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

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, as well as 2018, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” posted profiles of Lyle Rowland, a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, hailing from the Show-Me-State’s District 155 who wrote Missouri’s own “Birther Bill”, HB 283 back in 2011, and after it did not pass, he actually submitted a second one in 2012, HB 1046. The idea that President Obama is secretly not an American citizen and “stole” the 2008 and 2012 elections is not the only paranoid conspiracy theory that Rowland believes in, though, as he also submitted legislation to prevent the adaptation of environmental standards from the United Nations’ Agenda 21 treaty from 1992, with his reason for the move being a video from Glenn Beck raving like a lunatic about how it’s a secret plot for global domination. Among his “smaller government” priorities has been his need to respond to the public outcry after the killing of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson, by taking the classy step of trying to vote for SB 199, to amend the justification for deadly force to make it EASIER for police to get away with shooting civilians, and also another vote for HB 499, a bill that would require not just all public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance with “under God” in it, but specifically to have to do so in English (which based on previous court rulings, is unconstitutional on multiple levels). He’s also tried to nullify federal gun laws, legalize guns in schools, and pass legislation to create unnecessary waiting periods for abortions, to round out his rap sheet. Since Rowland took office in 2010, he only once faced a primary challenger for his seat in 2016, and has never been challenged by a Democrat. After four terms in the Missouri House, he faced term limits in 2018 and had to leave office.

On this date in 2020, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” first profiled Warren Love, a member of the Missouri House of Representatives first elected in 2016. He's pretty damned racist, as we’ll get to the bulk of why, but there was a tip-off in January of 2016 when he made a reference to a “black Negro” in a committee meeting. It didn’t get better from there. In August of 2017, after the campaign of terror carried out by White Nationalists in Charlottesville, a push back against hatred began, with Confederate monuments around the country getting torn down, or in some instances, vandalized. Warren Love responded to the removal and vandalism by getting on Facebook and calling for those who would act against memorials to a failed rebellion carried out in the name of keeping African Americans slaves to be “hung from a tall tree”. We’ll repeat that… he called for opponents of Confederate monuments to be LYNCHED. Now, almost immediately after that, Love was criticized from both sides of the aisle, but he tried a folksy version of the “I was taken out of context” defense, saying, “That was an exaggerated statement that, you know, a lot of times is used in the Western world when somebody does a crime or commits theft.... That’s just a Western term, and I’m very much a Western man.... You know, I wear a coat. You know, I dress Western. And, you know, I’m the cowboy of the Capitol.” And then, people realized that his comments were not a one off, as Love, a member of the GOP, offered some unique thoughts in another Facebook post, about the founder of his party, Abraham Lincoln, and how “Lincoln was the greatest despot and tyrant in American history.” Almost every Democrat in the Missouri state legislature, and several Republicans called for Love’s resignation,but when it came time to actually reprimand him and remove him from his committee assignments, Missouri Republicans managed to somehow look the other way, and not vote to take him to task. We’ll note that when you look at Warren Love’s voting record, you’ll find other evidence other than his love for the Confederacy that shows he’s has his head either up his arse and/or in the 19th Century, like how he voted against a measure to prevent child marriages in Missouri, is a supporter of Personhood, as well as support for Voter ID measures that are the modern equivalent of Jim Crow legislation. Love also voted for nullification legislation to attempt to ignore federal firearms legislations, voted for paranoid and unnecessary anti-Sharia legislation aimed at banning “foreign laws”, and voted to try and block the implementation of the United Nations’ Agenda 21 Treaty (because he’s apparently convinced it’s a plot for global domination), and he also voted for a clearly unconstitutional measure that not only would force schoolchildren to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day, but specified that it must be spoken IN ENGLISH. Luckily, Warren Love was term-limited in 2020.

On this date in 2021, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” profiled Joe Thalman, a 2020 candidate running for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, specifically in District 49B. We are profiling him because he is yet the latest in a line of Qanon conspiracy theorists who got on the ballot this year as a Republican trying to win office, having repeatedly made posts on social media with the Qanon hashtag. When asked about Qanon by the local press, Thalman offered, ”I’m aware of Q and I’m aware that there are other attributions of that phrase as well. General (Michael) Flynn had made the same statement on a post that he had done a day or two before. I love the sound of it. … I like the spirited statement.” When the negative press started to be a detriment to Thalman, he revisited the topic, adding, “It’s one of many news sources that a lot of people are going to outside of the traditional mainstream media. I would suggest people always do their own research and come to their own conclusions.” We couldn’t find much else about Thalman on issue stances outside of his love of Qanon, but we can say when it comes to Coronavirus, he’s a true Covidiot, focusing on wanting the economy opened without giving any thought or mention to the hundreds of thousands of people who have died, or any concern for public health. Joe Thalman was defeated in the 2020 election, getting only 38% of the vote.

