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

[worstblogever]

Andy Biggs

On this date in both 2020, as well as 2021, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” first profiled the sitting U.S. House Representative from Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, Andy Biggs, who was first elected to Congress back in 2016, after a 14 year career in the Arizona state legislature. He did so by winning a Republican primary against Christine Jones by all of 27 votes. Outside of office, Biggs is a reminder that good things always seem to happen to the worst people, as in 1993, he was the winner of the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, to the tune of $10 million.

That financial windfall gave Biggs the nest egg to jump into politics a decade later, where he could pursue true Republican hobbies, like working alongside anti-gay hate groups like United Families International, trying to ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest, and denying the existence of climate change by claiming scientists have “manipulated data” to make the case that it exists. On that last one, Biggs actually compares his anti-intellectual plight to that of Albert Einstein, which has led to him publicly being booed, and was one of the key forces in Washington, D.C., who encouraged Donald Trump to back out of the Paris Climate accords.

Upon his return to office in 2019, Rep. Biggs also was enraged that after the longest government shutdown in history, that federal employees who had been furloughed would, y’know, be paid for all the days that they worked, and not have been doing so for free. No, really, he voted against back pay. He was also one of a dozen lawmakers to vote against compensation for 9-11 First Responders, and one of three Republican Congressman partisan enough to have called for the resignation of Robert Mueller for daring to investigate the 2016 Trump campaign for their blatant collusion with a foreign power to win the election.

This man is enough of a partisan ***hole that he even was one of two members of Congress who voted against the Covid-19 funding bill, because, and we’re not making this up… he objected that the bill regarded “couples” in households should include same sex ones. That’s right, he would rather let a plague spread across the nation than acknowledge that gay people could be in relationships.

Feel free to peruse his whole voting record, if you aren’t getting the idea:

• February 16th, 2017: Biggs votes for HJR 69, to make it legal for hunters on wildlife reserves to kill several species of hibernating bears or wolves while they’re sleeping. Because… well, the logic really isn’t there as to why, it’s just awful.
• March 16th, 2017: Andy Biggs votes for HR 1181, which would allow veterans deemed mentally incompetent to continue to own firearms, and not have them taken away without a judge's written order.
• May 4th, 2017: Biggs votes for the GOP's healthcare plan, that would allow 24,000 more people to die a year, give $50,000 in tax breaks to millionaires, would eliminate coverage for pre-existing conditions, and would treat pregnancy, post-partum depression, and sexual assault as "pre-existing conditions". Oh, and a provision in the bill would make sure that Biggs would be allowed to keep his healthcare plan as it exists under the ACA, which would be repealed for the rest of the country. He and his Republican compatriots threw themselves a beer bash to celebrate taking away healthcare from millions and then gloated about it with Donald Trump at a White House press conference, as well.
• June 8th, 2017: Andy Biggs votes for HR 10, the GOP’s attempt to repeal Dodd-Frank financial reform, because what the country really needs is to allow the big banks to make the same mistakes that imploded the economy only a decade earlier.
• October 3rd, 2017: Biggs votes for HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, that would try to create an unconstitutional ban abortion at 20 weeks.
• December 19th, 2017: Andy Biggs votes for HR 1, the GOP’s $1.7 trillion tax cut to benefit the wealthiest Americans and corporations permanently that coincidentally also removes the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and kicks 13 million people off their health insurance.
• February 18th, 2018: Rep. Biggs and his fellow Republicans decide that poor big businesses are suffering too much at the hands of the Americans with Disabilities Act too much, and vote for HR 620, which would strip most of the civil rights protections guaranteed by it.
• January 22nd, 2019: Biggs votes against HR 676, which would prevent Donald Trump from doing the unthinkable and walking away from our allies in NATO to appease the Russians.
• January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Biggs voted against HR 648, because he was gleefully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
• January 27th, 2019: Andy Biggs votes against HJR 30, which was meant to express disapproval of Donald Trump not acting against Russian Federation for attacking our democracy.
• February 28th, 2019: Biggs votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
• March 7th, 2019: Biggs votes against HR 183, a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism as a hateful extension of intolerance.
• March 14th, 2019: Rep. Biggs votes against HJR 46, which sane members of Congress voted for to reject Donald Trump’s “national emergency” regarding the U.S. border and his attempts to reallocate funds for a border wall without Congressional approval.
• July 12th, 2019: Biggs is one of 12 Republicans who vote against the re-authorization of the Zadroga Act to provide healthcare to 9/11 First Responders.
• July 16th, 2019: Andy Biggs votes against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.
• October 17th, 2019: Biggs is one of 60 Republicans who vote against HJ Res 77, which opposed Donald Trump’s disastrous decision to abandon Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria to the mercies of a Turkish invasion.
• October 23rd, 2019: Biggs is one of 41 Republicans who, while staring down the possibility of Donald Trump being impeached, stage a ridiculous publicity stunt in response by crashing a classified impeachment inquiry hearing for a “protest”.
• December 18th, 2019: Rep. Biggs ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
• May 15th, 2020: Biggs votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

