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

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Lindsey Graham Says There’s ‘No’ Systemic Racism In U.S., Citing Kamala Harris As VP

“America is not a racist country,” the Senate Republican said, adding that every society has “bad actors.” So, who wants to break the news to poor, clueless Lindsey? Meanwhile....

**********

Suspect Wanted For Vicious Attack Of Asian Man In New York City

The 61-year-old was knocked to the ground and had his head stomped on. The assault follows a similar attack on an Asian American woman in the city last month. No racism in the U.S., eh, Linds?

**********

Gubernatorial Candidate Caitlyn Jenner Gets Schooled On How California Operates

She referred in a tweet to “Gov. Gavin Newsom’s district attorneys.” DAs are elected in California, not appointed by the governor. It sure didn't take long for Jenner to display her ignorance when it comes to politics. She's going to be a walking dumpster fire in that race.

**********

Top House Republican Defends Trump’s Response To Capitol Riot: ‘He Put A Video Out’

Fox News’ Chris Wallace grilled House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy about his Jan. 6 conversations with the then-president. K-Mac is still slurping Dolt45 I see.

**********

Befuddled Larry Kudlow Rails That Biden Will Force Americans To Guzzle ‘Plant-Based Beer’

So no more beer made of grains, yeast and hops? Oh, wait ... There's stupidity, and then there's Faux News level stupidity. You tell me which is worse.

[Mister Mets]

I hate it when people mistaken you for the Republican party, I understand you're a Republican but that doesn't make you all the loonies that inhabit the party.
Fortunately!
Let's keep some nuance, mates. Mets always answer with politeness, and while I may not share some of his beliefs (that maybe because I'm a fucking french socialist!) I know we still have many things in common, one of them being respecting the values of the people in front of us, or so I think.

Thanks.

Nearly Half Of Republicans Think Derek Chauvin Verdict Was Wrong, Poll Shows

Well, the only thing I’m shocked about is that this percentage isn’t higher, lol.

More Republicans agree with the verdict than disagree but percentage of disagreement within the party on the verdict is still alarmingly high.

There are some wrinkles here.

A problem in polling has been that people are often going to use it to send a larger message, rather than focusing on the narrower question at hand. Someone could think it's important to indicate support for cops, or opposition to Defund the Police.

Some people aren't going to follow the news carefully, so what they've heard of the case is stuff that was debunked months ago, like whether Floyd had taken a fatal overdose of Fentanyl. The expert witnesses addressed that, but many people don't watch the news.

They might think jurors were encouraged a particular way to avoid personal repercussions, or riots, and that this taints the process.

On a question of whether someone agrees with a verdict, they could think Chauvin committed manslaughter but not murder. Minnesota is one of only three states that has a third-degree murder charge, where the question isn't whether the defendant intended to cause death, and it's easy for ordinary people, especially in other states, to be unaware of that distinction.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...degree-murder/

[CaptainEurope]

I know, right ?

The guys are saying that if the government doesn't apply the policy they want (read, far-right policies, including openly discriminate against Muslim, Arab and African peoples basically) the army will have to intervene to protect our "civilization" and all that utter nonsense. And they aren't the first to say that in a well-known (if horribly far-right) newspaper. Two weeks ago a retired politician, Philippe de Villiers already basically called for the overthrowing of the government to make impose far right ideas in the same paper. Nothing was even said by the government.

Meanwhile, they are actually considering disbanding a student syndicate which exists since more than a century because it has created places where white peoples can't come because the participants are talking about racism, discriminations etc.

And also meanwhile, a royalist group actually assaulted the regional parliement of Occitanie (my region) the other day, they were stopped thankfully. And the Socialiste head of the region... shot at the aforementioned syndicate instead of battling the Far-Right.

Then again, I guess it isn't well known outside of France, but Macron has basically become far-Right, trumpian, president already. I mean, his Minister of the Interior (head of police, basically) went on tv to debate with Le Pen (the Far-Right in France) and called her too weak and that it was shameful that for her "Islam isn't a problem". As a reminder, macron was elected because he was supposed to stop the Far-Right. Today it's higher than ever and from the Center-Left to the traditional Right, all the parties are apping its themes and ideas.

It's really infuriating.

Here is a translation of the letter : https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comm...n_open_letter/

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/fran...l-war-/2218775

Hopefuly I'm not giving view to far-right places, I don't really know them in English-speaking Internet !

