SENTENCED. Now, Donald Trump hates… HATES Arizona’s U.S. Senators. Not just John McCain, but in particular, Jeff Flake, who he promised in 2016 he would sponsor a primary challenger against. Most thought Trump was going to back former Arizona State Senator Kelli Ward, a former CSGOPOTD who once hosted a town hall on Chemtrails and pals around with people who talk about black helicopters doing all sorts of government conspiracies to the good people… but in January of 2018, Joe Arpaio announced he was running for U.S. Senate at the age of 86. The “specter of racism” will never leave Arizona as long as Joe Arpaio can soil its politics, as he seems insistent upon. Arpaio mercifully finished third in the GOP Primary for his seat in that race, getting just shy of 19% of the vote.

And… we were hoping that this would be the first year on this date that we wouldn’t have to talk about Joe Arpaio, and Arizona might have removed a bigoted stain upon the tapestry of its long, sordid, state history for the last time… BUT NO, NOT YET. Joe Arpaio just announced a few weeks ago that at the age of 88… yes EIGHTY-EIGHT, he’s going to make a run for Maricopa Country Sheriff again in 2020, and attempt to avenge his 2016 loss to Paul Penzone. He is still as racist as ever, because when he was asked what he might do court Hispanic voters back to his side, he responded that he would “go where the good Mexican restaurants are.”

We keep waiting, desperately, for a year where Joe Arpaio becomes politically irrelevant.

[SquirrelMan]

The part that leaves me shaking my head the most is how the GOP are responding to every further incident of Trump corruption, Trump instability, Trump insanity, or Trump ignoring the Constitution by digging in and cementing him as their nominee HARDER.

Like, I get that it's operating like a cult these days... but must you really gulp down the Kool-Aid like someone's going to take it from you? Spies popping cyanide pills in movies don't seem this eager to ingest poison.

I'm just worried that this is a rehearsal to cancelling the general election.

[worstblogever]

I'm just worried that this is a rehearsal to cancelling the general election.

Seems more likely they're going to let it happen, but then if the results are unacceptable to them, claim the results are invalid because a foreign entity interfered (while neglecting to mention how the White House and Senate Majority Leader have fought any effort to improve election security for the past 4 years).

[jetengine]

There will come a point where either Trump 'wins' and a coup occurs to ensure a Dictatorship doesn't ensue, a violent civil war may erupt though will most likely be crushed since Trumpers willing to die for him a minority compared to those that want a functioning society....or Trump gets outsted/leaves of his own accord/takes a deal to leave but avoids jail time.

[worstblogever]

There will come a point where either Trump 'wins' and a coup occurs to ensure a Dictatorship doesn't ensue, a violent civil war may erupt though will most likely be crushed since Trumpers willing to die for him a minority compared to those that want a functioning society....or Trump gets outsted/leaves of his own accord/takes a deal to leave but avoids jail time.

My gut says that f he's not impeached... in the interim between November 2020 and January 2020, he's going to claim it's all rigged, and if the GOP doesn't aid him to try and invalidate the results, he's going to start posting on Twitter to incite his MAGA-bomber crowd to start a civil war or attack liberals (minorities). Which MIGHT be what finally gets him banned from Twitter.

[shooshoomanjoe]

NOAA staff warned in Sept. 1 directive against contradicting Trump

No matter how often it happens, I'm always shocked when the far right are eschewing science in favor of alternative facts.

[Tami]

House Dems announce rule changes to make Trump’s impeachment inquiry just like Nixon’s

The House Judiciary Committee just announced that they’re planning to reveal an impeachment roadmap and a key change to the way they operate with the intent of holding Watergate-style hearings.

All impeachment inquiries originate in the Judiciary Committee, and now they are planning a formal resolution to lay out procedures for this fall’s impeachment inquiry, which Politico first reported late last night.

[Tami]

President Trump Slaps Tariffs on Solar Panels in Major Blow to Renewable Energy

In the biggest blow he’s dealt to the renewable energy industry yet, President Donald Trump decided on Monday to slap tariffs on imported solar panels.

The U.S. will impose duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made abroad, a move that threatens to handicap a $28 billion industry that relies on parts made abroad for 80 percent of its supply. Just the mere threat of tariffs has shaken solar developers in recent months, with some hoarding panels and others stalling projects in anticipation of higher costs. The Solar Energy Industries Association has projected tens of thousands of job losses in a sector that employed 260,000.

The tariffs are just the latest action Trump has taken that undermine the economics of renewable energy. The administration has already decided to pull the U.S. out of the international Paris climate agreement, rolled back Obama-era regulations on power plant-emissions and passed sweeping tax reforms that constrained financing for solar and wind. The import taxes, however, will prove to be the most targeted strike on the industry yet.

President Pollution strikes again.

Article was originally published in July, but still it shows what Trump care about most. Destroying everything for his own greed and ego.

[Tami]

This opinion article is the best example of the worst of Republican attitudes

America tunes out the climate-obsessed Dems | Reagan

It’s too bad for America that CNN’s seven-hour town hall on climate change was such a rating disaster.

If twenty times as many viewers had tuned in Wednesday night, about 22 million Americans today would have a real clear idea what a bunch of leftwing nut-jobs are running in the Democrat presidential primary.

Bernie, Liz, Kamala, Cory and the others took turns trying to out-do each other with their scary visions of the coming environmental apocalypse and their heroic trillion-dollar plans to use the Green New Deal to save the planet.

[Tami]

'I refuse to die in here': the marine who survived two tours and is now fighting deportation

Jose Segovia Benitez survived two tours of duty with the US Marine Corps, a bomb blast, and a traumatic brain injury.

But the US is not helping him recover. On the contrary, the government may be leading him to his death.

