All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[aja_christopher]

The Kentucky GOP just passed fresh voter ID laws....

... in the middle of a global pandemic with the question of voting being at all safe being high up there. They might as well have called it the 'Save Mitch's Ass' law.

It will now have to be litigated in the courts packed by Mitch himself.

As we all know, suppresing people's votes and forcing them to go to the polls during a global pandemic is the best way to keep them safe from harm.

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"Less than a week after forcing Wisconsin voters to risk their health and go to the polls, Wisconsin Republicans suffered a stunning defeat on Monday night.

Daniel Kelly, a conservative justice on the state supreme court, lost his seat to Jill Karofsky, a liberal challenger, by more than 163,000 votes. Such a wide margin is remarkable in Wisconsin, where a race for a different state supreme court seat was decided last year by just 6,000 votes.

The election served as an early litmus test of Donald Trump’s political strength in Wisconsin, a state he critically needs to win in November. And it was the most significant test so far of whether a state could hold a fair election in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Republicans in the state refused a last-minute request to delay the election. That decision was widely seen as a cold political calculation – fewer people would turn out to vote in person, which would benefit Kelly...

“It is indisputable that thousands upon thousands of voters were disenfranchised,” said Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic party. “Voter suppression might not be as clever as Republicans think it is. It can backfire by pissing voters off.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-supreme-court

[worstblogever]

The various political committees could have made similar statements about any political vendor who might support Justin Fairfax in a future campaign. Otherwise it seems to suggest that a primary challenge against a flawed incumbent is worse than multiple credilble allegations of sexual assault.

Ramirez wasn't even sure it was Kavanaugh.

But do you think Swetnick's allegation that prominent high school students in the Washington DC suburbs regularly gang-raped women should count at all against Kavanaugh?

Congratulations, you immediately went from chastising Democrats for not ousting an accused rapist beyond their power to do so, to digging in to defend one.

Within the same mass response post for your complete hypocrisy based on partisanship alone to set in. Saved me the trouble of quoting older ones.

[jetengine]

So everyone who drinks can be more plausibly be accused of sexual assault regardless of facts. Cool. You Know you have no real argument here.

You cant read clearly, I'm saying WHAT IS MORE LIKELY.

A. This sequence of events that happens on a regular basis (sexual assaults on college grounds), backed up by Kavanaugh having a rep as being a drunken fratboy.

B. Reades contradictory story involving a man who never strays, three different locations, her not wearing the right clothing, him apparently assaulting her at the height of "If a man does shit we'll deal with it" season. Followed by her current love of both Bernie and Putin.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump’s Name Will Appear On Stimulus Checks

The Treasury Department ordered the IRS to add President Trump’s name to the paper stimulus checks, which is likely to cause a delay in their delivery. Christ on a crutch. But hey, her emails!

**********

Trump Shifts Blame For Coronavirus Crisis To World Health Organization

The president faulted the WHO and again praised his administration’s response, despite the U.S. having the highest number of cases and COVID-19 deaths. For Trump, he wants all the praise but none of the blame. But hey, her emails!

**********

Anthony Fauci: ‘We’re Not There Yet’ On Key Steps To Reopen Economy

President Trump has floated the possibility of reopening some areas by May 1 and said he could announce recommendations as soon as this week. Which leads to this....

**********

GOP Lawmaker Goes Full Death Cult: ‘Always Choose’ Economy Over Lives

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth says lawmakers have to “put on our big boy and big girl pants” and end the shutdowns. Oh, WBEEEEEEEE....!

**********

Trump’s Cabinet MIA As Coronavirus Pandemic Rages

It’s supposed to be “all hands on deck,” but it’s really not. Show of hands of you're surprised.

**********

Yemen Is Fighting The Coronavirus With A Health Care System America Helped Destroy

President Trump slashed U.S. aid to the country days before its first confirmed COVID-19 case. Watch the Middle East become a dangerous hot spot if it isn't already.

