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

[worstblogever]

The key part I was looking for in the article, the key question I needed answering when I saw that headline to decide if this was news or just a mountain out of a mole hill was this line: Plus, seeing as most of Sanders' supporters made multiple donations to his campaign

More data is needed on this, to hammer home of the point, or reveal it as an unnecessary expectation. But from that line, it does seem this is a valid issue to discuss, perhaps.

I'll play defense for Bernie's supporters on this... Bernie actively, repeatedly put out videos pandering for financial support. I've not seen Biden out with hat in hand to that donor list. I think it's just the outreach, and that Biden's campaign knows they're not exactly going to be well received if they did ask the same.

(And trust me, I'm not one to stick up for the Sanders crew.)

[Kieran_Frost]

I'll play defense for Bernie's supporters on this... Bernie actively, repeatedly put out videos pandering for financial support. I've not seen Biden out with hat in hand to that donor list. I think it's just the outreach, and that Biden's campaign knows they're not exactly going to be well received if they did ask the same.

Very fair point, and a fact I wish the article had mentioned. Which is my problem with news and "stats" so often, they don't ask the follow-up questions that matter.
1. were the multiple donations early on, but dwindling (even for Sanders) long before he dropped out?
2. is this common for campaigns to gain new donations once a nominee is picked?
3. how did this compare to last time with Hillary, less donations/more donations from Sanders supporters? To give a contrast.

Hence my reservations of this being important news vs. filler news.

[numberthirty]

Pretty simple...

You can't solve a mystery that doesn't actually exist.

Sanders ran on the premise that American political campaigns should be funded by lots of donations from regular folks donating smaller dollar amounts.

In a completely unsurprising turn of events, a lot of Americans agreed with said premise. In an even less surprising turn of events, those folks donated to the campaign. Quite a few of them probably donated more than once.

If you look at that and see anything like "This Is A Problem..."?

A person would have to ask "Why?"

[PaulBullion]

Pretty simple...

You can't solve a mystery that doesn't actually exist.

Sanders ran on the premise that American political campaigns should be funded by lots of donations from regular folks donating smaller dollar amounts.

In a completely unsurprising turn of events, a lot of Americans agreed with said premise. In an even less surprising turn of events, those folks donated to the campaign. Quite a few of them probably donated more than once.

If you look at that and see anything like "This Is A Problem..."?

A person would have to ask "Why?"

I don't think that's it.

[worstblogever]

Very fair point, and a fact I wish the article had mentioned. Which is my problem with news and "stats" so often, they don't ask the follow-up questions that matter.
1. were the multiple donations early on, but dwindling (even for Sanders) long before he dropped out?
2. is this common for campaigns to gain new donations once a nominee is picked?
3. how did this compare to last time with Hillary, less donations/more donations from Sanders supporters? To give a contrast.

Hence my reservations of this being important news vs. filler news.

Yeah, from a journalistic standpoint, that article seems more like it's just trying to stir up some s***. A bit irresponsible in where it leads the reader.

I don't expect Bernie's people to donate like amounts to the nominee. I would very much rather they show their support at the polls in November to end the nightmare that is Trump's "leadership" before he kills people in the 7 digit numbers (he's gonna have hit well into the 6 digit ranger by then.)

[Kieran_Frost]

I don't think that's it.

It really isn't, agreed.

Yeah, from a journalistic standpoint, that article seems more like it's just trying to stir up some s***. A bit irresponsible in where it leads the reader.

Agreed. We need more data to know if this is legitimately a story, or just stirring the pot.

I don't expect Bernie's people to donate like amounts to the nominee. I would very much rather they show their support at the polls in November to end the nightmare that is Trump's "leadership" before he kills people in the 7 digit numbers (he's gonna have hit well into the 6 digit ranger by then.)

I don't expect it if it's just... not normal for any campaign. Again, something I wish the article had talked about. But this is an issue with journalism today, they often think ONE stat tells a story, which isn't the case. You have to ask the follow-ups to give it real meaning.

