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

[Catlady in training]

It's the devil's bargain we made taking over as the Empire once the old European colonial powers fell following WWII. We made out like a bandit, relatively unscathed and with a booming economy while they were sifting through the rubble and working to rebuild, and we more or less agreed we'd foot the bill and put boots on the ground wherever we could in order to defend our mutual economic interest and undermine and rein in communism (especially the Soviets).

That allowed every other industrialized nation to develop the safety nets for their people that those of us on the left here envy (and the right dismissed as a half-step to communism). It also allowed us to mutually exploit vulnerable countries and populations around the world in order to extract resources and force debt agreements that left them perpetually unable to gain footing to compete with us (while also funding those safety nets and military budgets). This isn't something from our past, we do this even today (and by we, I do mean the US and Europe).

But, when someone actually does something legitimately worth fighting against (not Iraq, and not the Taliban's government for having a non-extradition policy for religious extremists hiding in caves in their country) it's nice to be able to do something about it other than use harsh words.

I don't blame Europeans for having a distaste for the empire thing and wanting to focus on taking care of their populations rather than investing in their militaries more than was absolutely necessary. I've wanted the same for us. Still do, however much it's nice to funnel aid against a belligerent force at the moment.

Maybe there's a middle ground (though closer to the current European model) we should both strive for?

I don't think it has to be either spending money on defence or on social system. Sweden and Finland for example managed both.
What many of us European countries did, is that we became too unconcerned about the possibility of an armed conflict in Europe. We thought that war was something that happened in the past or that happens on other continents, because we (the western society) have evolved past the mentality of imperialism and colonialism. And we didn't count on some other country attacking one of us. Russia's actions in 2014 in Ukraine, or even before that, in 2008 in Georgia should have been a warning, but as we can see now, the reaction of Europe as a whole has been insufficient. Maybe the approach that wars are now fought by economic sanctions could have worked if much stronger sanctions have been imposed back then, who knows. But there still should have been more talk about a common defence strategy.

Yes, it wold probably be unpopular. If you asked me a year ago about an increase for military budget, I would have asked, why on Earth would we need it, now I would vote for it in a second, it's simply a different World now. And I'm sure many other people are like that, so yes, it could have been a hard sell for the voters. But since we now hear that many politicians had intelligence about russian plans long ago, it brings a new light into the situation.
Many of us feel safe because of NATO, but that could also be a problem, because, let's be honest, reliance on NATO is mostly reliance on USA and with Trump in office, that was a huge risk. With the real possibility that he could come back, we should, I think, at least talk about a common EU army, if only for the possibility that president Trump in 2025 wakes up one day and decides to pull out of NATO for real.

[CaptainEurope]

Left =/= liberal, FFS.

Isn't Die Linke like, openly socialist (no, I don't mean what Republicans call socialism, I mean what was understtod as socialism in Europe for decades) and in many cases, supporting fascist regimes like russia?

So open-mined.

They are the follow-up party to the SED, which ruled communist Eastern Germany up until reunification.

[CaptainEurope]

So, about Trump's MAGA rallies:
Trump’s paid-speeches organizer struggling financially, expected to file for bankruptcy

The American Freedom Tour, which struck a multimillion-dollar deal with Trump after he left office, has lost two top executives and canceled events in a number of locations as it has failed to pay its bills, according to people familiar with the activities and documents obtained by The Washington Post. Its founder and owner, who has a history of bankruptcy filings, recently sought bankruptcy protection again.

The group has promised events in a number of locales but canceled them before they began and appears to be banking on a large event at Mar-a-Lago in December to turn its financial position around.

With speakers, affiliates and investors all clamoring for their money, one of the people involved who did get paid was Trump, people close to the former president say.

[JackDaw]

While I'm not saying that the Russians did or didn't do it (I have no idea), it seems a bit strange that they would want to sabotage Nord Stream when Gazpromm is the main shareholder of the company that manages the pipelines.

It’s at least possible that some other country than Russia is behind it. But realistically guess will never be known (outside of who actually did it)…can’t see Russia allowing independent forensic investigation of scene.

But there are possible reasons why Russia might do it…basically so Putin can say to Russian people something like “See we are under attack, now you can see why we have to defend ourselves”.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

While I'm not saying that the Russians did or didn't do it (I have no idea), it seems a bit strange that they would want to sabotage Nord Stream when Gazprom is the main shareholder of the company that manages the pipelines.

Call me a tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy nut, but, I wouldn’t put ANYTHING past Putin in his mad crusade to absorb Ukraine into Mother Russia.

[hyped78]

It’s at least possible that some other country than Russia is behind it. But realistically guess will never be known (outside of who actually did it)…can’t see Russia allowing independent forensic investigation of scene.

But there are possible reasons why Russia might do it…basically so Putin can say to Russian people something like “See we are under attack, now you can see why we have to defend ourselves”.

There are - and I wouldn't be surprised if the Russians did it. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the US did, for example. I unfortunately agree that we might never know for sure, from what I've been reading (hope that's not the case!).