[worstblogever]

You cant read clearly, I'm saying WHAT IS MORE LIKELY.

A. This sequence of events that happens on a regular basis (sexual assaults on college grounds), backed up by Kavanaugh having a rep as being a drunken fratboy.

B. Reades contradictory story involving a man who never strays, three different locations, her not wearing the right clothing, him apparently assaulting her at the height of "If a man does shit we'll deal with it" season. Followed by her current love of both Bernie and Putin.

The Biden accusation is also surprising because of the Obama administration being notoriously fierce on their vetting of people in and around the administration. While the Bush and Trump administration have had numerous botched nominees, the latter practically being all unqualified or objectionable candidates for posts... Obama always made sure to vet the f*** out of anyone before offering them a job. Giving Biden the VP spot, working closely with him for four years, and then putting him on the ticket AGAIN in 2012 without being around him to see anything too untoward or potentially damaging to himself... I mean, that's a screening process that would be hard to pass in the first place, let alone keep your nose clean for four years.

[worstblogever]

GOP Lawmaker Goes Full Death Cult: ‘Always Choose’ Economy Over Lives

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth says lawmakers have to “put on our big boy and big girl pants” and end the shutdowns. Oh, WBEEEEEEEE....!

Y'know, I just hot-shotted someone new up the queue in a hurry for COVID-19 idiocy, and it looks like as more Republicans start wading in to give virus trutherism or explain why people need to die because it's inconvenient for their wallets to take measures to protect them... I have a feeling a lot of folks are going to be bumping people back in the queue to later dates over the next few months.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Y'know, I just hot-shotted someone new up the queue in a hurry for COVID-19 idiocy, and it looks like as more Republicans start wading in to give virus trutherism or explain why people need to die because it's inconvenient for their wallets to take measures to protect them... I have a feeling a lot of folks are going to be bumping people back in the queue to later dates over the next few months.

There's already been what, four or five Republicans who came right out and publicly said grandma and granddad should kick the bucket for the sake of the economy. So much for the GOP being the "Party of Life", something we've long since known was a steaming load of horseshit.

[worstblogever]

There's already been what, four or five Republicans who came right out and publicly said grandma and granddad should kick the bucket for the sake of the economy. So much for the GOP being the "Party of Life", something we've long since known was a steaming load of horseshit.

I had already profiled several of them, so they'll wait until their anniversary dates. But these newer folks... I'm getting them in now.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of Matt Shea, from the Washington House of Representatives, who has had the luck to continually be re-elected to office by the good fortune of getting to run unopposed, even though the Washington Republican Party had several key members warn against backing him when he first entered office because he was too unstable. And boy, is he. Matt Shea has been arrested for road rage and possession of a concealed firearm after allowing his concealed carry license to expire. His ex-wife has gone on record to say he once struck a superior officer while in the National Guard and was forced to take anger management classes (that didn’t work, apparently). Shea also went to the home of his opponent in the 2012 elections and took photos of himself standing on her lawn as an intimidation tactic, then posted them on his Facebook and refused to take them down at her request, effectively doxxing her address to his supporters.

Shea’s supporters include the right-wing militia crowd and Dominionist Christian movement, who he got all fired up at the capitol in Olympia when a Chinese flag was flown alongside an American one to greet a Chinese diplomat a few years ago (which is normal protocol for a visit), calling it a “Communist takeover”. Shea also spoke in defense of Cliven Bundy, has been photographed with the leader of the Oathkeepers, Stuart Rhodes, believes that the Agenda 21 Conspiracy Theory is a real thing, and tells those militia knuckleheads to go ahead and ignore firearms laws. When Ammon Bundy and a bunch of armed occupiers took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January of 2016, Matt Shea went on what he now calls a “fact-finding” mission to the refuge, and against the requests of law enforcement to not visit, embolden, or incite the protesters, snuck onto the compound to buddy up to the domestic terrorists, a second time. In 2017, he gave a “Patriot of the Year” Award to Anthony Bosworth, another figure from the Malheur Refuge standoff.

