All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[Tami]

He protested at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Now he’s running for Congress in N.J.

Joe Belnome has long been a regular at former President Donald Trump’s rallies. By his own count, the Belleville resident has been to more than 20.

He was also among the thousands of Trump supporters who marched to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in defiance of President Joe Biden‘s victory over Trump, though he insists he wasn’t one of those who breached the building in a violent attack and he hasn’t been charged with a crime.

Now, Belnome wants to work in that building. The 48-year-old is vying for the Republican nomination to represent parts of North Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives, one of more than a half-dozen people involved in the events of that infamous day who are seeking public office across the nation this year.

Photos show Belnome, dressed in a forest green “Trump 2020″ jacket, in the middle of the large crowd that formed around the Capitol after Trump spoke at a rally that day pushing the unfounded claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, despite multiple court rulings rejecting the premise

Belnome, now running in the GOP primary with the support of party leaders in a bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the state’s 11th congressional district, says he “peacefully marched” in protest to the Capitol after seeing Trump speak. He also admits to deleting his social media in the wake of the riot but says his actions that day were “not violent.”

Belnome, a building inspector for Belleville Township, said the FBI visited his home to question him about that day, but he said he has been “exonerated” by the agency.

He has not been charged in the events of Jan. 6, according to a search of police and court records.

Daniel Ball, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, said the office currently has no public information to share. “Additionally, we are unable to comment on the existence or non-existence of investigations,” Ball said.

A former union bricklayer, Belnome — who goes by the nickname “Jersey Joe” — has attended so many Trump rallies that the New York Post profiled him during the 2020 election.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The Epicurus quote is ever relevant.

That’s brilliant.

[Robotman]

I was always taught it's possible, but don't count on it.

Mark 16:16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

Sorry but according the the magic book, even if you’re a great person throughout your life but you don’t believe in god, you’re f’d.

Because God can't look upon sin. (How you square this with omnipotence I don't know. But contradictions abound in religion.)

Hah omnipotence. That would mean he knows everything and is everywhere but for some reason he still gets shocked and angered when you sin. Shouldn’t he have seen that coming? You sinning shouldn’t come as a surprise to a being who knows all. You have free will but god has a plan and knows everything. So which is it? Is he giving you free will which means he can’t see the future and isn’t omnipotent or does he know all and everything that happens is all part of his plan? Which means you don’t have free will.

Or are they just a bunch of stories that illiterate goat herders and nomads made up thousands of years ago that have caused countless acts of genocide.

[aja_christopher]

The Epicurus quote is ever relevant.

“Is it malevolent not to prevent evil?”

[aja_christopher]

That’s brilliant.

[godisawesome]

To tie this more stridently pack to politics and not just religion...

In general, religion, moral philosophy, and ethos in general, should not be about preventing evil and crimes - that a the provenance of justice as a product of a social community via laws and government.

If something is morally obligatory, than it should come from the stuff society needs for an equitable and orderly coexistence - and thus why government is the tool for that in whatever shape it takes; equity and order are not laudable, praiseworthy virtues, but a necessity for civilization, and often require consensus from even those who aren’t particularly concerned with virtue but instead with just making sure things work “correctly.”

Where religion, humanism, a particular moral philosophy or politics come in is by encouraging “praiseworthy” virtues that go above and beyond simple justice - society benefits even more from selflessness, generosity, and self-sacrifice, and if one believes in Heaven, Nirvana, or constant improvements for the the human experience, species, and stewardship of the world, that is what makes those goals worthwhile.

The problem, and the main reason why separation of Church and state is important for all governments, faiths, and philosophies... is that people always fall short of their highest ideals, and many end up corrupting those same ideals, with many regular believers (in a lot of beliefs, not just religion) start looking at their faith more as a shield to justify their amoral desires, and seek to solidify that by merging ties ith government and seize the definition of justice within the community - to make themselves feel more secure rather than exert themselves being righteous.

...Which was why none of the Founding Fathers wanted an official religion and were so quick to separate it from government, even though many of them would have been bigoted variations of Christians (though not all; there were definitely Jewish, agnostic, and atheistic Founding Fathers as well.) They all knew, as students of British history, how amoral kings, counselors and lords had perverted both church and state, and how fanatics had slain each other with both as well.

Honestly, that separation is more about protecting *both* than about just protecting one from the other.

[CaptainEurope]

God how I hate this hellhole. We're basically a smaller Orbanistan by now.

A high ranking German conservative politicians suggested Slovakia should leave the EU now, because there is no place for Pro-Putin policies. He also suggested Hungary leave.

[CaptainEurope]

Thanks to Biden threatening to cut off aid from Israel, today saw a new record number of aid trucks entering Gaza since the war began. The number of food trucks is more than 3x the daily average (70) before the war began. 228 trucks likely contain over 11,000,000 pounds of food.

[Wildling]

In international news, Mexico is confirmed to be a narco-state, attacking the sovereignty of Ecuador by protesting the arrest of a criminal politician Mexico attempted to give asylum to, and who is alleged to have ties with Mexican cartels, that have been alleged to have ongoing deals through the current Mexican government. Having the Nicaragua dictator immediately break diplomatic relationships with Ecuador is not a good look either.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Here's a PSA from yours truly:

[CaptainEurope]

Suspect arrested for arson at Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Vermont office

A man was arrested Sunday on a federal arson charge related to the fire started Friday at the Vermont office of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced Sunday.

Shant Soghomonian, also known as Michael Soghomonian, was arrested Sunday after allegedly using fire to damage the building at One Church Street in Burlington, Vt. The building is used in interstate commerce, requiring the alleged crime to be prosecuted at the federal level.

An initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle had not been scheduled as of midday Sunday.

On Friday, local officials responded to what the Burlington Police Department (BPD) called “an arson incident” at the senator’s office. At the time, the Burlington fire marshal’s office described the fire to be “incendiary in nature.”

No injuries were reported, but Sanders’s office was occupied by “multiple employees” at the time of the incident, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

Apparently an American of Armenian heritage.

[Gray Lensman]

In international news, Mexico is confirmed to be a narco-state, attacking the sovereignty of Ecuador by protesting the arrest of a criminal politician Mexico attempted to give asylum to, and who is alleged to have ties with Mexican cartels, that have been alleged to have ongoing deals through the current Mexican government. Having the Nicaragua dictator immediately break diplomatic relationships with Ecuador is not a good look either.

Storming an embassy is technically an act of war. No matter the guilt or innocence of the person they stormed it to get, which looks especially hypocritical considering how long an Ecuadorian embassy sheltered someone wanted by authorities in some other country just a few years ago.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Suspect arrested for arson at Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Vermont office



Apparently an American of Armenian heritage.

I don't get it. As far as I know, Sanders hasn't been in the public eye, at least not on the national level for months now. What was the endgame, the reason this guy torched Sanders' office?

[CaptainEurope]

A new week, a new chance for Trump to lose a few hundred hypothetical millions. In the first 10 minutes of trading, Trump Media lost a whopping 6%.

Edit: 9% down after 15 minutes.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

A new week, a new chance for Trump to lose a few hundred hypothetical millions. In the first 10 minutes of trading, Trump Media lost a whopping 6%.

Edit: 9% down after 15 minutes.

But hey! Trump is THE greatest businessman of our generation. At least, that's what his brainwashed lemmings and the loopjobs on Faux News say.