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

[GindyPosts]

She doesn't actually mention confederates.

As noted in the article, Portland protesters took down a statue of Thomas Jefferson.

A New York Times opinion columnist has called for the removal of statues of George Washington.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/o...e-statues.html

Aw, come on. Does anyone actually read the opinion section of the New York Times and take it seriously? If it were a human being, it would light it's own farts while trying to sniff them at the same time.

[Tendrin]

Agreed, my fear is that West might siphon away from Biden just enough African American votes (especially among the young and ill-informed) in crucial states due to his music star status to help Trump. You'd be shocked how many people would vote for a candidate simply because they are a celebrity. Biden needs that Black Voting block to remain intact.

It won't happen.

[BeastieRunner]

People are too lazy to wear a mask, you really think they're going to write in a candidate, if they even vote?

[sammy_hansen]

Aw, come on. Does anyone actually read the opinion section of the New York Times and take it seriously? If it were a human being, it would light it's own farts while trying to sniff them at the same time.

Haha true! Nick Kristof, what an idiot!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Scientists Plan To Urge WHO To Take Airborne Spread Of Coronavirus More Seriously

Airborne transmission could dramatically shift safety guidelines, requiring more mask usage and better air circulation indoors.

**********

FDA Head Refuses To Address Trump Claim That 99% Of COVID-19 Cases Are ‘Totally Harmless’

Dr. Stephen Hahn, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, repeatedly refused to comment on Trump’s claim. Gutless. Fucking. Coward.

**********

Mayors Of Cities With Spiking Coronavirus Rates Decry Trump Admin’s Response

The mayor of Phoenix said it feels like the federal government is “declaring victory while we’re still in crisis mode.”

**********

Trump Administration Says It’s Too Soon To Say If Safe To Hold RNC In Florida

“We will have to see how this unfolds in Florida and elsewhere around the country,” Stephen Hahn told CNN.

**********

Trump Rage-Quits Fox News After Network Shows Him Trailing Joe Biden In Polls

The president is urging his supporters to change the channel. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**********

John Bolton Suggests Trump Spends Much Of His Time Glued To TV

The advice of his own advisers presents little competition for the president’s attention, says his former national security adviser.

[Tami]

The Fullest Look Yet at the Racial Inequity of Coronavirus

Teresa and Marvin Bradley can’t say for sure how they got the coronavirus. Maybe Ms. Bradley, a Michigan nurse, brought it from her hospital. Maybe it came from a visiting relative. Maybe it was something else entirely.

What is certain — according to new federal data that provides the most comprehensive look to date on nearly 1.5 million coronavirus patients in America — is that the Bradleys are not outliers.

Racial disparities in who contracts the virus have played out in big cities like Milwaukee and New York, but also in smaller metropolitan areas like Grand Rapids, Mich., where the Bradleys live. Those inequities became painfully apparent when Ms. Bradley, who is Black, was wheeled through the emergency room.

“Everybody in there was African-American,” she said. “Everybody was.”

Early numbers had shown that Black and Latino people were being harmed by the virus at higher rates. But the new federal data — made available after The New York Times sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — reveals a clearer and more complete picture: Black and Latino people have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus in a widespread manner that spans the country, throughout hundreds of counties in urban, suburban and rural areas, and across all age groups.

[worstblogever]

In 2015, 2016, as well as 2017, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of Tony Shipley, a now former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives who won office in 2008 in a race that saw him use the underhanded tactic of running websites in his opponent's name to misrepresent his positions, and send out racist fliers that featured the head of that African American opponent mounted on a Blackbird. He also went off in 2009 and threatened to do something "like what happened in 1860" should gay marriage pass, and that if it did, "God drops California off into the sea". A few days after that rant, he complained about gay adoption and made mention of "Sodom and Gomorrah". A short time later, he submitted legislation to attempt to allow law enforcement to conduct warrantless searches if they had reason to "suspect terrorism" (4th Amendment much?) and when his colleagues tried asking what possible plots he thought might justify it, he pretended to be privy to top secret information. While in office, Shipley also voted to attempt to nullify the Affordable Care Act, to prevent the United Nations' Agenda 21 Environmental Treaty from being implemented, and several blatantly unconstitutional attempts to outlaw abortion, outright. In the 2016 elections, Shipley lost in the GOP Primary for that seat after finishing second in a four-candidate field with only 21% of the vote., over 30 points shy of what he needed for victory. He has not resurfaced in an election since, as of this posting. At this time, we have yet to see any indication that Shipley will attempt to return to office somewhere in Tennessee.

