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

[4saken1]

GOP Voting Restrictions Will Make It Harder For People With Disabilities To Cast Ballots

People with disabilities reported improved voting experiences in 2020. But a wave of new restrictions could reverse hard-won progress. Qpublicans don't give a damn about this either.

As long as it keeps far more people of color from voting, they don't care.

[Kirby101]

Disabilities probably concentrate more with older voters, so (if this is true) they are making it harder for the age group that votes for them.

[Hellion]

So the Supreme Court has taken up an abortion case:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme...pi-11621259099

Once again, a friendly reminder to everyone who didn't take the risk of the conservative supreme court majority poses to women's bodily autonomy as one worth considering: this is also on you.

I see one positive to the Supreme Court potentially reversing Roe v Wade: it forces the left to stay pissed and to mobilize, because that's how we win elections. We can't afford to relax yet, or the Evil will start making gains.

[Tami]

Disabilities probably concentrate more with older voters, so (if this is true) they are making it harder for the age group that votes for them.

Republicans these days, not all but many, are self-destructive.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

My question is can you take a shot at someone or can you just 'stand your ground' with a shovel to the back of his head on your own property if you catch one of these fuckin' animals. A Black city councilman spoke out against police killings -- then he caught a cop urinating on his property

Fortunately, that's the least that happened to Mr. Adkins. But, it doesn't mean that badge toting thug or one of his buddies won't return and do something worse.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Biden’s aid programs help buttress McCarthy’s district despite GOP leader’s complaints about ‘socialist’ spending

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has spent months accusing President Biden of pushing excessive government spending, denouncing it as “socialism.” But a Washington Post analysis finds that McCarthy’s constituents are among those who have benefited most from the very programs he’s decried, with high poverty levels and a younger population creating acute needs for individual and family aid.

An unusually large share of children in McCarthy’s district stand to benefit from the expanded child tax credit included in the American Rescue Plan he opposed — more than 93 percent, the seventh-highest proportion in California, according to figures reviewed by The Post.
Even as McCarthy has railed against the extension of enhanced unemployment benefits in the law, his region has been among the slowest in the state to recover from the pandemic-induced economic crisis. The unemployment rate in his region was still at double digits in March, while it had fallen into the single digits in California and the nation as a whole, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With high levels of poverty in the district, McCarthy’s constituents have also relied heavily on stimulus checks sent out under the American Rescue Plan and earlier coronavirus relief bills. Census Bureau income data indicates that a significantly higher-than-average share of families in McCarthy’s district were probably eligible to receive stimulus checks. In 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the poverty rate of 15.6 percent in McCarthy’s district was well above California’s 11.8 percent rate and the national rate of 12.3 percent.

“I think it’s very unfortunate that McCarthy continues to reject these proposals that can help millions of people here in his backyard here in the Central Valley,” said state Assemblyman Rudy Salas, a Democrat whose district overlaps with McCarthy’s around Bakersfield. “I would plead to Congressman McCarthy to not forget his constituents, not forget California families, Central Valley families, when looking at these proposals.”

The figures highlight the tension between McCarthy’s rhetoric in Washington and the realities on the ground in the 23rd Congressional District, which sits at the southern end of California’s Central Valley. The district is home to large numbers of immigrant farmworkers, many of them undocumented, a population uniquely vulnerable to the health and economic forces of the pandemic. As the coronavirus swept through the area last year, food bank lines grew markedly as many essential workers faced difficult choices about whether to keep working under risky conditions or stay home to protect themselves and care for their children.

McCarthy has represented his district since 2007. Encompassing the city of Bakersfield and much of Kern County, the region is a major source of energy and agriculture production for California. McCarthy has sold himself as a former small-business owner, having briefly run a deli in his early 20s, but he gained his political chops as an aide to former House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas, the district’s previous representative. Thomas remains a larger-than-life figure in the area, and the hundreds of millions of dollars he helped secure in a major highway bill passed in 2005 still help the region.
McCarthy’s political approach has been much different. He has tried to remain close to former president Donald Trump and establish himself as a national party leader, since he could become speaker of the House in 2023 if Republicans make gains in next year’s midterm elections. His district, though, is at a crossroads.