[worstblogever]

• December 10th, 2020: Biggs signs his name to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, begging them to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The same election that she won re-election in.
• January 6th, 2021: Andy Biggs votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election, a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup.
• January 13th, 2021: Rep. Biggs votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers.
• February 4th, 2021: Andy Biggs votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted remarks and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit).
• February 25th, 2021: Biggs votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
• March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Biggs votes against HR 1, a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box.
• March 3rd, 2021: Andy Biggs votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
• March 10th, 2021: Biggs votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
• March 17th, 2021: Rep. Biggs is one of 172 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
• March 17th, 2021: Biggs is one of twelve Republicans who pick a side to have rooted for in the failed coup attempt on 1/6/21 and votes against awarding Congressional gold medals to members of the Capitol Police who bravely defended members of Congress during the attack.
• May 19th, 2021: Andy Biggs votes against HR 3233, the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack.
• May 20th, 2021: Biggs is one of 63 Republicans who vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act.
• June 15th, 2021: Rep. Biggs is one of twenty-one Republicans who pick a side to have rooted for in the failed coup attempt on 1/6/21 and votes against awarding Congressional gold medals to members of the Capitol Police who bravely defended members of Congress during the attack.
• June 16th, 2021: Andy Biggs is one of 14 Republicans who vote against celebrating Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
• July 22nd, 2021: Rep. Biggs is one of 16 Republicans who vote against HR 3895, the Allies Act, which was passed without his support to raise the amount of visas offered and to expedite their issue to Afghan translators and their families to honor our promise to protect them against the Taliban after U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, thus feeling we should go back on our word and leave them to die.
• November 5th, 2021: Andy Biggs votes against HR 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• March 31st, 2022: Biggs votes against HR 6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which would limit the cost that drug companies could list insulin at to $35 and make sure no diabetic was priced out of surviving their condition. Bill Johnson would rather they be gouged by pharmaceutical giants and/or die.
• May 18th, 2022: Rep. Biggs votes against HR 7791, to amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 so that waiver authority could be granted to solve supply chain crisises for shortages of baby formula.
• May 18th, 2022: Andy Biggs is one of 192 Republicans who vote against HR 7790, to create supplemental funding for infant formula (while claiming to be pro- life).
• May 18th, 2022: Rep. Biggs votes against HR 350, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, because a plank of the Republican Party is now domestic terror.
• May 19th, 2022: Biggs votes against HR 7688, a bill which would help prevent gas companies from gouging customers on prices.

We noted in our original profile on Biggs in 2020 that there was no indication that Andy Biggs plans on veering from the path he’s been on, as he’s become more of a white nationalist all the time, appearing publicly at speaking engagements with extremists from the right as radical as Laura Loomer (banned from Twitter, Uber, Lyft, etc.) and Christopher Farrell, (banned from Fox News for continuously spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about George Soros).

So we can’t say we were shocked when after he continuously used social media to promote Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” about the 2020 election, that Andy Biggs was named as one of two Arizona Congressman who was linked directly to the organizers of the “Stop the Steal” rally, appearing at their events, and after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol hoping to overturn the 2020 electoral votes being counted, he has gone on record trying to blame the violence on “Antifa”. His own brothers are calling for his removal from office for spreading lies about election fraud, and were disgusted to see footage of him during the Capitol attack refusing to wear a mask during a pandemic while packed into a room with other members of Congress. The fact that he voted against awarding medals to the members of the Capitol Police who fought back against the mob tells you everything you need to know about how he feels about the failed coup attempt. He’s currently ignoring subpoenas to testify to the January 6th Select Committee.

