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

[numberthirty]

Around five months in...

Haven't heard a whole lot about Card Check.

Meanwhile...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/26/polit...ris/index.html

Biden establishes pro-union task force chaired by Harris

Instead of going back to what he actually said he would get done when he was VP, he is handing a "Task Force..." off to his VP.

[worstblogever]

Around five months in...

Haven't heard a whole lot about Card Check.

Meanwhile...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/26/polit...ris/index.html



Instead of going back to what he actually said he would get done when he was VP, he is handing a "Task Force..." off to his VP.

Hey, remember when you panicked about Trump handing off a "Covid-19 task force" to Mike Pence? (Even though Mike Pence managed to allow an HIV outbreak while Governor of Indiana.)

I don't seem to recall your criticism there, like you hold different standards for the GQP and Democrats. Especially Democratic women.

This would also be like when Obama would put Biden in charge of different things like gun reform. Or the moon shot against cancer.

I prefer VPs that don't just get handed assignments and actually do the work. While the president does more than post on Twitter and golf.

[numberthirty]

Past that...

So far, it doesn't really look like Biden is going to take an even remotely serious approach to that folks are coming North based on that US drug policy(along with years of US meddling that Biden is not really responsible for...) plays a huge role in turning everything from Mexico South into Ciudad Barranquilla.

While it's hard to really take the guy to task for that he looks like he will essentially just repeat a variation of what US administrations have done for decades now, it's still pretty disappointing to think that even taking some small steps in the right direction does not seem like it is in the cards.

[numberthirty]

Hey, remember when you panicked about Trump handing off a "Covid-19 task force" to Mike Pence? (Even though Mike Pence managed to allow an HIV outbreak while Governor of Indiana.)

I don't seem to recall your criticism there, like you hold different standards for the GQP and Democrats. Especially Democratic women.

This would also be like when Obama would put Biden in charge of different things like gun reform. Or the moon shot against cancer.

I prefer VPs that don't just get handed assignments and actually do the work. While the president does more than post on Twitter and golf.

You'll want to take a second look.

For starters...

The obvious issue is that a guy who didn't get Card Check done the first time is going to get held to a different standard than the "Clown Shoes..." crowd.

If you're going to run on being the more adult option?

(Never Mind That You Are The "Working Class..." Guy...)

I'm eventually going to ask you when I will be seeing that.

Second...

The obvious issue is that the guy who threw up his hand after not getting Card Check done once is passing anything like possibly doing so off to his VP.

That she even happens to be a woman is a non-issue when the actual problem is that her boss is passing the buck.

[Zauriel]

California is losing a U.S. House seat for the first time, dropping its delegation from 53 to 52 members.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/cali...-time/2528590/

[worstblogever]

You'll want to take a second look.

It was clearly hypocritical nonsense the first time. Not necessary.

[Gray Lensman]

Hey, remember when you panicked about Trump handing off a "Covid-19 task force" to Mike Pence? (Even though Mike Pence managed to allow an HIV outbreak while Governor of Indiana.)

I don't seem to recall your criticism there, like you hold different standards for the GQP and Democrats. Especially Democratic women.

This would also be like when Obama would put Biden in charge of different things like gun reform. Or the moon shot against cancer.

I prefer VPs that don't just get handed assignments and actually do the work. While the president does more than post on Twitter and golf.

Incorrect. He can't be holding the 2 parties to different standards since he doesn't hold the GQP to ANY standards at all.

[numberthirty]

Incorrect. He can't be holding the 2 parties to different standards since he doesn't hold the GQP to ANY standards at all.

I've mentioned on a few occasions that the party in question is a lost cause.

Has been for decades now.

While I'm not the type of guy that is going to try to stop someone else from wasting their own time on attempting to hold them to some sort of a standard?

It's going to be a pretty rare instance where I will waste any of mine doing so.

There is just no point. The party has proven time and again that absolutely nothing will come of me doing so.

[numberthirty]

Went back through yesterday. Doesn't seem like this came up...

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/04...tforth-sports/

City Of Chicago Sues Gary, Indiana Gun Store Westforth Sports; Claims Guns It Has Sold Ended Up In Criminals’ Hands

The suit claims that Westforth ignored clear signs of straw purchasing and gun trafficking, including connections with dozens of sales both last year and this year in which straw purchasers ended up with federal criminal charges.

The lawsuit cites audit reports from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives that sow repeat violations and warnings – and even two recommendations that Westforth’s license to sell guns be revoked, Everytown said in a news release.

