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  1. #211
    Invincible Member numberthirty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PwrdOn View Post
    Regardless of who was in charge, our dysfunctional for-profit health care system was always going to struggle to contain a pandemic, because resources are disproportionately allocated toward providing expensive elective procedures to wealthy patients rather than actually treating the general public. And with the sorry state of our economic safety nets, of course people were going to be pressing to restart the economy sooner than was prudent, because they can't put food on the table otherwise. It's tempting to put all the blame onto Trump, but that misses the fact that this is exactly the kind of problem that American society is simply not geared to fix, because the level of cooperation and compliance necessary to solve the issue is just fundamentally at odds with the "**** you I got mine" mentality that defines our national psyche.
    Never mind that the entire plan for how we care for our elderly is handing anything like a pandemic everything it needs to flourish.

  2. #212
    Latverian ambassador Iron Maiden's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray Lensman View Post
    A bad take, but even I wish (at times) they could slap something in a bill that caps the amount of federal tax dollars that goes to a state at +/- 25% of the amount that gets sent - with exceptions for non-contiguous states like Alaska and Hawaii (and anything that might be added later). It's easier to desire living in Nevada since we are one of the top 5 is being taken from.

    He's not entirely wrong, just an *******. The underlying point is the people claiming that blue states are so poorly run tend to live in states supported by the flow of federal tax dollars out of them and into theirs. If red states had to come up with close to 100% of their state budgets on their own it would be riots in the streets.



    On a COVID note, I am seriously thinking that I should always refer to the pandemic as the Orange Death from now on.
    Here you go....You inspired me to substitute Trump's face for Vincent Price and change the hue of the cloak


  3. #213
    Ultimate Member Tendrin's Avatar
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    Fuel for conspiracy theory fires.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/researche...030320409.html


    A medical researcher said to be on the “verge of making very significant” coronavirus findings was found shot to death over the weekend in Pennsylvania, officials said.

    Bing Liu, 37, a researcher for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, was found dead Saturday inside a home in Ross Township, north of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner said.

  4. #214
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    Quote Originally Posted by PwrdOn View Post
    Regardless of who was in charge, our dysfunctional for-profit health care system was always going to struggle to contain a pandemic, because resources are disproportionately allocated toward providing expensive elective procedures to wealthy patients rather than actually treating the general public. And with the sorry state of our economic safety nets, of course people were going to be pressing to restart the economy sooner than was prudent, because they can't put food on the table otherwise. It's tempting to put all the blame onto Trump, but that misses the fact that this is exactly the kind of problem that American society is simply not geared to fix, because the level of cooperation and compliance necessary to solve the issue is just fundamentally at odds with the "**** you I got mine" mentality that defines our national psyche.
    Stop moving the goal posts. You're right that America is less prepared due how its structured in health care but that was a long term goal to modify and America wouldn't need to tax it to its limits had it been properly contained like SARS was. It's like the Black Plague out there and you're trying to convince me Trump's got more of a handling of this than Obama did. No. Trump made things far, far worse than it had to be and is still trying to blatantly sabotage efforts to save lives.

    You're right that the economy must come into it eventually but it must be done safely, not when millions of people are at risk of dying and there are no cures in sight. The virus has gotten to the stage of evolving now, you want to risk more evolved strains for a stronger economy? Countries don't have economies without people, it defeats the purpose.

    That's a GOP mantra, PwrdOn, not a Democratic one.

    By default, people are disinterested in politics and can't be bothered to go vote. In order to compel them to turn out, you need to give people a good reason and usually this means having a strong, charismatic candidate with a clear, easy to digest message. Joe Biden ticks none of those boxes, and people are especially bitter because so many other candidates that people were much more excited about were essentially pushed out of the race to save his faltering campaign. It is simply unrealistic to expect all Democratic voters to fall in line and cast their ballot for a guy they don't even want to be president just to stop Trump. At the very least Biden needs to have SOME kind of case for why he is uniquely qualified to lead the country at this particular moment, but of course he can't string two coherent sentences together so forget about that.
    Biden did better at this than Sanders, your preferred candidate. Excitement means nothing unless it translates to votes.

