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

[Jack Dracula]

In my opinion, it has nothing to do with conservatism anymore, it's all about power, getting it and keeping it by any means necessary.

Power to do favors for the highest paying donors whether they be American or not.
Modern Conservatism is just thinly disguised opportunism. It’s the spiel the con artist delivers while he’s picking your pocket.

[Mister Mets]

As usual, Mets forgets the huge role racism played.

I figured others would give their opinion on that.

How do you define racism here, and how much of a role do you think it plays in why some people really love Trump?

You can carp all you want about 'geographic sorting' to pretend away the flaws in our system but it's clearly a BS excuse to allow for results like this:

https://twitter.com/jacobdotgov/stat...44692894699521

And when citizens stand together to overturn GOP legislative nonsense at the ballot box with initiative systems, the GOP attempts to take that away too.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/22/u...democrats.html

If you value your 'conservatism' more than your democracy, you're just a fascist.

You may be responding to points no one else has really made here.

Several things can be true. Geographic sorting can explain much of the results that are typically associated with gerrymandering. There are some places that may be heavily gerrymandered by Republicans (I've given multiple sources before to indicate that Republicans may gain a handful of congressional seats due to gerrymandering, but that is also a net gain, taking into account gerrymandering by Democrats who just can't do it as effectively given the distribution of their voters.)

The disparity in Wisconsin is also exaggerated by the way more Democrats run unopposed. In the last cycle, 69 Republicans ran for the legislature compared to 91 Democrats.

https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/1408468992092672005

This is going to affect the raw vote figures. If Republicans ran some no-hope candidates, that would give them more of the popular vote.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Just got an alert that Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Just got an alert that Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.

Should’ve been longer.

[Mister Mets]

You do realize that we are talking about Rudy, right?

Take a few minutes, and try to come up with five instances where, if you could try to set your personal political leanings aside, you could honestly say "Well, Rudy Did A Good Job There..."

He was a successful US Attorney, lost a close race for mayor and governed as mayor for eight years. He had some major political successes.

There's weird speculation about why he's not the man he's used to be. There are some major indications he drinks way too much. Some form of dementia is a possibility for a man in his late 70s. There's also a case that he's doing what's in the interests of sketchy international clients.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Should’ve been longer.

Can't argue that. I wonder if the prison he ends up in will put him in solitary since ex-cops usually don't last very long locked up with the scum they put there. However, I won't shed any tears if Chauvin ends up with a shiv in his back one night.

[Scott Taylor]

Should have to spend the whole 22.5 years with someone's knee on his neck.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I'll be satisfied if he sees out his full sentence. What's likely to happen is that 3-5 years down the line parole people might bank on public anger to fade and give him an early release for "good behavior" and then have him back as a cop on a beat.

Sharon Tate's family had to mobilize to ensure that the Manson Family and Manson himself saw their full sentences at multiple parole hearings, so I'd say this isn't quite done.

[Gray Lensman]

I'll be satisfied if he sees out his full sentence. What's likely to happen is that 3-5 years down the line parole people might bank on public anger to fade and give him an early release for "good behavior" and then have him back as a cop on a beat.

Sharon Tate's family had to mobilize to ensure that the Manson Family and Manson himself saw their full sentences at multiple parole hearings, so I'd say this isn't quite done.

22.5 for a cop doing something is pretty good, provided he serves it.

When is he first eligible for parole? Or will he just have his sentence commuted by the governor after a while?

[Amadeus Arkham]

Derek Chauvin says in brief statement before sentencing: "I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family. There's going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest, and I hope things will give you some peace of mind."

Scum. I can’t even stand the sight of this POS.

[skyvolt2000]

Derek Chauvin says in brief statement before sentencing: "I do want to give my condolences to the Floyd family. There's going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest, and I hope things will give you some peace of mind."

Scum. I can’t even stand the sight of this POS.

Considering how much stuff followed after Floyd's death-I would think stating that information as soon as possible would have been better than AFTER a verdict.