Connards!

[babyblob]

So my aunt who has no job, no place of her own to live and is behind on her car payment it turns out used 850 on those Psychic hotlines.

So the hard core Trumper who says there is no scientific evidence that masks work, that there is no science behind the vaccine, Lock downs have saved 0 lives, Trump supporters are not responsible for the 6th as there has not been one that has been arrested (It is all fake news and Antifa) and no real proof Floyd was killed by the police believes that a 7.99 a minute Psychic has all of life answers and there is proof that they are real.

The biggest proof, Her Psychic told her that people will call her dumb for thinking that this is legit.

[Malvolio]

Lindsey Graham Says There’s ‘No’ Systemic Racism In U.S., Citing Kamala Harris As VP

“America is not a racist country,” the Senate Republican said, adding that every society has “bad actors.” So, who wants to break the news to poor, clueless Lindsey? Meanwhile....

**********

Suspect Wanted For Vicious Attack Of Asian Man In New York City

The 61-year-old was knocked to the ground and had his head stomped on. The assault follows a similar attack on an Asian American woman in the city last month. No racism in the U.S., eh, Linds?

**********

Gubernatorial Candidate Caitlyn Jenner Gets Schooled On How California Operates

She referred in a tweet to “Gov. Gavin Newsom’s district attorneys.” DAs are elected in California, not appointed by the governor. It sure didn't take long for Jenner to display her ignorance when it comes to politics. She's going to be a walking dumpster fire in that race.

**********

Top House Republican Defends Trump’s Response To Capitol Riot: ‘He Put A Video Out’

Fox News’ Chris Wallace grilled House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy about his Jan. 6 conversations with the then-president. K-Mac is still slurping Dolt45 I see.

**********

Befuddled Larry Kudlow Rails That Biden Will Force Americans To Guzzle ‘Plant-Based Beer’

So no more beer made of grains, yeast and hops? Oh, wait ... There's stupidity, and then there's Faux News level stupidity. You tell me which is worse.

I had heard that Kudlow had a drinking problem. I just didn't know that the problem was being confused about the ingredients in the alcohol.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

So my aunt who has no job, no place of her own to live and is behind on her car payment it turns out used 850 on those Psychic hotlines.

So the hard core Trumper who says there is no scientific evidence that masks work, that there is no science behind the vaccine, Lock downs have saved 0 lives, Trump supporters are not responsible for the 6th as there has not been one that has been arrested (It is all fake news and Antifa) and no real proof Floyd was killed by the police believes that a 7.99 a minute Psychic has all of life answers and there is proof that they are real.

The biggest proof, Her Psychic told her that people will call her dumb for thinking that this is legit.

Psychic hotlines? Good lord! Those con men still exist?

I had heard that Kudlow had a drinking problem. I just didn't know that the problem was being confused about the ingredients in the alcohol.

Perhaps Kudlow didn't know what was in the rotgut he was guzzling.

[BeastieRunner]

Lindsey Graham Says There’s ‘No’ Systemic Racism In U.S., Citing Kamala Harris As VP

“America is not a racist country,” the Senate Republican said, adding that every society has “bad actors.” So, who wants to break the news to poor, clueless Lindsey?

[worstblogever]

It was on this date in 2015 that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Timothy Jones, a former Missouri state legislator and the head of ALEC in Missouri who supported a variety of unconstitutional legislation, including drug testing welfare recipients, Voter ID laws so strict they were overturned by courts, as well as bills to nullify federal firearms laws and the Affordable Care Act. He might have seemed like a bit of a conspiracy theorist, because he passed legislation to prevent the implementation of environmental measures from the United Nations’ Agenda 21 conspiracy theory. But any doubt he was a kook goes out the window when you see the lengths he went to in support of the Birther conspiracy theory, signing off on the original lawsuit filed by “Birther Queen” Orly Taitz, claiming Joe Arpaio’s investigation into the birth certificate had “uncovered the truth”, and supporting the Birther Bill pushed by fellow state legislator Lyle Rowland. Once Jones left office, he apparently decided he never wanted to have to run for election again, going out of his way to say as many racist things as he could about unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, like “black elites are more of a threat to the black community than the Ku Klux Klan”, or get on social media to defend racist remarks about black-on-black crime made by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Last time we checked, Jones was still running ALEC in Missouri.

