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

[Kirby101]

Tell me it was Beer Keganaugh, the white entitlement posterboy.

It was.
https://lawandcrime.com/supreme-cour...s-misdirected/

[MacrossPlus]

Beto should have focused on the state rather than enter the national contest in 2019-2020. He should have kept his eyes on the prize the way Stacey Abrams did with GA. Who knows if O'Rourke had focused on mobilizing his state maybe Texas Dem turnout would have been higher or more competitive in 2020.

Beto's problem was that he let his ambitions get the better of him

[Tami]

Texas set to allow unlicensed handgun carry despite outcry

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is poised to remove one of its last major gun restrictions after lawmakers approved allowing people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it.

The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it would endanger the public and police.

Gun control groups also oppose the measure, noting the state’s recent history of mass shootings, including those at an El Paso Walmart, a church in Sutherland Springs, and a high school outside Houston.

Texas already has some of the loosest gun laws in the country and has more than 1.6 million handgun license holders.

Supporters of the bill say it would allow Texans to better defend themselves in public while abolishing unnecessary impediments to the constitutional right to bear arms. Once signed into law, Texas will join nearly two dozen other states that allow some form of unregulated carry of a handgun, and by far be the most populous.

[Tami]

What the Tulsa Race Massacre Destroyed

Imagine a community of great possibilities and prosperity built by Black people for Black people. Places to work. Places to live. Places to learn and shop and play. Places to worship.

Now imagine it being ravaged by flames.

In May 1921, the Tulsa, Okla., neighborhood of Greenwood was a fully realized antidote to the racial oppression of the time. Built in the early part of the century in a northern pocket of the city, it was a thriving community of commerce and family life to its roughly 10,000 residents.

If you can access this, check it out.

[Mister Mets]

Typically on midterms I'd say you were right. Given we're coming out of the era of Trump, working our way through a worldwide pandemic, and are still trying to figure out how to kickstart the economy while doing the pandemic thing I'd say this is anything but your typical era in US politics. My hope (not just because I'm a shameless lefty) is we're out of the Covid woods and the economy's on the upswing heading into those elections. If one or the other isn't true then we're probably due for another 2010 (where we had also been coming off of a rather unusual changing of the guard after the '08 financial disaster).

On the run for Governor I'd say it not being national is probably to his disadvantage. A lot of his money and support comes from national attention. And I'd agree with the poster who said his stance on gun rights is probably more important than all of his other qualities combined (my words). Honestly never got the Beto thing, but as a lefty if he can take Cruz' job I'm all for it. If McConaughey is smart he should run as an Independent. I'm not a fan of celebrities running for office, but they are popularity contests and not (sadly) qualification and/or competency contests.

There is some precedent for 2022 being awesome for Democrats. FDR's first midterms went great in 1934.

I do suspect it will be unlikely. Republicans came pretty close in 2020, and I don't think Democrats will get complete credit for the Covid recovery because the vaccine started production before Biden's first day. There is also the inevitability of some kind of conflicts and complications.

McConaughey would probably be a better candidate for Democrats than Beto. He polls pretty well, but has no major baggage from Washington. I don't think he's ever announced that he wants to take people's guns away. He also seems to have avoided major controversies that would piss off centrist voters. I don't know if running as an independent helps him much, since it'll mean a Democratic candidate can split the vote (and if no one runs, it's pretty obvious he is pretty much the Democratic candidate.) I agree that he wouldn't win a qualification/ competency contest, but that probably doesn't matter.

I would imagine the same smacked asses who dreamed up this nonsense also support the death penalty. The hypocrisy is both rank and glaring.

It's not necessarily hyporcriticial.

First, there are a lot more abortions in the United States than executions (although the number of abortions has been going down) so one can argue that the death penalty is appropriate in rare situations.

People who get executed also tend to have committed terrible deeds.

[numberthirty]

In a less than shocking turn of events...

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/0...g-trump-490707

Biden Justice Department fights release of legal memo on prosecuting Trump

The Justice Department on Monday released more of a key legal memo concluding that former President Donald Trump did not commit obstruction of justice through his alleged attempts to thwart federal investigations, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia.

However, top Justice officials filed an appeal to try to keep the majority of that nine-page legal opinion under wraps, despite a judge’s order earlier this month requiring that the legal memo be released in its entirety.

[numberthirty]

Remember back when folks thought Harris was an ex-AG who was going to hold Trump to account?

[numberthirty]

Or the belief that Merrick Garland was a good get who would be doing things professionally and ethically?

[numberthirty]

Not really the end of the world...

Power is always going to try to maintain all of it's power no matter which one of the big two happen to have it.

Still disappointing.

[Tendrin]

Of course, Thirty doesn't really understand the reason the DOJ is appealing this. He just seeks a chance to take quick pot shots at the Biden administration while ignoring the actual elephants in the room.

Here's a thread on the why's of the DOJ's actions, however, and while I don't love it, I understand the why's of it and I don't think it's rooted in a 'refusal to hold Trump accountable'.

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/statu...15969113968643

Historically, DOJ defends the prerogatives and power of the executive branch across presidents. So the department is arguing to keep this memo sealed with an eye to some future DOJ memo that Biden or some future admin will believe should be sealed

[numberthirty]

Except for the fact that what you just posted is exactly what I just said?

Sure.

Power is always going to have a pretty good excuse for why it needs to hold onto as much power as it can.

Doesn't really change that it is an excuse.

[Tendrin]

Except for the fact that what you just posted is exactly what I just said?

Sure.

Power is always going to have a pretty good excuse for why it needs to hold onto as much power as it can.

Doesn't really change that it is an excuse.

Yeah, what I posted is not, in fact, 'exactly what you said'.

[numberthirty]

Yeah, what I posted is not, in fact, 'exactly what you said'.

If that is the way you want to see it...

Doesn't change that it comes down to which way you are going to pronounce the word tomato.

While I can get that you can dislike but live with the play that they just made?

Doesn't really change how the fundamental nature of it will look to most folks.

While I am not usually one for twitter, this is from the very thread that you linked to...

https://twitter.com/gutsykdh/status/1397047680061280258

That point came for me a few weeks ago when Garland blocked the release of Trump's child separation documents. If they were going to defend this, they were going to defend all the other This Word Was Not "CBR" Cool
trump's DOJ did.

[Malvolio]

Texas set to allow unlicensed handgun carry despite outcry

The 2nd Amendment does not allow for unlimited, unregulated guns. What part of "Well regulated" does Gov. Abbott not understand?

[numberthirty]

The 2nd Amendment does not allow for unlimited, unregulated guns. What part of "Well regulated" does Gov. Abbott not understand?

The math on that has come up, no?