[hyped78]

Call me a tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy nut, but, I wouldn’t put ANYTHING past Putin in his mad crusade to absorb Ukraine into Mother Russia.

There's no conspiracy in that at all, I think Russia are certainly one of the few top suspects, arguably the biggest one. I just don't know if it makes sense for them.

[CaptainEurope]

A former Commerce Department official in the Trump administration was sentenced to a five-and-a-half year prison term after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, federal prosecutors announced last week in a court filing. Under the terms of his plea deal, Adam Hageman was also sentenced to five years of parole after release and a mandatory requirement to register as a sex offender.

https://www.joemygod.com/2022/09/ex-...or-child-porn/

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, as well as 2020, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” published profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, Ted Yoho, a former horse-veterinarian and Birther conspiracy theorist who thinks that there should be no limits on the 2nd Amendment, and civilians should literally have access to all the same equipment and weapons that the American military does. He also campaigned hard against raising the debt ceiling, even though doing so would cause a catastrophic failure of not just the American economy, but the global economy. He also voted for the 2013 Government Shutdown, wanted to keep the government closed, and was aghast at the prospect that furloughed workers might receive back pay after the fact, and his staunch opposition to the Affordable Care Act that motivated that shutdown vote has made Yoho compare himself to MLK and Rosa Parks (which is amazing considering he once gave his opinion that he didn’t think the Civil Rights Act was constitutional), and his stance was once eloquently expressed in his dismay that African Americans pay at the same rate as white Americans when they can't use tanning beds (No, I'm not making that up). If that's not some ridiculously racist perspective, he advocated returning voting rights only to property owners, like back in the "good old days". (Y'know,like in the 19th Century, when owning slaves was legal). In December of 2016, Rep. Yoho again responded to Donald Trump’s calls for a ban on Muslims in the United States, saying if people “have a Middle Eastern background that we can’t verify, they need to be out of the country.” A few months later in September of 2016 at a town hall meeting, Yoho bragged about fishing off the Florida coast when he and his son supposedly spotted a boat of Cuban refugees who “wanted liberty and freedom” and followed them to help the Coast Guard pinpoint their location and deport them back to Cuba, boasting further that he had saved taxpayer dollars in his misadventure. Whether it was in March of 2017 when he announced that he wanted to start drug testing welfare recipients on a national level (in spite of the policy being a failure when it comes to finding people on welfare on drugs, and it’s frequently been ruled a violation of the 4th Amendment), his excitement at trying to repeal Dodd-Frank legislation, which he thought of as “saving the little banks”, or in July of 2017, when he was chomping at the bit to try and get legislation in the House to allow himself the ability to carry a gun in Congress, saying, “I think it’s a good idea. I have the right to protect myself. I feel like I have very good aim. My wife is better.” But, even with all of that, perhaps the most disturbing moment from Ted Yoho in 2017 was when he defended California Congressman Devin Nunes from criticism he was getting for interfering in the Trump/Russia investigation by leaking information about it back to the White House. In Ted Yoho’s mind, there was nothing strange about that, because as he put it, Nunes “works for the president”. Wiser people better versed in things like our system of checks and balances or, y’know, basic civics courses pointed out that no, actually, Republican Congressman aren’t supposed to be working for the president, they’re supposed to be working for their constituents and above all else, upholding our Constitution. And it’s rather disturbing that the simple nuances of what his job as a legislator actually entails eludes Rep. Yoho. In 2018, we’re amazed that the Republican Party still let this moron in front of a microphone, as just six days ago, he got on the bandwagon to try and save the Supreme Court nomination of alleged serial sexual predator Brett Kavanaugh by going on Fox News and claiming KAVANAUGH was “the victim” in all of this, just like… Roy Moore was a “victim of character assassination” when he was accused by multiple women of being a pedophile running around Alabama attempting to commit statutory rape so many times that he got banned from a mall for it. Yoho, apparently deciding he hadn’t been an inhuman monster enough already, went on to then attack the entire #MeToo movement, because it upsets him that he can’t compliment ladies anymore. Ted Yoho was enough of a horse’s ass that we wished would have continued using his veterinary experience to have just continued operating on horse’s asses. Ted Yoho is not known for thinking quick on his feet, or really known for thinking at all, and that’s why it was bizarre to see him host a town hall on Passover weekend of last year, in a district that has folks that, y’know, kind of are Jewish and celebrate the holiday. One of his constituents responded by holding a seder RIGHT OUTSIDE the town hall before it started, and everyone piled in, ready to pillory their dumbass Congressman. And boy, did he give them opportunities, like when he defended the GOP’s attempts to close Planned Parenthood health centers because it would “save lives”, then claimed that cutting their funding would stop them from performing abortions (none of their government funding goes towards abortions). Rep. Yoho didn’t fare better when he denied the existence of climate change, and for his views on transphobic citizens using public bathrooms, where he was raucously booed. The only part of his town hall that went well was when he admitted Donald Trump should release his tax returns, and that Russia’s meddling in our elections should be investigated. His town halls in 2018 have not gone much better, with Yoho getting the business for continuing to deny the Trump campaign in any way colluded with Russians during the 2016 elections. As we were ready to report on Ted Yoho’s pending retirement in 2020, at the end of this term in Congress, we had thought he might go off into the sunset quietly. That was not to be the case. Rep. Yoho, often called out for racism, drew attention to himself back in June when he became one of only four members of the House to vote against an anti-lynching bill. But why couldn’t he also do something incredibly sexist before he left office? On July 24th, 2020, on the steps of the capitol, Ted Yoho crossed paths with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is living rent-free inside the heads of many Republicans these days, Yoho among them. For no reason whatsoever, Yoho started harassing her about gun violence, and when she started to explain herself, he opted to just scream at her that she was “a f***ing bitch” in front of earshot of a reporter. He then gave a non-apology for his behavior when it was reported on, leading to Ocasio-Cortez to respond with an impassioned speech on the floor of the House reminding Yoho’s excuses about being a father of two daughters, reading him for filth when she pointed out, “I’m someone daughter, too.” We hope Ted Yoho went back to treating horses and get lost giving one a rectal exam.

