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

[4saken1]

I guess all the Republicans who have scoffed at Trump's wrongdoing and pretended Democrats were "obsessing over nothing" might have to eat some crow should something come out of it.

Nah. They'll just pretend like it never happened and the vast majority of their supporters will still vote for them.

[DrNewGod]

Entities like Gab have me wondering if all social media should be FCC regulated.

[worstblogever]

worth nothing that Rep Boebert has had 2 of her staff resign since Friday

[Panfoot]

So apparently there is gonna be a MAGA Western Movie.

Look at that cast list, it's only missing James Woods and Jon Voight!

[Iron Maiden]

The All-Stars of has beens. I forgot Robert Wagner was still alive...used to like him.

[DrNewGod]

Look at that cast list, it's only missing James Woods and Jon Voight!

Hm. Interesting mission statement for the studio. "...entertainers who have been denied work..." sounds suspiciously like "has beens who happen to be ostracized for being wingnuts."

[PwrdOn]

Posing trade's only benefit as imperialism is also extremely naive, if not tactical demagoguery.

Of course we would think that trade can only bring benefits to society, because we are the ones that have all of the bargaining power to set the terms of trade, and we have never been shy about forcibly opening markets to our companies, or toppling uncooperative leaders when it serves our interests. How do you think people would feel if the Chinese plotted to rig the election in order to put a puppet president in office that would open the doors for Huawei to build up their 5G network here? Sounds like an insane right wing conspiracy theory, right? But this is the exact sort of thing that the US has done countless times to other countries that didn't want to play ball, why would we have gone through all the trouble of doing that if we could've just gotten everything we wanted by asking nicely?

[Tami]

How Republicans Are Warping Reality Around the Capitol Attack

In one of the ultimate don’t-believe-your-eyes moments of the Trump era, these Republicans have retreated to the ranks of misinformation, claiming it was Black Lives Matter protesters and far-left groups like Antifa who stormed the Capitol — in spite of the pro-Trump flags and QAnon symbology in the crowd. Others have argued that the attack was no worse than the rioting and looting in cities during the Black Lives Matter movement, often exaggerating the unrest last summer while minimizing a mob’s attempt to overturn an election.

The shift is revealing about how conspiracy theories, deflection and political incentives play off one another in Mr. Trump’s G.O.P. For a brief time, Republican officials seemed perhaps open to grappling with what their party’s leader had wrought — violence in the name of their Electoral College fight. But any window of reflection now seems to be closing as Republicans try to pass blame and to compare last summer’s lawlessness, which was condemned by Democrats, to an attack on Congress, which was inspired by Mr. Trump.

Suzanne Doherty, 67, who traveled from Michigan to be in Washington on Jan. 6 to support Mr. Trump, came away feeling confused and depressed over the invasion of the Capitol and not trusting the images of the mob.

“I heard that on Antifa websites, people were invited to go to the rally and dress up like Trump supporters, but I’m not sure what to believe anymore,” she said. “There were people there only to wreak havoc. All I know is that there was a whole gamut of people there, but the rioters were not us. Maybe they were Antifa. Maybe they were B.L.M. Maybe they were extreme right militants.”

[Tami]

New: Michigan GOP Senate leader advised militias on messaging, says they’ve gotten ‘a bad rap’

Just a month before 13 men were charged by state and federal law enforcement for a far-right plot to allegedly kidnap and execute Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) had a sitdown conversation with leaders of three Michigan-based militias.

“I was in Lansing and members — the leaders, the so-called leaders — of three of the groups met in my office and we talked about their messaging, their purpose, what they are trying to accomplish and how they could improve their message,” he told JTV host Bart Hawley in an interview on Sept. 10. “It was very fascinating and they’re not uniquely different than you and I. They bleed red, white and blue, but they feel like they are not being heard.”

He claimed in the interview that Michigan State Police assisted him identifying the militia leaders and that such a meeting “has never been done before.”

A spokesperson for Shirkey did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Lackomar, team leader Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia team leader and spokesman said leadership from his group was not part of the meeting and he doesn’t have information on what groups were.

[Iron Maiden]

It has been completely redacted by Barr and not even the Congress has been able to see the full report.

Lead prosecutor Andrew Weisman thought they were prevented from going after Trump when they found his connections to the crimes.

I hope Garland releases a more open version.

Plus some key players Manafort and Roger Stone were unlikely to rat out Trump and they got rewarded for it. The thing is one of the biggest clues was right out in the open when Trump had that rally where he asked if Russia was listening and could they get Hillary's emails. Then *boom* hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign manager John Podesta were transmitted from a Russian-government proxy, Guccifer 2.0 to WikiLeaks on July 14, 2016. It's too bad they couldn't get Julian Assange extradited.

How can anyone look at that and not be suspicious of the Trump campaign in the summer of 2106?

[Tendrin]

https://twitter.com/qwatch_org/statu...683393539?s=21

Thread for those of us who have lost family to MAGA and QAnon

[Mister Mets]

Joe Manchin thinks the Senate should consider using the 14th amendment to remove Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said the Senate should consider removing Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) via the 14th Amendment over their objections last week to the Electoral College results.

Speaking to PBS’s “Firing Line” on Friday night, Manchin said the Senate should explore the option after a violent mob, riled up by President Trump and convinced by Republicans such as Hawley and Cruz that the election was fraudulent, ransacked the Capitol in one of the darkest points in American democracy.

“That should be a consideration,” Manchin responded when asked if the 14th Amendment should be triggered. “He understands that. Ted’s a very bright individual, and I get along fine with Ted, but what he did was totally outside of the realm of our responsibilities or our privileges.”

The third section of the 14th Amendment reads that no lawmaker holding office “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

[Malvolio]

So Blue Lives Matter, but only as long as they follow orders. Got it.

[DrNewGod]

Of course we would think that trade can only bring benefits to society, because we are the ones that have all of the bargaining power to set the terms of trade, and we have never been shy about forcibly opening markets to our companies, or toppling uncooperative leaders when it serves our interests. How do you think people would feel if the Chinese plotted to rig the election in order to put a puppet president in office that would open the doors for Huawei to build up their 5G network here? Sounds like an insane right wing conspiracy theory, right? But this is the exact sort of thing that the US has done countless times to other countries that didn't want to play ball, why would we have gone through all the trouble of doing that if we could've just gotten everything we wanted by asking nicely?

Well, if you really believe trade has no merits other than enabling extortion, seems immoral to own a device capable of accessing the internet, since most of them are sourced from dozens of markets around the globe. Assuming the argument isn't just self-righteous posturing.

[Malvolio]

I'm not sure HRC would have a better career if she divorced Bill.

She was a Senator, Secretary of State and presidential nominee. The only step up is President, but most politicians don't reach that level.

The emphasis on Bill Clinton sleeping with a junior colleague/ intern is more of a post #metoo interpretation. I've seen the argument that this is why Clinton should have been pushed out, but I don't think it would have worked in the 90s. It's based on a modern understanding.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...insky-resigned

It is worth noting that Clinton wasn't impeached for having an affair. The charges were perjury to a grand jury, and obstruction of justice.



The beauty of trade is that it can be profitable without one side getting favorable terms. Both sides can win by getting what they need.


It's not gerrymandering as much as it is smaller districts being more homogenous.

A district in Rural Texas is going to be pretty conservative, and we're going to have rural districts as long as districts are meant to be geographically contiguous.

Gerrymandering runs completely counter to districts being geographically contiguous. I mean, they intentionally draw the district around corners and down the middle of streets to keep "certain" people out of "certain" districts.