Arizona’s 5th Congressional District currently has a +15 Republican lean, which IN 2020, Biggs underperformed, getting only 59% of the vote. Bizarrely, not a single primary challenger emerged to try and knock off this seditious hatemonger. The only hopes of Andy Biggs not continuing to plague our country while in Washington, D.C. are Democratic candidate Javier Ramos, or if, through some small miracle, Attorney General Merrick Garland tries him with a federal crime for his part in January 6th.

If the fates are kind, this motherf***er does not get a fourth term in office.

[Tendrin]

I think that's the problem really. They're a hideously small minority so it feels needlessly mean to punch down.. Meanwhile if a comedian started making cracks about Chapelle being Black or a Muslim I have a strong suspicion he'd be pretty offended.

Well, of course. He consideres those 'real' bigotries that need to be confronted, while he's essentially dismissive of the gay community more broadly and transgender people specifically, the former as largely a piece of the white establishment and white phenomenon, and the latter as essentially being fake and comparable to wearing blackface. In doing so, he erases both the black LGBT community, and black transgender people especially, for whom the rates of violence are always the greatest. But because he's erasing trans people, everyone gotta rush to his defense and say 'GOD CAN'T YOU TAKE A *JOKE*' and show their reactionary sides by siding with the rich, powerful guy over the vanishingly small minority already being targeted by the state.

[CSTowle]

I think people are reading something into his comments that wasn't there. He did clearly say that this should not be minimized and that it should be focused on.

You're correct that the high maternal mortality rate among African-American women is a serious concern. What looks like bad statistics for Louisiana women turns out to be mediocre statistics for white women in Louisiana and catastrophically bad statistics for African-American women in Louisiana. The problem for them is worse than what the already concerning statewide figures would suggest.


Where does he say it's not a problem? Can you quote him?

Can we quote him directly saying, "It's the black folk who are skewing the statistics (well, actually he did say that part) but whites are OK (well, actually he did say that) so who really cares?" No, can't quote that last part. But as dog whistles go it seems to be about as far as you can go without being Trump, at least to my eyes/ears.

You seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. When you read that quote, what is your belief (gun to your head) of what he was trying to express and what his priorities are on the issue of black health?

Can any Conservative explain what the attraction is for Republicans and Dictators/Authoritarians/any Anti-Democractic figurehead?

Like many answering you I'm not conservative (nature of the board), but I think it's not necessarily a conservative thing to want authoritarianism. They tend to it more easily because being conservative means defending the system, order, tradition, nationalism/patriotism and the like which tends to the realm of the right. They tend to worship authority and are more comfortable with an unquestioned paternal leadership system. But both sides think they hold the patent on universal moral truth and are often willing to cross lines to make sure their beliefs are enacted into law/reality, on the path of good intentions.

Sometimes this leads to violence (see the "punch a nazi" movement recently, and the "peaceful" BLM protests that people were bending over backwards to justify morally on the left). That's not authoritarianism, but it's a step on the road. Wanting to pack the Supreme Court. Wanting to eliminate protections for the minority Party out of power in order to ram through legislation (without much thought to what happens when the inevitable change back to a right-wing government slits their own throats by giving MAGA the power to truly take us down the path we're talking about).

Any means necessary, silencing and dehumanizing opponents (evil homophobes or inherently racist white people, etc.), dismissing the idea of argument or debate or even the system itself if it impedes or hampers a perceived march towards the just utopia left-wing authoritarians dream of, all of these things can lead to a left-wing version of the thing we fear from the right. And those things always end up eating their own, often in numbers that are impossible for us to comprehend.

That's why it's important to take a minute, consider our own biases, call each other out where we see blind spots or overreach, and be willing to consider other arguments or tactics rather than retreating to comfortable bubbles where we can't be questioned and we're always right and the other side is always wrong (and that includes anyone who questions, 99% on board is the same as 0% on board), etc. To not become the Blue version of MAGA, whether that comes from a good place or not.

TL;DR: we all like authoritarianism, when it's on our side. It's never a good thing, in the end. We should avoid sliding into it, even to fight what we perceive to be a slide into it on the other side.

[babyblob]

It does appear that this person does not have the mental fortitude to go to a comedy show, and should not be taken seriously.

