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

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Literally behaving like high school kids.

That, is an insult….to high school kids. The majority of them wouldn’t act so imbecilic like Qpublicans.

[Gray Lensman]

You know the saying "as California goes, so goes the nation"? Well, get ready to hurl your cookies, as we are set to start drinking toilet water! Okay, they may treat it, though obviously not for the poors (in California, anyone making under maybe $500,000/year given how expensive it is to live here). They get to drink the straight stuff.

All right, that'll be the social media spin. The reality is...bad, but not quite that bad. We already do basically what they're proposing to an acceptable degree. We take waste water, and treat it pretty thoroughly, then use it to water commercial and public plantings. Its called "grey water", and it's not currently legal to use it for any human purposes such as drinking, washing dishes, or showering.

What CA has actually done here is come up with a set of standard treatments, a new set, which will require a large number of new water purification plants. Which to my mind is probably the point; billions more in graft opportunities. Have I ever mentioned CA officials are notoriously corrupt, from Newsom on down? About a decade ago, an entire city council plus mayor did not pass go and collect their normal $200, but instead went directly to jail after the feds nailed them for a whole range of corruption charges. That's a bit extreme, usually it's just one or two, like the mayor of Anaheim, where the Angels play and where Disneyland is. He got jailed for shenanigans to do with the Angels' real estate scam...er deal. So I imagine a lot of that money will go missing, as it usually does with such projects.

So we will all be drinking water that previously the state of California deemed not safe for human consumption. Nice. Probably tastes a bit crap though. All because the state government was too disinterested to build catch reservoirs to hold more water, or desalination plants, or better still, both. Yay! We are trend-setters!

But...this will be everyone else in the US in a decade's time. So pucker those lips and take a delicious swig of treated toilet water!

One factor I read about corruption in state government is the distance between the Capital and the population center in the state - the more distance between the two, the more corrupt the state government, and this cuts across party lines.

[Malvolio]

One factor I read about corruption in state government is the distance between the Capital and the population center in the state - the more distance between the two, the more corrupt the state government, and this cuts across party lines.

But what does it say about states like Massachusetts or Georgia, where the capital is the most populous city in the state?

[Mister Mets]

But what does it say about states like Massachusetts or Georgia, where the capital is the most populous city in the state?

Mob boss Whitey Bulger's brother literally led the Massachusetts state senate.

And no one should be blamed for the sins of the sibling, but he remained loyal.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/u...it-dearly.html

[JCAll]

Don’t “healthy” systems need to stay within their own rules??

I’m predicting the Supreme Court will strike down the Colorado ruling…it’s (in my opinion) a poor ruling. Trump hasn’t been convicted (yet!) of anything that should legally prevent him being a candidate. (Obviously in a sane world he would get very few votes.)

But he did literally do the thing. He led an insurrection, he tried to overthrow the government on live television. The only reason he hasn't suffered any consequences, and probably never will, is the staggering corruption of the GOP.

[kidfresh512]

Struggling to find teachers close to home, some Texas schools are looking overseas for help

Like many Texas school districts, the Aldine Independent School District near Houston has struggled to find teachers to fill its open positions, with local, state and nationwide searches yielding limited success.

So the district expanded its search parameters. Since last year, Aldine ISD has recruited 76 teachers from Colombia, the Philippines and more than a dozen other countries through Teach USA, a cultural exchange program that connects teachers worldwide with Texas public schools.

As Texas continues to grapple with chronic teacher shortages — and with little help from the state — districts like Aldine have had to look for creative solutions, like leaning on programs like these to address their staffing needs. Muzo Unlu, vice president of Global Education Concepts, the company that runs Teach USA, said more schools and districts in Texas have reached out recently asking about bringing international teachers to their campuses.

This approach is “not just filling vacancies, but it also supports our kids,” Dubberke said. “Our kids are not only learning but they're learning from the culture from where these people are coming from.”

Texas’ teacher shortage has affected schools for years and was made worse during and after the coronavirus pandemic. There were the obvious health concerns when COVID-19 infections soared, prompting frequent school closures. But as infection rates fell, the stress of keeping classrooms up and running only compounded existing problems within the teaching field: low pay, long hours, bad benefits and more debates about how race and sex are taught in schools putting teachers in the middle of the state’s culture wars.

I found this interesting the idea that in desperation these school districts are looking to find international immigrants basically to fill vacancies in staffing. Just like we have been reading about and predicting with the state of medical professionals being targeted by the politics of the state and being turned off from jobs. The politics at play in Texas are proving to also be less than welcoming for attracting teachers.

Why come to Texas for low pay, the aggravations of the normal expected job description. Then also be subject to how we have seen Texas women be treated with appalling laws against their healthcare rights, their curriculum. The constant expectation and rhetoric that they should also be prepared to be gun toting commandos on the side ready to repel the next active school shooter.

I also find it interesting that the normal narrative of the GOP against immigrants is not really heard in this scenario. Here is a case literally you have a desperate need for the talent from abroad to fill these teaching roles. You don't hear the Fox News rhetoric of there isn't any more room for them. Even though the teachers in this program are advised or expected to return to their countries with the option of extensions via visa.

These programs offer “teachers from abroad the opportunity to live and work in the U.S., learning about the country’s culture, values and more,” said Joseph Sam, a spokesperson with Houston ISD, which has been participating in these kinds of programs for over 20 years. “It also provides students, peer educators and administrators the opportunity to learn about other cultures.”