Nobody except Lifetime who will do a movie about his ex-wife will care.

[numberthirty]

I'll be satisfied if he sees out his full sentence. What's likely to happen is that 3-5 years down the line parole people might bank on public anger to fade and give him an early release for "good behavior" and then have him back as a cop on a beat.

Sharon Tate's family had to mobilize to ensure that the Manson Family and Manson himself saw their full sentences at multiple parole hearings, so I'd say this isn't quite done.

News radio on the way back home suggested that two-thirds of the sentence will have to be served.

[babyblob]

I'll be satisfied if he sees out his full sentence. What's likely to happen is that 3-5 years down the line parole people might bank on public anger to fade and give him an early release for "good behavior" and then have him back as a cop on a beat.

Sharon Tate's family had to mobilize to ensure that the Manson Family and Manson himself saw their full sentences at multiple parole hearings, so I'd say this isn't quite done.

He can never be a cop again. Felons can not be hired as police officers. And he has to serve 2/3rds from what I understand. he will do a very long time. Unless they put him in GP which will see a lot of people gunning for him. But I see him in protective custody for the first several years while things cool off a bit. The Prison I was at had one of the few Protective custody wings in the state and that is right where cops went. Not to the temporary prison called Crc where a inmate was assessed and it was decided what prison they went to. Nope right away to PC.

And I am not sure how it was in other prisons but no way a GP inmate even sniff or sees those guys at all. If one had to go to the infirmary or Dentist the whole yard was shut down and all of us GP inmates were sent back to our cells/pods while the PC inmate was taken to where they had to go with at least 2 officers with them. They had their own rec yard, any commissary items they ordered where brought to them they could not go to the prison "Store" they had a library cart that was brought to them by an officer so they could find books. They didnt go to the mail room for packages the stuff was brought to them.

At times one PC guy will go after another but that is rare because the PC guy who goes after another loses his PC status and is put back in GP.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, who we noted had elevated his career in Wisconsin politics by dragging his feet and refusing to prosecute cases against Republican Governor Scott Walker and Republican state legislator Joel Kleefisch when both were caught in ethical and potentially criminal endeavors. Schimel has gone on record to say he opposes minimum wage increases, and stated his desire to use his office to fight tooth and nail against honoring the Supreme Court's ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case, and even agreed his opposition to the law would be similar to those who opposed interracial marriage becoming legal 60 years ago. This of course made local reporters ask the question of if Schimel was a racist, and lo and behold after some digging, they found training videos from the State Department of Justice in 2009 and 2013 where Schimel made racist and sexist comments while instructing trainees, including putting on false accents to appear as racial caricatures. Of course, these details came up just prior to the 2014 election, and Schimel slid by and won office with 52% of the vote. Schimel's history of being terrible at his job and not pressing charges continued through 2015, apparently, as he decided against prosecuting oktwo Wisconsin police officers who gunned down a hostage during a siege at a motorcycle shop, with their body camera footage contradicting their version of events. He also to measures to remove environmental oversight from Wisconsin's water supply, and trust in big business interests to keep it safe. In 2017 alone, Schimel made headlines in Wisconsin for several controversies, including settling a case against a company caught as serial polluters without imposing a fine against them, claiming the company was sufficiently punished by making them invest in themselves to stop polluting in the first place and then dropping a fraud case against the wealthy Eliason brothers, where they faced 10 felony charges, instead, leaving the case to be handled in civil court and in lawsuits only. This, after a YEAR of trying to put a gag order on the case so no details about it leaked to the public. Then, the public discovered that he spent $10,000 of taxpayer money to create gold collector coins for himself, his staff, and Wisconsin Law Enforcement that say, “Kicking Ass Every Day”, by effectively saying his department was great, deserved them, and that they worked far harder than other state workers, like at the Wisconsin DMV. Schimel blatantly lied in a TV interview, Schimel claiming that Wisconsin does not have a back log of untested rape kits that have yet to be investigated when in reality… There were SIX THOUSAND OF THEM. And, in late April of 2017 a day after Brad Schimel claimed he would not be opening an investigation into potential voter fraud, he is threatened with being investigated himself by convicted felon and Breitbart “reporter” James O’Keefe. O’Keefe threatened to harass Schimel, he caved, and opened an investigation based on lies, at taxpayer expense. (Big surprise… they found no evidence of voter fraud.) In April of 2018, he got a little too honest and defended Wisconsin’s anti-democratic Voter ID law by proudly stating how it “helped Trump get elected”. (Thousands of voters were blocked from voting at the polls, particularly in Democratic-leaning districts.) Yeah, no more pretenses about mythical “voter fraud”, he outright admitted it helped swing a presidential election to Republicans, therefore, mission accomplished. A month later, in May of 2018, reports surfaced about how Schimel took time out of his busy schedule ten months prior in July of 2017 to attend an anti-gay conference in California hosted by a “Christian group”, the Alliance for Defending Freedom that’s actually more really of a “hate group”, by the definition of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Even worse for Schimel, there are e-mails that show he would have liked for no one to have noticed his little fun-times-hating-the-gays vacation stop, and his only defense for the trip was that it wasn’t on taxpayer expense. Of course, that’s because the ADF group itself paid for Schimel’s travel and hotel, which is a gift you have to report in your campaign finance reports, and he didn’t. On the ADF’s end… they apparently advised attendees on how to keep their attendance secret from the public, and how to avoid public records laws. Brad Schimel lost in the 2018 elections to Josh Kaul.