It also pointed out that between 2014 and this year, more than 40 criminal prosecutions for illegal gun purchases in the Northern District of Indiana involved firearms sold by Westforth.

Among the specific claims in the lawsuit was that over seven months in 2020, one buyer bought 19 handguns from Westforth – 10 of them in multiple-sale transactions, and the other nine bought deliberately with the time spaced apart so as to avoid federal reporting requirements, Everytown said. The buyer kept one of those 19 guns for himself, but the others all went to people in Chicago, Everytown said. The buyer has since been criminally charged with making false statements.

Another buyer bought six handguns from Westforth in the spring of 2020 – including three identical Taurus handguns and two identical Smith & Wesson handguns, Everytown alleged. The complaint said such purchases of multiple guns of the same brand and make at the same time are “unmistakable warning signs of straw purchasing,” but Westforth ignored it. Chicago Police ended up recovering one of the guns just over a month later while the other likely remain in the streets, and in December, the buyer pleaded guilty to a federal crime in connection with her purchases at Westforth, Everytown said.

[worstblogever]

Republicans and right-wing kooks (kinda the same thing at this point) right now:
"JOE BIDEN'S GONNA LIMIT YOU TO ONLY 4 LBS OF MEAT IN YOUR DIET A YEAR!"

Actual Joe Biden:

[Zauriel]

Texas will gain 2 congressional seats. Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each gained one seat in addition to Texas. California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia each lost one seat.

Katie Wadington and Jeanine Santucci
Tue, April 27, 2021, 6:28 AM

Texas will gain two more congressional seats and seven states will each lose a seat as a result of population shifts recorded in the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau said Monday in the release of its first round of data from the survey taken last year.

In total, seven seats shifted affecting 13 states. Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each gained one seat in addition to Texas. California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia each lost one seat.

The shift could affect the 2022 midterm elections and whether Democrats can hold onto control of the House, where they hold a narrow majority. It's also part of a broader shift to the South and West of the U.S., with 84 seats shifting toward those states since 1940.

The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 seats, based on population. Every decade, as population shifts, the allotment of seats for each state may change based on updated data collected by the Census Bureau. States that grow may gain House members, at the expense of shrinking states.

The population for apportionment includes residents of the 50 states, plus overseas service members and federal civilian employees who are attached to their home state's tally, according to the Census Bureau.

Census data: 5 visuals explain the shifting House seats and how the changes could affect the 2022 midterm elections

New congressional districts would take effect for the 2022 election. That puts added pressure on Democrats, who control the house by the slim margin of 218-212, with five seats vacant. The size of the House has not changed since 1913.

States that gained seats were mostly Republican-leaning, with Texas, Florida, Montana and North Carolina each voting for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. North Carolina was one of the closer races, with Trump defeating President Joe Biden by less than 1.5%. Oregon and Colorado, meanwhile, were solidly blue states in the last election.

States that lost seats were mostly Democratic, but consist of more close battleground states. California, Illinois and New York were solidly in Biden’s column; Michigan and Pennsylvania were closer swing states with slim margins for the president. Trump prevailed in Ohio and West Virginia.

“Today’s data release is the first step in the redistricting process and it will give states the number of congressional districts they will have for the rest of the decade,” said Michael Li, senior counsel for the non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program.

“Because in some of the states... like Texas, Florida and North Carolina, redistricting is controlled by one party, it gives them a huge advantage because they can aggressively draw the map however they want,” Li said. “Aggressive gerrymandering could give Republicans a House majority in 2022.”

[Zauriel]

Republicans and right-wing kooks (kinda the same thing at this point) right now:
"JOE BIDEN'S GONNA LIMIT YOU TO ONLY 4 LBS OF MEAT IN YOUR DIET A YEAR!"

Actual Joe Biden:

Thank you, President Biden, for saving animals. I am glad you won. You deserve a PETA award

[worstblogever]

