1. #37141

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    On this date in both 2019, as well as 2020, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” had its first profile of Wisconsin State Senator Van Wanggaard, who prior to reaching office, was a 29 year veteran of the Racine Police Department. We will pause for a moment for everyone to giggle, because yes, his name sounds like an SUV that looks like a giant athletic supporter.

    Alright, so Van Wanggaard (snicker) first ran for the Wisconsin State Senate in 2006 in District 21 unsuccessfully, before being narrowly elected to office for the first time back in the 2010 Tea Party Wave. Almost immediately upon taking power in Wisconsin in 2011, Gov. Scott Walker and the now GOP-controlled legislature pushed legislation forward to strip voting rights, restructure the district map to gerrymander themselves in control for a decade, and then tried to push forward right-to-work legislation within months of Wanggaard’s first term in office. Outraged constituents were out protesting in force, and signatures were gathered to recall Gov. Walker, and while they were at it, recall several other officials elected in 2010 who carried out their regressive agenda. Among four Republican State Senators facing recall in 2012 was Wanggaard.

    And… Van Wanggaard was defeated by Democrat John Lehman over 700 votes in the recall election… and then demanded a recount, simply hoping to keep Lehman out of office as long as possible. The recount showed he actually lost by over 800 votes. Still, the legislative map being already redrawn by Republicans meant District 21 would be far more conservative in the next election in the normal cycle (it is now shaped like a horseshoe, and went from being a 50/50 Democrat to Republican split to now being +16 Republican). John Lehman didn’t even bother running for re-election at those odds, and Wanggaard won with 67% of the vote. He won re-election again in 2018 with 58% of the vote (aided by “accidentally” using state websites to link to his own campaign’s Twitter accounts, an ethics violation), and in the time he’s been in office, Wanggaard has racked up a completely partisan voting record, including anti-choice legislation and support for bills to cut welfare benefits make it harder to get government assistance, in general.

    But in 2015, only a few months into Van Wanggaard’s second run in office, he turned heads with his nonchalant attitude about guns. Not just by sponsoring legislation to try to allow off-duty and retired police officers to carry guns on public school campuses, but he boasted that he was strapped while serving on committee meetings where the bill was being debated, because of course the ex-cop with a name like Van Wanggaard needs to overcompensate. He tried to completely eliminate the 48 hour waiting period for background checks to get a gun, because holy s***, what?

    In 2020, Wanggaard has responded to the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic by… doing nothing about it to help the living and instead sponsoring AB179, to help children who are “born alive” after an abortion, even though the current timeline when abortions are allowed doesn’t meet the requirements to even be declared alive scientifically. Okay, we’re not being fair… Van Wanggard did less than nothing, instead publicly fighting with Gov. Tony Evers and Democrats tooth and nail against mask mandates. And, pardon our language, but this bloated sack of s*** had the audacity to claim in a video interview in October of 2020 that Covid-19 had not killed anyone under the age of 20, and that there was no proof that such a person infected was capable of spreading the disease back to adults. (Science fact check: There is, they can, and “F*** you Van Wanggaard for spreading misinformation that was going to get people killed.)

    The only time he wanted people not to be allowed in public? Why, of course if was when BlackLivesMatter protesters were in Madison, and on June 24th, 2020, Wanggaard was enraged about a statue of a Confederate general being beheaded and declared the protests “bulls***”. That came after weeks of Wanggaard throwing tantrums in the Wisconsin State Senate about reforms pitched by Democrats that would curtail police violence. Because OF COURSE the ex-cop doesn’t see any need to change. And of course when Kyle Rittenhouse murdered two protesters in Kenosha in August, Wanggaard didn’t blame the murderer, he blamed Governor Tony Evers for not dispersing the protests. Since our last profile of Wanggaard, he has also taken to attacking journalists for daring to report when the police shoot and kill suspects and properly terming such interactions as “homicide”. He also co-sponsored legislation to attempt to nullify federal firearms laws, because of course he did.

