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

[Tendrin]

Russia missed a Sunday deadline to pay $100 million in interest on two foreign-currency bonds.
Russia has the money to pay, but sanctions are blocking payments from moving through the global system.
Russia last defaulted on its foreign debt in 1918 during the Bolshevik Revolution.
Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time in more than a century as the country can't pay creditors due to sanctions over the war in Ukraine, according to media reports.

The Russian economy is stronger than ever!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...b4de03ccb684bf

Totally has the money to pay, you guys, it's just those pesky sanctions.

[CSTowle]

It was literally a pat on Rudy's back. Maxine Waters hit Michael Tracy harder.

And if it were Hillary or Nancy Pelosi many on this board would be up in arms and declaring this a travesty of justice and calling for the guy slapping Pelosi/Hillary on the back to be prosecuted. And as I quoted, a poster was saying (I hope in jest) that the same should happen to other people they don't agree with. I'm all for free speech, probably more than is popular on the left side of the spectrum at this moment in history, but inciting violence (even as a joke) is likely to lead to violence down the road. Laughing it off as "no big deal", especially when if you're being honest with yourselves you know you wouldn't be if the shoe were on the other foot, is dishonest and morally bankrupt.

[Panfoot]

Now we know what an insurrection looks like to the GOP.

https://www.newsweek.com/abortion-ri...licans-1719257

This is them trying to water down the meaning of the word, fascism 101.

[babyblob]

The Russian economy is stronger than ever!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...b4de03ccb684bf

Totally has the money to pay, you guys, it's just those pesky sanctions.

And there are going to be the Putin fans who are going

"Biden needs to do more! His sanctions are clearly not working because Putin said they are not."

[Tendrin]

And there are going to be the Putin fans who are going

"Biden needs to do more! His sanctions are clearly not working because Putin said they are not."

It's certainly possible they do but I'm just going to be skeptical because 'well, we'd LIKE to pay you but those sanctions won't let us' sounds like something you'd say if you couldn't.

[CaptainEurope]

And if it were Hillary or Nancy Pelosi many on this board would be up in arms and declaring this a travesty of justice and calling for the guy slapping Pelosi/Hillary on the back to be prosecuted. And as I quoted, a poster was saying (I hope in jest) that the same should happen to other people they don't agree with. I'm all for free speech, probably more than is popular on the left side of the spectrum at this moment in history, but inciting violence (even as a joke) is likely to lead to violence down the road. Laughing it off as "no big deal", especially when if you're being honest with yourselves you know you wouldn't be if the shoe were on the other foot, is dishonest and morally bankrupt.

It... it was a pat on this back.

[CaptainEurope]

I find it interesting that Conservatives, who build a political party around the concept of white male superiority, are also such cry babies. And society is going along with it. Sotomayor gets threatened by an actual murderer, it's a paragraph on page 16. Kavanaugh has a confused guy calling the cops on himself, it's frontpage news and laws get changed. Rudy gets a pat on his back, and FoxNews goes nuts (while avoiding to show the video which shows it was just a pat on his back).

[babyblob]

It's certainly possible they do but I'm just going to be skeptical because 'well, we'd LIKE to pay you but those sanctions won't let us' sounds like something you'd say if you couldn't.

I agree. but that is not the take away the Putin Trolls and some of the Russian backers are going to take.

[Tendrin]

I find it interesting that Conservatives, who build a political party around the concept of white male superiority, are also such cry babies. And society is going along with it. Sotomayor gets threatened by an actual murderer, it's a paragraph on page 16. Kavanaugh has a confused guy calling the cops on himself, it's frontpage news and laws get changed. Rudy gets a pat on his back, and FoxNews goes nuts (while avoiding to show the video which shows it was just a pat on his back).

100%% this.

[kidfresh512]

The Supreme Court has chipped away at the Voting Rights Act for 9 years. This case could be the next blow.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been slowly whittled away over the last decade by the Supreme Court — and a case set to be heard in the fall could shrink the protections offered by the law to the smallest level yet.

The redistricting cycle preceding this year’s elections was the first in 50 years to take place without “preclearance” requirements under the law — a pillar of the Voting Rights Act as originally written, in which states with histories of discriminatory voting practices had to have new election laws or practices reviewed by a federal court or the Department of Justice. Chief Justice John Roberts ruled for a divided Supreme Court nine years ago, in Shelby County v. Holder, to strike down the part of the VRA that determined which states and counties were subject to preclearance.

Now, a still-more conservative Court will hear arguments in the fall about Alabama’s redistricting, in a case targeting the other central piece of the Voting Rights Act: Section 2, which prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race. The result of the case could make it more difficult for minority communities to claim new election laws are discriminatory — and raise the bar for what has to happen to get relief from the courts.