In 2015, as well as 2016, and 2017, that "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of the former U.S. House Representative for Florida’s 19th District, Curt Clawson, who won the special election to replace Trey Radel in April of 2014 on his portrayal of his business record as a “successful executive”, while failing to mention that under his leadership, Hayes-Lemmerz, the company he ran, skipped safety inspections as a cost-cutting measure, leading to the death of an employee, a huge OSHA fine, and then laid off a quarter of their work force before going bankrupt while he drew a seven-figure income. Which is an interesting definition of “successful”, isn’t it? Clawson’s capable understanding of finance has also led him to be a proponent of a “flat tax”, in spite of the fact that actually enacting his tax plan would be economically disastrous for the country. Clawson also met a group of senior officials of the U.S. government shortly after taking office who were Indian-American, and because all people of color apparently look alike to him, mistook them for visiting dignitaries from India, embarrassing the bejeezus out of himself (and the GOP, considering they put him on the House Foreign Affairs Committee). For whatever reason, the Tea Party decided to let Curt Clawson give their rebuttal to President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union Address, and all he did with his time, for the most part, was talk about his college basketball career at Purdue. He is, for lack of a better term, an incompetent boob. Now, here’s the kicker… to the surprise of everyone on Capitol Hill, the particularly young (but not too bright) Curt Clawson decided that after one term and change in office, he would not run for re-election in Florida’s 19th Congressional District, giving the always-suspicious reason that he was instead going to “spend time with his family”, leading everyone to speculate what scandal actually was covered up behind the scenes to make him flee Washington, DC so fast.

On this date in 2018, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled Sheri Few, a candidate for Congress in the 2017 special election for the seat to represent the 5th Congressional District of South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives. That seat, of course, was vacated by Mick Mulvaney when he took the job to be part of the Trump Cabinet of Horrors. And maybe she was never really a threat to win, as she failed to ride the Tea Party Wave into the South Carolina state legislature in 2010, and even with GOP tail winds strong in 2014, failed to even be elected as South Carolina’s Superintendent of Education. Still, she was terrifying committed to her big two issues… guns, and the Confederacy. She attacked the two leading candidates in the GOP Primary for the seat in Congress, South Carolina state legislators Ralph Norman and Tommy Pope, over the fact that the both of them voted to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol in Charleston after the mass murder carried out by White Nationalist Dylann Roof at the Emanuel AME Church. Few doubled down on this stance, and in an interview with The Guardian, argued that if the rest of the Confederate Memorial at the state capitol were removed, she would see the memorial that’s there acknowledging the atrocities of slavery would also be removed. Which, was an inflammatory reaction to something no one was suggesting at the time. Still, Few didn’t get much of a bump in the polls from her racist, Stars & Bars-humpin’ idea. So she made sure that everyone was positive she meant business by running one last political ad featuring her brandishing an assault rifle while she continued complaining about Norman and Pope, saying, "Weak politicians are too quick to blame a horrible tragedy on a flag or a gun, or even free speech, and that's how bad laws are made." Nevermind that she was complaining about the removal of a Confederate flag while standing in front of what their soldiers regarded as “the Union flag” in her video. Few finished fifth in the GOP Primary for the seat to represent South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District, pulling down only 4.9% of the vote.

On this date in 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Augustus Invictus, at utter scumbag and 2018 Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Florida, who was a keynote speaker at the “Unite the Right” white supremacy rally in Charlottesville in August of 2017. He's also tight with Richard Spencer, and runs the “military division” of the Proud Boys. Invictus would like to start a second American Civil War, and is a Holocaust denier known for ending his speeches with “Hail Death.” In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, he admitted that he is, in fact, a practitioner of Thelema, the same pagan religion practiced by Aleister Crowley, and once sacrificed a goat to drink its blood in an occult ritual. Now, let’s not be content to just say August Invictus is a hatemonger. He’s also a serial sexual predator, who has been accused of domestic violence, sexual assault, and kidnapping, and terroristic threats by multiple women. While Invictus knew he would never stand a chance against the fundraising of Rick Scott for that Senate seat, he re-registered as a Libertarian and still failed to win even that nomination. As of 2020, Augustus was arrested for aggravated stalking, and has been in and out of jail since.

[worstblogever]

On this date one year ago, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” first profiled Anthony Sabatini, a freshman member of who won office for the first time in 2018 after winning a plurality of votes in the GOP primary against two opponents, and defeating Democrat Cynthia Brown with 56% of the vote in the general election. That was even though in October of 2018, photos emerged of Sabatini in blackface. Now, there are some examples of this from modern politicians and they shrug and say, “it was a different time” and the photos are from the 1960s or 1970s is a pattern we’ve seen. Sabatini, however, doesn’t have the benefit of time being on his side, because the photos of him are from 2005. But he assured the Orlando Sentinel that he wouldn’t be resigning. And then, the photo emerged of Sabatini dressed up as a “Mexican” wearing brownface from 2004, and that he drove around a car painted up with a Confederate flag like the General Lee from Dukes of Hazard. He apparently spent most of his high school days throwing themed parties encouraging people to dress up as stereotypes.