On this date in 2022, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” profiled Larry Elder, the long-time right-wing radio talk show host who made a bid in a 2020 recall election to become the next Governor of California. This is amazing, given Larry Elder’s disgusting laundry list of terrible hyper-conservative takes. Just on racial issues alone, he’s on record that he wouldn’t have supported the Civil Rights Act when it was passed, that police are more inclined in his mind to shoot white people than black people, that voter suppression against minorities doesn’t exist, his never-ending vitriol towards the Black Lives Matter movement, and his denial that racism even exists. There’s a reason there have been several protests outside of Los Angeles conservative radio stations airing Elder’s show calling for him to be fired, and that’s just a handful. Let’s also consider that he was accused of sexual harassment while working in radio back in 2011, and his defense amounted to, “she’s too ugly for me to have done it" (right out of Donald Trump’s playbook, frankly), that he once allegedly pulled a gun on his own girlfriend in 2014, that he denies the existence of sexism, and then there’s his contempt for the disabled, with his maniacal opinion that the Americans with Disabilities Act should be undone and employers should be allowed to fire workers with disabilities. Does he deny science, as well as all the realities of discrimination? You know he does… Elder called climate change a “crock” back in 2008, and has spread misinformation about Covid-19, masks, and vaccines during the pandemic. There’s of course his opposition to the minimum wage (he said it should be set at $0.00, which is… kinda slavery) his belief that emergency aid should be denied to undocumented immigrants, and that he helped spread the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was somehow “stolen” from Donald Trump. Gavin Newsom failed to be recalled, and it wasn’t even close. The final tally had him with 62% of the vote in the “Recall: Yes/No”, portion of the ballot. Which is good, because somehow, Elder did receive the majority of 48% of the vote from those who wanted Newsom gone, because conservatives, even in a blue state like California will pick the worst people to cause as much pain as possible out of spite.

[Tendrin]

We told you it was never about trans children.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-w...trative-rules/

Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday announced new administrative rules meant to restrict access to gender-affirming health care for transgender adults, one week after vetoing legislation that would have banned care for minors.

DeWine said during a press conference that Ohio’s Department of Health and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services would be filing rules for public comment Friday that, once effective, will provide additional protections for transgender minors and adults receiving care.

[worstblogever]

On this date one year ago, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day” profiled Mike Gallagher, who has served as the U.S. House Representative for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District since first winning office back in the 2016 elections. We raised our eyebrows a little to see Gallagher encourage Donald Trump when he tried to trade Puerto Rico for Greenland, or that he applauded Trump for assassinating Iranian general Qasem Soleimani via airstrike in 2020, but there’s a level of political cowardice that has stuck in our craw enough to profile him.

The point where Gallagher truly became noteworthy of us to consider profiling him was a few months into his third term in office, specifically as related to his reaction to the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. On the day of the attack, Gallagher made no illusions to who we all knew who was responsible for inciting a mob to storm Congress, first getting on social media and posting videos begging Donald Trump to tell the domestic terrorists to “call it off”, referring to what occurred as “banana republic crap” then doing an interview with CNN where he said the violence was wilder than he ever saw while serving in Iraq, and asking Trump to “call off” his minions, yet again.

In the days after, Gallagher talked about pulling a Marine sword from a decorative display on the wall and barricading himself in his office, and was willing to talk about censuring Trump (but would not vote to impeach him), before he eventually fell silent about who was responsible for the violence that day, or that it happened at all. Then, he voted against even having an investigation into the causes of January 6th, when the vote came, likely fearing a primary challenge if he didn’t shut his mouth and stop blaming the Orange Menace for all the things he actually did.

Ten days prior, you could already see he was spooked by what his own constituents might think of him, as he started using the same social media accounts to demand answers from Dr. Anthony Fauci about “the origin of Covid-19”, and what he knew about “function research in Wuhan”, lending into conspiracy theories about the virus being engineered and deliberately released by the Chinese government, in some version of the tale with the knowledge of Fauci.

So of course, this political coward has a voting record like you’d expect:

• December 18th, 2019: Rep. Gallagher ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
• January 13th, 2021: Rep. Gallagher votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers.
• March 10th, 2021: Gallagher votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
• March 17th, 2021: Rep. Gallagher is one of 172 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
• May 19th, 2021: Rep. Gallagher votes against HR 3233, the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack.
• November 5th, 2021: Mike Gallagher votes against HR 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• May 18th, 2022: Rep. Gallagher votes against HR 350, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, because these days, a plank of the Republican Party is ostensibly domestic terror.
• May 19th, 2022: Gallagher votes against HR 7688, a bill which would help prevent gas companies from gouging customers on prices.
• July 15th, 2022: Mike Gallagher votes against House Amendment 262, which would require the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Secretary of Defense to publish a report on the infiltration of American law enforcement by Neo-Nazis and white supremacists, offer measures to be taken to remove them from their ranks, and prevent further infiltration by others.
• July 19th, 2022: Rep. Gallagher is one of 157 Republicans who vote against the “Respect for Marriage Act”, which would codify same sex marriage into law nationally.
• July 21st, 2022: Gallagher is one of 195 Republicans who vote against the Right to Contraception Act, which codified the right of Americans to have access to birth control.
• December 6th, 2022: Gallagher, embracing the GOP’s white nationalist, anti-immigrant sentiment votes against HR 7946, which was meant to honor the promise to grant citizenship to immigrants who served in the United States Armed Forces.