It was on this date in 2016 that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of JoAnn Windholz, a former one term member of the Colorado House of Representatives who won office in 2014 by a mere 104 votes. Her margin of victory proved easy for Democrats to overcome in the 2016 election to try and retake her seat, though, because but days after the shooting rampage by James Roland Dear at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, Windholz blamed THE VICTIMS of that massacre for bringing the attack upon themselves. 60,000 people signed a petition calling on her to resign, and began discussing a recall election, but they figured it would be cheaper instead to just endure her for the rest of her term and be rid of her in 2016. For their patience, they were rewarded with a few rather anti-LGBTQ votes from Windholz, including her vote against a ban on gay conversion therapy in Colorado.

On this date in 2017, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Kurt Schaefer, a former Missouri State Senator who who served on that body from 2009-2016, and while staring down the prospect of term limits in the 2016 election, figured he’d run for Missouri Attorney General. That campaign wasn’t going Schaefer’s way, and it looked like he’d be facing a loss to his GOP Primary opponent, Josh Hawley, based on early polling. And that was unacceptable for Schaefer, who decided if he couldn’t hook his way into the AG spot, he’d crook it. Thus, he contacted Hawley’s boss at the University of Missouri, Tim Wolfe, and tried pressuring him to deny Hawley unpaid leave from his teaching job and force him to be unable to enter the race. If a state legislator pressuring one state employee to abuse their authority to prevent the political aspirations of another state employee sounds like some sort of breach of ethics to you, give yourself a pat on the back. An official complaint against Kurt Schaefer for his actions was filed shortly after the primary, which Hawley won with 65% of the vote (likely boosted by the story already being in the media). This isn’t to say that this is the only thing that concerns us about Kurt Schaefer, not by a long shot. During his eight years in the Missouri State Senate, he also led investigations into Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri (finding no evidence of wrongdoing like he expected to after seeing the Center for Medical Progress’ “sting” video, at taxpayer expense, of course), or how he wasn’t just opposed to raising the Minimum Wage in Missouri, he actually floated the idea of punishing Kansas City for trying to raise it themselves by eliminating their earnings tax. He supported the failed conservative policy of drug testing welfare recipients, Republican efforts at voter suppression via unnecessary stricter Voter ID laws, and also voted for bills to attempt to nullify federal firearms laws. Schaefer, as we said, was turfed out of office by term limits in 2016.

It was on this date in 2018 that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Bill Lant, a former member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2010-2018. Back in 2014, where he wrote an opinion editorial that featured a 68 year old Lant discussing his high school reunion, and one of his favorite parts was how all the pretty cheerleaders he had the hots for but couldn’t woo back in the day didn’t show up because they “didn’t want us to see how old they looked.” That might seem a little misogynist, but then when you read the whole story, where Lant discusses a woman who DID show up who he remembered for filling out a tight sweater five decades ago, but as he remarked, “Time has not been kind to that girl! What was stretching the cardigan 50 years ago is now bumping the belt.” We know, a Republican who only seems to regard women as sexual things. Shocking. Fast forward a few months, and Lant was sponsoring right-to-work legislation in Missouri, not that he wrote it, of course. He was handed the bill by the conservative organization ALEC, which finds schmucks like Lant to push forward whatever idiot ideas they come up with in state legislatures around the country. While some Republicans might argue somehow gives “freedom” to workers… but Bill Lant’s too much of a dumbass to lie to the people of Missouri. He actually boasted about how right-to-work laws had lowered average hourly wages in states where it had passed, and laughed about how the reward workers got was… “less wages, more work”. (Again, why no one seriously ever challenged this ***hat for his seat…) In 2017, in a hearing in the Missouri House of Representatives regarding discrimination law, he silenced a witness, Ron Chapel, called from the NAACP called to give his expertise, choosing to instead berate and whitesplain how discrimination works to him. He then refused to allow Democrats to continue questioning Chapel during their own time with the witness. Missouri’s Democratic House Minority Leader summed it up quite nicely, saying, “A white man abused his power to stop a black man from expressing a contrary view, and on legislation that seeks to turn back the clock on Missouri’s anti-discrimination laws, no less. This situation is simply dripping in irony.” Lant faced term limits for his seat in the Missouri House of Representatives in 2018, and at the age of 72, does not seem to be up t the task of running for statewide office, or a spot in the Missouri State Senate.

