All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of John Bennett, a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives first elected in 2010 who has spent three terms in office sponsoring some horrendous legislation from his first day in office, when he submitted both a 20 week abortion ban as well as a Birther bill. Bennett has since submitted nullification bills to try and negate the Affordable Care Act, Federal Firearm Laws, as well as the United Nations Agenda 21 Environmental Treaty (probably because like a lot of paranoid conservatives, he thinks it's a plot to take over the planet). Now, what truly makes John Bennett a despicable individual is his anti-Islamic rhetoric, fearmongering by falsely spreading the lie that the Quran calls for all non-Muslims to be killed and insisting any Christian or Jew that refuses to convert will be decapitated on the spot. He has called Muslims "a cancer that needs to be cut" out of America, and that Islam is "not even a religion", but a method to execute a plan of global domination. In February of 2015, Oklahoma's chapter of the Council of American Islamic Affairs hosted the first Muslim Capitol Day in Oklahoma, where the small community of practitioners of Islam in the state opened themselves up to the rest of the state, in a gesture of kindness, acceptance, and understanding, only to see John Bennett turn it into a holy war and show up to with protesters carrying signs that said things like "Allah is a pedophile", or "Mohammed is in Hell" to pass out Bibles and harass attendees with surveys asking them if they would "denounce the terrorist organization Hamas". Adam Soltani, the head of Oklahoma's chapter of CAIR was as chill as someone could be about being demonized to his face by a bigot, saying he had no problem with the bibles being passed out, and that they have repeatedly condemned terrorists of any faith. Fast forward a few months to November 2015, and Bennett began fearmongering, again, and citing that there were already Syrian refugees in Jenks, Oklahoma, and that there should be an immediate halt to more being accepted into Oklahoma, before giving way to a more homophobic display of anger, where he grew irrationally angry about the rumors that someone would place a non-secular, rainbow-colored "Festivus Pole" at the Oklahoma capitol around the holidays, viewing it as a "hostile attack on his Christian beliefs". Bennett, during the build-up to the 2016 election, posted a story on his Facebook page about Hillary Clinton and Benghazi with only the commend, “2 words…firing squad”. The Oklahoman newspaper followed up for an explanation, and at first, in a text message saying the post was meant to be sarcastic, but then added that Clinton “has committed nothing less than treason by leaving fellow Americans to die in Benghazi. If anyone else had done that they would be charged with treason and thrown under the jail at a minimum, and a firing squad likely.” Now, in August of 2017, after Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia terrorized the town for most of a weekend, leading to the attempted mass murder of counter-protesters in a vehicle attack that did take the life of Heather Heyer… well, there were some terrible reactions from quite a few members of the GOP, and guess what? John Bennett was among their number. He posted a message indicating that he sympathized with the folks who claimed to be there to “support Confederate monuments”, and while he was at it, called for the removal of mosques from the United States because of 9/11. In November of 2017, Bennett went on record to compare state agencies in Oklahoma to “terrorists”, because they had the gall… the chutzpah, to expect the state budget to have funding so they continue operating. After a teacher’s strike in Oklahoma motivated by them having the worst education funding in the nation resulted in their demands were met for a pay raise. Well, one of the worst reactions by Oklahoma Republicans to that strike might have been the one from John Bennett, who during debate on the education bill, argued that money wasn’t really what the teachers needed. What they needed was the right to return to corporal punishment and spank kids, because apparently they’re just sadists at heart, and should be compensated through physically assaulting children instead of being given money. Bennett only narrowly won re-election in 2016, and with a Blue Wave on the horizon in 2018, opted to not run for re-election. As his career seems to be over, at least for the minute, we’ll set aside his profile and take a look at another wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 862-45, since this was established in July 2014.)

[worstblogever]

Adam Laxalt

Welcome to what is the 862nd original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Adam Laxalt, the former Attorney General of Nevada from 2015-2019 who was originally elected by about 5,000 votes in 2014, even though his own law firm described him as a “train wreck” and “borderline incompetent” in a performance review only two years earlier. Laxalt had strict anti-gay views, opposed same sex marriage enough to want to ignore the Supreme Court’s Obergefell vs. Hodges ruling, and even argued in 2010 against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, writing:

“Cultural elites notwithstanding, homosexuality and its integration into society are anything but certain right now… It is one thing for the military to ask its members to accept homosexuals, but another for the military to ask its members to accept and live with homosexuality, the homosexual lifestyle.”

