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

[worstblogever]

Agreed. This is getting dumb. They are labeled as terrorists. Then they should be treated as such and need to be kept in jail for this. They nearly killed this officer didn't they? Was he the one nearly crushed in the doors?

This is one who was repeatedly tased until he had a heart attack. And that a dogpile of the terrorists attempted to steal his weapon and kill him with it. They literally were shouting "Take his weapon and kill him with his own gun!"

He only got away because he pleaded with some that he had kids, and some escorted him away from others. And to them, his quote was, "Thank you for helping, but f*** you for being there for why you were."

Paraphrasing, but that's the gist of the officer's story.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" ran a profile of Dwayne Stovall, who ran campaign ads that attacked, bizarrely, Senator Mitch McConnell for looking like a turtle while still trying to win the nomination for his seat. The ad itself ended with Stovall's dog sitting in a pickup truck with him, and then the dog turned and started to talk to him, proving that his advisers had never heard of the Son of Sam killer. Stovall also had policy stances like that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional (in spite of the Supreme Court just having ruled that it was), that the 2nd Amendment should never be infringed, whatsoever, and that nullification of federal law was a wise course of action. Stovall finished third in that primary against John Cornyn, the senator he was actually trying to unseat.



In 2016, in 2017, 2018, 2019, as well as in 2020, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published its profiles of Matt Krause, from the Texas House of Representatives for District 93, and first won office in 2012. Prior to running for office, Krause, now still only 36 at the time of his writing, was a lawyer for the Liberty Counsel in 2011, which the Southern Poverty Law Center currently classifies as an anti-gay hate group. The first bit of extremism Krause was involved with came a few months into his first term in May 2013, when he filed the "Come and Take It" firearms bill, a Texas gun nut's wet dream where state money would be held from any law enforcement agency that worked with federal agents to enforce any gun laws enacted by Congress, insisting that this attempt at using financing to nullify federal law was not, in fact, a nullification law because it acknowledges the federal government has the authority to regulate firearms. By the summer of 2013, as Texas Republicans introduced the rigid anti-abortion law SB 5, Krause not only voted for it, but followed it up by co-sponsoring HB 2, a ban on abortion at 20 weeks that would also further restrict Texas abortion facilities. He also claims that the female protesters who rallied around Wendy Davis as he remembers them as devil-worshippers giving a "Satanic Salute".

Krause was interviewed by noted serial molester, adulterer, and Family Research Council personality Josh Duggar at a panel at the Voter Values Summit from November 2013, where they re-wrote history by boasting of their fight as a noble battle "for Civil liberties against the ACLU", by Christian politicians against hordes of Satanists. The fact that he expressed his interest in passing an abortion heartbeat bill in the interview isn't much more reassuring, nor is his sponsorship over a bill to keep brain dead women who are pregnant on life support, regardless of the family's wishes or if the unborn child was even viable. In August 2014, he was one of 63 Texas legislators who signed a legal brief opposing same sex marriage that linked it to incest and polygamy. You might look and that and say, "Big deal. It's bad, but 62 other people did it." True... but Matt Krause didn't stop there. A month later he spoke at TribFest, an event at the University of Texas at Austin where he discussed same sex marriage, and claimed it had a proven link to mental illness, suicide, and even causing malignant tumors. The crowd, being from Austin, the liberal bastion within Texas, mocked him with laughter, as such a statement deserves to be. When asked by a journalist after this meeting to be given a copy of the medical study he cited, Krause could not, of course (because it doesn't apparently exist).