Segovia is currently imprisoned at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center in Adelanto, California where he says he is being denied critical medical and mental health care. The 38-year-old veteran is facing deportation to El Salvador, a country he left when he was three years old and where his loved ones fear he could be killed.

“I’m not going to die here. I refuse to die here,” Segovia said on a recent morning, wearing a red jail uniform and seated in a cramped room with no windows to the outside.

During his 21 months of detention in the southern California facility, Ice has failed to provide adequate care for Segovia’s serious heart condition, denied him proper treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and repeatedly placed him in isolation, according to the former marine and his lawyers. The consequences, they fear, could be fatal.

Segovia is one of fifteen current detainees who filed a federal lawsuit against Ice last month alleging medical neglect and horrific conditions that rise to the level of “torture”. He is also one of the estimated thousands of veterans who have faced deportation over the years despite their service to the country.

He said he didn’t know how much more he could take and was desperate to leave Adelanto and return to his hometown and family in Long Beach, California: “I want my freedom so bad … I try to hold onto any kind of strength I have, but I’m not doing well mentally, emotionally, physically.”

[WestPhillyPunisher]

President Trump Slaps Tariffs on Solar Panels in Major Blow to Renewable Energy



President Pollution strikes again.

Article was originally published in July, but still it shows what Trump care about most. Destroying everything for his own greed and ego.

More like Trump doing Big Oil a solid, but the principle is the same, cripple alternative energy sources to help the fossil fuel industry. Companies involved with wind power better look over their shoulders because it stands to reason Trump will come after them next, especially after his outrageously stupid claim back in April that noise from wind turbines cause cancer.

[Tami]

Mark Sanford Will Challenge Trump in Republican Primary

Mark Sanford, the former governor and representative from South Carolina who lost re-election to Congress after becoming a vocal critic of President Trump, announced on Sunday that he would seek the Republican presidential nomination and challenge the man who helped doom his 2018 primary campaign.

“I am going to get in,” Mr. Sanford said in an interview broadcast on “Fox News Sunday.”

“I think we need to have a conversation on what it means to be a Republican,” he added. “I think that as a Republican Party we have lost our way.”

Mr. Sanford had been mulling a presidential primary run since at least mid-July when he told The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., that he was considering whether and how he could focus national attention on the need to rein in government spending.

With his announcement on Sunday, Mr. Sanford, 59, joins the Tea Party Republican and one-term congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois and William F. Weld, the former Massachusetts governor, as Mr. Trump’s primary opponents. Mr. Walsh is seeking to challenge Mr. Trump from the right as Mr. Weld has quietly campaigned from closer to the center. And, now, Mr. Sanford will take on the president from his perch as a budget hawk.

[Tami]

OMG — I had to check this twice. It’s true. Late last night @realDonaldTrump
— who has the nuclear launch code — thought it was a good idea to tweet this animation of a cat playing with a laser pointer. HE HAS GONE MAD.
#PresidentSharpie #25thAmendmentNow

Twitter Link

It is funny though. Dumb, like Trump, but funny.

[Tami]

Unqualified And Ideological: A Guide To Trump’s Worst Judges

Two and a half years in, what stands out about Trump’s confirmed judges isn’t just the quantity, which is remarkable ― two Supreme Court justices, a record-breaking 43 appeals court judges and 99 district court judges.

It’s that a chunk of his judges shouldn’t be on the bench at all because they aren’t qualified or they’re so ideologically extreme that it’s next to impossible to imagine them as fair arbiters of justice. These judges are now on federal courts at every level, from the Supreme Court to appeals courts, which have the final say in nearly all federal cases, down to district courts, where these cases are first filed. For the appeals court judges in particular, the decisions these people make will affect you and millions of other people for generations.

“It is important for the public to appreciate that appeals court appointees serve on courts that are the courts of last resort for 99.9% of cases in their regions of the U.S. on issues like capital punishment, abortion, same-sex marriage, immigration, etc.,” said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor and an expert on federal judicial nominations. “The key is they resolve 50,000 cases per year and the Supreme Court resolves 100.”

Here’s a snapshot of Trump’s most alarming judges to date. Incredibly, all but one (Wendy Vitter) is or was a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers’ group that has effectively been picking Trump’s judicial nominees for him. There is a clear theme to these judges, too: They have records of being anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion and anti-voting rights.

[Tami]

The Taliban Scoff at Trump’s Afghan Peace Talks Bluff

DOHA, Qatar—The American negotiator trying to cut a deal with the Taliban that might let Donald Trump get all uniformed troops out of Afghanistan before next year’s election says that the two sides have an “agreement in principle.”

But Taliban officials and diplomats here in the capital of Qatar, where the talks have been held, told The Daily Beast that after Round 9 last week, there was still no deal the Taliban would sign.

Trump’s man in the talks, Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, appears to be bluffing, and has tried to make it sound as if it’s all up to his boss: “Of course, it is not final until the U.S. president agrees on it. So, at the moment, we are at that stage.”

“I think throughout this process we’ve seen the U.S. and Zalmay get a little over his skis when it comes to things like negotiation details or a timeline for withdrawal or in this case announcing the deal being agreed upon in principle,” said one former U.S. official familiar with the details of the ongoing talks in Doha. “It isn’t over and done until Trump says it is and as we know the president’s thoughts on big deals like this often change at the last minute."

Meanwhile, inside the White House, senior Trump officials are discussing last minute details of the Khalilzad-negotiated deal, according to two officials with knowledge of those conversation. Those discussions have focused in part on how to continue to support the Afghan security forces throughout the withdrawal process, those sources said.

But the longer the talks go on, the clearer it is that the Taliban have the final say. They know Trump is desperate to leave, and they are determined not only to remain a power in their country, but to re-establish what they call the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.