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

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

Anyway: What we lose when we reduce things to armed/unarmed is the ability to explore and question the nuances. After all, it is legal for people to have guns. So what happens when people have guns, but that presence alone becomes enough to legally justify police killing you?

https://twitter.com/WesleyLowery/sta...YN0ap21cw&s=19
As it becomes easier to own and carry guns, this is really interesting food for thought.

[CaptainEurope]

An opinion piece that I'm still thinking on and haven't made up my mind if she is right or not.

The Far Right and Far Left Agree on One Thing: Women Don’t Count







The word 'Woman" hasn't disappeared from the vocabulary, people who are female and adults are referred to as Women or a Woman. I don't know of any group of any kind that objects to the use of the word Woman.

Don't know if this is actually a thing.

It's a TERF thing. They are told that some things that mostly affect women also affect trans men, and that there is more inclusive language, and they get a knee-jerk (or just plain jerk) reaction that the word women is being banned. It is dishonest.

[InfamousBG]

Unless you’re a person of color, then pro-gun laws or the Second Amendment don’t apply to you.

This right here...so very true.

[InfamousBG]

No telling where this one will wind up going, but it probably does not have the best odds. If anyone else has mentioned it up until now, I don't recall seeing it.

https://www.wbng.com/2022/06/29/sena...insulin-costs/

I hope this is true as I know the cost of insulin all too well as I am a type 1 diabetic that has taken insulin everyday of my life for 40 years.

Trump lied in 2019 and said he lowered the cost of insulin when he did not. LOL that guy just loves to lie. Its all he does and STUPID people believe him.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” profile of Richard K. Jones, a man who has groused about illegal immigrants in hyperbolic ways now for over a decade, starting back when he would insult the Bush administration's immigration policy, and demand we seize whatever Mexican assets that were in the United States and sell them off to pay for the cost of catching and detaining illegal immigrants. Jones and his department have been successfully sued by legal immigrants for harassment that advanced to the violation of their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights (the 4th and 11th Amendment, specifically), and is being investigated by the Justice Department for racially profiling those he is sworn to protect and serve. Jones also claims that illegal immigrants are being given free computers by the Obama administration, and that his opinions about illegal immigrants don't make him a bigot because "he's just saying what everybody's thinking". While Sheriff Jones is still in office saying incredibly insane things like that the United States should “use the Mother of All Bombs on Mexican cartels” (which would be, y’know, just an act of war against our allies and deafen any innocent citizens within two miles of any strike), we’re going to look to folks in higher office than this incredible racist, fascist lunatic at this time.

In 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” presented profiles of the former U.S. House Representative from Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, Keith Rothfus, who not only voted for the 2013 Government Shutdown, and then when the time came to reopen the government, he voted to keep it closed. He voted against disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy, and against the latest version of the Violence Against Women Act. Rothfus is a climate change denier who adamantly opposes same sex marriage, wants to privatize Social Security, and wants to restrict women’s reproductive ways in as many ways as can be thought of. That latter point, and his love for Government Shutdowns crossed paths during the faux-outrage over Planned Parenthood in 2015, as Rep. Rothfus was actually one of 28 Republican men who threatened to shut down the government, again, over their inability to defund an organization who only uses about 3% of their budget on abortions, none of which comes from whatever government funding they do receive (that all goes towards women’s health). Keith Rothfus then continued to participate in the GOP’s smear campaign against Planned Parenthood, where he described “crushing baby parts” and how “ghoulish” the organization was… (y’know, the sort of rhetoric that served as a stochastic terror trigger to inspire Robert Lewis Dear to go and shoot up a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. After investigations into Planned Parenthoods turned up nothing, and the Center for Medical Progress actually ended up having two of their leaders indicted for tampering with government records… Rothfus still insists that Planned Parenthood admitted to wrongdoing, and was caught selling human body parts. Rothfus took to the floor of the House in May of 2016 to whine about how his “religious freedom” was being threatened in today’s America. And while you might not see Keith Rothfus on cable news all the time, where you do see him comment is in press releases whenever the Supreme Court makes a major ruling, and as a former corporate lawyer, Rothfus always chides them for making rulings that as a conservative, he just doesn’t like, like when he released an amicus brief after the Supreme Court ruled 5-3 against the state of Texas in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, where he was still trying to keep up the illusion (the lie) that “safety” was the motivation behind the undue and unnecessary restrictions placed upon abortion clinics in Texas to shut them down violated a woman’s constitutional right to find access to the procedure. Rothfus spent his last term in office dodging his constituents in his home district, failing to attend scheduled town halls with them. Maybe if he was there, he would have heard how upset they were about a proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The one that Rothfus not only voted for, in spite of only 17% of the country supporting it, but that he actually took to the floor of the House to talk about, giddy with anticipation to vote for. Pennsylvania’s 12th was restructured by a court-order to undo a Republican-engineered gerrymander, and that made it possible for Conor Lamb to send him packing after he only managed 44% of the vote in 2018.

