All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Zauriel]

Screw every single one of these liberals who are blaming Jill Stein and third party voters instead of their useless corporate party who could have codified abortion rights into law instead of using it as a cudgel to fundraise on every election.

The Democrats do not care about you or your basic rights. The only thing they care about is using you for your vote and fundraising off the plight of marginalized people. If you cannot see that by now then it’s time to take the blindfold off. They are as big of a scam as the GOP.


More tweets from the Green Party on their Twitter:
Dems have had the option to expand SCOTUS, end the filibuster, & put pressure on the conservatives in their party, but instead have declared all is lost. Even in the aftermath of the Alito leak, Biden stated he is unwilling to end the filibuster in order to codify abortion rights

Abortion will always be legal for the rich & powerful capitalists; as their 2 parties are in charge, #abortionrights will never be safe for the working class. To secure any fundamental human rights, it is imperative to break from the Democratic & Republican parties.

Democrats blame Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for the party's failure to pass progressive legislation, never mind the fact that even before the 50-50 Senate split, the Dems still failed to codify abortion rights into federal law when they had an overwhelming majority.

In 2017, Congresswoman Pelosi asserted that Dems fighting for abortion rights were "hurting the party" and that they should be open to anti-choice candidates.

[Dalak]

Screw every single one of these liberals who are blaming Jill Stein and third party voters instead of their useless corporate party who could have codified abortion rights into law instead of using it as a cudgel to fundraise on every election.

The Democrats do not care about you or your basic rights. The only thing they care about is using you for your vote and fundraising off the plight of marginalized people. If you cannot see that by now then it’s time to take the blindfold off. They are as big of a scam as the GOP.


More tweets from the Green Party on their Twitter:
Dems have had the option to expand SCOTUS, end the filibuster, & put pressure on the conservatives in their party, but instead have declared all is lost. Even in the aftermath of the Alito leak, Biden stated he is unwilling to end the filibuster in order to codify abortion rights

Abortion will always be legal for the rich & powerful capitalists; as their 2 parties are in charge, #abortionrights will never be safe for the working class. To secure any fundamental human rights, it is imperative to break from the Democratic & Republican parties.

Democrats blame Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for the party's failure to pass progressive legislation, never mind the fact that even before the 50-50 Senate split, the Dems still failed to codify abortion rights into federal law when they had an overwhelming majority.

In 2017, Congresswoman Pelosi asserted that Dems fighting for abortion rights were "hurting the party" and that they should be open to anti-choice candidates.

Do you have any answers to the responses to this exact sort of statement given in the last few days, or are you just coming to drop BS and leave again since you clearly don't read this thread?

[Kirby101]

1974? Let's see what he said about Gay Marriage in 1962. Are people not allowed to evolve and can we not see what they say now. But the logic here we must praise Trump for supporting choice in 1999, and not condemn him for giving us this Court.

[CSTowle]

46 migrants have been found dead inside a semi-truck in San Antonio and 16 have been hospitalized, authorities say

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/us/sa...uck/index.html



The border continues to be a disaster and this atrocity should be headline news everywhere.
I'm so exhausted with everything. Prayers to the survivors and families of those lost.

Sad, and sadly what we're likely to continue to get until we can pass sane and humane immigration reform. The same reason we have so many dead or wishing they were on opioids. You drive these things underground and bad people will look to exploit those who are vulnerable.

Manchin does not have a mandate to represent the will of Democratic voters across the country. Nor is he beholden to mitigate the consequences that his actions have on the Democratic Party as a whole. In reality, he doesn't just represent the Democrats of West Virginia. He represents ALL of West Virginia and does what he thinks will benefit the interests of his state. Being a Democrat, conservative leaning as he may be, just means that he has a different idea of what that is than a Republican might.

I may not like what Manchin's doing, but without him you have a Republican Senate. You likely don't have a new Supreme Court Justice, and you're looking at them running out the clock on Biden's term with Breyer not retiring and them hoping he dies in office sometime close to or after 2024. You aren't going to bend Manchin somehow into being AOC or Bernie. He is what he is, and what he isn't is a Republican. Small favors.

