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

[Tendrin]

Republicans won't care one whit about Trump's conduct so long as they can stack the judicial bench with conservative nominees. That's what it's always been about.

[worstblogever]

Meanwhile, Trump claimed yesterday that if a Republican did what Biden did in Ukraine, they would "get the electric chair".

Because let's start in on calling for the death penalty to be given to the political rival you asked for a foreign nation to investigate for your benefit.

[Tendrin]

Man. The level of conservative vitriol and hatred directed towards Greta Thunberg really /is/ something else.

[JCAll]

Republicans won't care one whit about Trump's conduct so long as they can stack the judicial bench with conservative nominees. That's what it's always been about.

I wonder when it will finally hit people that Trump isn't special, aside from being personally loathsome. Will it be when the next Republican president takes office and pushes all the same policies and surrounds themselves with all the same people? Will it be when the next Democrat president takes office and it does nothing to stop the country's problem with far-right extremism? It's going to be a slap in the face to a lot of people when they realize it's not over.

[Tendrin]

I wonder when it will finally hit people that Trump isn't special, aside from being personally loathsome. Will it be when the next Republican president takes office and pushes all the same policies and surrounds themselves with all the same people? Will it be when the next Democrat president takes office and it does nothing to stop the country's problem with far-right extremism? It's going to be a slap in the face to a lot of people when they realize it's not over.

If they can still be battling far right extremism in Germany eighty years after a devastating war brought on by far right extremism, you can be safely assured that its never really over. As a big of segue, that's one of the things I like about the new Star Wars trilogy: part of the moral of the story is 'the work is never really done'.

[Mister Mets]

That is such B.S. So you're saying that the only way to get the "best people" to represent us is to bribe them? You know, rather than say, appealing to their civic duty? And do you really think we have the "best people" currently representing us? Because if we don't, then that means that offering superior health benefits DOES NOT get us the "best people" for the job. No, I think that merely attracts people who don't want to pay for anything, but at the same time make a lot of money.

I've got no problem with noble institutions offering higher salaries and benefits in efforts to get better people to apply.

They are still often asking talented and experienced individuals to take pay-cuts relative to what those people could be making so it's more about offering something that allows a decent living commensurate with higher levels of skill, education and experience. The goal is to make it less painful for them to do their civic duty.

It's not the best people in Congress, but I do suspect it's a better group than if salaries and benefits were lower. In that case we'd probably be stuck with a combination of zealots willing to make personal sacrifices in order to get as much of their agenda through as possible, and people who just view Congress as the equivalent of a residency paving the way for a high-paying lobbying career. This is related to why I don't think it's a good idea to make it difficult to be a Congressional staffer. It's the type of thing that weeds out temperamentally normal people.

There is a history of companies and institutions using health-care plans as an employment lure that allows them to keep salaries low (artificial caps on salaries during and after World War II is part of how employment-based health insurance providers came to be so important) so I could see the argument that the current benefits package is part of that, making it easier for members of Congress to claim they're making sacrifices when they're getting a benefit that would be worth a lot of money on the free market. So I am perfectly fine with increasing congressional salaries in exchange for having members of Congress buy their plans on the private market.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Man. The level of conservative vitriol and hatred directed towards Greta Thunberg really /is/ something else.

Ah. That explains this image that I saw the other day.

[Tami]

Russia's state TV:
Ukrainian diplomat Vadim Triukhan cites German newspapers: "Trump won the first elections thanks to Russia and now he wants to be re-elected thanks to Ukraine."
Russian state TV host Evgeny Popov: "Well, how else could you put it? That's exactly what happened."

Twitter Link

[Tami]

Boris Johnson's suspension of parliament unlawful, supreme court rules

The supreme court has ruled that Boris Johnson’s advice to the Queen that parliament should be prorogued for five weeks at the height of the Brexit crisis was unlawful.

The judgment from 11 justices on the UK’s highest court follows an emergency three-day hearing last week that exposed fundamental legal differences over interpreting the country’s unwritten constitution.

The decision was read out by Lady Hale, the president of the supreme court. Unusually, none of the parties were provided with advance copies of the judgment due to its extreme sensitivity. Only seven of the 11 justices who heard the case were present in court.

The first legal question the judges had to resolve was whether the prime minister’s decision – exploiting residual, royal prerogative powers – was “justiciable” and could consequently be subjected to scrutiny by the courts. The English high court declined to intervene; the Scottish appeal court concluded that judges did have legal authority to act.

In a unanimous verdict, the court ruled that Johnson’s decision to prorogue parliament could be examined by judges, overturning the ruling of the high court in London.

Delivering judgment, Hale said: “The question arises in circumstances which have never arisen before and are unlikely to arise again.”

Then, giving the court’s judgment on whether the decision to suspend parliament was legal, Hale said: “This court has … concluded that the prime minister’s advice to Her Majesty [ to suspend parliament] was unlawful, void and of no effect. This means that the order in council to which it led was also unlawful, void and of no effect should be quashed.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Ah. That explains this image that I saw the other day.

A low blow without question, but nothing surprising coming from the likes of right wing shitstains like Dickhead D'Scumbag.

[Darkspellmaster]

At least the UK is forcing them back to work. Now the question is, what will he do going forward. Kinda worried he may choose to ignore the court or find another way to suspend Parliament. And isn't his whole plan to leave with a no deal hard Brexit?

[4saken1]

I wonder when it will finally hit people that Trump isn't special, aside from being personally loathsome. Will it be when the next Republican president takes office and pushes all the same policies and surrounds themselves with all the same people? Will it be when the next Democrat president takes office and it does nothing to stop the country's problem with far-right extremism? It's going to be a slap in the face to a lot of people when they realize it's not over.

I think a lot of this will depend on not only if Trump is defeated, but how badly. If there is somehow a massive blue wave and Democrats manage to take back both houses of Congress and the Presidency, it may have an affect on how far right these politicians want to stray for a little while. If, on the other hand, Democrats take the Presidency, but Republicans are able to keep the Senate, therefore making the President effectively useless in legislative terms, nothing will probably change and they will wait patiently for the next Presidential race, all the while feeding the narrative that both Parties are just the same because politicians never do anything to dissuade voters from coming to the polls in 2022. If Trump wins, it's full on Fascism. Because that, evidently, what Americans want.

[Tendrin]

Because that, evidently, what Americans want.

The ones who are allowed to vote and had their votes counted, anyway.

[Tendrin]

Trump declaring the future belongs to 'patriots' and not 'globalists'. He can just say 'jews', you know. Most of his base will be down with that.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump declaring the future belongs to 'patriots' and not 'globalists'. He can just say 'jews', you know. Most of his base will be down with that.

Lemme guess, Kid Jackboot (Stephen Miller) wrote that speech. That sounds like the sort of ridiculous **** the administration's resident Nazi would spew out of his piehole.