On this date in 2020, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” profiled Donald Bolduc, a 2020 candidate for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, and veteran of 36 years with the U.S. Army. Bolduc announced his run for office in June of 2019, and immediately announced his intention to see Roe v. Wade overturned and to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Perhaps the disqualifying moment for Bolduc was when he furthered the racist conspiracy theory that the Chinese intentionally created Covid-19 in a lab and deliberately released it on their on people, and let it spread into the rest of the world. Of course, Bolduc constantly beats the drums of war when it comes to China, seemingly itching to fight them, so his reasons for bringing up the conspiracy are telling. If you weren’t concerned enough, in May of 2020, as Trump blathered on at daily White House press briefings, spreading misinformation about Covid-19 including asking out light if people could inject themselves with disinfectants, Bolduc was suggesting that it was the MEDIA that should be shut down during crisis situations like pandemics, which holy s***, would be an obvious violation of the freedom of the press covered in the First Amendment. While that’s the bulk of our reasons why this maniac should have no place in the U.S. Senate, we’ll add that he also had some bizarre revisionist history about how “gridlock, blaming, and finger-pointing” were the cause of the Civil War, and told a misogynist joke about how to prove who loved you more, try locking your wife in the trunk of your car, then your dog, and see which would be happier to see you when you let them out. Alas, Bolduc finished second in the GOP Primary in 2020, and never got to face off against Senator Jean Shaheen. But don’t look now, but he didn’t decide to take a hint and has registered to appear in the 2022 GOP Primary to take a shot at the Senate seat held by Senator Maggie Hassan, who’s even more formidable. ]

On this date in 2021, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” profiled Errol Webber, a rare African-American immigrant Republican (from Jamaica) who was a 2020 candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in California’s 37th Congressional District, hoping to knock off much-beloved Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass. In June of 2020, Webber posted twice in two days on Twitter, first baselessly accusing Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (who was not his opponent) of committing “immigration fraud” without any proof, or explanation of what he was talking about. He then went on to complain about CNN hosting Sesame Street characters in interviews to help children understand the dangers of Covid-19, saying they were “brainwashing our kids ”. Well, of course, with Rep. Karen Bass being well-liked and all, and her district being pretty liberal, she won re-election easily and Errol Webber only got 14% of the vote. Much like his political idol, Donald Trump, he refused to concede after getting obliterated at the polls, claiming that “Every LEGAL vote needs to be counted!” He was very briefly a candidate for Governor of California in 2022 before withdrawing, and is still active on social media, trolling sane people by posting things like how Donald Trump deserves credit for Juneteenth becoming a holiday because he hosted a tone-deaf rally in Tulsa on the holiday, or conspiracy theories about Joe Biden being debilitated from dementia, or that the entire Covid-19 pandemic is a “fraud”. Webber has the look of being on of those “perennial candidates” that people should back away from slowly. Or, full on run away from. As he seems unlikely to ever win office, we will set aside her profile at this time to cover another wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 1117-55, since this was established in July 2014.

[worstblogever]

Jeann Lugo

Welcome to what is the 1117th original profile here at “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Jeann Lugo, a 2022 candidate for District 29 of the Rhode Island State Senate, although as late as April 2022, he was supposedly planning a run for Lieutenant Governor. Lugo’s biography includes that he moved from Puerto Rico to Providence in 1992, but after an unspecified domestic incident, he was taken from the home at the age of 13 and was raised in foster care. After working fifteen years as a security guard, at 32 he became a member of the Providence PD, frequently making anti-immigrant statements or directing his ire at protesters of police violence who have the nerve to be upset when cops straight up murder civilians.

Well, Jeann Lugo’s attempted foray into politics self-immolated a few days ago after nationwide protests broke out in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade. One of the protesters on the front lines in Providence was Jennifer Rourke, a Democratic candidate for Rhode Island State Senate from District 29. And lo and behold, Lugo, while off-duty, charged Rourke, his prospective opponent in the election and hauled off and punched her in the face. There was video on social media immediately, and Lugo has dropped out of the race. He has also been placed on administrative leave, and could possibly (and should) be facing criminal charges.

