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

[Tendrin]

Here in Philly, such violence is rife in the black transgender community as there have been attacks, even murders of transwomen of color over the past few years. So yeah, I suspect that violence will only increase.

This is why I had such a go at Dave Chapelle.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

This is why I had such a go at Dave Chapelle.

And with good reason.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” posted a profile of Warren Chisum, a former member of the Texas House of Representatives who forwarded an e-mail to the entire legislature that claimed evolution was religious heresy promoted in the texts of the Pharisees and denied the concept of heliocentricism over geocentricism, and that “Copernicus was in league with the Jews”. Chisum was also big on trying to deny gays not just the right to marry, but the right to adopt, but his focus on marriage was so intense that he actually wanted to make it harder for married couples to get divorced, drafting legislation that would force them to first go through 10 hours of marriage counseling. Chisum was particularly noteworthy for how he would “gamble” in the early 1990s by paying men infected with AIDS a percentage of the face value for life insurance policies, that would pay out him as the primary beneficiary if (usually when) they died of the terminal virus. He told a reporter, “if they die in a month, you know, they (the settlements) do really good.” Chisum supposedly made $200,000 off of six people who died of AIDS this way. Chisum embarrassed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry by opposing the HPV Vaccine being given to high school girls, and between that and his e-mail forwards, alienated himself within the Texas Republican Party that he failed to win election to be Speaker of the Texas House in 2010, and found himself unable to even win the office of railroad commissioner in 2012. His lasting legacy of trying to ban same sex marriage and sodomy in Texas have been overturned by the Supreme Court.

On this date in 2016, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” posted a profile of Cynthia Lummis, the U.S. House Representative for Wyoming's "At Large" Congressional District. Prior to running for Congress in 2008, Lummis was a long time member of the Wyoming state legislature and multi-millionaire heir to a ranching family. Once she got to the Capitol, she obsessively kept trying to chip away at Social Security, including when she introduced HR 1160 to the floor of the House, a bill that would raise the minimum retirement age to qualify for Social Security from 65 to 70. It mercifully failed to advance, but she has railed against Social Security and any other government program she feels is an unnecessary entitlement. Just like she did against the Affordable Care Act, lying and claiming that its passage would lead to “healthcare rationing”, one of the biggest political lies going in 2009 and 2010. Her rage against the ACA was taken to a whole new level in December of 2014… and out on Jonathon Gruber, the ACA Architect, during a hearing about the initial glitches on the Obamacare website by blaming the technical mishaps of the healthcare website on her husband’s recent death. Now, why was that a load of bulls***? The Affordable Care Act was designed to provide healthcare for those who otherwise would not be able to afford medical insurance… people who tend to be less well off. Cynthia Lummis and her husband were worth an estimated $20-75 million. AND he had health insurance. He could have just paid for the one test Lummis claims he didn’t get that would have saved his life, because he was, according to her, confused about his enrollment status. But there is no tragedy Lummis or the GOP is unwilling to exploit, even self-inflicted ones. Lummis also spent her last debate in her final run for her Congressional seat, fear-mongering about the Ebola Virus, and calling for a travel ban from West Africa until “things settle down” (against the advisement of the CDC). Her voting record also saw consistent votes against equal pay for women, veotes against all LGBTQ rights, votes to defund Planned Parenthood, a vote against Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief, votes to shut down the government in 2013 and a vote not to reopen it, and a vote against even the Zadroga bill, to provide healthcare for first responders from 9/11.