  5. #215
    Astonishing Member jetengine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JackDaw View Post
    No.

    The point I was trying to make was that we often blame party politicians for things that they have no real control over. And seem to assume they bear ill will towards their fellow men just because they represent a political party we dislike.

    I think.pretty often in a real crisis the same decisions are made regardless of which party is in power...and success on failure depends on things the politicians themselves have no real control over.

    Let me quote a specific UK example. There was a generally acknowledged failure to get PPE equipment to health and care workers (protective gowns, masks, etc).

    The ruling conservative government made the same top level decision that Labour would have: “Get PPE equipment where it’s needed”,

    The failure then comes about because NHS purchasing managers can’t buy equipment fast enough and/ or logistics managers can’t get it to right place fast enough. But those purchasing and logistics guys are exactly same people, with exactly the same motivation, regardless of who’s in overall charge.

    We often seem to want to blame “politicians” and assign ill will to them, regardless of facts.
    Thats ignoring that the Conservative government has been slashing the NHS to the bone and ignored a Cygnus report 3 years ago saying this was bad, needed to be dealt with and would be terrible if a pandenic hit.

    But hey maybe its just partisan of me for expecting the government to listen to medical professionals.
    Quote Originally Posted by JackDaw View Post
    The world was not “shut down”when SARS struck. A few countries took fairly radical measures...but large majority of countries carried on as normal. It was considerably less infectious than Corvid 19, but far more deadly once caught.

    Undoubtedly governments round the world make mistakes all the time...and certainly have in current crisis. I hope most have the humility to learn from that and make substantial changes afterwards.

    But imagine you are in one of top level jobs...reasonably competent, well intentioned and motivated... you would still make mistakes that cost lives.

    Running countries/ massive government depts is much harder (I am arguing) than we often make out. Is that really a controversial view?
    When their monstrous incompetence is on the table ? Certainly.

    On a seperate note Reades paymasters must be happy she's done her job well
    Last edited by jetengine; 05-06-2020 at 12:32 AM.

  6. #216
    Old school comic book fan WestPhillyPunisher's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tami View Post
    I'm getting some likes, and a lot of blowback from this Twitter Post. Any opinions on it or on the responses to it?

    Mine is in response to this post.
    The blowback responses are either from trolls, Trumpanzees, right wingers or haters of Murphy for one reason or another. And ALL of them would be the first to bitch if they contracted coronavirus by going back early. Screw them.

    ====================

    ‘I Have A Lot’ Going On: Trump Again Deflects Blame For Medical Supplies Shortage

    The president also told ABC News that his efforts to reopen parts of the country could result in “some” additional deaths, “but we have to get our country open.” And bring up his poll numbers. Meanwhile....

    **********

    Donald Trump Doesn’t Care If You Die From The Coronavirus

    The president has shown little empathy for victims, instead bragging about the job he’s doing, attacking his opponents and pushing to reopen the economy.

    **********

    Rand Paul Says He’s Immune To COVID-19 Despite Lack Of Research

    The senator, who tested positive for COVID-19 in March, didn’t wear a mask to the Senate even though experts don’t yet have definitive proof of immunity.

    **********

    Trump Pushes Country Toward Reopening, Claiming ‘Virus Will Pass’

    “There will be some” deaths due to states reopening, he told ABC News, but added, “We can’t sit in the house for the next three years.” No, we can't, but, at the same time, Trump can't force scared people to return to whatever passed for normal, not while the virus is still out there and there's no vaccine.

    **********

    Whistleblower Claims Trump Admin Ignored His Warnings On Malaria Drug, Coronavirus

    Dr. Rick Bright, who was ousted as the top vaccine official, filed a complaint on Tuesday, claiming he was reassigned to a “lesser role” for political reasons.