[worstblogever]

On this date in both 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” had profiled the sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio’s 8th District, Warren Davidson, who was first elected to office in June of 2016, shortly after former Speaker of the House John Boehner said, “F*** this s***,” and peaced out of of Congress. As part of the GOP gerrymandering of House districts after the 2010 elections, Boehner made sure that his own home district was galvanized, transforming it into the reddest district in all of Ohio. When he retired, no less than FIFTEEN Republicans battled it out like it was the goddamned Hunger Games to take his place in Ohio’s 6th for the remainder of his term, which Davidson then coasted to victory in the general special election to establish himself as the incumbent. In a general election, he can always breeze to victory against a Democrat, because of the +17 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index. Almost immediately after arriving in Washington, D.C., Davidson issued what could be interpreted as a final “F*** you” to Boehner as he left office, immediately joining the Republican House Freedom Caucus that constantly was trying to bring about his downfall, and ultimately made Boehner resign in frustration to go work for the medical marijuana lobby.

While we’ll salute Warren Davidson for his time as a U.S. Army Ranger without hesitation, we still think it’s truly f***ed up that he went to a gathering of veterans to gripe about “moochers” who were within the V.A. Medical system, and kick them out of it.

For someone well off like Davidson, maybe having your medical care paid for by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs isn’t a choice he has to make… but for every blue-collar veteran with injuries endured in the service without a six-figure salary to pay for physical or mental health treatments to be turned away? That… is some bulls***. And it’s frankly outrageous that someone would begin playing the “welfare queens” card on fellow service members like that. When people enlist, part of the agreement with the government that a service member gets is, after your service is over, the government helps you take care of your medical needs. That’s it. And there’s no whining about the cost, because men put their lives on the line.

Sorry if we got up on a soapbox there, but that’s a topic near and dear to CSGOPOTD’s heart.

Anyway, that one-off comment wasn’t the only time that Rep. Davidson popped off about who actually “deserves” medical coverage. At his first town hall as a Congressman in early 2017, Davidson was hammered with questions about the GOP’s wishes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even if there was no replacement for it. Thus, the following exchange occurred, resulting in gasps and boos from those assembled:

Constiuent: “My son did not have health insurance for four years, until the ACA when Medicaid was accepted. He didn’t have health insurance because he’s in the service industry. And that industry pays minimum wage and they keep their employees below a certain number of hours so that they cannot -- so that they don’t have to pay health insurance. So, many of the people that are on Medicaid are working, and they are the working poor. Under Trumpcare, one of the major ways to make health insurance affordable is to bring back catastrophic insurance, which is basically no insurance at all. Given that, given that preventative health care is the number one way to keep people healthy in our society, can you explain why my son and millions of others in his situation are not deserving of affordable, decent healthcare that has essential benefits so that he can stay healthy and continue working?”
Warren Davidson: “OK, I don’t know anything about your son, but as you described him, his skills are focused in an industry that doesn’t have the kind of options that you want him to have for health care. So, I don’t believe that these taxpayers here are entitled [sic] to give that to him. I believe he’s got the opportunity to go earn those health benefits.”

Yes, he pretty much just told a woman that her son deserved to die because he wasn’t “skilled” enough, and that he has to “earn” the right to keep living. Great work, Warren. Making the GOP look real sympathetic out there. And if you’re wondering if he just misspoke, no, he doubled down on his statement.

Davidson is also a climate change denier, thinks Sharia Law is a threat to the United States and our Constitution (even though the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment would defend against it quite nicely, but hey, why not be an Islamophobe?), would like to redefine marriage as only between one man and one woman while allowing businesses the “religious freedom” to discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and is a supporter of Personhood.

If you’re thinking the above two stories might be an indicator that Warren Davidson’s voting record has a mile-wide streak of being uncaring for his fellow Americans, you might be right:

• January 27th, 2019: Warren Davidson voted against HJR 30, which was meant to express disapproval of Donald Trump not acting against Russian Federation for attacking our democracy. You see, he’s fine with our nation being sublet to Vladimir Putin.
• January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Davidson voted against HR 648, because he was gleefully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
• February 28th, 2019: Warren Davidson votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
• March 14th, 2019: Rep. Davidson 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.
• April 4th, 2019: Warren Davidson is one of 158 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).
• June 4th, 2019: Davidson votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
• July 16th, 2019: Warren Davidson 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: Rep. Davidson 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.
• December 3rd, 2019: Warren Davidson is one of 71 Republicans who votes against a resolution to disallow Russia from re-entering the G7 and makes it the G8 until it leaves Ukraine.
• December 18th, 2019: Rep. Davidson ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the impeachment of Donald Trump.