On this date in 2017, as well as 2018, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”posted its first profile of Iowa State Senator Mark Chelgren, who was first elected in, but of course, the 2010 Tea Party Wave by a whopping 10 votes. You heard us right, TEN VOTES. And Chelgren has since spent his two terms in the Iowa State Senate not just pushing for fanatically conservative policies, but going as far out of his way as possible to antagonize Democratic members of the state legislature, then playing the victim when they take offense and actually put him in his place for it. But what would you expect from a guy paranoid enough that he compares Iowa’s voluntary preschool classes for four year old children to Nazi indoctrination? Or that he’s so vulnerable to attack that he could be offended by the actions of Stanford’s marching band when they played the University of Iowa in the Rose Bowl, and he demanded a personal apology from them for making jokes about cow-tipping during a halftime show? Mark Chelgren also has some wild views on illegal immigration. like the modest idea that we use the death penalty on any illegal immigrant who’s got any kind of felony offense on their record while they’re being detained, rather than deport them like he did in December of 2015. In April of 2012 when he submitted an amendment to a budget bill to try and force divorced mothers to undergo drug testing in order to continue to receive child support to prove they’re not just spending it on drugs. This has now moved to open mockery because just days after Chelgren attempted to pass legislation to require universities to begin having quotas for party affiliation amongst its staff so they would have to hire an equal number of Republicans and Democrats (which yes, is insane), it was just discovered that Mark Chelgren’s profile on the Iowa State Senate’s website involved him claiming to have a “business degree from Forbco Management School”. Further research showed Forbco Management owned a Sizzler Restaurant in California, and Chelgren’s “business degree” (which he has no physical record of) was in effect, a piece of paper handed to him by the owners of a steakhouse. Chelgren may have well been touting a Master’s Degree from McDonald’s “Hamburger University”. At one point, Chelgren was very briefly on the ballot in 2016 for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in the House, but backed out, and amid all the controversy over his educational background and the Blue Wave combined, Chelgren opted to not run for re-election in 2018.

On this date in 2019, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” profiled former Florida State Senator Jack Latvala, who served in that body on and off since 1994 in three separate districts, but resigned in December of 2017, about a year before he would have faced term limits anyway, even though he was rumored to have been one of the GOP’s top pics to become the next Governor of Florida in 2018. The problem with that, though, was the Jack Latvala had been a skeevy bastard for some time, and a platoon of women came forth from within the state capitol to accuse Latvala of sexual misconduct. Not just harassment, but there were reports that he was willing to exchange legislative favors for sexual ones (only narrowly avoiding being charged with a crime).

On this date in 2020, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”, profiled Stony Rushing, a no-s*** Boss Hogg impersonator and gun range owner who ran for office in the 2019 special election for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rushing did so with the blessing of Mark Harris, the man whose 2018 run for Congress for the same seat was tainted by voter fraud. His father, Rocky, named him Stony because he was a fan of the Flintstones. (None of that is made up.) But what Rushing insisted WAS made up were all the charges of voter fraud that were leveled against Mark Harris and his corrupt proxy, McRae Dowless. In spite of a large portion of the North Carolina Republican Party coming forward to acknowledge they knew Dowless was dirty, and several people, including Harris’ own son admitting that Harris was warned against hiring him in the first place. But if you asked Stony Rushing, the real fraud was perpetuated by Mark Harris’ Democratic opponent, Dan McCready, and spread conspiracy theories about election fraud everywhere else except where, y’know, it happened. Rushing was also that excellent combination of hypocrite that was staunchly pro-life, referring to abortion as “infanticide” (zygotes are not infants), but simultaneously believed in no restrictions upon firearms even though tens of thousands of people are killed by gun violence a year. His entire campaign was bizarre from the jump, and continued to be weird, including an ad he released on social media where he promised to fight the swamp by posing… with an albino snake around his neck? Which is only a good thing if you’re Britney Spears at the VMAs. And that isn’t even half as bizarre as his personal life, like that he tried to cover up an extramarital affair by having his daughter accuse his mistress of a variety of sex crimes. Stony Rushing lost the GOP Primary in the special election, at least finishing second, but failing to get even 20% of the vote. We’d like to think this would be the end of his political career, but in today’s GOP, he seems far closer to the median for candidates.

[worstblogever]

It was on this date one year ago that “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” first profiled Glen Casada, who has served in the Tennessee House of Representatives for District 63 since 2002, and at one point, rose to be the Tennessee House Speaker back in 2019. His tenure, however, lasted only a few months due to a series of shocking revelations about how he conducted himself with his top aide, Cade Cothren. Their text messages ended up becoming public knowledge, and were sexually explicit in nature, and Cothren frequently used racist language while contacting his boss. Which… is not the sort of work relationship any real leader would tolerate as appropriate. Perhaps the thing that sealed the fate of both was Cothren’s texts to Casada also included discussion of him using drugs on the job, and he confessed that he was abusing cocaine in his office in the Tennessee legislature.