    Van Wanggaard will be up for re-election in 2022, and it remains to be seen if his district will be redrawn, or if the configuration of the electoral map in Wisconsin will remain the same and make it easy for him to remain in power.
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  2. #37142

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    Quote Originally Posted by babyblob View Post
    Has anyone else heard the story of the police officer in Tuson who shot a shoplifter in a wheelchair in the back and side 9 times and killed him?

    So the guy stole a toolbox from a Walmart. He pulled a knife out and was rolling past the officers in a moto wheelchair. he was heading into another store and was told to stop. When he didnt the officer shot him 9 times hitting him in the back and side.

    So yes the guy in the wheelchair had a criminal record and a knife. But he also had his back to the officer and was you know in a slow moving moto wheelchair. The cop really had no other choice then to fire 9 bullets into his back?
    You would think it would be easy to shoot the tires out on any vehicle before going for 9 kill shots. You would think.
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  3. #37143
    Ultimate Member babyblob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by worstblogever View Post
    You would think it would be easy to shoot the tires out on any vehicle before going for 9 kill shots. You would think.
    I mean the cop was a big guy and there was back up there. Just walk behind the wheelchair and knock the dude out of it if he has a knife and they were worried. I mean yea there would be some public outrage that a cop knocked a guy out of a wheelchair. But there is no need to shoot a crippled man in the back 9 times. Or one cop could grab the back of the chair and the other could grab the guys arm. He is in a wheelchair his range of motion is pretty freaken limited at this point.
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  4. #37144
    Invincible Jersey Ninja Tami's Avatar
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    Here is my thought for the day:

    Historically speaking, though it still might be true in some places, Monarchs (Kings, Emperors, and so on) were seen as gods or descended from gods. Japan, Egypt, even the Roman Empire did this. In the public eye, they were assumed to have, not only a mandate from above, but supernatural powers as well.

    Dictators as well have occasionally played that role, placed themselves as part of a divine pantheon.

    Most countries that are not Dictatorships don't, but even in these countries, like in the US, there are people who seem to desire that in a leader. Peopel expect leaders to have the supernatural power to magically erase all problems, all ills, all things that make their lives hard. Right now the public expects Biden to magically erase COVID, and they grow impatient when he doesn't.
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  5. #37145
    Invincible Member Kirby101's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Mets View Post
    A necessary distinction is that when Trump lies it's not that he always knows that he's wrong; he doesn't care. We shouldn't assume just because he says something, the opposite is true.
    I just can't think of any instances when it is not. Of course we are talking about Trump's lies about Biden, which he did know were not true, and used them for a political attack.
    But you can keep giving Trump the benefit of the doubt, I for one will not embrace or excuse Trump's lies.
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  6. #37146
    Old school comic book fan WestPhillyPunisher's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by babyblob View Post
    I mean the cop was a big guy and there was back up there. Just walk behind the wheelchair and knock the dude out of it if he has a knife and they were worried. I mean yea there would be some public outrage that a cop knocked a guy out of a wheelchair. But there is no need to shoot a crippled man in the back 9 times. Or one cop could grab the back of the chair and the other could grab the guys arm. He is in a wheelchair his range of motion is pretty freaken limited at this point.
    Well, somebody has to ask this question, so I’ll volunteer: was the guy in the wheelchair black?
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    Invincible Member numberthirty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by seismic-2 View Post
    "Independence from COVID" probably would have been achieved, had people all received their vaccinations, worn masks, not crowded together, etc., as they should have. The prediction that the threat from the virus would be greatly reduced by early July was based on the assumption that Americans aren't stupid and would therefore do the right things. Bad assumption.
    That is the only thing that actually matters there.

    Promise small.

    Then, if you deliver small?

    No one is talking about "Mission Accomplished..." until the end of time.