On this date in 2021, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”, profiled Elizabeth Felton, who was a 2020 candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 21st Congressional District in 2020, hoping to unseat Democratic Congresswoman Lois Frankel. Felton was another in our far-too-long line of Republicans who ran for Congress in 2020 who were also promoting the Qanon conspiracy theory. Not only did she share Q videos on her social media accounts and use a bunch of Qanon hashtags, she was also promoting the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, that an evil Satanic sex dungeon was being run out of the basement of a pizza parlor in Washington D.C. that has no basement. Liz Felton ended up finishing fifth out of a possible six candidates, getting just 7% of the vote in a race that was regrettably won by the even more bats*** Laura Loomer. As she is unlikely to ever reach office, we will set aside her profile at this time to cover another wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 1142-55, since this was established in July 2014.

[worstblogever]

Chris Bish

Welcome to what is the 1142nd original profile here at “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day”, where profiling Chris Bish, a 2020 and 2022 candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in California’s 6th Congressional District, who got throttled by an almost 3 to 1 margin two years ago, but is back at it again this year. So why are we profiling her? Well, she has some trouble with apples in oranges, like when she waded into the culture wars in March of 2021, and complained about how Dr. Seuss’ estate was choosing to no longer publish some of his more problematic works by comparing it being “inappropriate” to instead, the musical lyrics of Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. This is of course, comparing racist imagery in a children’s book to the song lyrics that are intended for an adult audience. But hey, let’s go out of our way to single out the artistry of women of color to try to “get one of theirs” when something racist gets put to bed.

Her entire Twitter feed is a mix of fretting Mrs. Lovejoy-style “Won’t Someone Think of the Children” concern posts, mixed in with bad memes of the worst conservative causes, like say, backing Gov. Ron DeSantis and Gov. Greg Abbott doing some human trafficking of migrants to “Democratic cities” to try and score points with white nationalists, or being surprised that a seditionist wanker like Mike Lindell had his cell phone seized by the FBI, or as she calls them, “Biden’s Gestapo”. And not for nothing, she seems very taken with the concept that children are being “groomed” in a lot of posts, and has an affinity for sharing content with other Qanon themes, like say, “The Storm is Coming”.

Chris Bish finished fourth in the GOP Primary for this race, getting just 7.5% of the vote. We hope that she never makes a third run for office and this is the last time we ever mention her until she gets some deprogramming therapy from the right-wing cult she’s in league with.

So we’ll just close this profile by saying what we wanted to from the start… “Bish, please.”

[Catlady in training]

Ukraine applies for NATO membership:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...exes-territory

[Catlady in training]

And speaking of NATO, Sweden is giving into Turkeye's blackmail

https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/30/...-inches-closer

[hyped78]

Ukraine applies for NATO membership:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...exes-territory

I doubt NATO will let them in while they are engaged in war against Russia (unfortunately)

And speaking of NATO, Sweden is giving into Turkeye's blackmail

https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/30/...-inches-closer

Sweden are being pragmatic, Turkey knows they can ask for things like that, as well as the extradition of so called “terrorists”

[CaptainEurope]

Everything Trump touches dies:

Facebook scrambles to escape stock’s death spiral as users flee, sales drop

Today the view looks much different. Meta has lost about two-thirds of its value since peaking in September 2021. The stock is trading at its lowest since January 2019 and is about to close out its third straight quarter of double-digit percentage losses. Only four stocks in the S&P 500 are having a worse year.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

There's no conspiracy in that at all, I think Russia are certainly one of the few top suspects, arguably the biggest one. I just don't know if it makes sense for them.

Not them….HIM. It’s Putin driving that train, and the government following his orders.