Perhaps this would be a good time to also point out that while a city commissioner for the city of Eustis, Anthony Sabatini responded to national news of Confederate statues being removed to have them all brought to his town to be displayed. And that in May of 2018, he posted video from “The Planet of the Apes” and claimed it was former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.

But, y’know, it’s not like there’s a pattern on display showing he’s racist.

Well, six months after he was in office, Sabatini’s true colors continued to be on display, as a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, Michael Williams, posted a video of a Trump supporter at an Orlando rally attacking him, trying to slap his phone out of his hand and threatening him (the attacker was arrested and charged with battery). However, Williams and most everyone else were disgusted when Sabatini responded to the video of his assault by commenting, “MAGA” to it. Williams then asked Sabatini to explain his “MAGA” tweet, and Sabatini answered, “The most appropriate reaction to the deliberately biased and distorted coverage of the rally by the anti-Trump Orlando Sentinel yesterday is to not comment on its spin and sensation, but to ignore the content and reply with the peaceful phrase they hate – MAGA.” Williams referred him specifically not towards the rally, but towards his assault, asking in a follow-up, “Is this conduct you condone?” Sabatini then said Williams was “illiterate and a modern journalist,” before later telling the Orlando Sentinel that “You’re searching for incidents that were very rare at the event in order to cast a dark, negative light on the event.”

In 2020, Anthony Sabatini, along with Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva and Florida Congressman and alleged child sex trafficker Matt Gaetz were all exposed at CPAC 2020 to a man who later tested positive for Covid-19. And so, he did what someone should and self-quarantined… BUT ONLY FOR ONE DAY. His status as a Covidiot is highly determined, however, as he has filed no less than 14 lawsuits against Manatee Country to try and prevent any mask mandates whatsoever. Which, in Florida, isn’t exactly a draconian, oppressive thing, given the stupidity of Gov. DeSantis.

And, like you would expect this racist troll might do, on Nov 21st, 2020, he took to Twitter to not just give his support for accused-murderer-on-trial-who-hangs-out-with racist-hate-groups-on-parole Kyle Rittenhouse, but encouraged the young homicidal maniac to run for Congress. Six weeks later, and Anthony Sabatini, like many Republicans, had to reckon with the aftermath on the failed coup attempt carried out by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol. In a very telling move, Sabatini chose to push even harder for the insurrectionists to target specific Republicans he felt were “without courage” and didn’t support Trump’s attempt to seize power, including Mitt Romney, Susan Murkowski, and Liz Cheney. The latter of whom he claimed was a “national security threat”.

As we have dreaded, this race-baiting, deranged bomb-thrower within the GOP has designs on higher office, and in 2022, he’s going to try run for Congress in Florida’s 11th Congressional District, where he’ll be challenging one of the founders of the House Freedom Caucus, Daniel Webster, who is somehow, don’t ask us how, the more palatable of the two. If Webster does anything good in his career as a Republican in Congress, it will be to be the blockade against Anthony Sabatini wandering into Washington, D.C.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Andrew Brown Jr.’s Family, After Viewing Body Cam Footage, Says Police ‘Executed’ Him

They said a snippet of body camera footage shows Brown with his hands on his car’s steering wheel when police shot him in the back of the head.

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How Many False Claims Did Biden Make In His First 100 Days Compared To Trump?

The Washington Post’s fact checker tallied all the false and misleading claims Biden made in speeches, interviews and tweets since taking office. Biden: 67, Trump: 511.

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Tucker Carlson Tells Viewers To Call Police If They See Kids Wearing Masks Outside

The Fox News host called wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 “child abuse.” Lord have mercy. The insanity of Carlson knows no bounds.

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Rick Santorum Says ‘Nothing’ Was In America Before White Colonizers Arrived

“I mean, yes, we have Native Americans, but candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture,” said the CNN commentator. Yo, Rick! Go home! You're fucking stupid!

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Newt Gingrich: Gay Pride Flag At U.S. Embassies Is ‘Deliberately Anti-American’

The GOP former House speaker ranted on Fox News that the Biden administration is “attacking people of traditional values.” Yo, Newt! Go home! You're fucking homophobic!

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Derek Chauvin Prosecutor Says He ‘Felt A Little Bad’ For Ex-Cop After Verdict

“I think he deserved to be convicted, but he’s a human being,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. In the African-American community, we're nowhere near as charitable towards Chauvin.