So… yeah, probably a toxic work environment, just given that.

Glen Casada fervently defended Cothren until the bitter end of his tenure as House Speaker, but did not resign in disgrace from the legislature entirely. Which, given the abuse of power and that Casada was caught paying a former political operative from his employ on the state payroll to… effectively just collect a paycheck…yeah, no idea how he survived without resigning. The Tennessee GOP didn’t bother trying to get anyone to primary Casada, because hey, he only was tolerant of racism, sexism, and drug use… nothing disqualifying from any other Republican these days… so he managed to get re-elected in his highly conservative district with 59% of the vote in November of 2020.

And then… on January 8th, 2021, only days into the new term of the state legislature, the FBI raided Glen Casada’s home. It seems during a tied vote on school vouchers while Casada was still House Speaker, he allegedly offered a bribe to someone on the opposing side to try and get them to change their vote. But who did the legwork on Casada’s alleged bribe attempt? Cade Cothren, again, that scamp. So that might explain why Casada was “ride or die” on his guy… Cothren might know about oodles of potential corruption charges like this, and throwing him to the wolves would mean he could turn on his old boss. At this point, a bunch of people with skeletons in their closet seem to be sweating bullets as the FBI’s investigators continue to be seen around the Tennessee capitol.

Alright, so we have covered just about all the main points of Glen Casada making the news for being a corrupt f***er. But is he a partisan extremist? Let’s check on is voting record:

• April 7th, 2011: Casada votes for HB 368, to limit teachers’ ability to challenge students who give “opposing viewpoints” on scientific theories in public school classrooms. (In other words, deny the existence of evolution, or the age of the Earth.)
• April 14th, 2011: Glen Casada votes for SB 16, a stricter Voter ID law aimed at suppressing the vote using the pretense of in-person voter fraud that is statistically non-existent.
• March 15th, 2012: Casada co-sponsors and votes for HJR 587, a resolution against the United Nations Agenda 21 treaty, for fears from hard-right conspiracy theorists that it’s a plot to establish global domination.
• March 29th, 2012: Glen Casada votes for HB 3808, a bill that would “require the publication of abortion statistics” that also included the addresses of the people performing, and receiving the procedure. Because the radical anti-choice movement wouldn’t then harass or attack those people at their own homes, like they already do.
• April 11th, 2012: Casada votes for yet another attempt by Republicans to violate the 4th Amendment rights of people on welfare and demand that they be drug tested to receive their benefits. The practice remains not just unconstitutional, but continues to fail to prove any drug use when its enacted, and costs states a fortune in drug testing to enact, effectively spending that money to just shame and humiliate poor people for being poor. (And Tennessee found all of 84 people over YEARS before being told to stop by a judge’s order.)
• February 4th, 2013: Casada co-sponsors legislation to prevent renaming Confedreate War Monuments.
• April 16th, 2014: Glen Casada votes for SB 2580, to allow the return of the electric chair as a means of execution in the state of Tennessee.
• April 15th, 2015: Casada votes for patently unconstitutional legislation to make the Bible the state book of Tennessee.
• April 18th, 2016: Glen Casada votes for HSR 467, to plead with the Attorney General of the state to file a lawsuit over Syrian refugees being allowed to resettle Tennessee.
• April 23rd, 2018: Casada votes for HB 2381, to create a “monument to the unborn” at the Tennessee state capitol.
• March 7th, 2019: Glen Casada co-sponsors and votes for a fetal heartbeat abortion bill that would effectively outlaw abortion at 6 weeks, before many women even realize they are pregnant.
• June 3rd, 2020: Casada co-sponsors and votes for a transphobic bill to prohibit public school athletes from participating in sports that do not match their sex at birth.

We are relieved to report that in 2022, Glen Casada has opted to not run for re-election, thus this will be the last time we profile him and can offer our finest “GOOD RIDDANCE” salutes to him at this time.