    **********

    Drive-Thru Strip Club Serves Up Sexy (And Safe) Solution For Coronavirus Blues

    Lucky Devil Lounge in Oregon has come up with yet another innovative, fun and sexy idea to keep income — and customers — coming during the pandemic. Well, ****! Why not? Find a need and fill it! Capitalism at it's best!
    Last edited by WestPhillyPunisher; 05-06-2020 at 01:44 AM.
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  7. #217

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    It was on this date in 2015 that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” had a profile of Bobby Franklin, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives who in 2008, he wrote an opinion editorial in the Georgia Journal where he said President George H.W. Bush was “worshiping pagan Gods”, and that we didn’t has much to fear from Obama bin Laden as we did “God’s coming wrath”. Over the course of a month in late 2010 and early 2011, Franklin was pushing for a law to require taxpayers in Georgia to pay their state taxes in gold or silver coins, only and then campaigned for Georgians’ rights to erect 40-foot-tall walls around their houses, and f attempting to resolve Georgia’s metaphysical issues, by proposed the “Freedom of Choice and Security Act” which sought to legally define the nature of evil within Georgia. He would still go on to argue against the issuing of Driver’s Licenses in Georgia, trying to use the Magna Carta as his justification, and used the Book of Corinthians as his argument to try to prevent the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” from being enacted. On women’s rights, Franklin sought to change the legal definition of the “victim” in a rape or sexual assault to the “accuser”, and to charge the accuser with the cost of the trial if the defendant was found not guilty (because that would TOTALLY encourage victims to come forward). Franklin also submitted a bill that would criminalize miscarriages if it could not be proven that the mother did nothing to be part of the cause, and the punishment for not carrying a child to term successfully would be… THE DEATH PENALTY. Which is pretty terrible when you consider one in four pregnancies result in a miscarriage, and now, 25% of pregnant women, already devastated that the baby they were hoping for was not to be, would also be the subject of a police investigation with their own life in the balance. For whatever reason in March 2011, he criticized the United States for establishing a “No Fly Zone” in Libya to aid its rebels in overthrowing Qaddafi in a bizarre way because he apparently sympathized with the dictator’s regime, and compared it to our own country’s tolerance of abortion. Bobby Franklin died of a heart attack suddenly in July of 2011.

    In 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” presented profiles of Richard “Dickie” Bell, a Republican representing District 20 of the Virginia State Assembly since 2009, when he was appointed to his seat by disgraced former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. Bell, who not coincidentally is a church deacon, got everyone’s attention when he forgot about that whole separation of church and state and sponsored a creationist bill, HB 207. That might be putting it mildly, as Bell’s legislation looked a lot like it was cut-and-paste written based on the “Academic Freedom Act”, which would allow students to question scientific discussion based on their faith. Upon a lot of voices getting raised in caution at what Bell was pitching, he actually tried arguing that his bill was just “misunderstood”, which was hard to believe, when he started citing how the debate would center around discussions on evolution and climate change. The creationist effort failed, but maybe folks in Virginia should have been paying attention prior to that moment in 2014 (and since), because there’s a lot of “WTF?” in Dickie Bell’s legislative record, that contains some extreme policy stances on top of some support for downright insane bills, including the time he submitted HB 154, which would have placed everyone in Virginia on an organ donor list, unless they placed themselves on an “opt out” registry. And he was surprised… SURPRISED that people got online to complain about Dickie Bell trying to turn the state into a bad version of “Repo: The Genetic Opera”. A smattering of examples from the rest of his voting record includes votes for a ban on human microchip implantation, to prevent something that’s only happening in dystopian science fiction novels, that he voted for HB 505, which authorizes citizens to carry concealed firearms in establishments that serve alcohol (because booze does such wonders for impulse control, and gun added to the mix is a winning combination), voted to bring back the electric chair as a method of execution in Virginia, voted for HB 189, which would allow adoption agencies to refuse to allow people to adopt for “religious reasons”. Y’know, like if the adoptive parents are gay and voted for Virginia’s HB 1, which if passed, would have defined life at conception, and thus made not just abortion, but using most methods of contraception murder. After the mass shooting at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina, their state legislature voted to remove the Confederate flag from being displayed at the state grounds. Going the opposite direction, Dickie Bell decided to co-sponsor and vote for HB 587, to make it HARDER to remove Confederate iconography from around Virginia. Nice priorities, Dickie. Dickie Bell did not have to face a Democrat in an election in 2011, 2013, or 2015 and the GOP hasn’t had anyone oppose him in a primary since he was appointed to office back in 2009. Bell finally retired prior to the 2019 elections at the age of 82. As such, we will also retire his profile at this time and take a look at another wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 864-45, since this was established in July 2014.)
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  8. #218

