All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Striderblack01]

The screechy wheel that cries the loudest gets the blame.

Just like with Clinton and that Crime Bill-when attention whores refuse to allow civil conversation on a topic-it has consequences.
The voters who feel taken for granted and no one can tell them a thing because the attention whores won't shut up.
Along with the "fake woke" crowd who screams don't vote or don't vote for either of them like a certain ex-football player did. Sheep follow his request.
DNC loses.

Because they can focus on what needs to be paid attention to for the attention whores. Who screw it up for who they want in the long run.

So...so, who is a whore?

Eh, it doesn't matter.

If reconciliation and teamwork is the goal, it's probably a good idea to refrain from name-calling.
All I'm saying is that there is a cycle in the making here, and it doesn't lead to a good outcome.

If people are interested in the DNC winning elections, which I am, it'd be great if both groups would ...just ..stop.

[BeastieRunner]

Meanwhile, a bunch of armed rednecks stormed their Governor's office building "protesting" the stay at home orders. If they weren't white (and I say this as a pale ass white boy), they would be labeled as thugs, terrorists, or haters of the United States and told to get out.

So, about these Michigrunts holding up the MI capitol building with guns. What would be the best way to deal with them that is both effective (as in, “not perceived as toothless”) and doesn’t result in some kind of retributive escalation?

Like so.

Some anonymous hero is photoshopping giant dildos into photos of militia protestors.

I guess those protesters really want America to open up again.

[Robotman]

Like so.

Some anonymous hero is photoshopping giant dildos into photos of militia protestors.

I guess those protesters really want America to open up again.

Not all heroes wear capes.

[sammy_hansen]

Imagine if 50 Muslims bearing arms protested inside a government building...

But remember, they don’t integrate into society and have different values and follow different laws...

[Steel Inquisitor]

The Center-Left blames Sanders supporters and marginalizes Progressive ideas and voters.
Progressive voters feel voiceless and taken for granted by the DNC.
Progressive voters start voting third party.
The DNC loses elections.
The Center-Left blames Sanders supporters and marginalizes Progressive ideas and voters.

You're omitting the fact how far certain elements on the Left will go to sabotage the party from within and without and are ruining ruining the left's image to anyone not in the group. These are tankies and third parties who refuse to acknowledge how the political system actually works since it invalidates their world view.

Except the Left does get a voice in how the Democrats run for election, their candidate came in second in both presidential primaries, getting a voice in the party is not the same as getting to win every election. That's on the Left to accomplish, and they're not was good at getting those results as the other factions.

There is no marginalising, currently the status quo is the Left has made small gains in the party since they're not great at electing people and the ones who do are at the bottom of the hierarchy since they're rookie politicians. Factions don't get the ret of the party to do everything they want when they're at that level, it's like thinking the janitor has more of a say in a company is run than the president.

Stop blaming others for your failures and look inward. You want to win more look at Sanders for failing you.

So...so, who is a whore?

Eh, it doesn't matter.

If reconciliation and teamwork is the goal, it's probably a good idea to refrain from name-calling.
All I'm saying is that there is a cycle in the making here, and it doesn't lead to a good outcome.

If people are interested in the DNC winning elections, which I am, it'd be great if both groups would ...just ..stop.

Get your group under control then we'll talk, accountability has to mean something and the left is horrible at policing itself. Don't expect is to let our guard down when the other side won't disarm.

It would, but nobody on the left has the power to do so. Or has much incentive to hold their own accountable.

[worstblogever]

It was on this date in 2015 that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” had a profile of [B]Joan Farr Heffington[B], a former candidate for Governor of Kansas who somehow, don’t ask me how, actually tried running to the right of Sam Brownback. Heffington insisted that as governor, any law that she signed would have had to had a constitutional or biblical justification for her to sign it and advocated for schools to teach students Creationism in class. That’s not even the crazy part. You see, Heffington is a big conspiracy theory fan, spreading tales of Agenda 21 leading to global domination, covert government operatives infiltrating Kansas hospitals to conduct biological and chemical warfare experiments on unwitting patients, unwilling citizens being implanted with mind control microchips (which she considers to be an apocalyptic possibility, interpreting this microchipping as “the Mark of the Beast”), the H1N1 Flu Virus being spread via pen injection into a 22 year old man who learned to much about a secret program to sneak prisoners out of Guantanamo Bay Prison, and that the CIA was running Kansas based on French laws from the 1950s that let them use citizens as guinea pigs. Ironically, she is the chief executive of an advocacy group she named the Association of Honest Attorneys, and she listed God as a board member of it, alongside herself. When a stiff opposition to gay marriage, support for Personhood legislation, and hanging out with a pastor who’s convinced President Obama is a secret Muslim are the LEAST crazy things in someone’s CGSOPOTD profile, you know they’re nuts. In any event, Heffington hasn’t run for office since 2012.

