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

[Malvolio]

That articles interesting. The judge came to right conclusion, but one of his comments baffles me…

“To deny a President immunity from civil damages is no small matter…”

I’d argue that the opposite is true…that denying Presidents immunity ought to be the norm, like it is for any other citizen!

Those areas where the President is granted immunity (when he made reasonable decisions specific to his job as President in his term of service) should be the exception, not the norm.

By definition, the President's job involves the majority of his decisions being specific to the nation. It's just that in Trump's case, he always saw his own business interests as more important than the national interest.

[Tami]

BREAKING: The sponsor of the "Don't Say Gay" bill in the Florida House, @josephbharding
, just introduced an amendment that would REQUIRE SCHOOLS TO OUT LGBTQ STUDENTS even if the school believes THE DISCLOSURE WILL RESULT IN "ABUSE, ABANDONMENT, OR NEGLECT"

Twitter Link

[babyblob]

Twitter Link

One of the sickest things I have ever seen.

It is hard enough trying to discover who you are as a person in childhood and teen years, add to that trying to figure out sexuality. hell I am 40 and I am still trying to figure it out and deal with people.

It is hard enough for LTGB students in schools. This will lead to more bullying, physical attacks and suicide. But this guy could giver two shits about that.

[Xheight]

Are you sure you've thought this through? A structure of agrarian-based communities of cooperation would seem to be extremely fragile, to the extent that a single severe human disease, natural disaster, or even a few bad seasons could stress such a system to a breaking point very quickly.
Another problem is the high degree of influence organized religion has always had on these types of societies. Though appearing to encourage societal stability by reinforcing a moral code, history has taught us that ultimately organized religion can do as much harm as good and religion can take hold quickly in isolated agrarian societies where hard work and stoicism are encouraged over intellectualism and critical thinking.
And maybe most importantly, like all systems, this one doesn't take into account the inevitable rise to power of individuals with various degrees of anti-social personality disorders and psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies.

I'm not seeing the gain over what we have now.

The gain we would have would be in the freedoms for all the groups feeling like they are a minority beholden to some mass society that is in truth the State directives first and the people second. And what is wrong with religious groups? These are diffused within the smaller units but retain their autonomy. Imposing secularism has in fact come to look like another form of Statist authority.

As to Trump being held up on charges about classified documents, Jeffery Toobin has chimed in on that noting that POTUS is the ultimate authority on declassification without process, all he has to do is say it is not or was not when he was leaving according to him.

[Xheight]

By definition, the President's job involves the majority of his decisions being specific to the nation. It's just that in Trump's case, he always saw his own business interests as more important than the national interest.

In 1953 President Eisenhower nominated Charles Wilson, the President of General Motors, to be his Secretary of Defense. He retained a huge stock position in GM and during his confirmation hearings was asked if he could make a decision that was bad for GM. His response is still remembered forever as the classic example of business arrogance – “What’s good for GM is good for America.”

Except he never said that. Wilson – who had overseen GM’s war production during World War II – said something very different: that he hadn’t imagined the possibility, “because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.” Wilson was saying exactly the opposite – that the best thing he could do for General Motors would be to faithfully serve his country, so there was no conflict. Wilson understood that business can only flourish when the country does.

I and people who see Trump as an arch Capitalist see no particular conflict either.

[Malvolio]

Some Presidents did do a bit of self-dealing, yes. They were wrong. Trump taking that to the extreme does not make it better.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Twitter Link

As usual when it comes to the GQP, it’s all about the cruelty.

[Kirby101]

As usual when it comes to the GQP, it’s all about the cruelty.

It's a feature, not a bug.

[Tami]

U.S. claims Russia has list of Ukrainians ‘to be killed or sent to camps’ following a military occupation

The United States has informed the United Nations it has credible information showing that Moscow is compiling lists of Ukrainians “to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation,” according to a letter to the U.N. human rights chief obtained by The Washington Post on Sunday night.

The letter alleges that Moscow’s post-invasion planning would involve torture, forced disappearances and “widespread human suffering.” It does not describe the nature of the intelligence that undergirds its assessment.

The new warning comes after the Biden administration, amid weeks of speculation about President Vladimir Putin’s intentions in Ukraine, said late last week that the Russian leader had decided to launch an invasion.

“I would like to bring to your attention disturbing information recently obtained by the United States that indicates that human rights violations and abuses in the aftermath of a further invasion are being planned,” said the letter, written by Bathsheba Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva.

“These acts, which in past Russian operations have included targeted killings, kidnappings/forced disappearances, unjust detentions, and the use of torture, would likely target those who oppose Russian actions,” said the letter addressed to Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

Crocker says the Russian military’s targets would include Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and “vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.”

“Specifically, we have credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation,” the letter said, adding that the Biden administration also had information indicating Russian forces would likely use “lethal measures” to subdue peaceful protests or other “peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations.”

[Tendrin]

Man, what a bunch of volkisch horse manure that got typed in this thread.

[AnakinFlair]

Book burning is apparently once again not just a metaphor.

https://www.cbr.com/tennessee-book-b...tter-twilight/



The bolding is mine - I am especially concerned about this entitled attitude that religious belief is above the law. I hope they at least had some firemen present. It's not like we can annualy see what damage a fire can cause.

Any bets what books are next, once they move from the popular fantasy?

Man, what a bunch of volkisch horse manure that got typed in this thread.

I just scroll past anything Xheight writes and pretend they don't exist. Don't feed the trolls and all that.

[Tendrin]

I just scroll past anything Xheight writes and pretend they don't exist. Don't feed the trolls and all that.

Still like to call it what it is, but yeah.

[Tendrin]

Twitter Link

Repubs do this all the time. They put up a horrible bill, then file amendments to make it more horrible, so that everyone will focus on the more horrible amendment as opposed to the actual horrible bill they plan on passing.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

From 1/21/2022:

It’s not just Tucker Carlson. The right’s soft spot for Putin is also well documented.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson caused quite a stir online this week when he used his show to spread pro-Russia talking points. But his actions shouldn't really come as a surprise.

On Tuesday, Carlson railed against what he claimed were U.S. efforts to help Ukraine join NATO. Though President Joe Biden has said he's unwilling to close the door on a potential NATO membership for Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded, Biden said Wednesday that it's "unlikely" Ukraine will join the alliance anytime soon. The issue has been a sticking point during ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In one of the show's most bizarre moments, Carlson dubiously compared Ukraine joining NATO to a hypothetical scenario in which China gained control over Mexico.

[Tami]

I'm dumbfounded. Trump tried to have his previous White VP lynched. And now we have the Senate's only Black Republican saying he wants some of that too?

Tim Scott, only Black Senate Republican, hints he could be Trump running mate

The only Black Republican in the Senate, Tim Scott of South Carolina, has indicated a willingness to be Donald Trump’s running mate should the former president mount another White House campaign.

Asked by Fox News if he would consider joining a Trump ticket in 2024, Scott said: “Everybody wants to be on President Trump’s bandwagon, without any question.”

The remark prompted criticism, in light of Trump’s long history of incendiary rhetoric on race.

Mehdi Hasan, an MSNBC host, listed some examples when he wrote: “Shithole countries, go back to where you came from, very fine people, white people don’t get vaccines, stand back and stand by … none of it matters to Tim Scott.”

Scott, 56, is widely seen as a contender for the Republican nomination itself, though most observers think it remains Trump’s for the taking.