Do the Republicans have an equivalent senator or senators? (Some one who quite often votes against the party line on key issues.)

I'd add the perception (at least among Republicans I see talking about their party and "RINO"s) of Romney and Dan Crenshaw. Both are trying to vote with their party while calling for rationality and norms (for the most part). Their base can smell sanity (or at least the appearance of it) and don't like it.

You're talking about something that did not happen. And probably would not happen, MAGAs are not jovial.

Yes, I'm giving an example of the shoe being on the other foot and the likely response from most members of this board. I didn't think I needed to spell that out (again) and that we could all do the math.

I'd add that there's nothing jovial about putting your hands on a public figure you disagree with, even if it doesn't rise to aggravated assault. And laughing that off helps set an environment that will lead to worse. If you're fine with that and are OK laughing it off then that's on you. I'm not, and I both want better from those in my Party and would prefer not to have the distraction.

It isn't. Democratic candidates almost always have more detailed plans for the future than Republicans, and better legislative records. Stop repeating that lie.

And politics aren't a referendum on the best plan. For better or worse they're about messaging and popularity. And a little bit of luck with current circumstances on the ground. Plans are great in theory, but given how tough it is to get even popular things done when the other side defaults to "no" on every single thing that might make the government look like an effective body and how often those plans are altered, chopped up, or watered down I don't blame people for not giving much credit to "best in plan" ribbons.

You need to get the job to do the job. I'd like to see the Party recognize and plan for that better.

https://twitter.com/GreenPartyUS/sta...Ch7bWUq-MqAAAA

Green Party US tweets:

In 1974, then-Senator Joe Biden stated in regards to #RoeVsWade, "I don't like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far." He went on to say, "I don't think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body."

"In 1982, Senator Biden was 1 of only 2 Democratic lawmakers who supported a constitutional amendment allowing states to overturn Roe v. Wade and pass their own laws on abortion. 9 years later, Biden was largely to blame for the confirmation of anti-abortion Justice Clarence Thomas."


How the Democrats are culpable in the erosion of abortion rights

Yup, 40 years ago Biden had different political beliefs in a vastly different political climate. I'm sure anyone outside of Bernie Sanders who was around back then had similar views on abortion, crime and punishment, gay marriage, etc. I care more about where they are now and what they're going to do about it. The only thing the Green Party can do for me is occasionally entertain me. And this was mildly entertaining, blaming Biden for Roe. So thanks for that, I guess.

[worstblogever]

Do you have any answers to the responses to this exact sort of statement given in the last few days, or are you just coming to drop BS and leave again since you clearly don't read this thread?

I mean, yeah. It's almost as if we pre-debunked every ridiculous thing over the weekend and Monday... and then they came to they dropped in here today.

[Zauriel]

1974? Let's see what he said about Gay Marriage in 1962. Are people not allowed to evolve and can we not see what they say now. But the logic here we must praise Trump for supporting choice in 1999, and not condemn him for giving us this Court.

Yup, 40 years ago Biden had different political beliefs in a vastly different political climate. I'm sure anyone outside of Bernie Sanders who was around back then had similar views on abortion, crime and punishment, gay marriage, etc. I care more about where they are now and what they're going to do about it. The only thing the Green Party can do for me is occasionally entertain me. And this was mildly entertaining, blaming Biden for Roe. So thanks for that, I guess.

In 2015, eventual Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton told MSNBC "[If] there's a way to structure some kind of constitutional restriction [on abortion] that takes into account the life of the mother and her health, then I'm open to that."

Hillary Clinton clearly said she is open to a ban on abortion in 2015, only one year before the presidential elections. 1 year before 2016 elections is more recent than 46 years before 2020 elections.

[thwhtGuardian]

Hillary Clinton clearly said she is open to a ban on abortion in 2015, only one year before the presidential elections. 1 year before 2016 elections is more recent than 46 years before 2020 elections.

She doesn't say that at all... she says restriction on abortion, and that it must take into consideration the health of the mother, which is VERY differnt than being open to a ban on abortions.

You're typing here and reading quotes so I know you're not illiterate, which is the only defense to believing that Hilary Clinton was open banning abortion in 2015.