Even as neighboring Los Angeles County climbs out of the pandemic, vaccinations in Kern County are lagging, and needs remain high. Some of McCarthy’s constituents, as well as leaders of advocacy groups and state and local Democrats representing the area, voiced frustration over his stance against the federal assistance that they view as critical for their region’s recovery.
But McCarthy disputes the suggestion that he has disregarded his district’s needs in voting against Biden’s American Rescue Plan, or in opposing infrastructure proposals and additional federal spending that local leaders say is desperately needed in their region.
“My constituents are my top priority, and with every vote I take, I vote my conscience and for my district,” McCarthy said in a statement.

He pointed to his support of Republican-backed tax cuts in 2017 that included an expanded child tax credit — albeit significantly less generous than the provision in Biden’s rescue law — and said the Biden plan was “never about getting Americans back to work, but about creating more government involvement in our lives.”
Asked why he voted against legislation containing benefits that flowed disproportionately to his district, McCarthy said the bill was “all about growing the size of government — not defeating the virus and restoring our way of life.”
In Washington, McCarthy recently met with Biden to discuss infrastructure, even as he’s attacked Democrats’ proposals and focused on ousting Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her role in House GOP leadership after her opposition to Trump made her an outcast. After briefly criticizing the former president in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, McCarthy has returned to form as a Trump apologist and booster, a stance he appears to consider necessary to retain his leadership role in the GOP. McCarthy is already one of the most powerful Republican politicians in the country; elevation to House speaker would place him second in the line of succession to the presidency.


Yet McCarthy’s position as House GOP leader does not appear to have translated into dramatic economic changes for his district.
Republican aides point to a long list of accomplishments on behalf of his district, including securing federal funding for water infrastructure projects as California faces severe drought; helping pass legislation on behalf of veterans; directing money toward hospitals in underserved areas; and gathering federal support to address Valley fever, an infection that disproportionately affects farmworkers since it’s caused by a fungus in the soil.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Biden’s aid programs help buttress McCarthy’s district despite GOP leader’s complaints about ‘socialist’ spending

And if that aid disappeared tomorrow, Craven Kevin would whine about it like a toddler denied candy before dinner. Yet another example of Qpublican hypocrisy.

[InformationGeek]

A ‘Community for All’? Not So Fast, This Wisconsin County Says

Oh hi current place where I live. Thanks again for your bs. >_<

[worstblogever]

Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City mayor, announces 2022 bid for governor



So, is he is WBE's queue yet? If a person with no political experience runs for governor based on his family name, and his family name is Giuliani....then again we have members of trump's family thinking of doing the same thing.

Sigh. Giuliani's crotch-droppings come to fore... Andy's into conspiracy theories and alternate reality like his pops.

To the queue with ye...

[Kirby101]

Sigh. Giuliani's crotch-droppings come to fore... Andy's into conspiracy theories and alternate reality like his pops.

To the queue with ye...

The only person more despised in NY than Guiliani is Trump, and this asshat is running on his connection to both. His Dad and former both will both be on trial come election time.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The only person more despised in NY than Guiliani is Trump, and this asshat is running on his connection to both. His Dad and former both will both be on trial come election time.

Makes you wonder what sort of advice Andy Asshat is getting from his subordinates by hitching his wagon to dad and Dolt45, neither of whom are all that popular in the state.

[worstblogever]

It was on this date in 2015 that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” had a profile of [B]Randy Rives[B], a former candidate for the Texas House of Representatives who has gained infamy more as the board president of the Ector County School Board, doing his best to turn public school lessons into Fundamentalist indoctrination. Among his more heinous works in that role include making sex education abstinence-only, getting the school district sued for trying to make Bible study a part of the course curriculum, and throwing a tantrum because textbooks had recognized Christians’ role in committing some atrocities during the Crusades, but in his mind, giving Muslims a free pass for far greater ones. Being a Texas Republican, of course, means he’s also opposed to gay marriage and LGBT rights, as well as a big proponent of the death penalty. In any event, it seems like he’s never going to win any office higher than the school board (one would hope).