It was on this date in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” presented profiles of the former U.S. House Representative from Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District, Lou Barletta, who while he was still mayor of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, Barletta made a name for himself back in 2006 by passing a city ordinance to curb illegal immigration, the draconian "Illegal Immigration Relief Act". He immediately defended charges of the law being racist by saying, "This isn't racial, because 'illegal' and 'legal' don't have a race.” Of course, it's hard to believe that when you consider Barletta was proudly touting the measure’s "success" by the most interesting measurables... bankrupting Mexican restaurants, adding, "I see illegal immigrants picking up and leaving -- some Mexican restaurants say business is off 75 percent. The message is out there." Well, racist or not (it's racist), within less than a year, the courts overturned the law as unconstitutional, to Barletta's chagrin. He did not, however, cease to demonize undocumented workers to advance his political career, and rode anti-immigrant fever into Congress in a mining town that was ironically built by Italian and Irish immigrants into a hub a century ago. He has cemented an alliance with the Federation of American Immigration Reform, whose idea of reform is actually "kick 'em all out" and has earned itself the attention of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who classify FAIR as a hate group. In April of 2014, FAIR was hosting their "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" event in Washington, D.C., where they invite conservative radio hosts to the capitol to interview members of Congress, and push for extreme actions to be taken against undocumented workers. Lou Barletta was more than happy to give interviews to the most radical and xenophobic of loons. Perhaps the most disturbing quotes included his discussion with the rabidly anti-Islamic activist, Frank Gaffney, where he called Barack Obama a "dictator", his chat with Lars Larson to say that "Sanctuary Cities are making us a Third World Country" and his chat with former chief of staff to Allen West, Joyce Kauffman, where Barletta compared undocumented workers to the terrorists who hijacked planes on 9/11. Pretty disgusting examples, right? Well, Barletta doesn't have much self-awareness for cause and effect, as he has also managed to whine about how the GOP cannot win over Latino voters. He really has no idea why they can't get behind a Republican Party that demonizes Latinos as much as they do, and probably doesn't help them make any more headway like when he refers to them as "not skilled" or "not having high school diplomas", and their eagerness to just take government handouts. Which, he assumes would make them Democrats, so why push for immigration reform, when they're just going to join the opposing party, right? Lou Barletta is against any and all actions involving immigrants short of a boot to their ass that he began actively talking about impeaching President Obama for his executive orders on immigration in June of 2014, insisting that House Republicans had the votes to successfully do so (they didn’t, not that it was an impeachable offense, anyway).

Outside of being a xenophobic bigot, what else is there to know about Lou Barletta? In his last debate against Paul Kanjorski, back in 2010, Barletta denied climate change science. He has twice already voted to defund Planned Parenthood, as well as having been a consistent vote on anti-choice measures, has repeatedly voted to try and repeal the Affordable Care Act, has voted against raising the Debt Ceiling limit, and voted for the 2013 Government Shutdown. Barletta was also one of the first Republicans to endorse Donald Trump for president and was a part of his transition team. (no word on whether or not he had secret conversations with Russian envoys before or after the election… yet.) After the 2010 elections, the Pennsylvania GOP re-districted the Congressional map and booted large swaths of Democrats out of Pennsylvania's 11th, making its Cook Partisan Voting Index shift a whole 10 percentage points more conservative than it previously was, and is such a mangled mess that it features an elementary school on the map that's cut in half. It's part of the GOP's gerrymandering shenanigans in the Keystone State that show Democrats won 44% the votes in the state in the 2014 elections, buts still somehow only get 27% of the state's seats in the U.S. House.

But lo and behold, judges have overturned the Congressional gerrymander created by Pennsylvania Republicans as unconstitutional, and was what was helping Barletta coast to easy rides back to Washington, For whatever stupid reason, in a Blue Wave election year, Lou Barletta is challenging popular U.S. Senator Bob Casey for his seat representing Pennsylvania. Republicans barely won back Sen. Pat Toomey’s seat in 2016, only squeaking him back to a second term by 1% of the vote… and Barletta? He… is not popular in Pennsylvania. What, with being a screaming racist and all. His track record of bigotry still has ugly quotes and interviews dropping into the public eye like proverbial skeletons falling out of a closet, like the fact that he gave an anti-immigrant interview back in 2006 to a fringe publication that promotes Holocaust denial and headlined a rally where a political activist and musician who has questioned the Holocaust and promoted conspiracies about the September 11, 2001 attacks also spoke and performed.

