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

[Tami]

At Least 14 Shot, Leaving 2 Dead, in Mass Shooting at New Jersey Party

New Jersey state police said at least 14 people were shot, with two of them killed, during what they called a "mass shooting event" at a party being attended by at least 100 people in rural Cumberland County.

The shooting Saturday at a home on the 1000 block of E. Commerce street in Fairfield Township happened shortly before midnight and left an unidentified 30-year-old man and 25-year-old woman dead as people scattering to safety, state police said.

Police said several people were taken to area hospitals with gunshots, and at least one person was in critical condition. The property where the shooting took place is located in a wooded area near a cemetery and a school.

Since late last night, the @NJSP and county and local law enforcement in Cumberland County have been investigating the horrific mass shooting at a large house party in Fairfield Township that attracted hundreds of party-goers.

[Gray Lensman]

Can you explain this further? I have heard all kinds of vague stuff about "who won the Census?" and my take was that it wasn't bonanza as 2010 was (which I knew going in would be the case). Would like to know more.

My personal feeling though is not to get complacent and underestimate the hatred of GOP. The GOP have a great imagination for cheating and dirty tricks. It will take three consecutive defeats (to start with) to finish this strain of conservatism electorally.

A lot's at stake in 2022. If the GOP get the house, they will impeach Biden several times as payback for Trump getting impeached twice. That much is guaranteed. It wouldn't be for any charge or anything. They'll do it just to be petty.

I presume that the push to check citizenship hit red border states harder, since they are far more willing to cooperate with ICE.

ICE was so eager to deport under Trump (and still is, only held on a slightly tighter leash) that I'd be afraid even if I was classified as a Lawful Permanent Resident. I'm not sure if I'd feel secure even as a naturalized citizen when Dolt45's people started talking about how to undo that as well. I certainly wouldn't advertise anything less than 'natural born' status to any government worker under His Orangeness. Sure, the Census Bureau might not be legally allowed to hand over that info, but Donnie spent 4 years proving that legalities didn't matter, not when he was the person tasked with enforcing laws that got in his way.

[Tami]

Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Fox: "Kevin has failed to tell the truth to the Republicans … the 74 million voters who have voted for Donald Trump [who] believe, a number of [whom] believe the election was stolen, believe it because their leaders have not told them otherwise."

Twitter Link

[Tami]

Dismissed in 2012, this diagnosis of GOP ills has now become undeniable

(CNN)The essay described congressional extremists, their rejection of truth, a party turning into authoritarians or "an apocalyptic cult." It bore a striking headline:
"Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem."

It didn't mention Marjorie Taylor Greene, the deadly January 6 insurrection or Donald Trump's Big Lie. In fact, the words "Donald Trump" did not appear at all.

Published in 2012, that Washington Post piece demonstrates more than the foresight of its political scientist authors, Tom Mann of the center-left Brookings Institution and Norm Ornstein of the center-right American Enterprise Institute. It shows the disease within the Republican Party had spread long before Trump metastasized it.

Their conclusions -- that the GOP had become "ideologically extreme, scornful of compromise, unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science, dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition" -- did not gain wide acceptance then. Many journalists joined leading Republicans in dismissing them.

[Ragged Maw]

Yeah, we do. It's called paying attention to how laws like that have been weaponized in the past and the context in which these laws are being passed now in opposition to 'critical race theory' that's already largely not taught in schools. When the people who think 'BLM' is a 'marxist black supremacy organization' are the ones passing these laws, we know *exactly* who's going to be allowed to speak about race and who isn't.

Theoretically, according to these vague wording of these laws, I could paint the mere isolated fact that the first slave ships arrived on American shores in 1619 to be too "politically sensitive" to be taught at all. And that's without involving The 1619 Project or Nikole Hannah-Jones in the curriculum or any academic discussion.

[Mister Mets]

Yeah, we do. It's called paying attention to how laws like that have been weaponized in the past and the context in which these laws are being passed now in opposition to 'critical race theory' that's already largely not taught in schools. When the people who think 'BLM' is a 'marxist black supremacy organization' are the ones passing these laws, we know *exactly* who's going to be allowed to speak about race and who isn't.

So would you say the main reason you're against the law, and similar legislation elsewhere, is that you suspect it will be misused and that you'd be okay with it if circumstances were different?

[Tami]

So would you say the main reason you're against the law, and similar legislation elsewhere, is that you suspect it will be misused and that you'd be okay with it if circumstances were different?

Question to you, how much should the government [Local, State, Federal] get involved in deciding what can and can not be taught in schools? Should educational curriculum be standardized everywhere like it is in other countries? Or should vary from municipality to municipality, influenced by politics and/or by other factors such as religion, money, or other social issues? Or should the curriculum be controlled by the teachers and educators, developed and used based on principles shared and approved of by the profession as a whole?

[Tami]

Attacks make Vancouver ‘anti-Asian hate crime capital of North America’

Steven Ngo had stopped at a traffic light in a residential neighbourhood in the eastern part of Vancouver when passengers in another car tossed garbage at him, shouting racial slurs as they sped off.

The lawyer, a lifelong resident of the city, was stunned – but not surprised.

“The racism has never been as overt and apparent,” said Ngo. “I’ve never seen it so brazen.”

Over the last year, Vancouver, a cosmopolitan metropolis set between mountains and ocean, has experienced a 717% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes. The grim figures, which experts believe underreport the problem, reflect a legacy of discrimination in a city and country widely seen as welcoming of newcomers.

Since the coronavirus first reached Canada last year, Asian residents across the country have reported a dramatic surge in hate incidents, ranging from racist abuse to attacks with weapons. A young Montreal man was blinded in March by a group who attacked him with military-grade pepper spray. In Toronto, police say the number of reported hate crimes has doubled over the last year.

