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

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

This is the problem with distilling political ideology by class, anyone you don't like is reduced to being rich = bad. When the political spectrum knows no class, by this logic every Republican is a millionaire.

Not what I said buddy lol

[Mister Mets]

The left: We need to prevent homelessness & hunger, end state violence & ensure a functioning democracy.

The right: COVID isn’t real, Trump won, he’s taking down an elitist satanic pedophile ring & we’ll die for him

“Centrists”: The extremism on both sides is out of control!

That's how some people sound on social media lol

I don't think that's the accurate description of the most controversial views on the left (Seattle's Capital Hill Autonomous Zone was a block party, the police should literally be abolished, private health insurance should be wiped away, unauthorized border crossings should be decriminalized, undocumented immigrants should receive subsidized health care, an emphasis on the scientific method is an assumption of white dominant culture and therefore bad, that a college student should be expelled if there's a 10-20 percent chance he/ she committed a crime, to serve on an education council one has to agree with Robin Diangelo, etc.)

It might have worked out better for them if they had, considering how every state referendum on marijuana legalization passed in last month's election.

There's certainly an argument
that it would have been politically advantageous.

[Mister Mets]

I saw on Twitter. Question is did they have a valid search warrant that included taking her tech? If not, the Gov of FL is going to be in a world of hurt once this goes to trial.

According to an article, there was a warrant based on a Department of Health complaint.

https://news.yahoo.com/florida-state...ity&soc_trk=tw

DeSantis would also not necessarily be the one to give the order for the investigation or the seizures.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

According to an article, there was a warrant based on a Department of Health complaint.

https://news.yahoo.com/florida-state...ity&soc_trk=tw

DeSantis would also not necessarily be the one to give the order for the investigation or the seizures.

Perhaps, but, given we’re talking about DeSantis, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out he had a hand in that raid.

[worstblogever]

Perhaps, but, given we’re talking about DeSantis, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out he had a hand in that raid.

Because when we think about a guy who's been acting like the mayor from Jaws, we should all just assume he's on the level.

[AnakinFlair]

Oh dear
https://www.yahoo.com/news/michigan-...035400636.html

What scares me is that one day, these armed idiots will show up outside a house where the person they are yelling at will come out and stand their ground with an AR-15. And then people will die- more than likely innocent people caught in the crossfire.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

What scares me is that one day, these armed idiots will show up outside a house where the person they are yelling at will come out and stand their ground with an AR-15. And then people will die- more than likely innocent people caught in the crossfire.

And the GOP hierarchy will continue looking the other way because they don't want to piss off Trump who's been whipping up all this madness.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Not what I said buddy lol

That's only way that statement could be read, the intent was hardly subtle.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, Thomas Massie, who you would expect to be reasonably intelligent, what with a successful tech company with two dozen patents to his credit and a Master’s Degree from MIT. Sadly, though, Massie at some point became a disciple of Ron Paul, even apparently trying to emulate Rand Paul’s awful hairstyle so he can blend in as a member of the family. Massie’s dedication to libertarian smaller government to an extent that you wonder if he’s doing it in the hopes that it’s some sort of magic ritual to get Ayn Rand to rise from the grave. But three weeks after the Newtown shootings, and as the new session of Congress began after it, Massie had the unmitigated gall to submit a bill to allow guns in school zones, by repealing a law passed by the first Bush administration and supported by the NRA at its passage. He also shrugged and claimed that the nine victims of Dylann Roof at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina were to blame for their own deaths because the church had "disallowed guns", which is goddamned awful. He has voted against the new version of the Violence Against Women Act, Hurricane Sandy Relief, and is one of only 3 people in Congress to have voted against the Stolen Valor Act, all because he thinks the government should instead do NOTHING. And he’s unafraid of being the one lone vote against any and all legislation, like when he was the lone vote against naming Israel as a strategic partner of the United States. He voted for the 2013 Government Shutdown and called the compromise over the fiscal cliff as “a really big turd sandwich without the bread”. But on top over everything else, we noted Massie has the quality of his hero Ron Paul where he hitches his caboose onto anti-government conspiracy theories, including falsely claiming the military gave a “stand down” order during the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi and alluding to “knowing the truth” about 9/11 that would change everything Americans know about that dark day, and wanting the 28 page report about it declassified completely. Meanwhile, he’s the same moron who in April of 2017 who went on CNN to push back against reports that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad gassed his own people again, saying, “I don’t think he could have done that.” In February of 2017, Rep. Massie co-sponsored legislation to attempt to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency completely, and on October 10th, 2017 only days after a shooter in Las Vegas uses bump stocks in semi-automatic firearms to make them fully-automatic weapons and mass murder 58 people… Rep. Massie argued in favor of legalizing bump stocks nationwide, because apparently not enough people died in Vegas to appease his twisted libertarian worldview.