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    Brad Klippert

    Welcome to what is the 864th original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Brad Klippert, a member of the Washington House of Representatives who has served District 8 since first winning office back in the 2008 elections, after unsuccessful U.S. Senate runs in 2004 and 2006. Klippert has been nothing but an obstructionist as a legislator over the past decade:

    • February 28th, 2011: Brad Klippert votes against HB 1267, to define parenthood in such a manner to allow for gay adoption and same sex couples to have legal domestic rights.
    • February 8th, 2012: Klippert votes against SB 6239, which was the bill that legalized same sex marriage in Washington state.
    • March 3rd, 2015: Brad Klippert votes against HB 1355, a minimum wage increase, during the greatest period of income inequality in our country in a century.
    • February 23rd, 2018: Klippert votes against SB 5992, a ban on bump stocks that turn semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic weapons, after they were used by the Las Vegas shooter to murder fifty people in minutes.
    • February 28th, 2018: Brad Klippert votes against SB 5722, a ban on gay conversion therapy on minors in the state of Washington.
    • March 7th, 2018: Klippert votes against HB 2595, automatic voter registration.
    • April 23rd, 2019: Brad Klippert votes against HB 1739, a ban on 3D printable “ghost guns” that would be impossible for law enforcement to trace, or restrict the sale of to criminals.
    • April 25th, 2019: Klippert votes against SB 5258, a bill that would require isolated workers to undergo sexual assault and sexual harassment training.
    • March 3rd, 2020: Brad Klippert votes against SB 5165, a bill aimed at prohibiting discrimination against people based on their citizenship or immigration status.


    But it’s not Brad Klippert’s voting record that has brought him to our attention. It was during discussion of HB 1742, a bill that would establish a policy for the state’s criminal statutes for underage children sending sext messages to each other that he chose it as a great time to rant and rave about anal sex. Because that’s the logical next step that kids will do. Sext. BUTT STUFF. There’s no stopping them along the way from opening the back exit for deliveries.

    If that wasn’t enough to cause us some concern that this guy might not be right in the head, only a few weeks ago, he joined a bunch of militia lunatics protesting Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s “stay at home” orders, ignoring the threat of Covid-19. Because why not legitimize an astroturf protest by conservatives trying to open the economy at the cost of thousands of lives? That’s the responsible thing for a legislator to do, right?

    We’re not sure if 2020 will be the year that Brad Klippert is undone at the polls, but he won in 2018 by almost a two to one margin. It seems like his escalating extremism, and support for even the dumbest right wing causes might be something Washington might have to put up with for some time.
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  9. #219
    Ultimate Member Tendrin's Avatar
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    Rose twitter is now going after Biden...

    ... on the matter of his family's death in a car accident he wasn't part of. That's right, because Biden asserted (based on news reports) that the driver was drunk, rosetwitter is now talking about how he's 'falsely smeared the other driver', and shows a 'staggering lack of character as he lies about things large and small'.

    Yes, by all means, rosetwitter, *do* proceed to remind everyone of the tragedy that guy has endured.

    Thankfully, it's just an extreme fringe of what cosntitutes even rose twitter but don't be surprised if it seeps from rose twitter to MAGA twitter.
    Last edited by Tendrin; 05-06-2020 at 03:49 AM.

