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

[babyblob]

Of course they are getting off easy. They aren't you or me. But it still says guilty on their record so that's at least something. But all these deals should have come with the additional term that they can never practice law or be involved in politics ever again too.

The thing is if you hit them really hard on a plea deal what would be the incentive for them to plea and not take it to trial and try their luck there. It is clear they want Trump so they are getting the little fish to plea and build a stronger case against him.

[Mister Mets]

Trump, which we're supposed to believe is the walking answer to Biden's brain at least already having more than one foot in the grave, said onstage to supporters he just picked up that you spell us as US, which was genius.

I'd like to think Jordan Peele read this and his eyes rolled all the way back into his skull hard enough to go around it and roll back in place.

One day Trump may watch that film, and his mind will be blown.

His rivals have started pointing out that his mind may be going.

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/de...-teleprompter/

What I'm saying is that it is a moot point. It seems like the only reason for the argument is to either try to establish which side somebody supports, which is a false dichotomy in most cases, or to justify whichever side somebody might support's reaction to the other. Both are committing horrific atrocities which will only escalate the situation and ensure that the carnage and bloodshed will continue for generations. Whether one is worse or not does not excuse the actions of the other.

One side is obviously worse, and that is quite relevant in determining the best policies going forward.

If Hamas targeted Israeli civilians, and uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, this isn't a case of two sides who both committed atrocities. It would be helpful to present a united front on this.

I am afraid that the situation in Germany after WW2 was an exception in how people were able to de-escalate their way of thinking after a defeat. It seems it's more common to whine and stick to the idea of one's superiority while nurturing a resentment over being defeated. As you mention, there are still people rooting for Confederacy, Putin is a prime example of someone who still has wet dreams over the time his country was a larger player and I would be surprised if Erdogan didn't have a boner over the Ottoman Empire. There are still many countries with imperialistic ambitions. I wish people who constantly criticize western countries for their colonial past would pay more attention to that. Yes, it is important to point out our past mistakes and learn from them, but also lets keep in mind who has put that kind of thinking behind and is trying to do better and who is still stuck in it and wants to hurt people in other countries.

This is very thoughtful.

The reason I think something like denazification is necessary is that it worked, and sets a useful precedent.

I'm wondering if a subtext in the discussions is how people view the coercion of soft power. It seems perfectly rational to me that if Palestine wants humanitarian aid going forward that it is going to come with some conditions, including significant transparency in terms of what is taught in schools, and cooperation from authorities in investigations into war crimes. But some people (and this seems to mainly be on the left, but it's not everybody on the left or exclusively the left) think that concessions should come from those who have resources to share.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Emmer wasn't a terrible pick...which is why he won't get to be speaker. They don't want a good speaker, they want a terrible human being.

From what a heard in a report on my local all news radio station this morning, Emmer didn’t fall in line regarding “The Big Lie” about the 2020 election, disqualifying him in the eyes of Trump. No surprise.

[aja_christopher]

If Hamas targeted Israeli civilians, and uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, this isn't a case of two sides who both committed atrocities. It would be helpful to present a united front on this.

Bombing innocent Palestinian civilians -- including children -- is an atrocity as well.



It is easy to make the argument that Hamas is the most problematic element in this equation but one should not justify the deaths of innocents on said basis.

People become desperate in the face of continued oppression -- the solution is to address the injustice rather than to use violence to continue unjust oppression.

[Malvolio]

And cries like a little baby too from the report I saw.

Oh yeah, she was choking up as she read her confession before the judge.

[Gray Lensman]

Of course they are getting off easy. They aren't you or me. But it still says guilty on their record so that's at least something. But all these deals should have come with the additional term that they can never practice law or be involved in politics ever again too.

It's the state Bar Association that handles the first one, and it's separate from the court system. It could still happen, but after the trial.

[BeastieRunner]

Anybody see Mark Meadows took an immunity deal?