How are things looking for Thomas Massie in Kentucky? Do they love him there? Well, let’s put it this way, after that very libertarian vote he made against disaster relief aid for victims of Hurricane Harvey, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce literally called him a “piece of s***” on Twitter. That’s not some random liberal we’re talking about… a friggin’ Chamber of Commerce went with that. He’s been defending international dictators and endorsing pedophiles like Roy Moore for Senate.

And, much as we are loathe to report it, Thomas Massie just won a fourth term in office in the 2018 elections, earning 62% of the vote. He didn’t even get sworn in for this term in office without drawing headlines again, this time for, days after Thanksgiving, mocking progressives for wanting Healthcare for All by arguing against the idea that human beings have a right to food:

”How long until someone runs on the platform of #FoodStampsForAll? If healthcare is a right, is food as well?”

Spoiler alert, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights confirmed food was a human right. Also, Massie’s supposed influence, Jesus Christ, was rather vocal about the value of feeding the hungry, so…

This past year, Thomas Massie also embarrassed himself when he showed a lack of understanding about how Bachelor’s Degrees work as he bizarrely interrogated former Secretary OF State John Kerry about it in a Congressional hearing in regards to climate change. For a painful stretch of minutes, Massie kept conflating social sciences with natural sciences, as everyone in the room, particularly Kerry, wondered what the hell he was getting at. No one ever figured out the method to Massie's madness.

[worstblogever]

Here’s some of the other jackassery from Massie over the past few years, and the extent of legislation which he mindlessly opposes:

• January 22nd, 2019: Massie 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. Massie voted against HR 648, because he was gleeully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
• January 27th, 2019: Thomas Massie can’t be arsed to bother to vote against HJR 30, which was meant to express disapproval of Donald Trump not acting against Russian Federation for attack Massie our democracy. You see, he’s fine with our nation being sublet to Vladimir Putin.
• February 28th, 2019: Massie 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: Massie votes against HR 183, a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism as a hateful extension of intolerance.
• April 4th, 2019: Thomas Massie 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).
• May 17th, 2019: Massie votes against The Equality Act, which would have prevented discrimination towards Americans based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
• June 4th, 2019: Rep. Massie votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
• July 12th, 2019: Massie 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: Thomas Massie 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: Massie 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: Thomas Massie is one of 71 Republicans who vote against House Resolution 546, which stated disapproval of any attempt to readmit the Russian federation back into the G7 and make it the G8.
• February 26th, 2020: Massie is one of only four members of Congress who are racist enough to vote against an anti-lynching bill.
• March 27th, 2020: Rep. Massie opposes the idea of a simple voice vote on Coronavirus stimulus and forces the entire House to return to Washington D.C. in person during the earliest stages of a pandemic.
• April 23rd, 2020: Thomas Massie is one of 4 Republicans who vote against the Coronavirus stimulus bill in the House.
• May 15th, 2020:Massie votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• May 27th, 2020: Rep. Massie is the lone vote against the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.