I actually like this and agree that exposing students and other staff they work with to cultural differences and seeing how we are both different and have a common shared humanity is a good thing. That very premise is actively attacked by the Texas politics toward teaching. The book banning, the anti LGBT groomer rhetoric, the CRT/ "woke" nonsense used to not teach relevant racial topics.

[JackDaw]

But he did literally do the thing. He led an insurrection, he tried to overthrow the government on live television. The only reason he hasn't suffered any consequences, and probably never will, is the staggering corruption of the GOP.

Does the GOP decide who gets prosecuted?

I get that almost nobody who contributes to this thread likes the Donald..but the Colorado decision is palpably wrong in law.

[CaptainEurope]

Looks like Rudy's endless arrogance might actually lead to some swift justice for a change:

Judge Orders Giuliani to Pay $148 Million Damage Award Immediately

A federal judge found that Rudolph Giuliani had a history of hiding assets and that he must swiftly pay two Georgia election workers he was found to have defamed.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Rudolph W. Giuliani to immediately pay the $148 million he owes to two former Georgia election workers for falsely accusing them of manipulating ballots after the 2020 election, citing concerns that he might “conceal his assets” if he were allowed to wait.

The decision by the judge, Beryl A. Howell, was the latest legal defeat for Mr. Giuliani, who is facing an array of woes for his efforts three years ago to keep former President Donald J. Trump in office after his election defeat. But even though Judge Howell ordered speedy payment, there is no indication that Mr. Giuliani, whose long-running financial problems have only been intensifying, has anywhere near the amount he owes.

On Monday, a few days after a jury in Washington imposed the damages on Mr. Giuliani, the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, asked Judge Howell to waive the standard 30-day waiting period and force him to pay them as soon as possible.

In their request to Judge Howell, the women, who are mother and daughter, said that Mr. Giuliani had already failed to obey other court orders in the case related to money that he owed them. They also noted that Mr. Giuliani, a onetime U.S. attorney and mayor of New York, was being hounded by his creditors, including his former lawyer, and was saddled by “significant debts threatening his personal solvency.”

[CaptainEurope]

Does the GOP decide who gets prosecuted?

I get that almost nobody who contributes to this thread likes the Donald..but the Colorado decision is palpably wrong in law.

Judge Luttig (Conservative, former Scalia law clerk): “The justices of the Colorado supreme court brought honor to their court… Their opinion is unassailable under the objective law of the federal Constitution and Section 3 of the 14th Amendment."

I'm thinking he has a firm grasp on lawyerly things.

[JCAll]

Does the GOP decide who gets prosecuted?

In this case, it's important. Trump was already impeached for inciting the insurrection. Republican Senators were the ones that blocked a conviction.

[JT221]

I get that almost nobody who contributes to this thread likes the Donald..but the Colorado decision is palpably wrong in law.

Sets a pretty dangerous precedent, I agree. But sort of interesting to watch, in that it highlights there are always those who talk about supporting democracy...until it gives them something they dislike.

[CaptainEurope]

In this case, it's important. Trump was already impeached for inciting the insurrection. Republican Senators were the ones that blocked a conviction.

It also comes back to that argument that "elected officials have immunity, and it's processes like impeachment that deal with their transgressions." The same people who made that claim earlier now say that the 14th amendeent does not apply because he was never convicted in a court of law.

[CaptainEurope]

Sets a pretty dangerous precedent, I agree. But sort of interesting to watch, in that it highlights there are always those who talk about supporting democracy...until it gives them something they dislike.

Not sure I am following you. The Judiciary is part of democracy. The constitution that contains the 14th amendment is part of democracy. The impeachment process that found that Trump was part of an insurrection is a democratic process.

[Mister Mets]

Judge Luttig (Conservative, former Scalia law clerk): “The justices of the Colorado supreme court brought honor to their court… Their opinion is unassailable under the objective law of the federal Constitution and Section 3 of the 14th Amendment."

I'm thinking he has a firm grasp on lawyerly things.

Lawyers do disagree on this one.

The main question is on how we determine that Trump engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or aided its enemies. It's not as clear-cut as determining a candidate's age.

There is a potential problem of precedents set by unusual arguments to disqualify politicians. You could make all sorts of novel arguments (IE- any effort to increase executive power is a violation of the oath to protect the constitution, which primarily deals with defining the responsibilities of the branches of government) that bad judges may exploit.

[CaptainEurope]

Dukes of Hazard actor John Schneider calls for the public execution of Joe and Hunter Biden

Actor John Schneider has called for the execution of President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Recently unveiled as the Masked Singer on the reality TV series of the same name, Schneider took to X. “Mr. President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung. Your son too. Your response is..? Sincerely, John Schneider,” the actor wrote in a reply to a post by President Biden. The 63-year-old actor is best known for playing Beauregard “Bo” Duke in the vintage TV series, The Dukes of Hazzard.

In December 2022, Schneider said this about Biden on Newsmax: “This man has got to face his maker and explain why he can’t say Jesus Christ is my lord and savior and I will run my country under his guidelines.” He then went to complain that Democrats have “taken God out of schools.” Most of the replies to his first tweet below tag the FBI and the Secret Service.