On this date in 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled former Iowa State Senator Bill Dix, who was in the Iowa state legislature since 1996, and actually made a run for Congress to represent Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in 2006. However, while serving as the Majority Leader of the Iowa State Senate, Dix abruptly resigned under the cloud of what appeared to be a combination of sex scandal and ethics scandal. Yes, the double-whammy of political ruin came in March of 2018 when Dix was filmed on video out at a bar in Des Moines kissing a woman who was not his wife (yes, he is married), but was in fact, a lobbyist who was apparently hunting for some… policy shifts. Go figure, only about five years earlier, Dix was the same person who fired a caucus communications director for reporting a hostile work environment at the state capitol with sexual harassment being a part of the normal culture. Also, he liked to brand himself an anti-LGBTQ “defender of marriage”, who co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Outside of all the hypocrisy and getting caught on camera playing a game of tonsil hockey with a lobbyist, there’s also Bill Dix’s legislative record and policy stances where he was against raising the minimum wage (during the greatest period of income inequality in our country in almost a century), supported anti-abortion legislation as extreme as fetal heartbeat bills, was homophobic enough that he opposed bans on gay conversion therapy on minors, and his record on voting rights shows a distinct pattern of being anti-democratic and trying to keep citizens from exercising that right. Bill Dix resigned in disgrace.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2020, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day profiled George Papadopoulos, the dumbass former Trump 2016 campaign staffer who helped draw enough attention to himself by boasting about Russians helping them try to get access to Hillary Clinton’s e-mails while drunk that it drew the attention of the FBI, and then when Special Counsel Robert Mueller followed up by questioning him ,he lied to investigators and ended up being found guilty and doing jail time. As a result, he was mocked by President Trump and those loyal to him for being “just a coffee boy”, which is false, but a hell of a burn. Now, most people after living through that kind of saga would just write a tell-all book, or go on a talk show tour to cash in on their fame… (he and his wife are trying to cash in on his ill-gotten fame to get a reality show) but call it a career. But George Papadopoulos is a special kind of stupid, and thought being a felon who got caught lying about a foreign power interfering in American elections would be a great launching pad towards having a career in Congress, specifically in California’s 25th Congressional District, to replace Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill. He insisted there was a “deep state” conspiring against the Trump administration, but said virtually nothing about what his stances on issues were, but specifically did endorse Donald Trump’s stupid idea for a border wall along the U.S./Mexico border. George Papadopoulos ended up finishing eighth out of fourteen people who were running for the seat, earning a whopping 2% of the vote. His wife, Simona Mangiante, promptly filed to divorce him after the election while posting on social media that he was abusive, and that she regretted ever defending him in public. As he is now out of office, we will set aside her profile at this time to take a look at a different wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 980-50, since this was established in July 2014.


Rayla Campbell

Welcome to what is the 980th profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be profiling Rayla Campbell, a 2020 Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Massachussetts’ 7th Congressional District, aspiring to get stomped on Election Day by the incredibly popular Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. Campbell unsuccessfully sued to try and get on the ballot (she only got 1,200 votes in the primary and needed 2,000 signatures to get on ballot in the general election), and ended up being a write-in candidate who only got 695 votes, or 0.2% of those cast in the district.

However, we’re giving a quick profile to Rayla Campbell for her support of Qanon, as her campaign page was chock full of photos of her wearing a Qanon t-shirt, with the “WWG1WGA” slogan, making her the latest Republican running for Congress who bought into the deranged conspiracy theory. Including with some proud anti-vaxxers protesting the flu shot.

That might be a good thing to remember because Rayla Campbell has designs on elected office again in 2022, already working towards being elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. Hopefully, that will not come to pass, and she does not become a perennial candidate trying her luck at winning office.

[Tami]

U.S. Population Over Last Decade Grew at Slowest Rate Since 1930s

Over the past decade, the United States population grew at the slowest rate since the 1930s, the Census Bureau reported on Monday, a remarkable slackening that was driven by a leveling off of immigration and a declining birthrate.

The bureau also reported changes to the nation’s political map: The long-running trend of the South and the West gaining population — and Congressional representation — at the expense of the Northeast and the Midwest, continued, with Texas gaining two seats and Florida, one. California, long a leader in population growth, lost a seat for the first time in history.