Now, this isn’t to say Congressman Barletta is hiding what a xenophobic prick he is… he’s still embracing it. In February of 2018, he sent out a mailer that said the United States is “at war” with illegal immigrants, calling them "violent criminal aliens" and "radical terrorists". Which, quite predictably was also around the same time he earned the endorsement of Donald Trump (On Twitter, because of course).

Polls in the Lou Barletta vs. Bob Casey race showed him trailing Sen. Casey by well into double digits.Odds were looking bad for the xenophobic mouth-breather, and then things got even worse after CNN reported on how he gave an interview to a Holocaust denying, anti-Semitic conspiracy theory outlet known as the American Free Press back in 2006. Barletta ended up losing by 13 points, and presumably will use the free time to return to his hobby of polishing his veneers. As his career seems to be over, at least for the minute, we’ll set aside his profile and take a look at another kooky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 861-45, since this was established in July 2014.)

[worstblogever]

Bobby Jeffries

Welcome to what is the 861st original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Bobby Jeffries, a sentient pile of hair who was a 2020 challenger to Congressman Scott Perry, seeking election in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jeffries referred to virtually any Democratic policy as “socialism", and had the nasty habit of getting on Twitter to occasionally promote the Qanon conspiracy theory.

Where his white nationalist ties became slightly less of a matter of folks wondering why he kept posting the Qanon conspiracy theory’s slogan, and overtly scary, was when the Southern Poverty Law Center reported in December of 2019 that Jeffries was going to hosting an “America First” themed Christmas Party (right on brand for Jesus’ birthday), and at that event, one of his six scheduled speakers that would take the podium would be Enrique Tarrio, the chairman of the Proud Boys. Yes, the same anti-Semitic and white nationalist hate group that was at Charlottesville, and has started riots in other cities around the country.

Mercifully, Jeffries dropped out of the race on January 13th, 2020. He's endorsed Republican Scott Perry, who has not denounced the endorsement of his former opponent, who hangs out with hate-mongers.

[numberthirty]

Man, you thought they went after Chris Hayes. Mika Brzezinski is clearly going to have to be run out of the country.

[numberthirty]

Went through the posts from today. While this wasn't front page, it was one heck of a doozy...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...ds/3017294001/

Cristina Cuomo says she treated her coronavirus with Clorox baths, vitamin drips: Experts react

As President Donald Trump appeared to question Thursday whether disinfectant could be used to treat coronavirus patients – to the dismay of medical professionals – Cuomo says she adds "½ cup ONLY of Clorox" to her bathwater to "combat the radiation and metals in my system and oxygenate it."

"We want to neutralize heavy metals because they slow-up the electromagnetic frequency of our cells, which is our energy field, and we need a good flow of energy," Cuomo explains.

She adds there is "no danger in doing this," comparing it to "a simple naturopathic treatment."

The official Clorox website disagrees, stressing that their bleach "is NOT recommended for personal hygiene of any kind–consumers should always avoid direct skin and eye contacts with both undiluted bleach, as well as prolonged contact with the various bleach solutions we recommend for household cleaning and laundry ... using a bleach and water solution for bathing is not approved by the EPA and should not be done.”

On Friday, the White House responded to the growing backlash towards the president's comments with a statement that blamed the "media" for "irresponsibly" quoting Trump out of context.

"President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday’s briefing," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

Hasbrouck says soaking in a Clorox bath can do harm to the body: “Where’s the harm going to come? Just the abrasiveness of the chemical on your skin."

He says the suggested remedy doesn’t make sense for several reasons, including the fact that the bleach doesn’t have a clear path of getting through your skin to the virus. And don't even think about drinking bleach – it's unsafe and "is not going to get to your respiratory system," says Hasbrouk.

Dr. Jose Luis Ocampo, a board-certified emergency medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente in Baldwin Park, California, also urges the public to use caution.

"As a physician, I would never recommend something that was not proven efficacious and safe for patients to use or do," Ocampo tells USA TODAY. "As such, I have never recommended Clorox baths as my knowledge of its medicinal use and safety is limited. While bleach baths have been used to treat eczema, for example, it must be done carefully and should always be done in consultation with a physician."

The FDA warns against ingesting disinfectants, saying consumption of “products can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration."

[TheDarman]

Man, you thought they went after Chris Hayes. Mika Brzezinski is clearly going to have to be run out of the country.