So if you're not illiterate then the only characterization that fits your post is intentionally and willfully intellectually dishonest. And I'm left wondering why? What does such an proviably obvious lie get you?

[worstblogever]

All the nonsense has got me like:

[Kirby101]

Hillary Clinton clearly said she is open to a ban on abortion in 2015, only one year before the presidential elections. 1 year before 2016 elections is more recent than 46 years before 2020 elections.

Bullshit! Here is where she stood on abortion. What you said was a lie. If you think, had she been elected, she would not have appointed Justices that would uphold Roe, you are delusional.

https://ballotpedia.org/Hillary_Clin..._2016/Abortion

Here is what she said in 2015;

The Hillary Clinton campaign jabbed at House Republicans after they passed a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks on Wednesday.

{mosads}”Politicians should not interfere with personal medical decisions, which should be left to a woman, her family and her faith, in consultation with her doctor or health care provider,” Clinton’s senior policy adviser Maya Harris said in a statement.

[4saken1]

Screw every single one of these liberals who are blaming Jill Stein and third party voters instead of their useless corporate party who could have codified abortion rights into law instead of using it as a cudgel to fundraise on every election.

So you would be OK with every single future piece of legislation that Republicans would pass as a result of ending the filibuster in order to codify Roe v Wade, when all that was needed to protect it was for more people who claim to care about abortion rights to come vote for the only candidate that had a chance at winning the Election who would protect these rights. I would have preferred if the latter had happened. Because it's less stupid! Even if Democrats had been able to codify it into law, this Supreme Court would have overturned it! Even if they had been able to pass legislation protecting abortion, I guarantee that you and 30 would have blown it off at the time as hollow pandering, since abortion was already protected by Roe v Wade. If you don't agree, then you probably don't know yourself as well as every other member of this board does!

If Kyrsten Sinema, as somebody who was a former Green Party member, isn't evidence that they, like every other politician, are spoonfeeding you whatever you want to hear in order to get elected, then I don't know what would be. In the extremely unlikely event that a Green Party candidate ever got elected to a national position, the reality would set in that getting things done isn't as simple as all of that, and they would likely become a pariah and a traitor to the likes of you and 30.

[JB]

Sad, and sadly what we're likely to continue to get until we can pass sane and humane immigration reform. The same reason we have so many dead or wishing they were on opioids. You drive these things underground and bad people will look to exploit those who are vulnerable.

It's very true, and these people are falling through the cracks as a continuous cascade of issues pile up. I do not envy Biden's job at all.

I've still been reading the thread since I stopped posting because there are always good points that I consider from everyone even if I don't agree. I too am tired of the blame game, fingers being pointed at Biden and Harris and Manchin and Trump and Clinton and 2016, and now the voters who are moving over to the Republican side. What I'm not seeing is discussion about the economy and crime, the top 2 concerns for would-be voters in every poll I've seen. It's easy to label the voting populace as "dumb" but the truth is that things on the ground are spiraling in those two categories alone and they don't know where to turn. It has nothing to do with people thinking Biden is "boring."

I'm a married gay man so of course I have major concerns about my marriage no longer being federally recognized (thankfully my state recognizes gay marriage.) But how can I get the average voter to care when they're struggling to make ends meet? I can't. There are millions of tenants on the verge of eviction, and millions of landlords who are behind on their mortgage payments because their tenants are struggling. We see the cost of everything continue to go up, credit card debt is at an all-time high and with the FED raising rates last month, so too will credit card minimum payments go up. We can't expect people to care as strongly as we do about critical social issues (abortion, LGBTQ rights) when the majority of Americans don't have three months of savings. From where I'm standing, the only people not talking about the economy are those that are already well off or have their needs taken care of by someone else (spouse/partner, parents, public assistance, etc.) For everyone else, they're faced with tough decisions and inflation doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Biden is doing the right thing meeting with leaders of Middle Eastern nations as I type, trying to convince them to further increase oil production even more to bring prices down. Unfortunately just yesterday Macron broke the news to him that the UAE and the Saudis are pumping near oil limits and there's nowhere else to go. So we've hit another wall. Today he's going to Turkey to meet with Erdogan to try to convince him to budge on allowing Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Important? Yes. Do voters care? No. The war is not even in the 10 ten issues they're concerned about.

