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

[Robotman]

In the past 6 months or so hasn’t Trump been installing his stooges in the Pentagon and in security positions? The lack of support and the ridiculous delays seems incredibly suspicious. The president of the United States tried to orchestrate a coup. And in typical Trump fashion it was completely half assed.

Trump administration removes senior defense officials and installs loyalists, triggering alarm at Pentagon

[kidfresh512]

Trump can't be allowed to pardon any of these people either. The prosecutions need to take that into account.

He "loves them" after all as he told the world while they rampaged. He will clearly be pardoning his family and likely himself as he leaves. But, these people need to get the absolute maximum. Including murder.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

There's that twitter meme about the Leopard Eating Faces Party...about people signing up for the Leopard Eating Faces Party and upon finding their faces eaten realize that the leopard was in fact a leopard and they're just meat to it.

Or the parable about the frog and the scorpion. Those lunkheads were the frog who let Trump as the scorpion ride on his back, we all know how THAT story ended.

Sad news, the capitol police officer that was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher has died. Poor guy. The guys involved in this insurrection need to be dragged out and prosecuted.

But hey, the Republican Party is all about law and order. Another line item on the butcher bill of Trump and the GOP which enabled him.

But seriously, what happened the other day has deeper implications. What if a more intelligent and coherent version of Trump comes in, colludes with the security forces and allows the take over of the Capitol building? Quite clearly, capitol police had no problem with the terrorists and I'm pretty sure a lot of them are Trump supporters. In fact, considering just how white supremacy and policing is somewhat intertwined, a lot of police officers would willingly support violent insurrections just so their "leader" could stay in power.

Folks shouldn't say it can't happen in the US, it quite clearly can. If does happen, what then?

Experts and talking heads have been saying the Capitol Police were unprepared for what happened on Wednesday, even though warning signs that the **** would hit the fan were everywhere. I find that claim dubious at best, especially after seeing that one piece of video with a cop taking a selfie with one of the terrorists. With the head of the CP having already resigned, a top to bottom investigation needs to be held and the bad apples found and ejected.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Briana Keilar laying down some truth the Republicans would be wise to listen to. spoilers:

They won't.

end of spoilers

[kidfresh512]

Justice Department warns of national security fallout from Capitol Hill insurrection

“National security equities” may have been among the records stolen from the Capitol on Wednesday when pro-Trump insurgents stormed the building and looted several congressional offices, the Justice Department said in a briefing Thursday.

Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., said it will likely take “several days to flesh out exactly what happened, what was stolen, what wasn't,” noting that “items, electronic items were stolen from senators’ offices, documents and materials were stolen, and we have to identify what was done to mitigate that [damage].”

They stole a Senator's laptop. They ransacked the offices of people with the highest security clearances in the country. They sit on intelligence committees etc. and have access to the nation's top secrets and plans. Of course these people are domestic terrorists. They are the definition of it. They need to go to jail for decades. And that isn't including the actual murder of police now. and Assault on dozens of officers.

DeVos, and Chao resigning now is absolutely ridiculous and transparent. They should have been apart of the 25th amendment talks to remove Trump if they are so disgusted.

They weren't that upset when children were being separated from parents, or when their boss was praising the very good people on both sides in Charlottesville. Transparent self -preservation

[Tendrin]

Kristina Malimon is one of at least three Oregonians who were arrested in D.C. on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old woman is the vice-chairwoman of the Young Republicans of Oregon. She is facing curfew violation and unlawful entry charges.

Stephen Lloyd, the state chair of the Young Republicans of Oregon, says he hasn't heard from Malimon yet but was surprised she attended the rally. He says the Young Republicans of Oregon had no organized presence at the event.

We definitely condemn the violence," Lloyd said, adding the Capitol takeover has shocked them to their core.

Lloyd says there's been a movement to become more politically active.

"This is not the America that we grew up with," Lloyd said. "I think that out of the shock of the events that we've constantly seen over the period of the last year, people have been getting excited about politics."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/yo...?ocid=msedgntp

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Justice Department warns of national security fallout from Capitol Hill insurrection


They stole a Senator's laptop. They ransacked the offices of people with the highest security clearances in the country. They sit on intelligence committees etc. and have access to the nation's top secrets and plans. Of course these people are domestic terrorists. They are the definition of it. They need to go to jail for decades. And that isn't including the actual murder of police now. and Assault on dozens of officers.

DeVos, and Chao resigning now is absolutely ridiculous and transparent. They should have been apart of the 25th amendment talks to remove Trump if they are so disgusted.

They weren't that upset when children were being separated from parents, or when their boss was praising the very good people on both sides in Charlottesville. Transparent self -preservation

I hope that stolen laptop was password protected or the information on it encrypted. That’s just one more reason all those thugs need to be rounded up, arrested and charged with domestic terrorism.

[kidfresh512]

I hope that stolen laptop was password protected or the information on it encrypted. That’s just one more reason all those thugs need to be rounded up, arrested and charged with domestic terrorism.