"By the time he was done, I thought I was going to throw up. My sister actually left and had a breakdown."

"Please reblog if you can, for evidence of his continued transphobia. I'd really hate for my Chapelle nightmare to be for nothing."

John Mulaney would be too edgy for people this sensitive. Comedy clubs are a poor fit for this kind of audience.

This is flat out one of the dumbest statements I have ever seen. Let's blame the person who is upset and not the person who made who made hate jokes, and rape jokes, and jokes to a disabled person about having sexual relations with their dog.

No the person making these jokes are not to blame. No we blame the person who gets upset because you know "They need to have a thick skin or a more understanding mindset when listening to hate."

[babyblob]

Can any Conservative explain what the attraction is for Republicans and Dictators/Authoritarians/any Anti-Democractic figurehead?

As someone who lives in a house with a hard core Trumper and whose family is pretty much all GOP I can say this because I have seen it.

Hate! All it is. Rights for Gays? No way! Blacks and Latinos being treated as Equals? Hell no! It is not about taxes, or smaller government, or any of that carp. it boils down to hate. U cant tell you how many family members I have had that bitch about CRT whenever black history in school is brought up. Still have family that deny slavery was the reason for The Civil War. I cant tell you how many family members bitch about White Replacement when ever there is a black couple on a tv ad or when there is talk about the boarder. Every election a GOP losses is because of fraud. When ever a gay person is on TV that is going too far. Think of the children! Trans people? Part of the libel agenda to replace men.

Any person who votes GOP and claims they dont back racism, Homo/transphobia, they dont support terrorism even though their party (I have seen this with my family) calls the 6th heroes terrorists. Heck we all know the people on the 6th who were wearing the 6 million is not enough shirts are not racist. Or the ones yelling Hang Mike Pence and building gallows. They were peaceful. Well they are flat out lying. I dont care whatever BS reason they want to give.

They flat out support hate. Look at how many in their party after the shooting ion Buffalo are falling all over themselves to say "Well we dont know it was a hate crime." Look at the people they vote in to office.

We care about Democracy. yet they vote in the election big lie spreaders and people that promise they will not certify the election results they dont like because they lost.

I hear this "Well I am allowed to have my opinion." All the time. But when your opinion turns into voting for people that actively take the rights away from others because of how you feel it is no longer an opinion with listening to and it should not be allowed to spread.

There is no defense of this party any more. And people who do defend it. They are terrible people. Flat out. Dont give me that. "I am a great guy. I believe in equal rights, I think gay people are fine. I love this country.... Now give me a minute as I vote for Trump."

My aunt walks around in a huff every weekend because I will not let her friends come into my house. They used to be welcome here. But after they sit around and talk about how great the 6th was, or how Gay and Trans people should not have the same rights as real people, or how some groups of people shouldnt be able to vote because of who they would vote for. No they can save that talk for their alt right message boards, and Fox News Circle jerks. They are not brining that into my home.

[babyblob]

I also love the so called "Good Republican." They one who says "Hey dont lump us all together. I didnt vote for Trump and I hate him." Then they go out and vote for a candidate endorsed by Trump who just parrots his talking points. But they are a good one because they didnt vote for Trump.

[Mister Mets]

The LA Times last year put up this story last year. It details a history of comedy where some got threats over material they did to arrests. It shows that subjects deemed controversial to joke then , wasn't years later.

In fact I never knew about Mae West getting arrested. Or Dice Clay cancelling a show worried in Texas he'd get arrested.

I have always had this stance comedy is about being free up there. Not everyone is gonna laugh or like jokes from every comedian. There are acts I never did like myself ( never understood Carlos Mencia's lure really). Or Pete Davidson now. Saw his stand up...not a fan.

But there folks like Robin Williams , Richard Pryor etc that just pushed boundaries.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lat...le%3f_amp=true

This has been going on before, but it wasn't a good thing. It was bad that Mae West spent ten days in a prison camp after being convicted of obscenity, or even that Andrew Dice Clay canceled a show during my lifetime because he was worried about being prosecuted for obscenity.

Can we quote him directly saying, "It's the black folk who are skewing the statistics (well, actually he did say that part) but whites are OK (well, actually he did say that) so who really cares?" No, can't quote that last part. But as dog whistles go it seems to be about as far as you can go without being Trump, at least to my eyes/ears.

You seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. When you read that quote, what is your belief (gun to your head) of what he was trying to express and what his priorities are on the issue of black health?

I take the quote at face value. This is a doctor turned Senator discussing a misunderstood statistic. I don't think he's in favor of it.

An issue with dog whistles is that it's not about what someone literally said, but about the impression of what he's trying to communicate to people with a completely alien understanding of the world. There will often be false alarms.

There do seem to be some issues that left-wing writers really glom onto, and they view conservative actions and comments on those topics as part of some conspiratorial effort. So a Republican Senator's comments about maternal mortality rates among African-American women are interpreted through that context.

Like many answering you I'm not conservative (nature of the board), but I think it's not necessarily a conservative thing to want authoritarianism. They tend to it more easily because being conservative means defending the system, order, tradition, nationalism/patriotism and the like which tends to the realm of the right. They tend to worship authority and are more comfortable with an unquestioned paternal leadership system. But both sides think they hold the patent on universal moral truth and are often willing to cross lines to make sure their beliefs are enacted into law/reality, on the path of good intentions.

Sometimes this leads to violence (see the "punch a nazi" movement recently, and the "peaceful" BLM protests that people were bending over backwards to justify morally on the left). That's not authoritarianism, but it's a step on the road. Wanting to pack the Supreme Court. Wanting to eliminate protections for the minority Party out of power in order to ram through legislation (without much thought to what happens when the inevitable change back to a right-wing government slits their own throats by giving MAGA the power to truly take us down the path we're talking about).

Any means necessary, silencing and dehumanizing opponents (evil homophobes or inherently racist white people, etc.), dismissing the idea of argument or debate or even the system itself if it impedes or hampers a perceived march towards the just utopia left-wing authoritarians dream of, all of these things can lead to a left-wing version of the thing we fear from the right. And those things always end up eating their own, often in numbers that are impossible for us to comprehend.

That's why it's important to take a minute, consider our own biases, call each other out where we see blind spots or overreach, and be willing to consider other arguments or tactics rather than retreating to comfortable bubbles where we can't be questioned and we're always right and the other side is always wrong (and that includes anyone who questions, 99% on board is the same as 0% on board), etc. To not become the Blue version of MAGA, whether that comes from a good place or not.

TL;DR: we all like authoritarianism, when it's on our side. It's never a good thing, in the end. We should avoid sliding into it, even to fight what we perceive to be a slide into it on the other side.

I definitely agree that there are temptations to try to use nasty tactics for your own side. The main way to avoid that is to have consistent principles when it comes to procedures.

[Mister Mets]

This is flat out one of the dumbest statements I have ever seen. Let's blame the person who is upset and not the person who made who made hate jokes, and rape jokes, and jokes to a disabled person about having sexual relations with their dog.

No the person making these jokes are not to blame. No we blame the person who gets upset because you know "They need to have a thick skin or a more understanding mindset when listening to hate."

Do you think Dave Chapelle should be blamed for an audience member having a breakdown?

I also love the so called "Good Republican." They one who says "Hey dont lump us all together. I didnt vote for Trump and I hate him." Then they go out and vote for a candidate endorsed by Trump who just parrots his talking points. But they are a good one because they didnt vote for Trump.

Are you talking about in a primary or a general election?

In a general election, why should Republicans who don't like Trump support Democrats with whom they have major policy disagreements?

Can any Conservative explain what the attraction is for Republicans and Dictators/Authoritarians/any Anti-Democractic figurehead?

I'll note my response here is informed by impressions about views I don't hold, and that are rarely supported by conservatives I pay attention to. These are views I know about mainly because I hear complaints about how people hold them, rather than their arguments for it in their own words.

There is a segment of conservatives who are against classical liberalism (free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with an emphasis on limited government, economic freedom, and political freedom) because they think it's abused by the left, or doesn't work with human nature. They think the United States would function best under a right-wing authoritarian.

There are also people who are contrarians, who will take an anti-anti position. They're not supportive of the dictator, but they focus on the weakness of arguments against them. This can be a sensible viewpoint if they have an understanding that the media views something as pretext, and that the procedural suggestions may be abused in other contexts.

[babyblob]

Do you think Dave Chapelle should be blamed for an audience member having a breakdown?

Are you talking about in a primary or a general election?

In a general election, why should Republicans who don't like Trump support Democrats with whom they have major policy disagreements?