But with 98 reported cases over the last year – more than all US cities combined – Vancouver was recently dubbed the “anti-Asian hate crime capital of North America”.

The city’s proximity to major cities across the Pacific has made it a popular landing point for recent immigrants for generations. But upon arrival, many have faced discrimination.

“The government promotes Canada as a multicultural and diverse country, an idea that’s been ingrained in our psychology since we were in school,” said Ngo. “But when you start seeing friends and family who are getting hurt, you start to wonder how accurate that narrative is.”

[Mister Mets]

Question to you, how much should the government [Local, State, Federal] get involved in deciding what can and can not be taught in schools? Should educational curriculum be standardized everywhere like it is in other countries? Or should vary from municipality to municipality, influenced by politics and/or by other factors such as religion, money, or other social issues? Or should the curriculum be controlled by the teachers and educators, developed and used based on principles shared and approved of by the profession as a whole?

Schools should have flexibility, but the governments should have some say. It's largely a question about how taxpayer money is spent, so elected officials do get to make some decisions.

I personally agree with the need for some kind of national standards, like Common Core. The standards aren't perfect, although that's more because the standards are flawed rather than that the idea of standards is the problem. We want parents to be able to move, which means they shouldn't be worried that their kids will have to deal with radically different English and Math programs (IE- it would be problematic if a fourth grader whose family moves from New York to North Dakota goes to a new classroom where they're learning very different concepts.) We want college students to be able to go to universities out of state, which works mainly if there's a shared understanding of what high school graduates are expected to know. The standards should still allow for flexibility. I would also understand that different areas will have some different requirements (IE- more focus on Texas history in Texas, more focus on New York based writers in New York.)

There are going to be some restrictions. Schools that receive public funding should not teach creationism, or the belief that one religious understanding is inherently true. They shouldn't teach things that are provably false. And they certainly should not teach that one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.

Attacks make Vancouver ‘anti-Asian hate crime capital of North America’

That's sad. It's useful to see that this isn't exclusively an issue with the United States.

[Tami]

European leaders condemn Belarusian authorities after plane is forced to land and opposition journalist is detained

MOSCOW — Belarusian authorities on Sunday forced a civilian jetliner that was traveling over the country to land in Minsk and arrested an opposition journalist on board — an act that some European leaders compared to a hijacking.

The seizure of the Ryanair flight traveling between Athens and Vilnius, Lithuania — the capitals of two NATO nations — had little recent precedent, and European leaders said they were considering sanctions against Belarus.

Mere minutes before the Ryanair flight was to exit Belarusian airspace and cross into Lithuania, its crew received an order from Belarus’s air traffic control to turn around because of possible explosives on board. A Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet scrambled to escort the Boeing 737-8AS to Minsk, although the aircraft was at that point much closer to Vilnius.

The Belarusian opposition said the supposed bomb scare was a pretext for the real reason strongman President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the plane carrying 123 passengers to land: the arrest of Roman Protasevich, an opposition journalist on board.

Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has cracked down on dissent since claiming a sweeping victory in last year’s elections. The claim, which has been rejected both domestically and internationally, fueled months of popular protests; most of the opposition is now exiled or jailed.

[Mister Mets]

European leaders condemn Belarusian authorities after plane is forced to land and opposition journalist is detained

This is a big deal. An important principle of international air travel is that governments should not lie about things like bomb threats.

There should be international repercussions.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

At Least 14 Shot, Leaving 2 Dead, in Mass Shooting at New Jersey Party



Since late last night, the @NJSP and county and local law enforcement in Cumberland County have been investigating the horrific mass shooting at a large house party in Fairfield Township that attracted hundreds of party-goers.

That tragedy has been big news here in Philly. If the shooter (or shooters) are caught, it won't surprise me if it's discovered that somebody (or somebodies) at the party were targeted by the gunmen, or the reason for the carnage might come down to something as horribly inane as not getting an invite to the event. Sadly, I've heard of incidents like that happening in my town where gun violence has escalated over last year which set records for murders.

[Tami]

That tragedy has been big news here in Philly. If the shooter (or shooters) are caught, it won't surprise me if it's discovered that somebody (or somebodies) at the party were targeted by the gunmen, or the reason for the carnage might come down to something as horribly inane as not getting an invite to the event. Sadly, I've heard of incidents like that happening in my town where gun violence has escalated over last year which set records for murders.

I don't think it is getting as much attention here up north. If I didn't follow the news via Twitter I might not have heard about it.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I don't think it is getting as much attention here up north. If I didn't follow the news via Twitter I might not have heard about it.

Cumberland County is well south of Philly and close to Delaware. I guess that's why the story hasn't gotten much traction in your neck of the woods.

[worstblogever]

Dismissed in 2012, this diagnosis of GOP ills has now become undeniable

Thank you for this, Tami. I believe coincidentally that recently I mentioned the GOP "2012 Autopsy" report, and that all of the advice that was given in it has been ignored by the party. Among other details that they admitted their party was getting older, dying off, and they would need to appeal more to young and minority voters... when instead, the GOP has only done more to alienate those groups. Their goal has been, instead, to try and suppress their votes as much as possible.

The parts that are highlighted in that article, though, also showed that the authors were aware of the authoritarian bent of its voters, and were advising caution in leading a party teeming with anti-science and frankly, anti-reality tendencies.

Whatever becomes of the Republican Party, the authors of that autopsy should be hailed in the political world for speaking truth to their fortunes. The tragedy is, their advice was soundly ignored.