Laxalt was also quoted as calling the Affordable Care Act “the most flawed piece of major legislation America has ever endured”. Which, y’know, it might not be perfect but it’s a hell of a lot better than say, the Fugitive Slave Act.

After a turbulent four years in office where he seemed to be proving his old law firm right, including when he sued the Obama administration for daring to try to keep migrant families being detained by ICE together, was opening a witch hunt into Planned Parenthood… and just, y’know, didn’t bother doing background checks on firearm sales as is required of his office (and it’s not like 50 people were killed in a shooting in downtown Las Vegas by a madman or anything…)

Laxalt rolled the dice and took a shot at trying to get elected Governor of Nevada in 2018, by which we mean, Sheldon Adelson was hoping to shove enough money into his arse and try to roll him into the governor’s mansion to do his bidding like a good puppet. The problem was, even during the worst period of income inequality in the United States in over a century, Laxalt was arguing against minimum wage increases, he also had his arrest record released from when he drunkenly assaulted a police officer in Virginia back in 1997.

Worse yet for him, Laxalt joined the growing ranks of Republican candidates whose own family members put them on blast for being awful. Whether it’s pointing out he's pretending to be a rural hero when he lived most of his life in New York, his hypocrisy on coming from a family proud of their immigrant history who is opposed to immigrants, or that his own law firm thought Laxalt was disaster, they took out an op-ed to discourage Nevadans from electing him governor.

They got their wish, as Adam Laxalt only managed 45% of the vote and is currently out of office. We hope it stays that way.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Does anyone know an electoral college map site other than RCP? Their bias is so ridiculous.



This is their current list of "toss ups".

The "leans Trump" column includes SC, where Trump is currently polling +4


The toss-ups include Michigan (Biden +5.5), Nevada (Biden +4), Pennsylvania (Biden +6.5), Arizona (Biden +4.4) NM (Biden +8!!), and even Maine and Colorado (Biden +10 in both).

They are not using the same standards to decide which states are leaning, and which are toss-ups. Sure, historical data plays a role - but they are supposed to be a polling aggregation site.

It’s an aggregate site....

[PaulBullion]

It’s an aggregate site....

That's what they claim. But they are also a low key propaganda site.

They ignore polls occasionally for obviously strategic reasons. Add to that the content of my post you quoted.

And then there was the alt-right facebook group they secretly ran.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Forget about Texas. That’s a fantasy. Beto couldn’t even beat Cruz there and he’s hated by half the state. Biden needs to shore up the Midwest and he’s fine. If you want a realistic golden carrot go Florida

[worstblogever]

Forget about Texas. That’s a fantasy. Beto couldn’t even beat Cruz there and he’s hated by half the state. Biden needs to shore up the Midwest and he’s fine. If you want a realistic golden carrot go Florida

Arizona's looking like a nice little purple patch of land for Democrats to seize. The idea that both Senators will be Democrats until 2024, at least...

That just sounds nuts.

[Gray Lensman]

Forget about Texas. That’s a fantasy. Beto couldn’t even beat Cruz there and he’s hated by half the state. Biden needs to shore up the Midwest and he’s fine. If you want a realistic golden carrot go Florida

It isn't so much of a fantasy than it's still a couple of years away - despite no one really liking Ted Cruz, he is a VERY disciplined campaigner who is easily able to turn questions like "Name one thing you like about your opponent" into lines of attack instead. Looking at Beto's presidential campaign it's easy to see how he lost - although his coattails were enough to flip a few House seats despite losing his own race. Texas might flip in the next decade, although if the Voting Rights Act hadn't been gutted by the Supreme Court that would be a certainty rather than a mere possibility.

The thing to do in Texas is spend a little money to do 3 things.

1 - keep those flipped House seats
2 - maybe flip a couple more
3 - force the Republicans to spend money that they would rather spend elsewhere.

I'm also not as sure about Florida's status as a swing state anymore - It's beginning to look more and more like a safe Red State.

[Tami]

Why Mitch McConnell Wants States to Go Bankrupt

When Cuomo protested McConnell’s bankruptcy idea, the New York governor raised the risk of chaos in financial markets. But McConnell does not advocate state bankruptcy in order to subject state bondholders to hardship. Obviously not! When McConnell spoke to Hewitt about fiscally troubled states, he did not address their bond debt. He addressed their pension debt. State bankruptcy is a project to shift hardship onto pensioners while protecting bondholders—and, even more than bondholders, taxpayers.