On this date in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” presented profiles of Arkansas State Senator Bart Hester, who represents District 1 in the state, was first elected in 2012 with a lot of help from funding from the Koch Brothers and their Americans for Prosperity SUPERPAC. But that, ironically, is not the alliance Hester maintains that draws our attention to him. You see, since he arrived on the political scene, Bart Hester has been a staunch ally of anti-LGBTQ groups in Arkansas, particularly the Duggar Family, and by extension, the Family Research Council. Back in November of 2014, the duo appeared together at an event in Little Rock scheduled to “protect same sex marriage” from those pesky gays, and protest a judge’s decision to overturn Arkansas’ same sex marriage ban. If you’re curious what Hester said, exactly, feel free to take a look at his rant against “homosexual marriage” on Youtube.

Now, here’s where things get a bit hypocritical for Bart Hester… his boy, Josh Duggar, was protesting same sex marriage while cheating on his wife, which he in no way finds problematic. And in fact, when news broke that Josh Duggar had been investigated by Arkansas police back in 2006 for molesting five girls, the majority of whom were his own sisters… Bart Hester had an interesting reaction… he called for the police chief of Rock Springs to be fired for releasing the report. Never mind that the chief and his staff were simply complying with freedom of information laws and no laws were broken, Hester still thought that records release was a greater crime than the actual child molestation by his homophobic brother in arms. Which is pretty disgusting, really.

But that’s not where Bart Hester’s revolting ideas end, by a long shot. In February of 2015, he sponsored a bill to try and prevent any individual municipality in Arkansas from passing civil rights protections unless the federal government already had them. While he named it the “Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act”, critics were quick to appropriately nicknamed it the “Right to Discriminate Bill”, and the big one that Bart Hester talked about, of course, was LGBT protections. As he put it, to have protections for sexual identity or sexual orientation would grant gays “special rights” that he doesn’t have, and he tried explaining that HE is the actual true victim of discrimination, claiming that HE is “singled out for being married to one woman”. It was only a few weeks later that Hester sponsored Arkansas’ “Religious Freedom Restoration Act”, which yes, was one of those “religious freedom” laws that Republicans were pushing for at the state level around the country so that they could discriminate against LGBTQ citizens, and claim that preventing them from doing so was infringing upon their “deeply held faith” (which some will recall was also the argument used by some Southerners to argue why they should be able to discriminate against African Americans, once upon a time).

Well, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson refused to sign the bill, afraid Arkansas would face similar repercussions like Indiana did after signing one into place, and Bart Hester was invited to go on CNN to be interviewed by Jake Tapper about it. During a four-minute interview, Hester did not seem smart enough to understand that his bill even allowed discrimination to take place, and Tapper didn’t let up on him… for four whole minutes of glorious journalism.

Regrettably, Hester’s fanaticism is not limited to one issue. He’s also dedicated to stripping women of their right to choose, because it is his personal belief that life begins at conception. This would mean he not only believes all abortion is murder, but so are the majority of forms of birth control. And it’s not just talk, either, as Hester has sponsored fetal heartbeat bills that would effectively ban all abortion at 6 weeks.

Now, surely, such a pious Christian man such as Bart Hester would apply his Christian values to aiding the poor, right? HA! Of course not. Since he’s taken office, he’s gone out of his way to sponsor or co-sponsor legislation to reduce unemployment benefits, pushed for the failed conservative policy of drug-testing welfare recipients not just once but twice, and even tried to raise taxes on food. Hester has argued against them having the private option for health insurance by claiming families of four make an average of $96,000 a year, live comfortably, and don’t need the help (which is amazing considering the actual number is $36,000. Hester was talking casually about being “in a game of chicken” in a funding shutdown in Arkansas that would leave funding for over 100,000 elderly citizens in nursing homes, over a thousand blind citizens, hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children, and tens of thousands of the disabled without financial support to just survive. I mean, the least egregious things we have to say about Bart Hester include his support of strict Voter ID registration to combat the statistically non-existent problem of in-person voter fraud.