And what was trump and his spoiled trash kids doing while the mob they amped up marched down the street for this destruction and terrorism?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXM6h9elyTY

[PaulBullion]

The President has literally failed to condemn white nationalists on several occasions. Even when asked to do so directly. But it's not about racism.

Also, keep in mind just whose votes they want thrown out.

[PaulBullion]

**** Rush Limbaugh. That guy deserves the medal of freedom.

It was women.

[PaulBullion]

He is banned through the end of his term.

Not true for twitter.

[mogwen]

http://https://www.mediaite.com/tv/c...go-to-capitol/
So, words are Trump was really pleased by the storming of the Capitol and refused to have the civil guard intervene. That's why Pence had to do it himself.

[babyblob]

I saw on my local fox station (morning local News not the national crap) that 23 capital hill protestors arrested have been released by a judge. The charges ranged from violating curfew (Most of them) , vandalism, to possession of a fire arm without a license.

I cant find a link online when I looked.

But if this was true it doesnt look like they are really taking charging these guys seriously like we hoped.

[CSTowle]

Are you seriously calling Neanderthals racist? I mean just on the basis of history and anthropology and common sense, that's a howler.

And again the concept of "tribalism" implies that all tribes behaved this way at all times and all places which again is not accepted by anthropologists among others.



Which is a lot more complex than what you define and excerpt here. Nor is that the only excerpt and understanding of that.



Assumptions about a static human nature, or an inherent human nature, is inherently aristocratic and also quite wrong.

Aristos in earlier times assumed peasants and others were inherently subhuman and poverty meant that you had no culture, no contribution, and nothing to offer. And yet the waltz, the big fancy balroom dance aristos did in period dramas originated among the peasantry.



Not being easy to solve does not mean impossible to solve.

This weird '90s style "end-of-history" attitude that people here voice, assumes that since racism wasn't solved in their youth or by their parents, or by themselves, that means it cannot be solved...is really arrogant and childish. Again that the current generation cannot seem to solve it in their lifetime doesn't mean it can't be, or won't be solved eventually.



In the ancient world, it was legal and normal and preached by philosophers to conquerors to sack cities and sell inhabitants to slavery and donate slaves as gifts to people and so on. Philosophers like Cicero owned slaves and he came to be called "righteous Pagan" by Christian writers. Aristotle admonished Alexander the Great for...*gasp* not selling the Persians as chattel to every Greek person and instead treating them with dignity and so on. Alexander had this weirdly progressive sentiment that people from different backgrounds and faith could be equal in his empire with Greeks and Persians becoming one people. He was also a bloodthirsty warlord who loved battle...but I'll go product-of-his-time and slide that by.

Heck Popes owned slaves (a fact that the Catholic Church doesn't like talking about). There was one called Pope Gregory the Great, which the church still calls him by even if he really isn't great.

That kind of slavery isn't in force today.



I am an atheist. And one of the advantages of being an atheist is that you don't have to worry so much about "the problem of evil", i.e. if evil exists then why doesn't God not do anything. As an atheist, god doesn't exist, but neither does the devil, nor are they anthropomorphic spirits that embody and typify vices and virtues which lead people astray.

The existence of difficult and hard to resolve problems at present doesn't disprove my claim or argument that these problems can be overcome and not inherently something that will last forever. Nor is saying that these problems can be overcome constitute a denial of the existence of these problems.

If you're an atheist and problems exist in society then that means those problems come from humanity and logically speaking it follows that any problem created by humanity can be solved by humanity.

I'm an atheist too. I don't believe in "evil" as an absolute, more of a moral judgment. "Evil to me", if you like. That said, I think tribalism in all of its forms (racism/religious persecution/sexism/hell, even as another poster pointed out among sports fans or other much less important tribes) is pretty well-ingrained in our species. Maybe not on a DNA level, but so part of who we are and the world we're born into (so baked-in that it's part of us before we're even old enough to question it, let alone push back against it) that while it's nice to think about a future utopia where tribalism in all of its forms is a thing of the past (or at least relegated to unimportant nonsense, like sports teams or whether it's OK to put ketchup on your hot dog) I think it's on the same level of talking about when we as a species will perfect technology that makes us immortal.

Great thing to work towards (necessary, given how much suffering and misery all over the world is due to prejudice and conflict between tribes) but here to stay far, far beyond our lifetimes. We may have made progress in some areas, but as I said before those of us living in the US or similar countries still routinely and widely exploit folk in other countries who lack our military and financial capabilities. You don't have to look far to see evidence of this, you're likely wearing or typing on something mined or manufactured by an exploited tribe somewhere else in the world.

Far less important, but on the waltz thing I'd point out successful/exploitative tribes often "borrow" fashion/culture/etc. from what they perceive to be lesser tribes for their amusement and profit. Again, not necessarily a sign of enlightenment. Arguably another form of exploitation.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

http://https://www.mediaite.com/tv/c...go-to-capitol/
So, words are Trump was really pleased by the storming of the Capitol and refused to have the civil guard intervene. That's why Pence had to do it himself.

That webpage isn’t urning up. Could you double check the link?