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

[DrNewGod]

Was 2020 the worst year ever? Historians weigh in.

Why did a terrorist attack killing 3000 make 2001 worse than an insane president bungling a pandemic response so much that 350,000 Americans died?

Possibly because the the domino effect that ensued afterwards with the Middle Eastern wars.

Those are good points. However, we've now got nearly 20 years of What Happened After The Towers Fell to look back upon. I'll be curious what fallout the pandemic and the policy cockups of the last three years will yield a generation from now.

[DrNewGod]

Off topic but, happy NY everyone. Been a rough year and it's important to sometimes (if not all the time) look after your health.

Happy New Year to you DebkoX, and all here.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Why did a terrorist attack killing 3000 make 2001 worse than an insane president bungling a pandemic response so much that 350,000 Americans died?

9/11 was a sudden and terrible horror that shocked the nation. While experts said the signs were there that al Queda had been planning some sort of cataclysmic attack, no one saw that nightmare coming. The COVID catastrophe on the other hand was a slow motion train wreck that could’ve been mitigated to the point where nowhere near as many people had to have died, if not for the incompetence and maliciousness of the president.

[Kirby101]

I live in NY and I would say COVID has been much more destructive than the 9/11 attack was here. 9/11 was just an excuse for the immoral, criminal Iraq War.

[Comics N' Toons]

9/11 was a sudden and terrible horror that shocked the nation. While experts said the signs were there that al Queda had been planning some sort of cataclysmic attack, no one saw that nightmare coming. The COVID catastrophe on the other hand was a slow motion train wreck that could’ve been mitigated to the point where nowhere near as many people had to have died, if not for the incompetence and maliciousness of the president.

Good point. A terrorist attack on the most populated city in the world... I mean, it does yield death... but it's a single event. The reaction to it was what really damaged America. 9/11... a tragedy, a horrible event... but, it cannot compare to the scope of a global virus... nothing can... except nuclear fallout.

I live in NY and I would say COVID has been much more destructive than the 9/11 attack was here. 9/11 was just an excuse for the immoral, criminal Iraq War.

Exactly. I mean 9/11 killed a lot of people. 2,996 people snuffed out by religious fundamentalism and U.S. blowback. But.. it became a political motivator. Covid has turned political... but, it's effects on NYC are far more dreadful.

[worstblogever]

In both 2014, as well as 2015, “Crazy Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of Dean Young, a three-time failure as a Congressional candidate for U.S. House in Alabama’s 1st Congressional District who says that “homosexuality is a deviant and destructive lifestyle”, opposed gay marriage by saying, “I’m against homosexuals pretending they’re married”, and is a dedicated ally of Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, as both work together to try and place as much Christian idolatry as possible in government buildings because “This isn’t a Muslim nation, this is a Christian nation.” Young also called for the impeachment of President Obama without any justification, and during a completely separate interview, he stated his belief that Obama was born in Kenya. Young also believes that something sinister was done by the government during the Benghazi attacks, and that the IRS goes out of their way to target Christians, which is amazing considering the churches themselves get tax-exempt status. Young has yet again failed to unseat Congressman Bradley Byrne in 2016, and could resurface again at some point.

On this date in 2017, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled David Brumbaugh, a four term member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives who first arrived back on the scene when else… but in the 2010 Tea Party Wave. During his tenure, Brumbaugh stood out even among Oklahoma Republicans for his unabashed and irrational attempts to flat out criminalize abortion. In 2016, he sponsored legislation that would revoke the licenses of any doctor performing an abortion (which is still a legal, constitutionally protected medical procedure) And of course, he scoffed at the Roe v. Wade ruling being an obvious hindrance to his bill, if passed ever holding up against legal challenges. Even more bizarre? More reasonable conservatives pointing out that the state of Oklahoma is already in a budget crisis, and if it was sued for passing an obviously unconstitutional law, it would just end up creating more debt for taxpayers to have to pay off. Again, Brumbaugh shrugged, apparently content that any legal difficulties would just be taken care of by the Almighty himself, saying, “If we take care of the morality, God will take care of the economy. I’ve heard almost every argument today about judicial challenge to this legislation and after much prayer and study, I ask myself this question… Do we make laws because they’re moral and right, or do we make them based on what an unelected judicial occupant might question or overturn?” Brumbaugh also voted for bills to to protect Oklahomans from the threat of the dreaded United Nations Agenda 21 conspiracy theory, attempted to nullify the Affordable Care Act. Brumbaugh passed away suddenly from a heart attack in April of 2017.