The people of San Francisco just recently recalled their District Attorney due to rising crime in the city. Did it really have to take the people to kick him out? Seems like local leadership has been asleep at the wheel so they didn't have a choice. I've also read that the Pennsylvania GOP is trying to impeach the DA of Philly. Is it misguided and a waste of time? Probably, but as WestPhillyPunisher attested to not long ago, something has to give in that city regarding the crime. And I'm not even going to get into NYC, where Adams was elected in large part because of his promises to combat crime, and the murder rate is now higher than ever before. I didn't see anyone post about the man who was shot and killed about two months ago while riding the subway around 11am on a Sunday.

I'm personally tired of blaming Biden for everything - I think he's just over his head at this point. I don't think the Dems need a "win" before the midterms, there's no time. But they need to figure out how to stop the bleeding and get a handle on some of the issues that the polls are showing the voters care most about. If not then we can kiss the midterms goodbye. I understand why babyblob was irritated with the singing Dems (and yes I know the story was false, thank you for pointing that out, Tendrin) but I understood the sentiment. As ChadH alluded to the other day, there are politicians that are comfortable in their seats because they know they're not in danger. They are confident they have our votes on lock so why would they fight harder than they have to? It's up to the voters to make them uncomfortable and as another poster said, that's why the primaries are so important. We need people to actually go to bat for us, not tell us what we want to hear. We need real unity between voters and the people we elect. AOC the other day said, "we really need to reassess" whether pro-life Democrats should stay in the party. We really don't need that division right now.

The bleeding has to be stopped to some degree and some fires need to be put out, otherwise we're speeding straight towards a cliff and MAGA will be there standing on top of the rubble.

[Tendrin]

Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin wanted a big family. The married couple, who both work as professors at Texas A&M University, knew they had love and security to give.

But when they applied to foster a refugee child under a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services program operated by the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Fort Worth, Texas, they were told they couldn’t move forward. The agency wouldn’t work with two mothers.

“They said you have to ‘mirror the Holy Family’ and I was stunned,” said Marouf. “I didn't really know what that meant."

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

Esplin, who grew up Mormon and always thought, the more children in the home, the merrier, was also shocked.

“It was deeply hurtful,” she said.

The couple is now at the forefront of a series of legal battles playing out across the nation over the civil rights of same-sex couples to parent children. LGBTQ activists said there has been a growing resurgence of state legislation and lawsuits in recent years trying to block these couples from fostering or adopting children, even in some cases going as far as to make it difficult for same-sex parents to have rights to children they conceived through fertility treatments.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/de...4fbff6afa1fb16

[babyblob]

So all morning the Tin Foil hat crowd has been going nuts about the death of Michael Stenger. Does any one have any valid info about his death? Even normal news outlets dont have much.

[Tendrin]

So all morning the Tin Foil hat crowd has been going nuts about the death of Michael Stenger. Does any one have any valid info about his death? Even normal news outlets dont have much.

He was 72. People die at that age. As much as we're all primed to go 'that's some serious epstein ****', he was, you know, older.

[Kevinroc]

Justice Thomas wants the Supreme Court to revisit libel protections to make it easier for public figures to sue media organizations

https://news.yahoo.com/justice-thoma...142908011.html

Justice Clarence Thomas urged the Supreme Court on Monday to revisit decades of libel protections set by the landmark New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case — arguing the court should reconsider the standards that make it harder for public figures to sue media organizations.

Thomas dissented from the Court's decision to not take on a defamation case between a Christian media group formerly known as Coral Ridge Ministries Media — now D. James Kennedy Ministries — and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which previously designated Coral Ridge as an "anti-LGBT hate group."

"I would grant certiorari in this case to revisit the 'actual malice' standard," Thomas wrote in his dissenting opinion. "This case is one of many showing how New York Times and its progeny have allowed media organizations and interest groups 'to cast false aspersions on public figures with near impunity.' "