[CaptainEurope]

And it seems EU already has problems on unanimously deciding on sanctions. Sigh.
I wonder, how many thousand Ukrainians will have to die until those maximal sanctions are passed and how many hundreds of thousands will die before anyone finally intervens.
Until then, I propose we change the "Never again" that politicians love to parrot each year to "Never again, unless they have nukes."

At the same time, the EU had been extraordinary united on this so far, and I think Brexit actually is helpful. For a change.

[The Cool Thatguy]

This is why I had such a go at Dave Chapelle.

Agreed.

Frankly, I hated his openly admitted reason for dunking on the Transgender. Paraphrased, he thinks the media only cares about transgender because they are white, and wouldn't give the same amount of sympathy if they (transgender) were black. So why should he (Dave) care about them?

I know there are plenty of things wrong with that, but what annoys me the most (oddly enough) is how conservatives only care about conservation of mass and energy when it comes to empathy

[CaptainEurope]

Sigh. A vaccine mandate for people over 60 (the compromise position) just failed in German parliament.

[babyblob]

Here in Missouri, the only political ads I've seen run are the one promising to "protect women from men pretending to be women". It's gonna be a nasty midterm.

Sadly it is the same here in Ohio. There are no ads from the Dems running for Senate talking about protecting the rights of the Trans and Gay communities or the rights of minorities. But there are several ads from the GOP candidates running for Senate that smacks of Anti Gay and of course CRT scare tactics. There is Jane Timpkin running and in her ads she talks about how as a female and mother she will protect girls sports from all the men who pretend to be woman to get an unfair advantage. of course a quick shot of the Trans Swimmer (Forget her name too early in the AM) flashes on the screen. And she will fight CRT.

In the debate they just had a couple nights ago all five went heavy on the Trans community.

Even John Cranley who was very pro LTGBQ+ here in Cincy when he was mayor and Nan Whaley who I dont like much is also very pro LTGBQ+. But both have been very silent on Ohio's Dont say Gay bill and other gay and Trans issues during their campaign for Governor.

The GOP are using hate and fear tactics to rile up their base and the Dems in the state cant even send out a couple simple tweets on how much BS it is. Just let them get away with it and stay silent. I can see how some members of the LTGBQ+ community get frustrated at times.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Sadly it is the same here in Ohio. There are no ads from the Dems running for Senate talking about protecting the rights of the Trans and Gay communities or the rights of minorities. But there are several ads from the GOP candidates running for Senate that smacks of Anti Gay and of course CRT scare tactics. There is Jane Timpkin running and in her ads she talks about how as a female and mother she will protect girls sports from all the men who pretend to be woman to get an unfair advantage. of course a quick shot of the Trans Swimmer (Forget her name too early in the AM) flashes on the screen. And she will fight CRT.

In the debate they just had a couple nights ago all five went heavy on the Trans community.

Even John Cranley who was very pro LTGBQ+ here in Cincy when he was mayor and Nan Whaley who I dont like much is also very pro LTGBQ+. But both have been very silent on Ohio's Dont say Gay bill and other gay and Trans issues during their campaign for Governor.

The GOP are using hate and fear tactics to rile up their base and the Dems in the state cant even send out a couple simple tweets on how much BS it is. Just let them get away with it and stay silent. I can see how some members of the LTGBQ+ community get frustrated at times.

One man’s uninformed opinion: Democrats know they’ve already lost the narrative when it comes to the false and unwarranted attacks on the gay and transgender community. If Dems were to do the right thing by publicly supporting LGBTQ people, Qpublicans will gleefully paint them as backing “men pretending to be women” and the like. Dems are damned if they do and damned if they don’t, so they’re taking the path of least resistance by staying quiet.

Meanwhile, the hypocrisy of Qpublicans continues to astonish me. You can’t tell me the party didn’t give a damn about women’s sports in any way, shape or form until Lia Thomas won that swimming event. Suddenly, the outrage erupted like a volcano after learning a transwoman had won and GQPers went on the warpath to fight for the honor of female athletes, and that’s pure bullshit. Given how openly misogynistic Qpublicans are, they would’ve axed Title IX if they could’ve gotten away with it, which is why they’re being so hypocritical.