This is who the Republican Party are, and we’re almost certain this won’t be the last time we profile a candidate who literally attacks a pro-choice protester.

[InfamousBG]

Jeann Lugo

Welcome to what is the 1117th original profile here at “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Jeann Lugo, a 2022 candidate for District 29 of the Rhode Island State Senate, although as late as April 2022, he was supposedly planning a run for Lieutenant Governor. Lugo’s biography includes that he moved from Puerto Rico to Providence in 1992, but after an unspecified domestic incident, he was taken from the home at the age of 13 and was raised in foster care. After working fifteen years as a security guard, at 32 he became a member of the Providence PD, frequently making anti-immigrant statements or directing his ire at protesters of police violence who have the nerve to be upset when cops straight up murder civilians.

Well, Jeann Lugo’s attempted foray into politics self-immolated a few days ago after nationwide protests broke out in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade. One of the protesters on the front lines in Providence was Jennifer Rourke, a Democratic candidate for Rhode Island State Senate from District 29. And lo and behold, Lugo, while off-duty, charged Rourke, his prospective opponent in the election and hauled off and punched her in the face. There was video on social media immediately, and Lugo has dropped out of the race. He has also been placed on administrative leave, and could possibly (and should) be facing criminal charges.

This is who the Republican Party are, and we’re almost certain this won’t be the last time we profile a candidate who literally attacks a pro-choice protester.

That awful state of Rhode Island will let him do what he wants as well.

[Tendrin]

It's a TERF thing. They are told that some things that mostly affect women also affect trans men, and that there is more inclusive language, and they get a knee-jerk (or just plain jerk) reaction that the word women is being banned. It is dishonest.

TERFs are always dishonest. It's their brand.

[4saken1]

No telling where this one will wind up going, but it probably does not have the best odds. If anyone else has mentioned it up until now, I don't recall seeing it.

https://www.wbng.com/2022/06/29/sena...insulin-costs/

The Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now, or INSULIN, Act will need 60 votes to pass in the Senate.

I hope this passes. I don't understand why it would need 60 votes, though, if it was so bipartisan!

[Kirby101]

I hope this passes. I don't understand why it would need 60 votes, though, if it was so bipartisan!

Bipartisan these days means 2 or 3 Republican Senators, they need 10.

[Malvolio]

TERFs are always dishonest. It's their brand.

True. The best example is one Joanne Kathleen Rowling. She says she's an ally because one of her characters is gay. But she only told us, after the fact, that Dumbledore was gay. I mean, seven novels, over 5,000 pages and she couldn't devote so much as a paragraph to a flashback depicting Dumbledore as gay or maybe relating to Harry a crush that he had on another male student while he was attending classes at Hogwarts? I call shenanigans on the whole thing.

[Tami]

People searching for abortion online must wade through misinformation

On TikTok, videos suggesting that people use herbs to self-manage an abortion have racked up thousands of views. Antiabortion activists have shared false information on Twitter about the supposed dangers of abortion. And the New York attorney general sent a letter to Google last week urging the company to point abortion seekers on Google Maps to valid health-care offices that offer the treatment, rather than to “crisis pregnancy centers,” which try to dissuade people from getting abortions.

Disinformation researchers, as well as reproductive rights advocates, are concerned that what abortion-seekers find online can sometimes leave them even more confused and point them toward options that may be misleading or even dangerous.

[babyblob]

Another mass shooting. Didnt think we could get through the 4th without one.

A Parade in Highland Park, Illinois. Not a lot of Details but many are feared dead. I am getting so sick of this.

Cant even go to a 4th of July Parade any more.

[CaptainEurope]

Both Fetterman and Rev. Warnock seem to be opening wide leads in the polls.

Here is why that is bad news for Democrats.

[AnakinFlair]

To be clear, I wasn't advocating in my previous post that the two white suspects should have been killed. I'm glad they were brought in alive to face justice. What I was pointing out was that both suspects had killed cops. So you kind of expect the cops to go after them guns blazing. Instead, they were brought in alive, while an unarmed black man was shot so many times that they can't even accurately tell how many times he was shot.

No telling where this one will wind up going, but it probably does not have the best odds. If anyone else has mentioned it up until now, I don't recall seeing it.

https://www.wbng.com/2022/06/29/sena...insulin-costs/

This might actually have a shot at being passed, especially since McConnell is starting to worry about the midterms. No doubt he'll let this get passed, then try to spin it that it was all the Republican's idea and he forced it past a Democratic blockade or something.