On top of all the above moments, we’re going to link to a ThinkProgress investigation that has shown how many other times there were resolutions in Congress to criticize or punish Russia for executing its political enemies, or its annexation of Crimea, and how the only people who voted against the bills were Thomas Massie and “Putin’s favorite Congressman” of the time, Dana Rohrabacher. By default, that would mean Massie is now Putin’s favorite. And considering he was wining and dining Maria Butina prior to her arrest, and also had dinner with Alexander Torshin, maybe that should be a major concern.

But Kentucky’s 4th sent Massie forward from the GOP Primary with 80% of the vote, and in November, re-elected Thomas Massie with 67% of the vote. Maybe they aren’t aware of everything we just listed, or they just like seeing someone in DC who pisses off the rest of Congress out of spite to the overall political process. Those are the only explanations we have.

[Tami]

Former Alabama state senator dies of Covid at 78, warns in last words, 'We messed up'

A former Alabama state senator died of Covid-19 last week at age 78, officials said.

The former senator, Larry Dixon, a Republican who was also a former executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, died Friday, the board said in a statement.

Dr. David Thrasher, a pulmonologist in Montgomery who was a close friend of Dixon's, said Dixon's wife, Gaynell Dixon, told him that her husband's last words to her were a prescient warning to the people of Alabama.

"We messed up. We let our guard down," Dixon said, according to Thrasher. "Please tell everybody to be careful. This is real, and if you get diagnosed, get help immediately."

Thrasher said Dixon was exposed to the virus at a social gathering "with a couple of guys" that was hosted outside about two weeks ago.

Thrasher said he was unsure how many people attended, but he said he knew of two other men who attended and had tested positive.

[Tami]

‘I literally don’t know’: Operation Warp Speed scientist can’t explain Trump’s vaccine order

The chief scientist of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed was unable to explain President Donald Trump’s latest executive order Tuesday, which aims to prioritize shipment of the coronavirus vaccine to Americans over other countries.

Moncef Slaoui, who Trump tapped in May to head up the administration’s efforts to hasten vaccine development, appeared puzzled when asked to clarify the president’s order during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“Frankly, I don’t know, and frankly, I’m staying out of this. I can’t comment,” Slaoui said. “I literally don’t know.”

“Frankly, I don’t know, and frankly, I’m staying out of this. I can’t comment,” Slaoui said. “I literally don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” asked anchor George Stephanopoulos.

“Yes,” Slaoui said.

“But you’re the chief science adviser for Operation Warp Speed,” Stephanopoulos pressed.

“Our work is, you know, rolling,” Slaoui replied. “We have plans. We feel that we can deliver the vaccines as needed. So I don’t know exactly what this order is about.”

Indeed, it remains unclear how Trump’s executive order would be enforced, as drugmakers are already making agreements to deliver supplies for other countries.

[Tami]

It looks like we have a new leader in the “craziest lawsuit filed to purportedly challenge the election” category:

The State of Texas is suing Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin *directly* in #SCOTUS.

(Spoiler alert: The Court is *never* going to hear this one.)

Twitter Link

Link to filing pdf

Craziest Parts

Screenshot_2020-12-08 Texas SCOTUSFiling point 10a.jpg

Screenshot_2020-12-08 Texas SCOTUSFiling point 10b to 12.jpg

[Tami]

Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians

A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation.

Why it matters: The alleged operation offers a rare window into how Beijing has tried to gain access to and influence U.S. political circles.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Twitter Link

Link to filing pdf

Craziest Parts

Screenshot_2020-12-08 Texas SCOTUSFiling point 10a.jpg

Screenshot_2020-12-08 Texas SCOTUSFiling point 10b to 12.jpg

The lawsuits just keep getting crazier with each passing day. I’m eagerly waiting for one of those ambulance chasers to say Biden and Democrats were in cahoots with aliens to throw the election. Meanwhile, what I want to know is when does it get to the point where judges see Trump lawyers coming and tell them not to waste their time?