[worstblogever]

In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and as well as 2019, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of Tennessee State Senator Todd Gardenhire, who we noted for his reaching office in 2012 by winning a GOP primary in a conservative-leaning district by a mere 40 votes, and since, his utter dedication to mendacity regarding discussions of healthcare. Gardenhire, after voting to block the Medicaid Expansion in Tennessee, lied and said he wasn't being a hypocrite because he wasn't on government insurance himself (he was). He also lied about the Affordable Care Act, claiming it hadn't also, by extension, allowed him to keep his son covered through his own government medical insurance until he was 27 (it did). When confronted on camera by a constituent who demanded he pull himself from his own insurance plans if he was going to deny coverage to a quarter million Tennesseeans, Todd Gardenhire's reasonable response was, "Why don't you give it up, *******?" But back to the lying... Gardenhire falsely claimed in a hearing on abortion that there were more restrictions on men seeking vasectomies these days than women seeking abortions (WHAT?). Gardenhire also voted for Tennessee's attempts to bring back the electric chair, because they're having a hard time getting phenobarbital to perform lethal injections. He has voted to try and block Tennessee from resettling Syrian refugees. Gardenhire called those who wrote protests on the sidewalk outside his office in chalk “Nazis”, which seems pretty hyperbolic given that we’re pretty sure that actual Nazis used far more heinous tactics. Oh, and in 2017 he became the sponsor of an honest-to-goodness “Blue Lives Matter” bill in the Tennessee state legislature.

Gardenhire, now 72, is seeking re-election in November. Hopefully, he can get to November without cussing out any of his constituents, but if he does manage to slip up again, it would likely work to the advantage of Glenn Scruggs, the Democrat challenging him for his seat in November. Tennessee has been one of the reddest of red states, and it might be time for its citizens to consider someone who wouldn’t fail at pretending to care like Gardenhire, and actually did.

[Mister Mets]

I would think police shooting unarmed black people would be one.

What policies should Democrats propose on this matter?

For starters, crime. In high crime areas, people usually don't turn to crime for the sake of hooliganism and making life hell for everyone, as it's depicted in TV shows and movies. Urban blight and decay happened when all the people who could afford leaving the city to the suburbs left and left the area to rot, and rather than approach the solution as if improving the areas by tearing down abandoned lots (which attract drug dealers, vandalism, and solicitation) and building affordable apartments, the solution is to increase police activity and treat it like a warzone. In New Orleans, the city is still recovering from Katrina, but if you go to East New Orleans, you could make the case the area was hit by the hurricane a few weeks ago. The city decided what was important to invest in when they rebuilt and East New Orleans was at the very bottom of the list, and as a result, if you're living in that area, criminal activity becomes very tempting to survive. This is often true with prostitution and drug dealers; despite those after school specials and commercials, it's highly unlikely people slinging illegal drugs are doing it maliciously, but rather trying to survive himself. And the War on Drugs, which was supported by both Democrats and Republicans, resulted in too many people in jail for drug charges, and was a huge failure. On a local level, the near east side is always the butt of peoples jokes; I remember a teacher in the 7th grade once commenting that they should nuke the side. They're building a new jail facility on an old coke plant site in that side of town because it had the lowest opposition.

So you think Democrats should replace abandoned properties in high crime areas with low cost housing? Is there any further elaboration?

We can start with how Democrats are stopping Republicans working to steal their right to vote. Or not get shot by modern day lynchers who will turn around and try to claim the "stand your ground" defense.

Just two, for starters.

So what should Democrats say and do about that stuff beyond what they are currently saying and doing?

[Tami]

Students, lawmakers putting pressure on Murphy to allow high school graduations

Like countless other high school seniors across New Jersey, Isabella Ghanbary and her best friends and co-plaintiffs Arianna Wilent and Gina DiPasquale had been waiting for this moment for much, if not most, of their lives.

“I feel like we’ve spent 12, 13 years kind of waiting to get to the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Ghanbary, 18, student-journalist, thespian and senior at Toms River High School East, who for as long as she can remember had been looking forward to the kind of graduation ceremony she’s seen in movies and TV.