Federal judges threw out Alabama’s map in the spring, but it was reinstated for 2022 by the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 that it was too close to the election to draw a new map. A federal judge in Georgia wrote in another case that the state’s map may violate the VRA while letting it stand for 2022, and Louisiana is currently redrawing its map under court order — though the Supreme Court could step in to halt the process, as it did in Alabama.

And in Florida, a federal district judge ruled that an omnibus election law passed in 2021 was so egregious that the state should have to face preclearance requirements going forward, in a process known as “bail in.” (That ruling was also stayed, pending an appeal.)

“I would say that minority voting rights have deteriorated significantly,” said Rick Hasen, a prominent election law expert. “Now with the [Alabama] case … there’s the potential to really undermine Section 2’s use as a tool for minority representation and empowerment.”

Just when the VRA is needed the most in the face of naked gerrymandering by the GOP to dilute the minority vote its slowly chipped away at like racism is over. This is part of the reason the SC is being seen as so political and partisan now. And once again we couldn't get Manchin and Sinema to carve out filibuster rules so the John Lewis Voting Rights act could pass.

[Kirby101]

And if it were Hillary or Nancy Pelosi many on this board would be up in arms and declaring this a travesty of justice and calling for the guy slapping Pelosi/Hillary on the back to be prosecuted. And as I quoted, a poster was saying (I hope in jest) that the same should happen to other people they don't agree with. I'm all for free speech, probably more than is popular on the left side of the spectrum at this moment in history, but inciting violence (even as a joke) is likely to lead to violence down the road. Laughing it off as "no big deal", especially when if you're being honest with yourselves you know you wouldn't be if the shoe were on the other foot, is dishonest and morally bankrupt.

Let's agree the guy should not have touched him. Do you agree it is Felony Assault as Rudy and many on the Right are saying?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Let's agree the guy should not have touched him. Do you agree it is Felony Assault as Rudy and many on the Right are saying?

What does that say about Rudy’s security that the guy got that close in the first place? But, yeah, there’s no condoning what the guy did.

[kidfresh512]

Florida Republicans turn school elections into new political battlegrounds

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Republicans are capitalizing on the national movement surrounding parental rights and education by jumping into local school board races with crucial endorsements and much-needed cash.

Dozens of political committees with ties to Florida conservatives are funneling thousands of dollars toward candidates who share Gov. Ron DeSantis’ priorities by campaigning against issues like critical race theory. DeSantis endorsed a slate of 10 school board candidates — a rare, if not unprecedented, move for a Florida governor that could help Republicans capture more support in the midterms from parents energized by contentious issues such as masking students during the pandemic.

“People are frustrated with the business-as-usual on these school boards,” said Christian Ziegler, vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida whose wife, Bridget, is running to keep her seat on the Sarasota County school board and has been endorsed by DeSantis.


“Payback is coming in August” when the school board elections are held, Ziegler said.

School board races in Florida are traditionally nonpartisan, sleepy down-ballot races. But Republicans, led by DeSantis, are getting more involved this year after the Covid-19 pandemic inflamed interest in education and what students are learning in schools, particularly about race and gender identity. Democrats have not shown similar levels of funding.

The candidates backed by GOP-tied cash and endorsements from DeSantis show that Republicans are gunning to unseat incumbent school leaders and reshape boards in key spots across Florida. The effort could help Republicans control nearly all levers of government in the state, from the governor’s mansion, Cabinet, state Legislature down to local school boards.

This is another one of those long term goal items the GOP does well. They have been targeting local school boards, and elections related boards etc. To fundamentally start shaping school curriculum and policies to match the national rhetoric.

Not sure what the solution would be except more Democrats start running for these as well. If GOP go at this like they have with the same zeal of appointing conservatives to all levels of court system....

[babyblob]

Let's agree the guy should not have touched him. Do you agree it is Felony Assault as Rudy and many on the Right are saying?

Felony Assault? Not at all. But there is no excuse for putting your hands on a Stranger. And this guy is an idiot. He knows the political climate right now. And he knew his target. He knows the kind of person Rudi is. Now Fox News and the GOP and Rudy are acting like this is the biggest beat down in the history of beat downs. And of course they are not showing the video. And of course there are click bait head lines.

Hell when I saw the head line on the internet Rudy attacked in public. I was like "Wow ****." And I hate Rudy. It was like when Rand Paul was pushed by those protesters a couple years back.

No matter what side of the isle you are on or what the person beliefs are a person has no right to put their hands on any one. And Saying "Well look at what this person did, Look at the party they support." That dont wash.

I am mad as hell at Rudy for blowing this up, I am mad at Fox News for fanning the flames, and I am mad that this idiot put his hands on Rudy in the first place. All three are at fault.

[babyblob]

What does that say about Rudy’s security that the guy got that close in the first place? But, yeah, there’s no condoning what the guy did.

I am pretty sure a couple of them are looking for a new job lol.