  10. #220

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tendrin View Post
    Rose twitter is now going after Biden...

    ... on the matter of his family's death in a car accident he wasn't part of. That's right, because Biden asserted (based on news reports) that the driver was drunk, rosetwitter is now talking about how he's 'falsely smeared the other driver', and shows a 'staggering lack of character as he lies about things large and small'.

    Yes, by all means, rosetwitter, *do* proceed to remind everyone of the tragedy that guy has endured.

    Thankfully, it's just an extreme fringe of what cosntitutes even rose twitter but don't be surprised if it seeps from rose twitter to MAGA twitter.
    Odd how those two direct their rage at the same things, ain't it?
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  11. #221
    Ultimate Member Tendrin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by worstblogever View Post
    Odd how those two direct their rage at the same things, ain't it?
    SO WEIRD, man. Just so weird.

  12. #222
    Ultimate Member Tendrin's Avatar
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    JACKSON, Miss. – Money meant to help poor residents was used to buy luxury cars, sponsor a college baseball tournament and hire family members of a top state official, according to a report from State Auditor Shad White.
    The 104-page audit of the Mississippi Department of Human Services released Monday shows how federal welfare grant funds flowed from DHS into two nonprofit groups, which allegedly spent the cash in inappropriate or questionable ways.
    More than $94 million in welfare money spending was "questioned" by auditors, according to the report – alleging either outright misspending or lack of documentation showing it was spent properly.
    In a statement, White said the report "shows the most egregious misspending my staff have seen in their careers at the Office of the State Auditor." He said, "If there was a way to misspend money, it seems DHS leadership or their grantees thought of it and tried it."
    Wait, I thought it was poor people who lived large on welfare.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/mississip...200732359.html

  13. #223
    Mighty Member TheDarman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tendrin View Post
    Rose twitter is now going after Biden...

    ... on the matter of his family's death in a car accident he wasn't part of. That's right, because Biden asserted (based on news reports) that the driver was drunk, rosetwitter is now talking about how he's 'falsely smeared the other driver', and shows a 'staggering lack of character as he lies about things large and small'.

    Yes, by all means, rosetwitter, *do* proceed to remind everyone of the tragedy that guy has endured.

    Thankfully, it's just an extreme fringe of what cosntitutes even rose twitter but don't be surprised if it seeps from rose twitter to MAGA twitter.
    Well...when all you have is a hammer...

    Especially with Reade’s story falling apart and Ukraine being a nothingburger, we are probably looking at more stuff like this popping up in the next few months. But Socialist Messiah isn’t going to be the nominee. It is going to be Joe Biden. People need to decide if it is worth having a 7-2 Conservative majority on the Supreme Court in order to throw their tantrum against Biden, a man who is unlikely to serve more than one term, leading to the same 2024 election opening they might be looking for. But accelerationists are weird man. They think that the more you allow folks to destroy the country, the more eager people will be for reforms to what they want. The issue is people crave normalcy when something like this happens, not the pendulum swinging clear over to the other side. You need to let people get tired of “business as usual” again (part of Sanders’ and Trump’s success was because of that normalcy during the Obama years). People are looking for reversion, not progression. That’s just what the data suggests.
    With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility

    Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

  14. #224
    Astonishing Member jetengine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tendrin View Post
    SO WEIRD, man. Just so weird.
    Normally its a horseshoe but you guys have created a circle

  15. #225
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    Cumberland Mall..... is trending on Twitter

    Because folks have to do Mortal Kombat in the mall.

    https://hiphopwired.com/playlist/cum...ter-reactions/

    With the state of Georgia largely free to resume business as semi-normal, people are taking to the streets in droves while others are remaining shut down in defiance of Gov. Brian Kemp’s orders. Outside of what has been said to be Atlanta’s Cumberland Mall, a fight between a group of women was broken up by a man delivering a dropkick to one of the assailants, kicking off a series of reactions on Twitter.

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