All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Celgress]

Ben Shapiro and his friends claim Trump is too stupid to have committed the crimes in question. Seriously, that is their mind-boggling defense of the President, no joke. lol -

[PwrdOn]

Why does Ben Shapiro have any followers at all? I thought conservatives hated smarmy, effete quasi-intellectuals.

[Iron Maiden]

Roger Stone verdict: Guilty on all Countshttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/roger-s...ay-2019-11-15/ Give our regards to Paul Manfort

[Jack Dracula]

One longtime Republican whose blog was called "GOP Lifer" left the party when Trump took it over. His new blog is https://www.politicalorphans.com/ and I find it well worth reading.

The pre-Trump GOP was a snake-pit going all the way back to before Reagan. I'm not sure what golden-age of Conservatism these people are nostalgic for.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Many ex-Republicans are now moving to the Non-affiliated group. I surmise those that do are hanging out there until after Trump leaves office and the Republican Party becomes somewhat more saner.

I’m afraid those people will be in for a LONG wait. I for one doubt the Republican Party will ever go back to being sane, they got a taste of power by embracing white nationalism, xenophobia and right wing fanaticism and they’re not about to give that up. If anything, once Trump is out of office, the GOP will look for some just as bad as him, if not worse for their next presidential candidate.

[PwrdOn]

The pre-Trump GOP was a snake-pit going all the way back to before Reagan. I'm not sure what golden-age of Conservatism these people are nostalgic for.

No form of conservatism is ever truly sustainable, since they all depend more or less on the assumption that the people at the bottom will just quietly accept their lot rather than agitating for a bigger slice of the pie. And sure, all the excesses of the 80s seem pretty cool in hindsight, just as I'm sure the antebellum South or the British Empire at its peak must look pretty magnificent from a certain point of view. But that's all forgetting that, even among the privileged classes living at the height of luxury, people were deeply unhappy and constantly fretting about trying to keep up with the Joneses or pondering the meaning of their lives, no doubt a reflection of the subconscious guilt they felt about building their society off the exploitation of others, and the impending collapse of these societies as the underlying contradictions began to unravel them from within.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I heard that the 16 year old who shot several kids in that high school in Southern California, killing two before turning the gun on himself died from his wounds. Unless something turns up from his social media presence or information is revealed about his mental state from friends and/or family, I guess we’ll never know what made him go berserk.

[numberthirty]

I heard that the 16 year old who shot several kids in that high school in Southern California, killing two before turning the gun on himself died from his wounds. Unless something turns up from his social media presence or information is revealed about his mental state from friends and/or family, I guess we’ll never know what made him go berserk.

Um...

I don't know that this was really a "Go Berserk..." situation. Don't really want to say any more than that in this particular thread, but it might be a little bit more complicated than that.

[Malvolio]

The pre-Trump GOP was a snake-pit going all the way back to before Reagan. I'm not sure what golden-age of Conservatism these people are nostalgic for.

Well, yeah. I've often said that Trump says with a bullhorn the same things many Republicans have been saying with a dog-whistle for years.

[Tami]

Reviewing the news reports regarding Trump's tweets attacking the Ambassador during the hearing.

My takeaway, while he is dangerous, Trump has once again proven himself to be the most inept wannabe 'autocrat' in the history of mankind.

[Tendrin]

Lex Luthor weighs in on Elizabeth Warren's Tax policy...

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/...der-lex-luthor

As a principled businessman, long-time philanthropist, job-creator, and richest man in the world, I feel I must express my deep concerns about the ascendant candidacy of the senior senator from Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Warren recently proposed a massive overhaul of our health care industry, financed by a so-called “wealth tax” on economically fortunate Americans. Why are we penalizing success? And why should my tax dollars be spent paying for health care for illegal aliens who were sent to this country alone, unaccompanied by their parents, whether by foot, plane, or intergalactic escape pod? I don’t care if they came here because of economic, geopolitical, or geothermal instability in their home country/planet, I say no more! We need real Americans to stand up for what’s right. America is for Americans and Earth is for Earthlings.

[jetengine]

No form of conservatism is ever truly sustainable, since they all depend more or less on the assumption that the people at the bottom will just quietly accept their lot rather than agitating for a bigger slice of the pie. And sure, all the excesses of the 80s seem pretty cool in hindsight, just as I'm sure the antebellum South or the British Empire at its peak must look pretty magnificent from a certain point of view. But that's all forgetting that, even among the privileged classes living at the height of luxury, people were deeply unhappy and constantly fretting about trying to keep up with the Joneses or pondering the meaning of their lives, no doubt a reflection of the subconscious guilt they felt about building their society off the exploitation of others, and the impending collapse of these societies as the underlying contradictions began to unravel them from within.

The last reasonably decent conservative era was the Teddy Roosevelt era purely because you honestly couldn't change as much **** then as you could now. Like Eisenhower was decent from what I understand but you still had civil rights issues like crazy

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Lex Luthor weighs in on Elizabeth Warren's Tax policy...

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/...der-lex-luthor

I wonder if Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne and Hiram Lodge have similar views?

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Friday with Maria:

5 Important Takeaways From Marie Yovanovitch’s Testimony

Marie Yovanovitch Explains How Trump Opened The Door For Corruption

Yovanovitch Responds To Trump Twitter Attacks In Real Time In Dramatic Impeachment Testimony

Chris Wallace: If You’re ‘Not Moved’ By Yovanovitch, ‘You Don’t Have A Pulse’

Twitter Users Smack Down Trump’s Attack On Marie Yovanovitch

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State Department Official Says He Overheard Trump Call About Ukraine ‘Investigations’

A diplomat told investigators in the impeachment inquiry he overheard the president’s call with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

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Trump Watches Helplessly As The ‘Deep State’ He’s Disparaged Wreaks Its Revenge

The White House said on Oct. 8 that it would not cooperate in the impeachment inquiry but has been unable to stop a parade of witnesses from testifying. Ahhh, so very satisfying on many levels!

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Over 80 Members Of Congress To Stephen Miller: Resign From White House Now

Leaked emails showed the depths of the senior adviser’s white nationalism, and now pressure is growing for him to resign. Hmm! Sounds like Kid Jackboot doesn't have many fans in Congress.

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Deval Patrick Ousted Officials Who Wanted His Brother-In-Law To Register As A Sex Offender

Three years later, the man in question raped his own wife again and is now behind bars. And this shitstain wants to run for president. He needs to go away. TODAY.

[ed2962]

Ben Shapiro and his friends claim Trump is too stupid to have committed the crimes in question. Seriously, that is their mind-boggling defense of the President, no joke. lol -

There's another clip of just Ben himself saying something to the effect of Trump is barely smart enuff to eat a hamburger. Thing is, it doesn't take that much "strategy" to attempt to extort someone. Especially the way Trump did it.

[worstblogever]

Is anyone heralding the witnesses as heroes who wasn't already on their side?

I don't know what point you're trying to prove, unless it's "It doesn't matter, Republicans are all stubborn ***holes incapable of changing their minds because they're in a cult."

If that was what you were going for, bang up job.