If we didn’t already have enough of the crazy from Matt Shea, he’s also passionately anti-gay, gaining the notice of the Southern Poverty Law Center for having ties to the Family Research Council and American Family Association, both anti-gay hate groups, and didn’t just try to redefine parenthood so it excluded same-sex parents, he didn’t just vote against same-sex marriage in Washington… Matt Shea even boasted that he would be the first person to refuse business to a gay customer at his florist shop if they came in for an arrangement for a same sex wedding. He also opposes bans on gay conversion therapy, while supporting transphobic bathroom bans, like when he sponsored HB 2935. Shea also refuses to acknowledge any fellow Republican as a member of the GOP if they are not anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, and anti-Agenda 21. In 2017, Shea was leading a group of many of the same militia whackos at a pro-gun protest at the Washington State capitol, and in the new session of the Washington State legislature, he has sponsored a bill that would split Eastern Washington off from the western party of the state, and make it the 51st State in the union (because it’s far more conservative than the western half).

Rumors were abound that Matt Shea was potentially planning a run for Congress, as well, in 2018, going for Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ seat in Washington’s 5th Congressional District. But instead, Shea has had his hands full with his usual anti-government insanity, clutching his pearls that the majority of the Washington State legislature would move to ban bump stocks on firearms after the Las Vegas Massacre, and dealing with a defamation lawsuit filed against him, because for whatever reason, Matt Shea’s paranoia got the best of him on a right-wing podcast and he accused a sheriff’s deputy of providing the murder weapon in a triple murder.

Even Shea’s road to re-election in the state legislature grew difficult, however, when Rolling Stone magazine got their hands on a four page manifesto that Matt Shea had posted online called “The Biblical Basis for War”, which describes the Christian God as a “warrior,” details the composition and strategies of a “Holy Army” and condemns abortion and same-sex marriage. The document is organized in 14 sections with multiple tiers of bullet points and a smattering of biblical citations. Under the heading, “Rules of War,” it makes a chilling prescription for enemies who flout “biblical law.” It states, “If they do not yield – kill all males.” Because that doesn’t sound like a Christian ISIS. After facing a hell of a lot of scrutiny for his screed, Matt Shea had the calm reaction you . The FBI decided to do an investigation of their own because that’s what you’re supposed to do when someone circulates documents calling for Holy War.

And, in spite of writing a treatise on beginning a holy war fought with child soldiers were not enough to stop Matt Shea’s election to a sixth term in office, as he won in 2018 with 57% of the vote, leaving his opponent, Ted Cummings, to shrug on election night and sum it up and say, “I just lost to a fascist.” Meanwhile, all the Washington GOP has done in response to this maniac is to finally get around to stripping him from his committee leadership positions in the state legislature, and Shea, meanwhile, has again begun calling for Washington state to be split in two geographically and politically, so that he could be a part of a new eastern part of Washington state called “The Liberty State” with its own right-wing politicians running the show.

Not surprisingly, in August of 2019, the FBI released the findings of their investigation to to the media, and in summary, they acknowledge that a sitting state legislator should be classified as a domestic terrorist who helped plan no fewer than three armed conflicts of political violence against the United States government. who helped plan no fewer than three armed conflicts of political violence against the United States government. The FBI also noted that Shea with ties to a Neo-Confederate group in Georgia. Video recordings have emerged of Shea telling a crowd to arm themselves against the government, and that “blood is required of every generation”:

“Arm yourselves. Arm your families. Arm the church. Godlessness is violence. We’ve got to prepare ourselves mentally. And part of that, too, is we’ve got to realize that every generation – blood is required of every generation. In some way, shape or form, blood is required of every generation.