[AnakinFlair]

I'm on vacation right now, so I'm fairly unplugged all day until I get back to the hotel. So this morning when I woke up, Emmer was going to be voted on to become Speaker. 6 hours later, Emmer is out, Mike Johnson has been selected to be voted on tomorrow, and meanwhile McCarthy is floating a plan to reinstall him as Speaker with Gym Jordan as the 'Assistant House Speaker', which seems on par for him. Gym would actually be Speaker, and McCarthy would make himself someone else's b*tch.

[JCAll]

I'm on vacation right now, so I'm fairly unplugged all day until I get back to the hotel. So this morning when I woke up, Emmer was going to be voted on to become Speaker. 6 hours later, Emmer is out, Mike Johnson has been selected to be voted on tomorrow, and meanwhile McCarthy is floating a plan to reinstall him as Speaker with Gym Jordan as the 'Assistant House Speaker', which seems on par for him. Gym would actually be Speaker, and McCarthy would make himself someone else's b*tch.

The man just keeps finding new ways to publicly debase himself.
It must be a fetish at this point.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The man just keeps finding new ways to publicly debase himself.
It must be a fetish at this point.

At least John Boehner had the good sense to retire when it became clear to him that the inmates had taken over the GOP asylum.

[4saken1]

One side is obviously worse, and that is quite relevant in determining the best policies going forward.

No. It's so that we can justify inhumane policies going forward. Hamas uses people as human shields and beheads babies, ergo indiscriminate bombing, apartheid, and treating all Palestinians as second-class citizens is perfectly acceptable.

[Mister Mets]

No. It's so that we can justify inhumane policies going forward. Hamas uses people as human shields and beheads babies, ergo indiscriminate bombing, apartheid, and treating all Palestinians as second-class citizens is perfectly acceptable.

It's more that we have to stop Hamas and their allies given the harm these terrorists are causing Israelis and Palestinians.

But there's something grotesque in the idea that Hamas gets to stay in power because of their willingness to risk Palestinian lives (IE- launching rockets which often land in Palestine where there are no bomb shelters, brainwashing generations with nonsense propaganda that makes it tougher for them to participate in the global community, murdering LGBTQ activists, ordering Palestinians to stay in a war zone when the Israeli army is warning them, using places of shelter to perform military operations which makes those places targets, committing atrocities which are going to understandably upset people with power, lying about casualties and culpability, etc.)

I understand disagreements about Israel but anyone reasonable should be on the same page when it comes to Hamas.

[4saken1]

It's more that we have to stop Hamas and their allies given the harm these terrorists are causing Israelis and Palestinians.

This can be established quite easily without the comparison.

[Mister Mets]

This can be established quite easily without the comparison.

The comparison is helpful to make it obvious who the bad guys are, as well as who's on their side.

But how do we ensure a new government in Palestine so that these attacks don't happen again, and so that the people are better taken care of, along with the arrests of every living Hamas member?

[Tami]

5 things to know about Mike Johnson, the GOP’s latest House speaker nominee

Republicans in the House of Representatives picked Rep. Mike Johnson (La.), who serves as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as their fourth nominee for the speakership. The choice marks the next step in a drawn-out and chaotic voting process that has left the House effectively closed for business.

He opposed certifying the 2020 election

Johnson, 51, contested the results of the 2020 election — urging President Donald Trump to “stay strong and keep fighting” as he tried to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the presidential race.

He voted against further Ukraine aid

Johnson, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, was one of 57 lawmakers — all of them Republicans — who voted against a $39.8 billion aid package for Ukraine in May.

He is antiabortion

Johnson, a constitutional lawyer who identifies as a Christian, opposes abortion and has celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established constitutional protections for abortions nationwide.

He is a close ally of Donald Trump

Johnson is a close ally of Trump, having served on the former president’s legal defense team during his two impeachment trials in the Senate.

He supports LGBTQ restrictions

Johnson has positioned himself on the far right of the political spectrum on several social issues, even within the current conservative Republican conference. Notably, he introduced legislation last year — modeled after Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill — that would have prohibited discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as related subjects, at any institution that received federal funds. The Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBTQ civil rights organization, gave Johnson a score of 0 in its latest congressional scorecard.