I think he needs to be looked at. People get upset at people who are mad at Chapelle. "Well they should have a thicker skin. These are just jokes." No hold the person who is make jokes about Transgender people, makes jokes about rape, makes jokes about a disabled person having sex with their dog. maybe that person is the problem.

And I am not saying a Republican needs to vote for a Democrat. There were members of the Republican party that ran last week that are Anti Trump. Dont like what he and his cult stand for. So maybe the Anti Trump Republicans could have voted for one of them. But no, the people who hate Trump dont want to vote for a GOP that also hates him and may work for change in the party. No they want the "I didnt vote for Trump so I am not the bad guy." Line when they vote for people who are endorsed by Trump and say the same things. But the persons name isnt Trump so they are not part of the problem.

Every Republican when they hear a Democrat say "If you dont like Trump do something about it." Goes right to the "Well you just want me to vote Democrat!" Nope that is not it at all. That is the excuse they find to not work against Trump. There are Members of the Republican party that do not like or support Trump. That do not get his endorsement. And they want to fight everything these "Common sense anti Trump" Republican also want to fight against. But they never seem to the votes. So at the end of the day it is just the Republican party trying to cover their ass and look reasonable by being Anti Trump out of their mouths but doing nothing with the votes to prove it. These "Good Republicans" hate Trump so much. Stop voting for people he endorses. Stop voting for the GOP candidates that parrots his talking points word for word.

Until that happens they are trying and doing a bad job of playing the both sides lines.

[Tami]

Russian officer reveals why he risked it all to quit Putin's war

(CNN)It took a few weeks of sleeping on crates of grenades for a bed and hiding his face from Ukrainians amid a growing sense of guilt, for the Russian junior officer to come to his conclusion: This wasn't his battle to fight.

"We were dirty and tired. People around us were dying. I didn't want to feel like I was part of it, but I was a part of it," the officer told CNN.
He said he went to find his commander and resigned his commission on the spot.

CNN is not naming the officer or including personal details that would help to identify him for his security.

His story is remarkable, but it could also be one of many, according to opponents of the war in Russia as well as in Ukraine who say they have heard of a lot of cases of soldiers -- both professional and conscript -- refusing to fight.

Russian troops have been struggling with low morale and heavy losses in Ukraine, according to the assessments by Western officials including the Pentagon.

The UK's Intelligence, Cyber and Security Agency says some have even refused to carry out orders.

[babyblob]

That is the big fear tactic the GOP uses. "The Dems say if you are anti Trump you need to vote for AOC and Bernie Sanders!"

That is not the case. They just need to put their money where their mouth is and stop saying they are Anti Trump and then voting for JD Vance!

Or people like Lindsey Graham Or Mitch or on the 6th talked about how far things have gone and how the attack on the Capital is bad. Then after seeing how the cult wasnt buying into that and were calling the terrorists heroes and Fox News was gushing over them changed their minds and backed the big lie full force.

[Tami]

NEW: Senate Republicans are vowing to filibuster the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act after it passed the House on a near-party line vote. The bill would focus on preventing white supremacist terrorism. “It sounds terrible,” Josh Hawley said, per @thehill.

Twitter Link

Republicans vow to kill domestic terrorism bill in Senate


You'd think they actually like Domestic Terrorism.

[The Cool Thatguy]

I also love the so called "Good Republican." They one who says "Hey dont lump us all together. I didnt vote for Trump and I hate him." Then they go out and vote for a candidate endorsed by Trump who just parrots his talking points. But they are a good one because they didnt vote for Trump.

Yeah, could not agree more.

"I didn't vote for Trump, but I'd never vote for a democrat!"

Functionally the same as voting for him. Unless the GOP gets a wakeup call soon, they'll keep grabbing for diminishing returns

[Ragged Maw]

Twitter Link

Republicans vow to kill domestic terrorism bill in Senate


You'd think they actually like Domestic Terrorism.

Sounds like they're basing their opposition on the idea of a "slippery slope". Kind of like the abuses/prejudices displayed in the War on Terror, but aimed inward.

Senate conservatives say empowering the departments of Homeland Security and Justice with new authority to monitor domestic terrorism could easily morph into federal policing of political speech, and they worry it would be more targeted toward anti-government, anti-immigration activists than extreme left-wing groups.