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

[MiddleMan]

I object to Betsy DeVos purchasing a Cabinet seat and even being in position to propose such BS in the first place

I can not wait for her to be deposed

[Farealmer]

Guys I was joking about the Space Force But it is cool that you all took me seriously and posted all kinds of arguments against it. Just shows how hated Trump is that we cant even joke about the things he has done lol.

It was less about Donny and more about i have seen this argument for real. The argument that if we had more space stuff suddenly certain things would be better/more secure.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

It was less about Donny and more about i have seen this argument for real. The argument that if we had more space stuff suddenly certain things would be better/more secure.

The Space Stuff would only be consequential if we get close to building a Dyson Sphere. To get there we'd have to do away with the concept of a nation state altogether. Right now humanity has not yet fully achieved Type 1 on the Kardashev Scale. We need to do that to get to Type II and effectively colonize and settle the Solar System we need to get to Type II and that needs a Dyson Sphere.

[Mister Mets]

Except when the Roberts Courts wants to invalidate parts of The Voting Rights Act or the ACA.
So it is really bullshit.

The court's argument was that we shouldn't base the standard on what areas are in need of greater scrutiny on their problems generations ago. Section 5 in 1965 was meant to be temporary.

The court's decision was that Alabama would now be treated the same way as Pennsylvania, so that contemporary information would determine if a place requires different scrutiny.

Things have changed in fifty years since Democrats controlled southern legislatures through racist policies.

when the VRA was gutted, within the year over 800 polling places in the South were shuttered - largely in rural and urban areas

how is that beneficial?

Sometimes polling places are closed because they cost too much money for the people they serve, or fail to meet particular standards (especially ADA standards.)

This happens in all sorts of jurisdictions (to be fair, the majority of jurisdictions are in rural or urban areas; suburban areas have seen significant growth, which tends to mean there are less arguments about closing down polling places.)

It does stand to reason that when some jurisdictions had a harder time making changes, there would be pent-up demand after.

No it's not.

It always was and will always be a reactionary fanfiction concept with nothing to do with reality, with history, with the actual manner in which the original constitution was drafted, written, argued, and understood.

The Founding Fathers would have found the concept that the constitution be interpreted as closely as possible to the 1790s to be laughable and absurd. It was always envisioned as a living document that would evolve. Even the Supreme Court wasn't sacrosanct as Thomas Jefferson openly tried to impeach a SCOTUS. Orignalism as a doctrine was dreamed up in the 1980s and it was largely with a view to essentially overturn the Civil Rights Legacy, Robert Bork was an obvious example, Scalia too, John Roberts likewise.

The constitution evolved. We call those amendments.

Many arguments about the effects of laws don't fall into constitutional arguments.

[MiddleMan]

Sometimes polling places are closed because they cost too much money for the people they serve, or fail to meet particular standards (especially ADA standards.)

This happens in all sorts of jurisdictions (to be fair, the majority of jurisdictions are in rural or urban areas; suburban areas have seen significant growth, which tends to mean there are less arguments about closing down polling places.)

It does stand to reason that when some jurisdictions had a harder time making changes, there would be pent-up demand after.

Folks in states across the south (Georgia, Florida, Texas) were waiting 3+ hours to vote...that would not have happened if those polling places weren't closed

they weren't closed because of demand or ADA standards, they were closed to discourage brown and black folks from voting....trying to claim anything else is intellectually and morally dishonest

and FURTHERMORE, if the closing of those places was as you claimed, due to standards, then why were there hardly any closures here in New England or anywhere else across the country...where buildings are much older and ADA compliance is actually enforced

I live in Connecticut, and when Ive voted in person, it takes me less than 10 minutes

yet 800 were closed in southern states....

[Kirby101]

They Voting Rights Act was reauthorization in 2006, and signed by GW Bush. it wasn't about 1965. And the result of that decision was massive Voter suppression.

[Steel Inquisitor]

I'm not claiming that these are all the good things the GOP has done in the last four years, but these are the things some reasonable people could support.

- moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

That's not good, Mets.

- reshaping the federal judiciary with originalist/ textualist appointees

Because the country needs most of its judges to be incredibly conservative. Whatever could go wrong?

- defeating Isis.

ISIS was on the verge of being defeated by Obama, it wasn't until Trump that they got a second wind when he pulled out just as they were boxed in.

- a decline in illegal immigration.

By making even legals immigration illegal and doing war crimes on the border the Nazis would be proud of.

- Fast-tracking of vaccine research as part of Operation Warp Speed

The government has been instrumental in throttling programs to create and distribute a vaccine since the beginning.

When it comes to state governments, we can also consider that even though there's a relatively even split in the number of Democratic and Republican Governors, the Republican Governors are the most popular, in red states (Wyoming, North Dakota, Arkansas) swing states (Florida, New Hampshire) and blue states (Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland)

https://morningconsult.com/governor-rankings/

It's a broad measurement which didn't go into why they're popular.

From a non US perspective I’d argue that Trumps attempt to put pressure on other NATO members to actually meet the commitments they have signed up to were eminently reasonable.