The data will be used to reapportion seats in Congress, and, in turn, the Electoral College, based on new state population counts. The count is critical for billions of dollars in federal funding as well as state and local planning around everything from schools to housing to hospitals.

Booming economies in states like Texas, Nevada, Arizona and North Carolina, have drawn Americans away from struggling small communities in high-cost, cold weather states. In New York, 48 of 62 counties are estimated to be losing population. In Illinois, 93 of 101 counties are believed to be shrinking. In 1970, the West and South comprised just under half the U.S. population — today it’s nearly 63 percent.

That is shifting political power: Montana gained a seat, while New York lost one. In all, six states gained congressional seats, including Texas, which gained two, and Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and North Carolina. Seven lost a seat, including California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia.

[Amadeus Arkham]

George W. Bush Can’t Paint His Way Out of Hell

The reality of the Bush legacy is at painful odds with his post-presidential reputation. That discrepancy isn’t news. Here is what we know about Bush. Ever so eager to establish himself as the avatar of something he calls “compassionate conservatism,” he is responsible for torture and death on a mass scale. Because these abuses did not occur on American shores, did not target American citizens, the political class has decided to pretend the death does not matter. Bush has assumed the role of elder statesman, a sensible voice in a Republican party gone mad. His complicity is fading out of view.

Brilliant article. Highly recommended anyone here reads it.

[numberthirty]

U.S. Population Over Last Decade Grew at Slowest Rate Since 1930s

Booming economies in states like Texas, Nevada, Arizona and North Carolina, have drawn Americans away from struggling small communities in high-cost, cold weather states. In New York, 48 of 62 counties are estimated to be losing population. In Illinois, 93 of 101 counties are believed to be shrinking. In 1970, the West and South comprised just under half the U.S. population — today it’s nearly 63 percent.

That is shifting political power: Montana gained a seat, while New York lost one. In all, six states gained congressional seats, including Texas, which gained two, and Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and North Carolina. Seven lost a seat, including California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia.

Pretty sure that I heard that we will have one less Rep in The House next year on news radio last week.

So, that tracks.

Also thought that I heard that West Virginia is offering twelve grand if someone moves into the state.

[numberthirty]

George W. Bush Can’t Paint His Way Out of Hell

The reality of the Bush legacy is at painful odds with his post-presidential reputation. That discrepancy isn’t news. Here is what we know about Bush. Ever so eager to establish himself as the avatar of something he calls “compassionate conservatism,” he is responsible for torture and death on a mass scale. Because these abuses did not occur on American shores, did not target American citizens, the political class has decided to pretend the death does not matter. Bush has assumed the role of elder statesman, a sensible voice in a Republican party gone mad. His complicity is fading out of view.

Brilliant article. Highly recommended anyone here reads it.

Well, yeah...

[Tami]

Pretty sure that I heard that we will have one less Rep in The House next year on news radio last week.

So, that tracks.

Also thought that I heard that West Virginia is offering twelve grand if someone moves into the state.

It's unconfirmed, but I read in Twitter that NJ will remain stable and Mass. actually increased in population.

[Tami]

Anti-Trump conservative group to grade GOP lawmakers on whether they uphold (or undermine) democracy

(CNN)An anti-Trump conservative group is launching an effort to track and evaluate whether Republicans in Congress, in the group's view, have acted to either undermine or uphold democracy and democratic values and what role, if any, they played in attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

The Republican Accountability Project has created what it's calling a "GOP Democracy Report Card," which assigns grades to Republican members of Congress ranging from an "A," which the group describes as excellent, to an "F," which it describes as very poor. The details of the report card were first shared with CNN ahead of its release on Monday.

The group behind the effort, the Republican Accountability Project, is led by Republicans and conservatives who were outspoken in their opposition against former President Donald Trump's reelection, including former Trump administration officials Olivia Troye and Elizabeth Neumann. The group operates as part of the advocacy organization Defending Democracy Together founded by prominent Trump critic Bill Kristol and Sarah Longwell, a longtime conservative and Republican consultant.

Only 14 Republicans in Congress received an "A," the highest possible grade. In contrast, more than 100 Republicans received an "F," the lowest possible grade.

GOP Democracy Report Card