Our update on Bart Hester includes his fetish for firearms got really out of control in the past few months. Without realizing it, Hester voted for HB 1429 along with a lot of Arkansas Republicans, which would allow the concealed carry of firearms at bars, schools, and public universities. At some point, Hester and his fellow conservatives forgot that their wording of the bill would make it legal for people to bring guns into University of Arkansas football games with around 70,000 people present for potential mass shootings. Which, y'know, is a big security risk, and ironic because the stadium won't let people bring in umbrellas or blankets. Gov. Asa Hutchison had to send them back to the drawing board to write a second bill to exempt the stadium, after the fact.

[CTTT]

Dems believe in taxing and spending. Look where it's gotten us. When does it stop with the spending? Taxing people who make over a certain income is not the answer. Fair is fair. Tax everyone equally.

[worstblogever]

Bart Hester managed to embarrass himself with a post on Twitter that led to a former Miss America from Arkansas turning up in his feed to serve him his own ass. It all started in February of 2018, when Hester was driving around town, and saw a billboard advertising for for University of Arkansas at Little Rock that featured a dancer on it, and promoting the university’s school of dance, in particular.

Hester was suddenly possessed with the fury of the preacher played by John Lithgow in Footloose, and enraged by dancing, he got on Twitter and wrote:

“Why higher ed does NOT need increase funding. They lease a sign to encourage computer science degrees or math teachers? No they push for dance majors. Lots of hardworking Arkansans subsidizing this! Not ok @UALR"

Former Miss America Savvy Shields came along to talk some sense, responding, “I disagree with this on so many levels. As an artist and a dancer, I have seen the arts influence, inspire, challenge, and transform society. Art education is crucial in the advancement of Arkansas.” Then the University of Arkansas Little Rock responded that this was an entire ad campaign, and various billboards were up with each one depicting a different major the school offers. And then Microsoft executives came along to point out that as much focus should be placed on the arts as math and science in education, and that they not only hold that opinion, but their chief competitor at Apple, Steve Jobs, used to say the same prior to his passing.

So… yeah, that backfired.

Bart Hester coasted to re-election in 2020 with 65% of the vote, We're sad to report that this extremist tool was selected by the Arkansas GOP to be the next President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas State Senate.

And, in the current term so far, just in the past four months, he has supported some of the worst bills any legislature in the nation has submitted since being sworn back in:

• January 21st, 2021: Bart Hester sponsors the “Back the Blue Act”, which would prevent any government agency from defunding police departments in Arkansas, which, we’ll note, no one anywhere was trying to do anyway.
• February 3rd, 2021: Hester co-sponsors a bit of theocratic Covid-19 idiocy, HB 1211, to prohibit the state from closing churches due to Covid-19 emergency provisions (not that Gov. Asa Hutchison was doing much to stop the spread of the virus, anyway).
• February 22nd, 2021: Hester co-sponsors and votes for SB 6, an obviously unconstitutional bill (per the Roe v. Wade ruling) to outlaw all abortions in the state.
• March 18th, 2021: Bart Hester co-sponsors and votes for SB 289, a bill to allow doctors to ignore their Hippocratic oath and deny healthcare “on the basis of religious principles”.
• March 31st, 2021: Hester votes for SB 590, which would supposedly “repeal all mask mandates by government entities”… except that any state law could not override a federal mandate… also, a pandemic is still going on, so maybe quashing things started in the name of public health is a bit ignorant, you know?
• April 6th, 2021: Bart Hester votes for HB 1570, a transphobic, overreaching bit of fascism aimed at denying minors any healthcare related to hormone therapy towards gender transitions.

We’ve kept an eye on Bart Hester for five years, and he’s becoming emblematic of the dysfunction of Arkansas Republicans, to say the least.
 

[worstblogever]

Dems believe in taxing and spending. Look where it's gotten us. When does it stop with the spending? Taxing people who make over a certain income is not the answer. Fair is fair. Tax everyone equally.

Well, this post is out of touch with reality.

Republicans are the spenders. They increase the budget spending while taxing the rich less. Democrats balance the budget when they're in the White House.



Also, anyone who actually understands tax policy knows "taxing everyone equally" aka a flat tax, would completely obliterate the American economy. Here's more on it from Harvard.

The fact that if you do a web search on "flat tax and economy", and the first people touting it that you find are the f***ing Heritage Foundation should tell you what absolute garbage the talking point is.