In December of 2018, Davidson actually submitted legislation right at the tail end of the Republican Congress for the “Buy a Brick, Build a Wall” Act that would allow private citizens to donate money towards the stupid, stupid idea of Donald Trump’s border wall on the U.S./Mexico border that would not only not prevent illegal immigration, but would cost billions of dollars in the process. In November, Davidson gets a rematch against Democrat Vanessa Enoch, who he beat by about a two-to-one margin only two years ago… so it seems like the gerrymandered wall Boehner built for his seat will hold for at least the next two years.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

As if Caramel Caligula had nothing else better to do with his time, he went after a black race car driver:

Trump attacks NASCAR and driver Bubba Wallace in bizarre tweet calling noose found in garage a 'hoax'

President Donald Trump tweeted at NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace on Monday, seeking an apology and attempting to frame the noose found in his garage stall as a "hoax." Trump attempted to blame NASCAR's poor ratings on Wallace, and the sport's decision to ban the Confederate flag. NASCAR has seen an influx of new viewers since the sport returned to the track.

After COVID-19 deaths in the United States passed 130,000 over the weekend, President Donald Trump woke up on Monday morning and tweeted about NASCAR ratings.

Trump tweeted out a seemingly nonsensical demand for an apology from Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in NASCAR.

"Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?" the president asked on Twitter. "That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!"

Wallace quickly became one of the most compelling drivers in the sport, having spoken on social issues and led the charge to ban the Confederate flag from the racing league.

[Tami]

Dakota Access Oil Line to Be Shut by Court in Blow for Trump

The Dakota Access pipeline must shut down by Aug. 5, a district court ruled Monday in a stunning defeat for the Trump administration and the oil industry.

The decision, which shuts the pipeline during a court-ordered environmental review that’s expected to extend into 2021, is a momentous win for American Indian tribes that have opposed the Energy Transfer LP project for years. It comes just a day after Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. scuttled another project, the Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline, after years of legal delays.

Environmentalists have increasingly used the courts to try to block additional investment in fossil fuel infrastructure while they push for a clean energy transition. Tribes, landowners, and other project opponents have also complained about local impacts from construction and potential spills on or near their land.

The sophisticated legal onslaught has led to delays and disruptions for numerous other proposed and operational pipelines, including Keystone XL. But Monday’s court order, if upheld on appeal, marks the first time a major, in-service oil pipeline will be forced to shutter because of environmental concerns.

[Tami]

National security law: Hong Kong schools told to remove books that might fall foul of the legislation

Hong Kong education officials have told schools to review their book collections and immediately remove those titles that might breach Beijing’s national security law
for the city.

Following the withdrawal of several publications from public libraries last week, the Education Bureau said on Monday that schools should get rid of reading materials which “possibly violate” the new legislation, while insisting that pupils should be taught the positive values of safeguarding national security.

Principals have called on the bureau to seek legal advice and then issue clearer guidelines on schools’ new responsibilities, while critics raised concerns over the impact on academic freedom if university libraries were also targeted.

[worstblogever]

Little detail about Kanye West running for president...

• In 2016, he was $53 million in debt.
• He goes to Russia for two weeks.
• He returns to the US and promptly meets with Donald Trump at Trump Tower.
• Kanye somehow in the middle of all his money woes bought an apartment for $15 million from a Russian linked to Oleg Deperkinska. Most recognize this sort of real estate deal is how Russian oligarchs launder money.
• Kanye gives insane, over-the-top public praise to Trump through the past few years.
• Perhaps in the most bizarre "chaos factor" attempt to help Trump win at the last minute, Kanye throws his hat into the ring against Trump, who has virtually no statistical percentage of the black vote to lose to the new challenger anyway, if anyone should flock to West. Biden, however, has that vote.

This is the exact sort of bulls*** that would get brainstormed at a Russian troll farm.

[Ragged Maw]

The plague continues

Deadly Brain-Eating Amoeba Confirmed in Florida

Is Florida jealous of Australia for having the most murder-ready biosphere around and trying to play catch-up?