On this date in 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Ed Gillespie, the long time Chairman of Republican National Party, who unsuccessfully challenged Senator Mark Warner for his seat in 2014, and in 2017, ran for Governor of Virginia in a campaign that was a telling example of how quickly the modern Republican Party has sold out any respectability it might have had, and how they have become the Party of Trump. First, let’s talk about Ed Gillespie’s resume. He cut his teeth working as a Congressional aide for Congressman Dick Armey, helping draft the GOP’s “Contract with America” after the 1994 Red Wave Election. He then quickly rose to be the Communications Director of the RNC in 1996. He briefly worked for John Kasich’s failed presidential bid in 1999, before signing on to the campaign of Bush 43, and helping organize the 2000 RNC, as well as working for a frequent spokesman for the Bush campaign, even throughout the Florida recount that year. By 2003, he was the Chairman of the RNC from 2003-2004, and also served as a counselor to Bush himself in his White House after the departure of Karl Rove. Gillespie himself never really ran for office, content to pull strings away from podiums on several Republican campaigns, but getting filthy rich as a lobbyist throughout his entire career, until that 2014 run against Mark Warner. On display were many of the tropes you see from the GOP, including Gillespie’s long-term opposition to same sex marriage (including supporting a Constitutional amendment against it), as well as wanting to defund Planned Parenthood. In his 2017 gubernatorial bid, Gillespie was the mainstream candidate, meanwhile running in the primary against full-on white nationalist and CSGOPOTD alumni Corey Stewart. And, as has been atypical of GOP candidates who try to maintain dignity rather than cave in to racism, Ed Gillespie won that matchup, and advanced to face Ralph Northam in the general election. But, and we can’t emphasize this enough… after cementing that win, for whatever reason, Gillespie started diving hard to the right in the build-up to the 2017 election in Virginia, going out of his way to voice his opposition to removing Confederate statues (only two weeks after Neo-Nazis terrorized Charlottesville over them), starting running ads claiming that the immigrant gang MS-13 was sending criminals into the country, and after trying to keep Baron F***face von Clownstick at arm’s length throughout most of the campaign, caving and appearing on stage with him and listening as he spread lies and fear-mongered about immigrant gangs. Just to take it a step further, he also started stoking fears that felons were illegally voting, because why not attack the integrity of our elections, while you’re at it? In any event, Ed Gillespie was trounced as a part of that 2017 election.


On this date in 2016, as well as 2019, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled Nancy Mace, a challenger in the 2014 U.S. Senate Primary in South Carolina to Senator Lindsey Graham for his seat in Washington, D.C, choosing to be the first candidate in that race to attack Lindsay Graham for admitting climate change exists, and tried claiming that a “recent freeze” disproves the phenomenon. Factor in also, that Nancy Mace’s background in South Carolina politics comes from being the co-owner of FITSNews, a “news” outlet in South Carolina best known perhaps for, while under Mace’s Leadership, leading a smear campaign in 2010 against gubernatorial candidate (and future South Carolina Governor) Nikki Haley, insisting that she had taken part in a series of extramarital affairs. Of course, that sort of tactic wouldn’t work against a lifetime bachelor like Lindsey Graham, so we were spared a repeat of that sort of seedy attack from Mace. No, instead she was one of a pair of primary candidates who decided to gay-bait Graham. While Mace reblogged a post from a supporter that called the Senator a “nancy boy”, at least she didn’t go as far as Dave Feliciano, who said that Graham is “ambigiously gay".