Not surprisingly, he has also proposed an amendment to the Texas state constitution that amounted to a "religious freedom" law that would allow the legal discrimination of gays based on religious faith. As disastrous as the result was when Indiana and North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislatures attempting the same thing around the time, what with boycotts being announced, Krause suggested his idea anyway, and in his defense of his plan, argued in favor of the religious freedom law by asking, "Should a Jewish bakery have to bake a cake for a Neo-Nazi convention coming to town?" Considering how pro-choice activists are Satanists in Krause's mind, it should come as little surprise that he would compare people seeking a same sex marriage to Neo-Nazis. When his amendment idea went nowhere, he instead settled for co-sponsoring SB 2065, a bill that would authorize religious organizations to be able to deny marriage services. In 2017, upon returning to the Texas legislature for a new term, Krause sponsored legislation to attempt to outlaw no-fault divorce in Texas to preserve the institution of marriage. His quote was, “Some people say I’m trying to take relationships back to the 19th century. I’m not trying that at all.” We almost believe him. He'd probably like to return to the 16th centuries or earlier, if he had his way, when women were strictly property. He spent most of 2018 trying to prevent gay adoption, gay marriage, and transgender bathroom use, because he’s an anti-LGBTQ twit.

In 2019, Krause continued trying to legalize gay legislation, sponsoring what was referred to as the “Save Chik-Fil-A Bill”. He continues to insist his efforts are not a concentrated effort to discriminate against gay people, because of course he does. Matt Krause, in spite of being a deranged fanatic, and still believes there’s no time like the present to waste taxpayers’ time in the legislature with “religious freedom” legislation to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling on same sex marriage and try to keep transgender citizens out of public restrooms. While in 2016, Krause’s Democratic challenger, Nancy Bean, lost by 20 points, in 2018 and 2020, she made it far closer, with Krause only getting 54% of the vote. She hasn’t yet made the jump to unseat him, but if things keep trending the way they are in Texas, she might pull the rug out from under him in the next cycle or two if she keeps trying.

But how have things gone for Matt Krause in his current term in office so far. Heh heh. In 2021, he was just named the Chairman of the Texas House Committee on Investigating… which normally would be a fun thing for someone looking to create bogus investigations into Planned Parenthood to grab some headlines with witch hunts to raise their profile for statewide office… but that’s not what the people of Texas want right now. His Twitter feed has been a non-stop barrage of constituents demanding investigations into corrupt Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, and people demanding answers for how a snowstorm managed to cripple the entire state’s power grid and leave people getting electric bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. He’s getting hammered day in and day out, and if he doesn’t address the failures of his party in governing when they’re this egregious, that narrow window he has to keep staying in office is possibly going to shut on him real quick.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Forget Dr. Seuss And Cancel Culture – The Real GOP Agenda Is Rolling Back Voting

From coast to coast, the party is engaged in the “second great disenfranchisement in American history,” says one voting law expert. As we all know, the GQP can't win an election honestly and have no policies the American people like, so they've fallen back on their default position of cheating. And that puts democracy itself in danger.

**********

Democratic Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand Join Calls For Andrew Cuomo’s Resignation

“It is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York,” they said. He’s been accused of sexual misconduct. I've had a change of heart about this situation. Yes, Cuomo has to go....but AFTER a proper trial, otherwise, it'll look like he was "Frankened".

**********

Ron Johnson Says He Would Have Been ‘Concerned’ About Black Capitol Rioters

“Your hood is showing,” a Twitter user responded to the Wisconsin Republican’s statement. Oh, WBEEEEEEEE....!

**********

Man Charged With Attacking Cop At Capitol Riot Buried Police Badge In Backyard

Thomas Sibick is charged in connection with the attack on Metropolitan Police Officer Mike Fanone. Find them all. Arrest them all. Charge them all. JAIL THEM ALL. Meanwhile....

**********

Capitol Siege One Of America’s Largest Attacks With Many More To Be Arrested: Prosecutors

Justice Department lawyers ask for a continuance in an extensive, complex case against the Oath Keepers as the investigation continues to expand. Keep those arrests coming, boys!

**********

Minneapolis To Pay George Floyd’s Family $27 Million In Wrongful Death Suit Settlement

The trial has also begun for police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin is accused of killing Floyd, who was Black, by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

[numberthirty]

...