And in general..I’ve always felt that there was no real chance of him starting a major conflict abroad.

They do meet their commitments, Trump's idea was to extort NATO members like a protection racket. That's not how it's supposed to work.

Trump's actively tried to start wars with countries like Iran and North Korea, sometimes more than once.

[PwrdOn]

I do find it a bit curious how certain elements of our society have such a deep reverence for the Constitution as if it were some kind of divine scripture, when if they actually bothered to read the damned thing they'd find it's mostly a pretty boring legal document that is mainly devoted to setting up a practical framework for government. All of the really profound stuff is just in a handful of amendments, some of which came decades after the drafting of initial document and were drawn up specifically to go against the original intent of the framers. And let's not forget that the Constitution only came about in the first place because the committee tasked with amending the Articles of Confederation decided to give themselves the power to just tear it up and rewrite the whole thing. So if there ever comes a point where the limitations imposed by the Constitution conflict too much with the realities of the modern world and make practical governance impossible, we have every right to scrap it entirely and start over from scratch just like the framers did in their time.

[Mister Mets]

Folks in states across the south (Georgia, Florida, Texas) were waiting 3+ hours to vote...that would not have happened if those polling places weren't closed

they weren't closed because of demand or ADA standards, they were closed to discourage brown and black folks from voting....trying to claim anything else is intellectually and morally dishonest

and FURTHERMORE, if the closing of those places was as you claimed, due to standards, then why were there hardly any closures here in New England or anywhere else across the country...where buildings are much older and ADA compliance is actually enforced

I live in Connecticut, and when Ive voted in person, it takes me less than 10 minutes

yet 800 were closed in southern states....

Indiana also had closures and it's not subject to preclearance.

https://www.governing.com/topics/pol...ck-voters.html

Florida is also not covered by that section of the voting rights act, with the exception of five (of 67) counties.

There are two potential arguments for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act being maintained.

The first argument is that these locations (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, handful of counties elsewhere including the Bronx) remain fundamentally racist generations later, and should be held to a higher level of scrutiny. In this case, the argument should be made openly.

The other argument is that any restriction on the ability to make it harder to vote is a good thing, even if it's based on treating one state differently than another for reasons that are no longer pertinent, and which are contrary to the original intent of the law. This one doesn't pass constitutional muster, given all the laws about holding jurisdictions to the same standard.

I do find it a bit curious how certain elements of our society have such a deep reverence for the Constitution as if it were some kind of divine scripture, when if they actually bothered to read the damned thing they'd find it's mostly a pretty boring legal document that is mainly devoted to setting up a practical framework for government. All of the really profound stuff is just in a handful of amendments, some of which came decades after the drafting of initial document and were drawn up specifically to go against the original intent of the framers. And let's not forget that the Constitution only came about in the first place because the committee tasked with amending the Articles of Confederation decided to give themselves the power to just tear it up and rewrite the whole thing. So if there ever comes a point where the limitations imposed by the Constitution conflict too much with the realities of the modern world and make practical governance impossible, we have every right to scrap it entirely and start over from scratch just like the framers did in their time.

There is a mechanism for that. The constitution does allow for a new constitutional convention if two-thirds of state legislatures agree.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...onvention-alec

To get major changes, you would need to get supermajorities of support from various elected officials.

[Robotman]

I'm wondering what, if anything, President Biden is going to do with this 'Space Force'. I mean, right now he has far more pressing issues to deal with, but eventually the subject is going to come up.

Hopefully get rid of it or rename so it doesn’t sound like a Saturday Morning Cartoon from the 80s.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

So one thing not mentioned is the decision in PA where the judge tossed Trump's biggest lawsuit. Its said this was pretty crippling for Trump. It also had Powell quickly retconned from the Trump Campaign legal team as they issued a statement she was not a part of the team. Days after she appeared with them. Its pretty funny.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Hopefully get rid of it or rename so it doesn’t sound like a Saturday Morning Cartoon from the 80s.

My vote is to get rid of it. I mean, we already have NASA, Space Force was nothing more than a bad Trump fantasy that’s about as essential as a third leg.

So one thing not mentioned is the decision in PA where the judge tossed Trump's biggest lawsuit. Its said this was pretty crippling for Trump. It also had Powell quickly retconned from the Trump Campaign legal team as they issued a statement she was not a part of the team. Days after she appeared with them. Its pretty funny.

Not to mention typical for Trump who’s quick to fire underlings that displease him.

[BeastieRunner]

The only division of reality that needs another "military" is cyber security.

Not motherfucking space.

What a douche nozzle.

[WAKANDA FOREVER!]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/22/polit...ion/index.html

[worstblogever]

So one thing not mentioned is the decision in PA where the judge tossed Trump's biggest lawsuit. Its said this was pretty crippling for Trump. It also had Powell quickly retconned from the Trump Campaign legal team as they issued a statement she was not a part of the team. Days after she appeared with them. Its pretty funny.

This is days after that press conference... where they labeled themselves an "Elite Strike Force".

She was so elite, she was shown the door in under a week.