Mike Gallagher did not have to face a Democratic challenger in 2022, and was elected to a fourth term in office with 74% of the vote. His 2024 election strategy revolves around embracing the GOP’s white nationalist identity and trying withhold aid to Ukraine until “the border is secure”. Because the GOP are beholden to Russia. And global security can be sacrificed if it means making life in this country more miserable for migrants for daring to be any race other than white.

Full stop.

[JackDaw]

See the case to to determine whether it’s constitutional for a state to ban the Donald from Presidential ballot has been fast tracked to Supreme Court for next month, and scheduling indicates they will rule quickly.

[skyvolt2000]

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-iowa-sc...010432215.html

A day after a gunman killed a sixth grade student and wounded five other people at Perry High School northwest of Des Moines, Donald Trump returned to the state at a campaign event and told residents that they “have to get over it.”

During his speech at Sioux Center, Iowa, the former president gave his thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families, emphasizing that “we’re really with you as much as anybody can be.” After stating the tragedy was “terrible” and “horrible,” Trump insisted: “We have to get over it. We have to move forward. We have to move forward.”

[aja_christopher]

But, not everyone everywhere is doing fantastic so Biden is a failure.
Or so I’m told.

Hard to claim you’re an ally of the Democrats when Fox News is your role model.

It’s equally hypocritical how some dishonestly claim others don’t want to discuss certain facts but have no problem dodging and avoiding facts and issues when they are presented by others.

[tv horror]

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-iowa-sc...010432215.html

” Trump insisted: “We have to get over it. We have to move forward. We have to move forward.” He SHOULD practise what he preaches, he lost the election!

[CaptainEurope]

At the same speech, Trump complained about the use of magnets, claiming that pouring a glass of water over magnets destroys them.
The memes are already out there.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

” Trump insisted: “We have to get over it. We have to move forward. We have to move forward.” He SHOULD practise what he preaches, he lost the election!

BINGO! Exactly that!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Oh, yeah! Today is the fourth anniversary of the insurrection, a riot Donald Trump stirred up because he refused to accept having lost the 2020 election, so he aimed a rabid mob at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results. The fact that vulgar orange bastard is in line to win the Qpublican nomination when he shouldn’t even be on the damn ballot is infuriating on more levels than I can describe.

[Zelena]

L’invité du « Grand Face-à-Face » sera Shlomo Sand, historien israélien, professeur émérite à l'université de Tel-Aviv, auteur de “Deux peuples pour un État? Relire l'histoire du sionisme” (Seuil). (France Inter)

I hope Shlomo Sand’s book “Two people for one state? Rereading Zionism history”(!) will be widely spread. I listened to him on radio and I agree with him: the most desirable solution for Israel and Palestine is a bi-national state.

He admitted that he doesn’t see it in the near future, though…

[Gray Lensman]

Oh, yeah! Today is the fourth anniversary of the insurrection, a riot Donald Trump stirred up because he refused to accept having lost the 2020 election, so he aimed a rabid mob at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results. The fact that vulgar orange bastard is in line to win the Qpublican nomination when he shouldn’t even be on the damn ballot is infuriating on more levels than I can describe.

Third anniversary, although at times it does feel like four or more.

[shooshoomanjoe]

But, not everyone everywhere is doing fantastic so Biden is a failure.
Or so I’m told.

Your food bill and rent didn't go up?

[Jack Dracula]

Oh, yeah! Today is the fourth anniversary of the insurrection, a riot Donald Trump stirred up because he refused to accept having lost the 2020 election, so he aimed a rabid mob at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results. The fact that vulgar orange bastard is in line to win the Qpublican nomination when he shouldn’t even be on the damn ballot is infuriating on more levels than I can describe.

I’m curious whether we’ll see any celebration from far-right groups. That was the “Second Revolution” according many people who rioted at the Capitol that day.

It occurred to me this morning that all the rhetoric perpetuating the big lie over the last few years not only serves to spread and reinforce the lie but also serves to pre-disavow any protesting arguments if Trump somehow games the 2024 election.
Operating fairly and truthfully is an uphill battle when forces are actively trying to tear down and corrupt the system. It’s always easier to disrupt and destroy because you can be proactive in finding and exploiting systemic flaws. Defending and maintaining a system requires mostly being reactive and often only becoming aware of flaws after they’ve already been exploited. Proactive defense also requires imagination and creative thinking and adaptability which are things bureaucracies typically don’t cultivate.


Edit: I should probably cut back on the morning coffee.

[CaptainEurope]

Oh, yeah! Today is the fourth anniversary of the insurrection, a riot Donald Trump stirred up because he refused to accept having lost the 2020 election, so he aimed a rabid mob at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results. The fact that vulgar orange bastard is in line to win the Qpublican nomination when he shouldn’t even be on the damn ballot is infuriating on more levels than I can describe.

Third anniversary.