**********

Democratic Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand Join Calls For Andrew Cuomo’s Resignation

“It is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York,” they said. He’s been accused of sexual misconduct. I've had a change of heart about this situation. Yes, Cuomo has to go....but AFTER a proper trial, otherwise, it'll look like he was "Frankened".

**********

Unless there is a bunch of stuff that I don't recall about how things went down with Franken, no one ever came right out and accused him of what would sexual battery in just about every state in the union.

So, no. It won't look like he was "Frankened..."

[numberthirty]

Which is before you even get to that Fairfax is still out there running for office as a Democrat, and the party is mum.

Never mind trying to make an example out of him.

[Tami]

GOP House candidate says she's 'pro white nationalism' in newly surfaced audio

Laura Loomer called herself a '#ProudIslamophobe' years before receiving endorsements from Republican Reps. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

In newly surfaced audio, Republican congressional candidate Laura Loomer says that she is "pro-white nationalism."

Loomer recently announced she will again challenge Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel for the seat in Florida's 21st Congressional District. In 2020, Loomer won the Republican primary in the same district but lost to Frankel by 20 points.

The audio, from an interview Loomer gave on a podcast for the white supremacist website Amerika in 2017, was uncovered and published on Sunday by the Angry White Men, a blog that covers the white supremacist movement.

[Mister Mets]

In case anyone forgot how much of a son of a b*** John Kavanagh is:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/202...gh-2020-Update

I suspect most people, even on a forum that follows politics, don't follow the career of a particular state legislator.

I doubt that. Also, Democrats in NYC Government have a bad history of their own. Many act in ways that would make Republicans blush.

I still think that even Cuomo deserves a fair investigation. Twitter is divided, some saying that Cuomo shouldn't be pushed out like Al Franken was, at least not until the investigation concludes.

Democrats in New York have been pretty sketchy.

Sheldon Silver, who was leader of the State Assembly from 1977 to 2015, and known to be corrupt during most of that time, is in jail.

Cuomo would be the third consecutive Democratic Governor whose term ended in disgrace after Spitzer resigned and after David Paterson was credibly accused of witness tampering, soliciting unlawful gifts and lying to investigators, he chose not to run for a full term.

With Fox News and similar outlets being in league with GOP leadership and the messaging that mainstream media can't be trusted the base has come to believe whatever misinformation is fed to them. It really has become a case of the tail wagging the dog.


Perhaps we need some actual standards to be defined and enforced in media again. I'm talking about online outlets as well.

What would you like to see? And who should enforce it?

Honestly, a big reason why conservative humor always falls flat is that they inherently fail to grasp the principle that insult comedy only really works when you're going after people above you on the socioeconomic hierarchy, when you try to punch down at some of the most powerless individuals in society, then there's no absurdity or irreverence in it, it's just straight up being a dick for no reason. Asking someone to refer to you by your chosen pronoun isn't some kind of forced conformity, it's just basic human decency and trying to make light of the struggles of trans people, who have suffered a lot more discrimination and bigotry than conservatives ever will, is not really edgy or subversive, it's just kind of sad. And I don't think you have to worry too much about people boycotting Disney over this, Disney will be doing just fine as always.

Most humor, if you go with the least generous interpretation, is going to offend someone.

When major politicians like Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren adopt pronouns in their bios, a reference to that habit is not punching down.

This really comes off as something like a white person telling a minority that something isn't racist.

There would still need to be a clear explanation about why it's reasonable to call for someone to be fired for writing on a Twitter profile that her preferred pronouns are "Beep/ Bop/ Bip" which would take into account the people who are ostensibly near the top of the hierarchy (prominent members of the currently dominant political party, media figures) have adopted a particular habit.

We need to be able to have open discussions about policies, be it government or corporate, as things that are meant to help people in marginalized communities can backfire.

[Mister Mets]

So, just heard this on Rachel Maddow:

There was an officer at the Capital Riot whose name escapes me right now. He was beaten, stomped on, tazed so many times he suffered a mild heart attack, had his radio ripped from his vest as well as his badge, and nearly had his weapon taken while the crowd chanted 'Kill him with his own gun!"