Republican plans for state bankruptcy sedulously protect state taxpayers. The Bush-Gingrich op-ed of 2011 was explicit on this point. A federal law of state bankruptcy “must explicitly forbid any federal judge from mandating a tax hike,” they wrote. You might wonder: Why? If a Republican Senate majority leader from Kentucky is willing to squeeze Illinois state pensioners, why would he care about shielding Illinois state taxpayers? The answer is found in the third of the three facts of American fiscal federalism.

United States senators from smaller, poorer red states do not only represent their states. Often, they do not even primarily represent their states. They represent, more often, the richest people in bigger, richer blue States who find it more economical to invest in less expensive small-state races. The biggest contributor to Mitch McConnell’s 2020 campaign and leadership committee is a PAC headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey. The second is a conduit for funds from real-estate investors. The third is the tobacco company Altria. The fourth is the parcel delivery service UPS. The fifth is the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical corporation. The sixth is the home health-care company, LHC Group. The seventh is the Blackstone hedge fund. And so on and on.

A federal bankruptcy process for state finances could thus enable wealthy individuals and interest groups in rich states to leverage their clout in the anti-majoritarian federal system to reverse political defeats in the more majoritarian political systems of big, rich states like California, New York, and Illinois.

Now that is evil. If States go bankrupt, that means that the wealthy will gain control over the politics of those states, which could lead to blue states being forced, against their will, to turn red.

[Steel Inquisitor]

These online "on-the-ground" conversations carry more weight than people realize.

You present yourself as a neutral observer yet you've proven to be only interested in normalising the bad elements one the left. Whatever credibility you did have is gone at this juncture.

Somewhere along the line, we went from rightfully criticizing bad-faith actors and outliers in the Progressive movement, to criticizing and scapegoating all the Progressive Left.
And that's dangerous for us come November (and beyond).

There is no "we," you don't speak for us. "Scapegoating" is a revealing word you chose. You're not interested in calling both sides you want resistance to the bad actors on the left to quiet down so they can do their work unimpeded.

Since the Center-Left candidate won, it's their responsibility to continue building a winning coalition.
So it makes sense that their base should mirror the candidate's position and be the ones to begin the reconciliation process.

It's impossible to build a coalition with people who want to snuffle out your voice and demoralise the Democratic voters. This isn't all the Left, of course. They're not all tankies more invested in letting Trump win.

I'm not worried about the "Sanders-turned-Trump" voters.
I'm infinitely far more worried about keeping regular Progressive voters.
I'm worried that in our pursuit of the former, we are missing, or actively discouraging, the latter.

Except all you've shown as holding the Centre-Left to standards that won't be mirrored by the Left. Or the fact that we should shut up when they abuse people online and demoralise Democrats. You want the Left to do as they please, you're not interested in accountability on both sides.

If the choice they are considering is begrudgingly staying in the DNC and voting for Joe, or leaving for a Third-Party, which likely more closely aligns with their views, then we need to make it appealing for them to stay.
And that requires empathy, listening, and even a little salesmanship.

You should follow your ow advice. I don't partake in conspiracy theories or those who encourage them to stop Democrats winning elections.

You've shown yourself to be one of "them." I can't get through to you because you're not interested in hearing what I have to say. You're not voting Biden, and never had any intention of doing anything else.

My humble suggestion: Stop being baited and stop wasting your time. Start building those bridges.

Having said all that, if you still find yourself resisting this message, you may want to ask yourself, which do you like more:
Complaining about people and scapegoating, or actively helping the DNC win elections?

This schtick is over. Stop trying to foster environments where tankies can undermine the party.

But, hey - I'm just a failed tech support guy.
What would I know?

Not as much as you think.

[skyvolt2000]

Forget about Texas. That’s a fantasy. Beto couldn’t even beat Cruz there and he’s hated by half the state. Biden needs to shore up the Midwest and he’s fine. If you want a realistic golden carrot go Florida

Guess who didn't go vote. If it's not a Presidential one-a lot of folks don't bother.

[TheDarman]

Journalist offers a comprehensive review of Reade’s more descriptive claim of her assault:

Reading over Tara Reade’s interview with Katie Harper, a few things in her account jump out as sounding strange to me, speaking as someone who has spent many many hours in the Capitol complex.