[Gray Lensman]

On this date in both 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” had profiled the sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio’s 8th District, Warren Davidson, who was first elected to office in June of 2016, shortly after former Speaker of the House John Boehner said, “F*** this s***,” and peaced out of of Congress. As part of the GOP gerrymandering of House districts after the 2010 elections, Boehner made sure that his own home district was galvanized, transforming it into the reddest district in all of Ohio. When he retired, no less than FIFTEEN Republicans battled it out like it was the goddamned Hunger Games to take his place in Ohio’s 6th for the remainder of his term, which Davidson then coasted to victory in the general special election to establish himself as the incumbent. In a general election, he can always breeze to victory against a Democrat, because of the +17 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index. Almost immediately after arriving in Washington, D.C., Davidson issued what could be interpreted as a final “F*** you” to Boehner as he left office, immediately joining the Republican House Freedom Caucus that constantly was trying to bring about his downfall, and ultimately made Boehner resign in frustration to go work for the medical marijuana lobby.

While we’ll salute Warren Davidson for his time as a U.S. Army Ranger without hesitation, we still think it’s truly f***ed up that he went to a gathering of veterans to gripe about “moochers” who were within the V.A. Medical system, and kick them out of it.

For someone well off like Davidson, maybe having your medical care paid for by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs isn’t a choice he has to make… but for every blue-collar veteran with injuries endured in the service without a six-figure salary to pay for physical or mental health treatments to be turned away? That… is some bulls***. And it’s frankly outrageous that someone would begin playing the “welfare queens” card on fellow service members like that. When people enlist, part of the agreement with the government that a service member gets is, after your service is over, the government helps you take care of your medical needs. That’s it. And there’s no whining about the cost, because men put their lives on the line.

Sorry if we got up on a soapbox there, but that’s a topic near and dear to CSGOPOTD’s heart.

Anyway, that one-off comment wasn’t the only time that Rep. Davidson popped off about who actually “deserves” medical coverage. At his first town hall as a Congressman in early 2017, Davidson was hammered with questions about the GOP’s wishes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even if there was no replacement for it. Thus, the following exchange occurred, resulting in gasps and boos from those assembled:


Yes, he pretty much just told a woman that her son deserved to die because he wasn’t “skilled” enough, and that he has to “earn” the right to keep living. Great work, Warren. Making the GOP look real sympathetic out there. And if you’re wondering if he just misspoke, no, he doubled down on his statement.

Davidson is also a climate change denier, thinks Sharia Law is a threat to the United States and our Constitution (even though the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment would defend against it quite nicely, but hey, why not be an Islamophobe?), would like to redefine marriage as only between one man and one woman while allowing businesses the “religious freedom” to discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and is a supporter of Personhood.

If you’re thinking the above two stories might be an indicator that Warren Davidson’s voting record has a mile-wide streak of being uncaring for his fellow Americans, you might be right:

[LIST][*]January 27th, 2019: Warren Davidson voted against HJR 30, which was meant to express disapproval of Donald Trump not acting against Russian Federation for attacking our democracy. You see, he’s fine with our nation being sublet to Vladimir Putin. [*]January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Davidson voted against HR 648, because he was gleefully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history. [*]February 28th, 2019: Warren Davidson votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.[*]March 14th, 2019: Rep. Davidson 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.[*]April 4th, 2019: Warren Davidson is one of 158 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). [*]June 4th, 2019: Davidson votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.

That picture reminds me of someone......just add a pair of round glasses and.......

Now I remember!

Image_search_1565915661482.jpg

[Tami]

Supreme Court says states may require presidential electors to support popular-vote winner

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that states may require presidential electors to support the winner of the popular vote and punish or replace those who don’t, settling a disputed issue in advance of this fall’s election.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court, and attempted to settle the disputed “faithless elector” issue before it affected the coming presidential contest.

The Washington state law at issue “reflects a tradition more than two centuries old,” she wrote. “In that practice, electors are not free agents; they are to vote for the candidate whom the state’s voters have chosen.”

In an opinion that referred to both the Broadway musical “Hamilton” and the HBO sitcom “Veep,” she added: “The state instructs its electors that they have no ground for reversing the vote of millions of its citizens. That direction accords with the Constitution—as well as with the trust of a nation that here, We the People rule.”