  8. #37148
    Ultimate Member babyblob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WestPhillyPunisher View Post
    Well, somebody has to ask this question, so I’ll volunteer: was the guy in the wheelchair black?
    No he was white.
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  9. #37149
    Invincible Member numberthirty's Avatar
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    Never mind that the only way that Biden can keep taking small steps to try to help folks who insist on being blockheads is to minimize the number of "Independence From Covid-19..." and "Supply Chain..." fumbles for independent voters to potentially be turned off by.

    Lousy deal?

    Sure.

    That said, you have to play on the table you are sitting at. Not a table that is as fair as it should be.

  10. #37150
    I am invenitable Jack Dracula's Avatar
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    Never mind. Not worth the aggravation.
    Last edited by Jack Dracula; 12-01-2021 at 06:42 PM.
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  11. #37151
    Invincible Member numberthirty's Avatar
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    Never mind that this is the scenario where Biden is going to have to try to get things done...

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/polit...use/index.html

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  12. #37152
    Invincible Jersey Ninja Tami's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by babyblob View Post
    No he was white.
    Tucson Moves to Fire Officer Seen Fatally Shooting Man in Wheelchair

    The Tucson Police Department moved swiftly on Tuesday to fire a police officer after he fatally shot a man in a motorized wheelchair who was suspected of stealing a toolbox from a Walmart and flashing a knife when challenged.

    Police bodycam video shows an officer pursuing the suspect and yelling, “Do not go into the store, sir,” as the man, identified as Richard Lee Richards, 61, continued to the entrance of a Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Monday night. The officer, Ryan Remington, fired nine shots and hit the man in the back and side, the police said, causing Mr. Richards to hunch over and fall in front of a display of pink and red flowers.

    A store surveillance video shows Officer Remington placing handcuffs on a motionless Mr. Richards.

    At a news conference on Tuesday, Police Chief Chris Magnus said he was “deeply disturbed and troubled” by Officer Remington’s actions.

    “His use of deadly force in this incident is a clear violation of department policy and directly contradicts multiple aspects of our use of force and training,” Chief Magnus said. “As a result, the department moved earlier today to terminate Officer Remington.”
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  13. #37153
    I am invenitable Jack Dracula's Avatar
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    Look folks, the point I’m trying to make, and frankly shouldn’t have to explain, is that nobody anywhere who doesn’t want to see Trump re-elected should be spreading unfounded rumors online about Biden’s condition.
    Last edited by Jack Dracula; 12-01-2021 at 08:09 PM.
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  14. #37154
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirby101 View Post
    I just can't think of any instances when it is not. Of course we are talking about Trump's lies about Biden, which he did know were not true, and used them for a political attack.
    But you can keep giving Trump the benefit of the doubt, I for one will not embrace or excuse Trump's lies.
    I didn't give him the benefit of the doubt.

    I said he's completely unreliable. My point is that you can't even rely on him to be wrong.

    Quote Originally Posted by numberthirty View Post
    Never mind that this is the scenario where Biden is going to have to try to get things done...

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/polit...use/index.html
    We have more retirements from Democrats confirmed at this point than we had during 2010 (19 so far versus 17 then.) And there are less of them (221 now with one vacancy in a very Democratic district VS 256 then)
    Sincerely,
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  15. #37155
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChadH View Post
    Look folks, the point I’m trying to make, and frankly shouldn’t have to explain, is that nobody who doesn’t want to see Trump re-elected should be spreading unfounded rumors online about Biden’s condition.
    It gets kinda messy to suggest that people shouldn't talk about something that is relevant (the health of a President) or that we shouldn't have honest conversations. We should all be as comfortable talking about Biden's mental health as we would if he were a Republican.

    I don't think discussion of Biden's well-being is going to make a difference. Biden's popularity leads to this speculation rather than the other way around.

    There is a very serious chance Trump will run again and be the nominee. A point commentator David Weigel made that's hard to dispute is "Weird that non-Donald Trump Republicans get discussed as possible 2024 nominees. Trump can run as the president who finally appointed enough conservative justices to overturn Roe. Nobody's beating him in a primary."

    The way to avoid another term of Trump isn't by declaring legitimate topics to be taboo. That's only going to help his argument.
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

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