On this date one year ago, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day published our original profile of the sitting U.S. House Representative from Maryland’s 1st Congressional District, Andy Harris, who was first elected to office in… yes, of course, the 2010 Tea Party Wave, after a failed Congressional campaign in 2008, and prior to that, a full decade in the Maryland State Senate from 1999-2009. That failed 2008 campaign involved Harris unseating incumbent GOP Congressman Gary Gilchrest by running to his right, and claiming that Gilchrest, a Vietnam veteran, was not truly supportive enough of the Iraq War during his time in Congress. Gilchrest ended up supporting Democrat Frank Kratovil in the general election, forcing Harris to try again in 2010. And Gilchrest is still disgusted with him until this day… which is understandable, given the circumstances.

Including the fact that Harris, a physician, ran for office by whipping up paranoia about the Affordable Care Act. But during his orientation in late 2010, he threw a tantrum that he would not be given health insurance immediately, and would have to wait all of two months until he was sworn in before it would kick in. Let us repeat that… the main who campaigned against socialized healthcare practically s*** himself in rage that he would have to wait two months to get some of it for himself.

Harris, the only Republican member of the Maryland delegation in the House, comes to our attention because while we would like to say he’s a son of a Hungarian immigrant father and Polish immigrant mother and that should make him a good example of a Republican with attitudes towards immigration… but no, it’s quite worse than that. Andy Harris likes to remember his father, Zoltan Harris, as a man who was taken to a Russian gulag for being a determined anti-Communist soldier… the timeline of that, however, neglects to mention that Zoltan Harris fought for the pro-Hitler Hungarian army that was fighting the Allies during World War II.

So, yes, neglecting to mention that your father was pro-Nazi is a concern.

More of a concern… the support for Hungarian fascists did not skip a generation, as Andy Harris has come out hard in support of Hungarian strongman and Putin ally Viktor Orban, actually writing it down on Congressional letterhead. And he’s snuck across the pond to speak at events in Budapest in favor of Orban, with his opening act being Sharon Slater, the head of an anti-LGBTQ hate group from Arizona who thinks that homosexuality is a “mental disorder” caused by childhood trauma that can be treated with gay conversion therapy. But Harris has gone as far as to write the U.S. State Department and ask them to pull the financial support our government gives towards journalists in Hungary, who, y’know, report on human rights violations being committed by Orban’s regime.