[babyblob]

One man’s uninformed opinion: Democrats know they’ve already lost the narrative when it comes to the false and unwarranted attacks on the gay and transgender community. If Dems were to do the right thing by publicly supporting LGBTQ people, Qpublicans will gleefully paint them as backing “men pretending to be women” and the like. Dems are damned if they do and damned if they don’t, so they’re taking the path of least resistance by staying quiet.

Meanwhile, the hypocrisy of Qpublicans continues to astonish me. You can’t tell me the party didn’t give a damn about women’s sports in any way, shape or form until Lia Thomas won that swimming event. Suddenly, the outrage erupted like a volcano after learning a transwoman had won and GQPers went on the warpath to fight for the honor of female athletes, and that’s pure bullshit. Given how openly misogynistic Qpublicans are, they would’ve axed Title IX if they could’ve gotten away with it, which is why they’re being so hypocritical.

I get the bolded part. But it is still very disappointing. A party that talks all the time they that are for LTGBQ+ Rights and stand for the community then take the path of least resistance when it comes to trans issues for some votes? Because they are worried at how the GOP will paint them? Its not like at this point there are undecided voters. So to take the path of least resistance on a subject the party voters support is more then disappointing.

[myownlittleusername]

Is this how Russia ends?

An interview with the writer Masha Gessen about why Putin might dare a nuclear strike on Poland, what democratic leaders don’t grasp that authoritarians do, and what Russia might look like after Putin

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I get the bolded part. But it is still very disappointing. A party that talks all the time they that are for LTGBQ+ Rights and stand for the community then take the path of least resistance when it comes to trans issues for some votes? Because they are worried at how the GOP will paint them? Its not like at this point there are undecided voters. So to take the path of least resistance on a subject the party voters support is more then disappointing.

Disappointing and frustrating. A huge problem with the Dems is their inability and unwillingness to get down and dirty and fight the GQP on their crooked terms, and that fecklessness is allowing the GQP to run roughshod on the LGTBQ community.

[achilles]

At the same time, the EU had been extraordinary united on this so far, and I think Brexit actually is helpful. For a change.

Really? How so?

[babyblob]

Disappointing and frustrating. A huge problem with the Dems is their inability and unwillingness to get down and dirty and fight the GQP on their crooked terms, and that fecklessness is allowing the GQP to run roughshod on the LGTBQ community.

Very much agree. I am always on here complaining about the Dems and how they always get hurt by taking the high road, by letting the GOP control the narrative, not calling out the GOP on being a party of treason supporting, hate monger, racist bigots.

If I hear Boden one m0ore time talk about working with the GOP and getting their support I will go nuts. A few GOP voted for his SC nominee now all the sudden we have Biden and some of the Dems taliing about how the GOP can be worked with on key issues. Give me a damn break!

[Catlady in training]

At the same time, the EU had been extraordinary united on this so far, and I think Brexit actually is helpful. For a change.

Well, I have been initially surprised over how united we were and I think many other were (which doesn't paint a nice picture about the general confidence in EU). But it's only a matter of time until things get worse. Too many countries (my included) are much too dependent on russian gas.

And I have been pleasatly surprised by the support from the UK, they seem to be much more active.

Is this how Russia ends?

An interview with the writer Masha Gessen about why Putin might dare a nuclear strike on Poland, what democratic leaders don’t grasp that authoritarians do, and what Russia might look like after Putin

That's rather bleak picture, but I agree with everythin he says. We should listen more to people from Russia, because it's a different mentality and someone from the West trying to make sense of it will likely miscalculate. The same goes for what to do with them if this ever ends, it won't be as easy as with Germany after WW2.

Also, this, QFT:

So in that context, talking about the great battle for democracy and how we're all fighting for it rings hollow, because we're not all fighting for it. We're fighting for it only as long as it doesn't cost us too much or doesn't jeopardize the reelection prospects of the current governments in any Western European country.