I don't really get that. She asked fair questions that I think any interviewer would've asked. What's more? I actually think Biden did okay other than the University of Delaware question which he could've been clearer on the problems with (there are 1,800 boxes of unsorted paper materials that don't have a Ctrl+F function to find Reade's name that could be taken out of context and weaponized (even something small) to blow up and hurt his campaign; these aren't even set to be fully cataloged until 2021 given the whole COVID-19 situation). If Biden wasn't willing to face tough questions, they wouldn't have had him go out onto a morning talk show that features the only Republican on MSNBC with his own show. Period.

[Striderblack01]

You're omitting the fact how far certain elements on the Left will go to sabotage the party from within and without and are ruining ruining the left's image to anyone not in the group. These are tankies and third parties who refuse to acknowledge how the political system actually works since it invalidates their world view.

Except the Left does get a voice in how the Democrats run for election, their candidate came in second in both presidential primaries, getting a voice in the party is not the same as getting to win every election. That's on the Left to accomplish, and they're not was good at getting those results as the other factions.

There is no marginalising, currently the status quo is the Left has made small gains in the party since they're not great at electing people and the ones who do are at the bottom of the hierarchy since they're rookie politicians. Factions don't get the ret of the party to do everything they want when they're at that level, it's like thinking the janitor has more of a say in a company is run than the president.

Stop blaming others for your failures and look inward. You want to win more look at Sanders for failing you.

I don't particularly disagree with the thrust of your post.

But, you know the difference between being voiceless and feeling voiceless.
And, you know the difference between being heard and feeling heard.
Feelings matter when it comes politics. They shouldn't, but they do.

Yes, there are some Never Biden folks out there that are very vocal and unhappy.
Just like there are some Center-Left folks who hate Progressives.
Stop believing they represent the entire group and stop being baited by them.

This was a tough primary.
Nobody came out clean, and there are lot of hurt feelings out there.
But too many people are letting anger get the better of them, which leads to incessant sniping and scapegoating, which leads to feelings of resentment (and, for some, disenfranchisement).

And that needs to end before November.

[TheDarman]

In related news to the Tara Reade situation, we have a thread that adequately details and sources the events occurring in the Senate at the time:

https://twitter.com/stemthebleeding/...734023169?s=21

So let's unpack a little of what would take for @JoeBiden to get Tara's complaint removed. First, some basics. It was 1993. He was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ken Starr was the United States solicitor general at the time. He was chosen to review Sen Packwood's diaries by the Senate. So at this time, the Senate was already actively looking for any complaints of assault or harassment.

Then in 1994, the Ethics in Government Act passed, which gave the independent council near carte blanche when it came to reviewing documents, security cameras, and visitor logs. Now when a formal complaint is filed of ANY nature, a copy goes to the issuer, a copy to the defendant, and a copy to goes to OPM as part of an audit trail. Doesn't matter whether it's frivolous or not. That's the policy. For both staffers and Senators, it goes both ways. This is because persuant to federal records guidelines, the records of personnel do not belong to the Senators they work for. They belong to the government. They transfer, they keep the same record. It just changes who they report to until they no longer work for the Senate. This outlines it fairly well. This was written in 1984, and clearly outlines what is personal vs agency property when it comes to records. This applies to all government employees.
https://www.justice.gov/oip/blog/foi...rsonal-records

This process is used along with the ethics review system to ensure that all violations in ethics are not only documented in agency records, but also investigated.
https://www.govtrack.us/misconduct

Because of the work of Nancy Pelosi, we have the OCE: Office of Congressional Ethics, which establishes the guidelines we now are accustomed to regarding congressional misconduct. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40760.pdf

Ironically, in 1993, the Joint Committee on Organization of Congress, Ethics Committee was underway in February. The result? In the Senate at least, more empowerment to victims by allowing non-member inquiry panels to review complaints. https://archives-democrats-rules.hou...es/jcoc2ac.htm

So let's assume that Biden DID receive a complaint. Sake of argument. Pursuant to the rules set forth in JCOC, an independent panel would've reviewed the claim and determine whether there was evidence to proceed. This would be agency papers per the FOIA guidelines and therefore a copy would be made for his record, a copy for her records, and a copy for OPM for audit purposes. This would've occurred during a period of time when the Senate just got embarrassed with Packwood's diaries and subsequent ethics hearing. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs...018-story.html

This trial started in January, and extended through November of 1993. The exact time the complaint was said to have been made. For those of you not alive or who forgot - it was a nonstop media fiasco at the Capitol in 1993. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/510/1319/ & https://www.congress.gov/104/crpt/sr...104srpt137.pdf …

This is the Senate Ethics Committee report, where they clearly state that for months prior , they were taking depositions from any woman that would come forward regarding Packwood. A video regarding the process of the investigation and the committee welcoming any woman who had a grievance to come forward and speak on the grounds of anonymity. https://www.c-span.org/video/?40304-...nt-allegations

Note the date. April, 1993. Right after JCOC, and right before the Ethics in Govt Act. In short, this is the EXACT timeframe Reade's complaint was supposedly made. Right in the middle of the largest Government Ethics Scandal since Watergate, with thousands of interviewers scouring the capital looking for a scoop.