After a few years of laying low… Nancy Mace, and she opted to run for an office slightly less elevated than the U.S. Senate, winning a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2018, to represent District 99 in that body. In that year, the Blue Wave actually helped Democrat Joe Cunningham flip South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in Congress, after he defeated Katie Arrington in the general election for the right to replace “the Love Gov” Mark Sanford. As such, SC-1 is one of the seats that Republicans were most determined to flip back red, what with its partisan lean supposedly being +10 Republican.

And, of course Nancy Mace wasn’t content to simply remain a state legislator and build up her credibility… she ran for that seat in the U.S. House instead, jumping into a GOP Primary field with 3 other Republicans for the chance at it. She was first in fundraising, thus was the front-runner. That allowed Mace to narrowly defeat Joe Cunningham with just 50.6% of the vote. She now goes to Washington, D.C., wielding her new title as the latest of the Republican “Young Guns” (they had some of those 10 years ago who all ended up resigning in disgrace or in jail, you’ll recall) to oppose any and all sane legislation in the House.

[Comics N' Toons]

^^^^^

That site is cool. We need to normalize the demonization of everyone on the right wing so that they will be ostracized and disgraced at every turn. Imagine a US where everything right of center doesn't exist and Joe Biden becomes the standard for right wing America... Imagine a future where Bernie Sanders is considered moderate! That would be amazing!

[DrNewGod]

Was 2020 the worst year ever? Historians weigh in.

Why did a terrorist attack killing 3000 make 2001 worse than an insane president bungling a pandemic response so much that 350,000 Americans died?

^^^^^

That site is cool. We need to normalize the demonization of everyone on the right wing so that they will be ostracized and disgraced at every turn. Imagine a US where everything right of center doesn't exist and Joe Biden becomes the standard for right wing America... Imagine a future where Bernie Sanders is considered moderate! That would be amazing!

Unless you figure out a way to purge humanity of greed and arrogant piety, not happening.

[Jack Dracula]

I live in NY and I would say COVID has been much more destructive than the 9/11 attack was here. 9/11 was just an excuse for the immoral, criminal Iraq War.

If it hadn’t been 9/11 it would’ve been something else. Bush & Cheney were getting us into Iraq one way or another.

[Comics N' Toons]

Unless you figure out a way to purge humanity of greed and arrogant piety, not happening.

I think we'll get there. Perhaps not anytime soon, but it's not hard to imagine. Most of Europe's right wing already looks like Joe Biden. And their middle of the road types are closer to Bernie! The US can get there. I might have to wait until my infant nephew graduates with his doctorate... say 30 years... but we can get there. We just have to delete Reaganism from the American psyche.

[The Cool Thatguy]

^^^^^

That site is cool. We need to normalize the demonization of everyone on the right wing so that they will be ostracized and disgraced at every turn. Imagine a US where everything right of center doesn't exist and Joe Biden becomes the standard for right wing America... Imagine a future where Bernie Sanders is considered moderate! That would be amazing!

I dunno, I like your implied idea of making stuff like Q Anon mainstream and normal. Accusing Celebs of drinking blood? Well, that's normal political discourse!

[Kirby101]

If it hadn’t been 9/11 it would’ve been something else. Bush & Cheney were getting us into Iraq one way or another.

They would try, not sure if they would have been able to get Congress to go along without 9/11.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Again, I wouldn't presume to defend Trump, but a lot of what you folks consider Trump's damage I consider par for the course with American imperialism. He's loud, obnoxious and a man-child, and his voice is stronger than previous presidents because he uses Twitter as a bully pulpit and the media hangs on his every action. Calling Trump the worst president in history ignores history and seems little more than a convenient way to defend other presidents, their immigration policies, militarism, murder, and imperialism abroad, the prison industrial complex, and the 15 laundry lists of everything else that's wrong with the U.S. Trump didnt commit wholesale slaughter of Native Americans... that could be considered real damage. He's also not the most racist prez in history either. In modern times, that might be Wilson, based upon his rhetoric... or Reagan, based upon his policies.