The guy who ripped off his badge took it home as a trophy and buried it in his backyard. Today, it was dug up by the FBI, and the man was arrested. And as he was taken before a judge in New York, and indicted on several violent felonies, the Judge... and I'm sure you won't believe this could possibly happen... let him go on his own recognizance. The prosecutors are now appealing that dumb-ass decision.

I am really getting sick and tired of these fucking judges who are letting these guys go, when we all know if the suspect was black, they would have tossed them in a hole and buried the hole.

For years, there has been an argument largely but not exclusively from progressives, that restrictions for people on trial should not be used as punishment. The person has not been found guilty of anything yet. The main questions are whether they are a flight risk, or whether there are any attempts to intimidate witnesses or something like that.

Agreed. This is getting dumb. They are labeled as terrorists. Then they should be treated as such and need to be kept in jail for this. They nearly killed this officer didn't they? Was he the one nearly crushed in the doors?

Whether some people call it terrorism doesn't matter as much as what prosecutors say they are.

If someone's behavior fits into a preexisting definition of terrorism, that's fine. It will have implications in future trials when people with other political goals end up fitting the same definition.

Which is before you even get to that Fairfax is still out there running for office as a Democrat, and the party is mum.

Never mind trying to make an example out of him.

To be fair, Fairfax is probably going to lose his primary.

But he should still not be second in line to Northam (who also resisted calls to resign and faces no political penalty for that.)

I do hope they investigate both the harassment claims but more importantly the nursing home deaths whether or not he is forced to resign. Wrongdoing is wrongdoing, shouldn't get a pass just because he's out of office. Being in the NY area, hopefully will keep attention on him.

The nursing home deaths are a bigger deal, especially considering there was a cover-up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/n...mes-cuomo.html

An aide explicitly said in a call to lawmakers that they didn't want to give nursing home death data to Democratic lawmakers, because “We were in a position where we weren’t sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, and what we start saying, was going to be used against us and we weren’t sure if there was going to be an investigation.”

Hm. I'm gonna get punched, but here we go.

Pepe le Pew was not a celebration of sexual harassment, or an insult to French culture. He was a specific caricature of Charles Boyer's performance in Algiers. It just so happened that Americans of the time found humor in a sexually harassive caricature of French culture.

Pepe Le Pew is also an object of ridicule, and not to be meant to be emulated.

[ed2962]

GOP House candidate says she's 'pro white nationalism' in newly surfaced audio

Isn't this the same woman who chained herself to the Twitter office doors after they banned her for hate speech? I'm pretty sure there's also actual video of Loomer ( Jewish) throwing herself at some alt-right guy in a bar...

[PwrdOn]

Most humor, if you go with the least generous interpretation, is going to offend someone.

When major politicians like Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren adopt pronouns in their bios, a reference to that habit is not punching down.

Who the hell would see beep/bop/bip and assume that Carano was talking about Elizabeth Warren? Conservative comedy always sucks because it's impossible to even get it unless you are already plugged into the right wing media sphere and know immediately what imaginary grievances these supposed jokes are referencing. And even then, where is the punchline? She identifies as a robot? Humor isn't entirely subjective, and this joke just sucks.

[AnakinFlair]

Forget how many officers it was.

That is a non-issue.

Everyone involved is about a close to the dictionary definition of "Enemy Combatant..." as you can get.

As long as we have to live with garbage like The Patriot Act and Gitmo?

Every single one of the people involved should actually be declared enemy combatants, rounded up, and held in Gitmo indefinitely.

Yeah, and as soon as someone suggests that the Capital rioters should be thrown in Gitmo, watch how fast the Republicans finally shut that place down.

