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

[CaptainEurope]

I would not call the Babylon Bee the MAGA version of the Onion, rather the conservative version of the Onion, as they have done several pieces ridiculing Trump. They've even done a few very clever satirical pieces. Unfortunately, most of their stuff is ham-fisted tit for tat material designed to prove that conservatives can do satire too, you know!

That said, I don't know why we should want anyone to delete an offensive tweet. Does it make it so that the person responsible for posting it now DIDN'T post it? I would rather have them answer for it than try to pretend it never happened.

Deleting hate speech is a good thing, yes.

[Gray Lensman]

Apparently, the Philadelphia City Council is voting on a No Fly Zone for Ukraine today. I am trying to figure out their enforcement mechanism.

Hey, WPP! Are you up for shooting down Russian Planes flying overhead?

Maybe they'll send Gritty to be there after the planes land...

[CaptainEurope]

Trump committed ‘numerous’ felonies, said resigning New York prosecutor

A Manhattan prosecutor who investigated Donald Trump’s financial dealings wrote in a resignation letter that he believed Trump “is guilty of numerous felony violations” and blasted the new district attorney for not moving ahead with an indictment, the New York Times reported.

Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, two top prosecutors on the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal investigation of Trump, resigned abruptly last month, amid reports that the investigation into the former president’s finances was foundering.

The newly elected district attorney, Alvin Bragg, was reportedly more skeptical than his predecessor that the evidence his office’s attorneys had gathered against Trump would be enough to convict him.

In a February resignation letter obtained by the New York Times, Pomerantz wrote that the team of lawyers investigating Trump had “no doubt” he had “committed crimes” and that Bragg’s decision not to move ahead with prosecuting Trump “will doom any future prospects that Mr Trump will be prosecuted for the criminal conduct we have been investigating”.

Looks like Bragg's coverup of Trump's crimes might backfire.

Former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean is calling on federal prosecutors to take over the halted investigation of Donald Trump from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office

[Xheight]

How about shredding, cutting up, or flushing those documents when it violates Federal law? How about showing them to his Russian buddies and compromising our allies? Sounds like rotten apples to me.

Destroying documents and preserving documents is discretionary to the point of being unenforceable unless it it it is to conceal a crime and such documents relate to that. Is there anything to suggest such? No. Same nada on the fantastical connection of him having Russian buddies. Declassified documents laying around Mar a largo are nothing like encrypted Department communications being open to being hacked. When it was disclosed that such she had done something improper she destroyed the server data.

Right, people who are consistently disadvantaged by the system because they're not the majority/default "norm" deserve to be second class citizens because they're not the majority. A return to a 19th century mindset. Just because a problem isn't a problem for you doesn't mean it isn't "real" and shouldn't be focused on. Certain groups being targeted by their skin color for extra police attention, discriminated against for everything from jobs to housing to loans etc. and making up a disproportionate amount of our prison population (where they're treated as free labor for private industry, another callback to the 19th century) is a problem if they're 1% of the population or near a fifth. Before you factor in the wealth built on the backs of their ancestors and the debt owed, or the century and a half of lesser but still horrific burdens and discrimination they've suffered.
.

Majority is not a permanent the way that protected classes are so you are writing your own interpretation of civil rights law that has little to do with the way SCOTUS has understood it. I am not saying that minority concerns are not real simply that they are by definition minor concerns. Is realism a 19th century thing?
Blanket statements however never seem to go out of style with dubious standing of "systematic" prejudice, instances and personal prejudice being bundled like some insurance plan. I don't have to factor in anything as no one factors the the wealth of today by anything other than what today is considered to be valuable. Crediting one group over another is for one purpose only, to create a new class of advantage. There can be no equality without an original position behind a 'veil of ignorance'. Pass.

[CaptainEurope]

Rep. Mo Brooks says Trump asked him to ‘rescind the 2020 election,’ remove Biden and call special election

Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama said ex-President Donald Trump had asked him “to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency.”

Brooks said he had drawn Trump’s “ire” by telling the former president that his plan was not legal.

Shirley, this is seditious?

[CaptainEurope]

January 6 committee has text messages between Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows

(CNN)The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 riot has in its possession more than two dozen text messages between former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, according to multiple sources familiar with the messages.
These text messages, according to sources, took place between early November 2020 and mid-January 2021. Thomas recently revealed that she attended the pro-Trump rally that preceded the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, but says she "played no role" in planning the events of that day.

Clarence Thomas was the only ‘no’ vote when the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s efforts to not hand over Jan 6 documents. He seems to still be in the hospital with an unspecified illness.

If I were prone to conspiracy theories, I'd say check his last meals. And his tea cups.

[CaptainEurope]

January 6 committee has text messages between Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows



Clarence Thomas was the only ‘no’ vote when the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s efforts to not hand over Jan 6 documents. He seems to still be in the hospital with an unspecified illness.

If I were prone to conspiracy theories, I'd say check his last meals. And his tea cups.

This is developing quickly, and Bob Woodward is on the case:

Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show

“Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!...You are the leader, w/him, who is standing for America’s constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden & the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.”