Your household, you should have 5,000 rounds of .223 ammunition. You should have 5,000 rounds of .22 ammunition. You should have 1,000 rounds of handgun ammunition. That is how you arm your family.

Being a coward is not being a Christian.”

None of Shea’s fellow Republicans signed a petition to remove him from office in spite of him, y’know, being a domestic terrorist. He refuses to resign, and will finish out his term until the end of 2020… assuming he doesn’t run for re-election and somehow win again…

[worstblogever]

[WestPhillyPunisher]

No Lex Luthor? He would've been a natural for that list.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I had already profiled several of them, so they'll wait until their anniversary dates. But these newer folks... I'm getting them in now.

I'm afraid there's bound to be more. Thanks to Trump, Republicans are now emboldened to say anything they want in public, no matter how ugly, disgusting or horrible, like saying senior citizens should die for the good of the economy without fear of retribution.

[worstblogever]

I'm afraid there's bound to be more. Thanks to Trump, Republicans are now emboldened to say anything they want in public, no matter how ugly, disgusting or horrible, like saying senior citizens should die for the good of the economy without fear of retribution.

The GOP really is his cult now. Whether they're smart enough to realize it or not, they belong to him.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

You cant read clearly, I'm saying WHAT IS MORE LIKELY.

A. This sequence of events that happens on a regular basis (sexual assaults on college grounds), backed up by Kavanaugh having a rep as being a drunken fratboy.

B. Reades contradictory story involving a man who never strays, three different locations, her not wearing the right clothing, him apparently assaulting her at the height of "If a man does shit we'll deal with it" season. Followed by her current love of both Bernie and Putin.

A) Millions of people were drunk partiers in college. Do you want compare how likely those people are to be sexual assaulters next to people who have a history of women saying they crossed personal boundaries with unwanted touching and made them feel uncomfortable? You’re ignoring the latter and putting a flimsy amount of emphasis on the former to justify that you were totally okay with believing a story where the accuser had zero evidence or context of this event that seemingly happened in a void absent of details. The only substantive difference is.... they have different politics.

2)To your second point..... Ford’s story contradicted multiple times including how many men were involved, there is no evidence that Kavanaufg is a man who strayed, there’s no location that Ford gave that we can even use to see if it was plausible because she can’t tell us anything about where this occurred, and likewise Ford never once brought this up until the 2012 (3 decades later) which was a much more friendly time to women and was in controlled therapy session where it was confidential, and didn’t go public until 2018 (which was at the height of the MeToo movement)

And again this is a situation with an accuser who can’t tell you where this happened in any level of detail (not even a neighborhood), the time, why she was there, how she got invited there, who took her, contradicted herself on how many people, contradicted herself on what she did after, has no friend who can corroborate not if the assault happened but if the party even happened

Which in substance is basically saying “I think it’s okay to drag the person who I don’t politically like through the mud without evidence, context, contradictory details, or facts based on an allegation in a vacuum because he drank, and I’m willing to give someone who doesn’t drink a total pass”.

See I’m willing to say they were both poor allegations. Drinking as an excuse to justify being okay with that disproportionate of a response is very suspect here

[aja_christopher]

"Former President Barack Obama convinced Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to drop out of the 2020 race over the course of four long conversations, according to a Tuesday report from The New York Times.

The Times reports that when it became clear that his former vice president, Joe Biden, would win the Democratic Party's nomination, Obama told a friend that he needed to "accelerate the endgame."

At the end of March, Obama made the first of four phone calls to the veteran independent senator.

Two people with knowledge of their interactions told the Times that Obama told Sanders that he had succeeded in pushing the Democratic Party and Biden to the left.

Mostly though, Obama listened to Sanders reflect on the campaign and talk about what he planned to do next, the sources said.

Sources close to Sanders said that these calls played an important role in him ending his presidential bid last week and endorsing Biden on Monday. Obama followed suit on Tuesday with his a stirring endorsement of Biden."

https://www.businessinsider.com/obam...20-race-2020-4