But that is not the only far-right Eastern European country where Harris has shown interest… in 2018, Harris planned to visit far-right Czech white nationalist Tomio Okamura with a delegation of true Congress-critters that included Dana Rohrabacher, Louie Gohmert, Paul Gosar, and of course, the ultimate racist in the House, Steve King. Not for nothing, but if your dad was in a pro-Nazi group and you didn’t hold the same ideals, maybe you wouldn’t want to hang out with trash like Okamura, who had called for the gassing of Jews, gays, and Roma.

[worstblogever]

But Andy Harris is not discriminating in the company he keeps, or political endorsements he gives… as in 2017, he endorsed Roy Moore even AFTER the public learned Moore had a long history of predatory behavior towards young girls (to say nothing of the rampant racism and homophobia). It's not a one off, where he sticks up for the worst people. After all, 2018, Harris came out hard in defense of Brett Kavanaugh, making accusations that his highly credible accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, was just “a troubled woman”, and her testimony should be disregarded.

I mean, there is no bottom for how gutless Andy Harris can be. He might pretend to be a patriot, but it’s hard to claim that when you go and vote against healthcare for 9-11 First Responders and call the Zadroga Act “fiscally irresponsible”. Or how in 2018 he was caught funneling campaign dollars to his wife illegally and was slapped with an ethics violation.

This has continued into current events, as he’s started feuding with fellow Republican and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan for responsibly keeping his state’s business closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Harris compared Hogan’s “stay at home” order that applied to church services to “Communist China” and “North Korea”. Hogan, to his credit, blew Harris off, saying, “he’s got a right to say whatever crazy things he wants to say”.

Maryland’s 1st Congressional District has a +14 Republican lean, which is amazing considering out of the rest of the state’s districts, the next most conservative is a +6 Democratic lean. That helped Harris win in 2020 with 63% of the vote, and he’s returned to the Capitol to continue on with one of the more grotesque voting records in all of Congress:

• December 18th, 2019: Rep. Harris ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
• May 15th, 2020: Harris votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• October 2nd, 2020: Andy Harris boldly votes “present” as a resolution is presented in the House to condemn the Qanon conspiracy theory after its followers started to make death threats against Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski.
• December 10th, 2020: Harris signs his name to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, begging them to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The same election that he won re-election in.
• January 6th, 2021: Andy Harris votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election, a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup.
• January 7th, 2021: Rep. Harris nearly gets into a physical altercation with Texas Congressman and former NFL linebacker Colin Allred by throwing a tantrum during remarks certifying the 2020 election votes.
• January 12th, 2021: A swath of legislators from Maryland call upon Harris to resign for helping stoke and incite the mob on January 6th.
• January 13th, 2021: Rep. Harris votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers.
• January 21st, 2021: Harris is the subject of an investigation by the Capitol Police after trying to get a handgun past metal detectors, only two weeks after the Capitol Attack.
• February 4th, 2021: Andy Harris votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted remarks and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit).
• February 25th, 2021: Harris votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
• March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Harris votes against HR 1, a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box.
• March 3rd, 2021: Andy Harris votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
• March 10th, 2021: Harris votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
• March 17th, 2021: Rep. Harris votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
• March 17th, 2021: Harris is one of twelve Republicans who pick a side to have rooted for in the failed coup attempt on 1/6/21 and votes against awarding Congressional gold medals to members of the Capitol Police who bravely defended members of Congress during the attack.
• May 19th, 2021: Andy Harris votes against HR 3233, the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack.
• May 20th, 2021: Harris is one of 63 Republicans who vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act.
• June 15th, 2021: Rep. Harris is one of 21 Republicans who pick a side to have rooted for in the failed coup attempt on 1/6/21 and votes against awarding Congressional gold medals to members of the Capitol Police who bravely defended members of Congress during the attack.

Andy Harris is a disgrace, and now has both Republicans and Democrats in Maryland’s 1st District lining up to knock him out of office in 2022. That is also assuming that he didn’t have some further role in the insurrection on January 6th and doesn’t end up in jail.