“And right now, for us, I kind of feel like we’re at the end but we’re all still in the dark."

Ghanbary, Wilent and DiPasquale are plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to overturn a ban on in-person high school graduation ceremonies imposed May 8 by the state Department of Education. The education department’s ban stemmed from executive orders by Gov. Phil Murphy declaring a public health emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, barring large public gatherings, and, on May 4, keeping schools closed through the end of the academic year.

You can't always get what you want, and often for good reason.

[aja_christopher]

What policies should Democrats propose on this matter?

Start using Google -- the answers you want are already all online.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presid...ntury_Policing

The whole "debate" tactic only works if you're not interested in focusing on the facts.

Obama proposed and enacted plenty of policies and Trump and the Republicans rolled them all back.

https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/

If you really wanted to know these things it seems like you would look up the facts instead of constantly asking questions about them.

[worstblogever]

What policies should Democrats propose on this matter?

So you think Democrats should replace abandoned properties in high crime areas with low cost housing? Is there any further elaboration?

So what should Democrats say and do about that stuff that they are currently saying and doing?

On 1: They're actively working to protect everyone's right to vote in more ways than we can count, including calls for automatic voter registration at the state level, and trying to push for vote by mail nationally because of Covid-19. Some of your bigger profile names on this include Eric Holder & Stacey Abrams.

On 2: ALL THE GUN CONTROL. The Democratic Party is obviously opposed to the passage of "Stand Your Ground" laws, and seeks to have them repealed in states where they're happening.

[Mister Mets]

Start using Google -- the answers you want are already all online.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presid...ntury_Policing

The whole "debate" tactic only works if you're not interested in focusing on the facts.

Obama proposed and enacted plenty of policies and Trump and the Republicans rolled them all back.

https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/

If you really wanted to know these things it seems like you would look up the facts instead of constantly asking questions about them.

The context of the posts was ultimately in response to someone who thinks that Democrats should do more.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...27#post4980927

The problem for black voters is that, because everyone expects them to vote Democrat in every election, the party basically treats them as a captive audience and never really prioritizes the issues that are relevant to them. Meanwhile the GOP will never make any serious attempts at outreach because they decided decades ago that the racist white vote is more valuable. I suppose there is an argument to be made that black people are generally more socially conservative and would be inclined to vote Republican if the party wasn't so actively hostile towards them, but frankly given the history of this country I doubt that there even exists a non-racist version of American conservatism that would be at all logically consistent. So because they basically have no choice but to vote Democrat and hope that the party will repay them for their loyal support, the party has no incentive to actually listen to their concerns.

It is perfectly valid to say that Democrats are doing enough, and perhaps just need to communicate their accomplishments/ proposals more, but the comments were not about what they've already done or proposed, so research wouldn't really help answer the question of what they should do, or what it would like if the Democrats listened to the concerns of African-American voters.

[aja_christopher]

https://www.ontheissues.org/joe_biden.htm

[Tami]

GOP governor offers a tearful plea to the anti-mask crowd: Stop this senseless culture war

As states across the country have gradually pushed forward with reopening in recent weeks, protesters representing a small but apparently growing movement — especially within the Republican Party — have continued to push for it to go faster. And one very visible thing has somehow turned into a perceived political statement: wearing a mask.

A reporter at a Minnesota news station — one who happens to be a an old college friend of mine — was even harassed this week for wearing a mask while covering these protests.

Across the border in North Dakota, though, GOP Gov. Doug Burgum on Friday offered a plea to stop the madness.

Burgum suggested the debate over masks was being needlessly politicized and that those who are bucking federal health officials’ guidance should rethink their posture.

“I would really love to see in North Dakota that we could just skip this thing that other parts of the nation are going through where they’re trading a divide — either its ideological or political or something — around masks versus no mask,” Burgum said. “This is a, I would say, senseless dividing line, and I would ask people to try and dial up your empathy and your understanding.”

[Mister Mets]

https://www.ontheissues.org/joe_biden.htm

That's voting record and policy positions more than accomplishment.