So, in order for that record to disappear - Biden would've had to:
a) convince an independent panel in no mood for misconduct to not turn it over to the ethics board
b) convince them that 100% of the documentation is personal rather than agency property
c) hope Tara doesn't also tell the cacophony of reporters eager for a Packwood scoop that she was also harrassed
d) or doesn't report it to the open inquiry panel presiding in the senate.
e) hope that his conduct wasn't recorded on the massive CCTV network in Capitol hill
f) hope that OPM somehow loses any and all agency records of the complaint and
g) hope that as chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee, his records aren't audited by GAO regularly (narrator: they are.)

Impossible? Not for James Bond or Jason Bourne. But Joe Biden? Not likely that he gets through a-f for almost 30 years with out a single person noticing. Especially when you consider that his record (including his senate personal records) were public record until they were donated in 2011. So that would mean that not only did the ethics committee, the special committee, and the solicitor general miss the complaint, so did Rick Davis, McCain's political analyst when he looked. So did Karl Rove. and 6 other campaigns since 1994

Odds? Well, speaking as someone who used to get shot at for a living - I wouldn't take them.

Anyone wanna guess who the Ranking Member on the Senate Ethics Committee was in 1993?

Mitch McConnell.

[AnakinFlair]

In related news to the Tara Reade situation, we have a thread that adequately details and sources the events occurring in the Senate at the time:

https://twitter.com/stemthebleeding/...734023169?s=21



Anyone wanna guess who the Ranking Member on the Senate Ethics Committee was in 1993?

Mitch McConnell.

Since I had no memory of Packwood, I hit up his wiki page to see what exactly happened. And then I came across this line, which quotes Mitch McConnell:

Four years later, during debate on President Clinton's impeachment, McConnell said that the Republicans knew that it was very likely Packwood's seat would fall to the Democrats if Packwood were forced out. However, McConnell said, he and his fellow Republicans felt that it came down to a choice of "retain the Senate seat or retain our honor."[39]

Wow. What a difference a couple of decades make.

[Tendrin]

Wow. What a difference a couple of decades make.

Mitch was always Mitch. That seat was going to fall to the Dems *anyway* in the wake of the scandal. There was no downside to cutting Packwood loose.

[Steel Inquisitor]

I don't particularly disagree with the thrust of your post.

What do you agree with me about?

But, you know the difference between being voiceless and feeling voiceless.
And, you know the difference between being heard and feeling heard.
Feelings matter when it comes politics. They shouldn't, but they do.

I didn't say anything about feelings not mattering in politics, my argument is that feelings is not what solely defines politics. This isn't therapy, this is about getting elected and making policies law. Which require immense planning and being able to win over millions of people. If you're not concerned about the latter what are you following politics for?

Yes, there are some Never Biden folks out there that are very vocal and unhappy.
Just like there are some Center-Left folks who hate Progressives.
Stop believing they represent the entire group and stop being baited by them.

Again, didn't say they did but you've shown little concern about policing your own side when they put us all in danger. Tankies aren't your friends, they're sabotaging your own movement and putting the blame on the opposition. Don't normalise their behaviour or they will be the face of your movement. Why should anyone think otherwise if you're ok letting them speak for you?

This was a tough primary.
Nobody came out clean, and there are lot of hurt feelings out there.
But too many people are letting anger get the better of them, which leads to incessant sniping and scapegoating, which leads to feelings of resentment (and, for some, disenfranchisement).

Every primary is a tough primary. They do, but you can't expect everyone to simmer down, when all that will lead to is the nominee being sabotaged and Trump winning another term. Those are the stakes.

And that needs to end before November.

What are you going to do about it?

What's worrying is that your response didn't acknowledge the left's priority to get better running campaigns. Like it's not a concern worth trying to fix. You've has two elections now running for president, it's on the left to get the results it wants. It's a struggle, the left aren't entitled to anything in politics. You want something, you're going to have to fight for it.