On this date in 2015, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" ran a profile of Dwayne Stovall, who ran campaign ads that attacked, bizarrely, Senator Mitch McConnell for looking like a turtle while still trying to win the nomination for his seat. The ad itself ended with Stovall's dog sitting in a pickup truck with him, and then the dog turned and started to talk to him, proving that his advisers had never heard of the Son of Sam killer. Stovall also had policy stances like that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional (in spite of the Supreme Court just having ruled that it was), that the 2nd Amendment should never be infringed, whatsoever, and that nullification of federal law was a wise course of action. Stovall finished third in that primary against John Cornyn, the senator he was actually trying to unseat.

And now I'll never look at Bush's Baked Beans adds the same way again.

[Malvolio]

This is one who was repeatedly tased until he had a heart attack. And that a dogpile of the terrorists attempted to steal his weapon and kill him with it. They literally were shouting "Take his weapon and kill him with his own gun!"

He only got away because he pleaded with some that he had kids, and some escorted him away from others. And to them, his quote was, "Thank you for helping, but f*** you for being there for why you were."

Paraphrasing, but that's the gist of the officer's story.

But according to Sen. Ron Johnson, these people had respect for the law and officers of the law. Yeah, if you only respect law enforcement when it's enforced on others, but not when it's enforced on you, then you really never had respect for law enforcement.

[JCAll]

Who the hell would see beep/bop/bip and assume that Carano was talking about Elizabeth Warren? Conservative comedy always sucks because it's impossible to even get it unless you are already plugged into the right wing media sphere and know immediately what imaginary grievances these supposed jokes are referencing. And even then, where is the punchline? She identifies as a robot? Humor isn't entirely subjective, and this joke just sucks.

She identifies as a Transphobe. Very popular punchline with modern conservatives.

[Tami]

I suspect most people, even on a forum that follows politics, don't follow the career of a particular state legislator.

Democrats in New York have been pretty sketchy.

Sheldon Silver, who was leader of the State Assembly from 1977 to 2015, and known to be corrupt during most of that time, is in jail.

Cuomo would be the third consecutive Democratic Governor whose term ended in disgrace after Spitzer resigned and after David Paterson was credibly accused of witness tampering, soliciting unlawful gifts and lying to investigators, he chose not to run for a full term.


What would you like to see? And who should enforce it?

Most humor, if you go with the least generous interpretation, is going to offend someone.

When major politicians like Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren adopt pronouns in their bios, a reference to that habit is not punching down.

There would still need to be a clear explanation about why it's reasonable to call for someone to be fired for writing on a Twitter profile that her preferred pronouns are "Beep/ Bop/ Bip" which would take into account the people who are ostensibly near the top of the hierarchy (prominent members of the currently dominant political party, media figures) have adopted a particular habit.

We need to be able to have open discussions about policies, be it government or corporate, as things that are meant to help people in marginalized communities can backfire.

NJ has issues as well (always had), but so far our Governor seems to be handling himself, and the state, fairly well. Fingers crossed that this continues. I like Murphy, and while he can be a little bit of a political neophyte at times (or at least he has acted that way), there have been few major issues beyond the usual back and forth between him and the state legislature.

I think he may be opening some things up a bit too prematurely, but not anyway near what is going on in states like Texas.

[MajorHoy]

NJ has issues as well (always had), but so far our Governor seems to be handling himself, and the state, fairly well. Fingers crossed that this continues. I like Murphy, and while he can be a little bit of a political neophyte at times (or at least he has acted that way), there have been few major issues beyond the usual back and forth between him and the state legislature.

I think he may be opening some things up a bit too prematurely, but not anyway near what is going on in states like Texas.

Connecticut is also in that boat of perhaps pushing some things a bit too quickly towards reopening, but at least it's not a case of saying you don't need masks any longer / too hell with "social distancing" (unlike some Republican-led states).

It's just a case of trying to walk that tightrope between trying to let businesses have a better chance of survival and trying to avoid being overly-restrictive in the name of safety. If they keep an eye on the numbers and start pulling back again if the numbers jump up too much, it might work out.