Too late for that.

Trump is vile... I can believe that Americans elected their class enemy to office, because that's what Americans do... they only elect those types of people because by and large, Americans worship wealth. The gentleman above, when replying to me, implied that I was "conservative" and I don't think I've ever been called that before. Interesting.

So vile in fact that being sued for rape is passed over as if I didn't say it twice. Why is that, I wonder? That wasn't an implication.

As far as what's wrong with being a liberal? Hypocrisy is the main problem. It satisfies the Liberal mind to have a (D) in office who carries out the exact same evil that a (R) does, only when it's a (R) does it seem like war, pollution, greed, corruption etc. is bad. Also, Liberals are far more complacent than conservatives... It's why the Left has lost so much ground. The Dems abandoned the working class in 1971 largely due to policy prescriptions of people like Frank Savickas and other Dem leaders who decided that corporatism was better for the party than championing the little guy. Since then, even progressives like the gentleman above have been largely content with moderates like Obama/Biden than actually standing up and demanding things. I find Liberals more dangerous than conservatives because conservatives are predictable... their anti-science rhetoric, hatred for non-whites, atypical sexes, and the poor is easy to spot. Liberals are far less harder to spot because... on the surface their hearts seem to be on the side of SOCIAL JUSTICE but they're so spineless that... as soon as that candidate with the (D) gets into office, they sit down, shut up and move on. Liberals also happen to be very much pro-police, even in the face of their brutality. Thankfully, BLM is a thing that raises people's consciousness. Liberals also throw words around like "democracy" that agree with the American narrative. They consistently fail to recognize that the US was founded as a plutocracy, built by and for white, rich, landowners. The founders absolutely were terrified of democracy as evidenced by James Madison's quote about the minority of the opulent being protected from the majority.

Now the justification that liberals are the true enemy, right on time.

Back to Trump for a second... IF the pandemic hadn't happened would Trump still be on some folk's list as "The Worst in US History?" He was certainly better than Bush... And again, far better than Reagan, who is the measuring stick of American Evil... his successors are found in people like McConnell.

Normalising Trump again, Trump was on his way to being the worst modern president before 2020. It's almost like what he does in office isn't actually being attacked genuinely.

Secondly, IF the pandemic had happened under Obama or, if Hillary had been elected, would the outcome be similar? YES! Absolutely! Why? Because vaccines just became a thing 5 minutes ago. The death toll would have been less, no question... as Trump's rhetoric fanned a lot of flames... BUT there are so many anti-Hillary/anti-\Dem people that the anti-maskers would have still existed. The death toll could have been similar, me thinks.

That's the narrative being pushed here, the Democrats are the same as Trump. It's laughable.

American politics is the way it is because the radical narrative has been whitewashed for public schools. Rosa Parks was a Marxist, trained under Miles Horton... but they don't teach that at school. They don't teach about MLK's so******m either. This is why Liberals can feel comfortable when Obama kills brown children in the Middle East... it's justified based on how they were educated. Conservatives dont care because their religious fundamentalism agrees with imperialism.

Back again to attacking liberals as the true enemy of leftists to divide and conquer so Republicans can rule the ashes. Nothing but a forest of straw men. Don't fall for this, leftists.

[AnakinFlair]

Nothing more surreal than watching a field reporter explain the 'Lizard People' conspiracy live on MSNBC.

[AnakinFlair]

They would try, not sure if they would have been able to get Congress to go along without 9/11.

Gulf of Tonkin 2: Electric Boogaloo

Would that even work today? With all of the technology and all the surveillance all over the world, could they successfully fake an attack?