[JB]

I can't believe it has been a month already.

Biden arrives in Brussels to join NATO, EU and G7 summits about the war. Hopefully, it will stop people complaining that he doesn't do enough.
RL="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/23/joe-biden-europe-russia-ukraine-nato-g7-european-council"]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/23/joe-biden-europe-russia-ukraine-nato-g7-european-council[/URL]

There's also talk that he'll be visiting the Poland/Ukraine border, which I think it a good idea. His presence may help bolster the spirits of refugees and workers helping them. He also had some good things to say at the summits, particularly about working to get Europe less dependent on Russian energy. After Russia's announcement yesterday, it can't happen soon enough.

Putin Demands Ruble Payment for Gas, Escalating Energy Fight
Russia says ready to keep supply, doesn’t want euros, dollars
European gas prices surged more than 30% after the news
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-interfax-says

Russia plans to demand ruble payments for natural gas purchases from European nations, deepening its standoff with the west and potentially aggravating Europe’s worst energy crunch since the 1970s.

Gas prices surged more 30% after President Vladimir Putin ordered the central bank to develop a mechanism to make ruble payments for natural gas within a week at a meeting with his government.

The specifics of the new arrangement weren’t immediately clear, but by demanding payments in rubles, Putin is essentially forcing European companies to directly prop up his currency after it was sent into free-fall by sanctions placed on the Russian economy. The ruble gained 7% against the dollar Wednesday, trimming its losses this year to 23%.

Speaking of Biden and energy...

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DRAFTING ORDER TO INVOKE DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT FOR GREEN ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGY
https://theintercept.com/2022/03/24/...-green-energy/

The Biden administration is drafting an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to alleviate shortages of key minerals needed for the technology to store clean energy. The act, which would bolster the manufacturing capacity of electric vehicle producers in particular, indicates that the administration is open to using executive power to achieve progressive policy goals as Congress remains reluctant to pass key parts of his green energy agenda.

This is the kind of executive action he can take to circumvent Congress.

[babyblob]

Im not sure I like the idea of Biden visiting the Poland Ukraine boarder. it is a hectic scene at the best of times right now. And throw in the president and his security it will get even more so. And it would be too easy for someone to try and harm him. How are you going to block off that many people or clear enough of a path with out pin pointing just where he is at and where he is going to everyone? I am sure when Putin heard he is thinking of visiting the boarder he licked his lips and damn near fainted from joy.

[JB]

And since we don't have enough headaches... </sarc>

N.Korea says tested new ICBM, prepared for long confrontation with U.S.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...ry-2022-03-24/

SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) - North Korea said it tested a new, powerful type of intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, marking an end to a self-imposed moratorium on long-range testing in place since 2017 and drawing international condemnation.

State media said leader Kim Jong Un directly guided the test of the Hwasong-17, a "new type" of intercontinental ballistic missile that is North Korea's biggest ever. He said it was key to deterring nuclear war. read more

It said the missile flew for 1,090 km (681 miles) to a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 km (3,905 miles) and precisely hit a target in the sea.

Kim said North Korea was preparing for long confrontation with U.S. imperialism and its strategic force was ready to check and contain any military attempt by the United States, North Korean media said.

Flight data from the South Korean and Japanese militaries earlier indicated the missile flew higher and for a longer time than any of North Korea's previous tests before crashing into the sea west of Japan.

[babyblob]

Trump Files a Lawsuit oagainst Clinton and others over their conspiracy to tie him to Russia dn undermine his campaign.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/24/polit...ton/index.html

[worstblogever]

NATO is claiming 7000-15,000 dead Russian troops. That's an insane amount for 1 month of war.

For perspective, the US lost approximately 2500 troops throughout our entire occupation of Afghanistan. The actual number of Russian casualties may never be known. Their military employs mobile crematoriums to dispose of their dead quickly. I suppose it helps keep images of body bags from reaching the media as well.

The main cause of their massive casualties may be the hundreds of millions stolen from their military budget that was meant for maintenance and equipment upgrades. The corruption of Putin s regime may save Ukraine in the end.

Still, American strategy often involves avoiding unnecessary casualties.

The Russians do s*** historically like Stalingrad.

[worstblogever]

Trump Files a Lawsuit oagainst Clinton and others over their conspiracy to tie him to Russia dn undermine his campaign.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/24/polit...ton/index.html

Well, that's frivolous. Also, love to see how the discovery phase turns out for him.

[babyblob]

Well, that's frivolous. Also, love to see how the discovery phase turns out for him.

I wonder if the war was not goong on and everyone was not so focused on him being Putins best friend right now if he wouldnt have been so quick to file this right now.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

January 6 committee has text messages between Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows



Clarence Thomas was the only ‘no’ vote when the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s efforts to not hand over Jan 6 documents. He seems to still be in the hospital with an unspecified illness.

If I were prone to conspiracy theories, I'd say check his last meals. And his tea cups.

How convenient Thomas wound up in sick bay just before the January 6th committee got ahold of those messages. Perhaps he knew what was coming and decided to take a timeout. Chief Justice Roberts must have a sour stomach with this mess unfurling.