Here are some quick thoughts and notes.

First, she says she was told to meet then-Senator Biden with his gym bag in the basement as he returned from the Capitol (the “subway” comes into Russell in basement). Why is this strange? The Senate gym is on the 1st floor of Russell, Biden’s office was on the 2nd in room 221.

This begs the obvious question of why would a scheduler for a gym-bound Senator with an office on the second floor of Russell have a staffer bring him his gym bag in the basement rather than have the staffer meet him on near the gym on the first floor.

But let’s move on, shall we? Reade says she saw Biden “at a distance” in the Russell basement, presumably after she came off the stairs or elevator.

Now, today you certainly could see a person exiting the subway from a distance, as the basement rotunda is wide open as shown in this photo by @alanhe.

It’s a wide open area that is the endpoint of two well-trafficked hallways that connect from the ground level entrances used by visitors & staff.

But it’s not nearly as likely that she could see Biden from a distance there in 1993.

542BAF61-40EB-441E-AA8E-103EE9760323.jpg

Why is that? Because the basement wasn’t a large empty space in 1993.

In 1992, the Architect of the Capitol had placed the plaster model of the statue that sits on top of the Capitol dome in that space, leaving an obstructed view from elevators

Here’s what it looked like.

FFE0FD7F-B39D-44AE-A820-5E80A3E3B44A.jpg

Reade describes the alleged assault as taking place in “the side area.”

It’s unclear what she means by this, because the Russell basement area off the subway terminal is (as I’ve explained) a large round room. The subway terminal area has a section that could be described that way, but if that’s the area where she alleges the assault took place that doesn’t make much sense because the area that’s out of view from the basement rotunda shares a wall with a Capitol Police post. It’s also a very highly trafficked area because of the subway.

Reade tells Halper that after the alleged assault she found herself in Russell, near “big windows...and stairs.”

This is a basic description of the elevator lobby that is closest to the subway. You get there by walking straight across through the basement rotunda from the subway area (or going around the statue mold that was there in 93).

But you also have to walk past that Capitol Police post, and it seems unlikely that a USCP officer would not have noticed her.

By this point, Reade has canceled her Fox interview and more questions are emerging about her claim to have filed a report of what happened with the Senate.

If she ever sits for an interview, perhaps it would help to ask about this stuff as well.

Can we say that this is an incredible account as of now?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Tara Reade having cancelled her appearance with Chris Wallace is easily the smartest thing she’ll do all month. As one of the precious few legitimate reporters on Faux News, Wallace would’ve shredded Reade’s openly flimsy story to shreds, and she knew it. I’m willing to give women the benefit of the doubt when it comes to claims of sexual assault, but it’s clear that Reade is a first class fraud who’s fake story will only hurt other women who muster up the courage to point the finger at attackers.

[Robotman]

So Asian “Murder Hornets” are now in the US. Sure, 2020 just keep piling it on.


Murder Hornets in the US: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet


With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young. For larger targets, the hornet’s potent venom and stinger — long enough to puncture a beekeeping suit — make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin.

Ok so we got plague and pestilence. Just waiting for famine and the inevitable skeleton with the scythe to come riding out of the sky.

[Tami]

So Asian “Murder Hornets” are now in the US. Sure, 2020 just keep piling it on.


Murder Hornets in the US: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet


With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young. For larger targets, the hornet’s potent venom and stinger — long enough to puncture a beekeeping suit — make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin.

Ok so we got plague and pestilence. Just waiting for famine and the inevitable skeleton with the scythe to come riding out of the sky.

The four horsemen, War, Famine, Pestilence, Death. We have famine on the way if the food chain is disrupted any more than it is. War, Trump has been on the verge of getting us into a war for quite some time.

[JCAll]

So Asian “Murder Hornets” are now in the US. Sure, 2020 just keep piling it on.


Murder Hornets in the US: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet


With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young. For larger targets, the hornet’s potent venom and stinger — long enough to puncture a beekeeping suit — make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin.

Ok so we got plague and pestilence. Just waiting for famine and the inevitable skeleton with the scythe to come riding out of the sky.

I can't even be mad about the Murder Hornets. In fact, I welcome the Murder Hornets. Maybe I'll get one on a little leash to take for walks in the park. That will keep people 6 feet apart.