All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Poor little clueless Princess Ivanka applauds Oprah's Golden Globes speech

She tweeted: "Just saw @Oprah's empowering & inspiring speech at last night’s #GoldenGlobes. Let’s all come together, women & men, & say #TIMESUP! #United" and the tweet barrage began

Alyssa Milano tweeted: "Great! You can make a lofty donation to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund that is available to support your father's accusers."
another from Adam Pauly: "What about the 16 counts of sexual harassment and assault leveled against your dad. Oh and the access HOLLYWOOD tape, oh and how he’s openly stated he’s sexually attracted to you his daughter, what about that?"

Is she that insulated against what is publicly known about her father?

And do we have the Invisible Woman as First Lady? Somebody send out a search party for Melania. She's probably the least active First Lady of modern times. She's mostly been seen only as a trophy wife in photo ops with Trump.

Regarding Ms. Complicit: Insulated? Maybe. Apathetic? More likely. You can't tell me she doesn't know all the stories about Daddykins and his foul treatment of women. I don't think Ivanka was the least bit sincere regarding her praise for Oprah. As for Melania, depending on who you talk to, or what rumors you choose to believe, she's still smarting from that disastrous speech she gave at the RNC and how she caught all kinds of hell for plagiarizing a speech Michelle Obama gave. Meanwhile, it seems pretty evident she wants nothing to do with being First Lady beyond occasional photo ops with Donnie Smallhands, following in the steps of Michelle, easily THE most elegant and accomplished FLOTUS since Jackie was a monumental task Melania was ill-suited and ill-prepared to take on, and everyone knows it. I mean, just look at her in photos, perhaps smiling for the camera isn't her thing, and I can understand that, but, Christ, I've seen happier faces than hers at a wake. Melania is probably the unhappiest woman in Washington.

[Iron Maiden]

Being a former model, Melania learned to do the frozen face for the camera. And it keeps the wrinkles from forming. Posh Spice is the only one that looks more grim than she does. So sad.

Im pretty sure this is not what she signed up for

I keep hearing that she cried when they finally announced the election results, and its come from a number of different sources

I keep reading things like she's good in meeting with small groups but doesn't like to work with big crowds. I don't think she's made that many appearances in at his rallies.

There was that awkward appearance at an army base where she makes a little speech then he shakes her hand and gives her a small shove off the stage. Jimmy Kimmel joked that "He shut her down like a robot from Westworld"

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, as well as 2017, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, whose influence behind the scenes in Republican politics began back during the Bush administration, as he kept getting appointments and promotions that smelled of the good ol' boy nepotism that Dubya's time in the White House was known for. With some help from a big endorsement from conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin, Sasse stormed to the head of the GOP Primary, and easily won office in a mid-term election year in 2014. This in spite of the fact that he wants to ban all abortion and most forms of birth control, because life begins at conception and is not just, as he puts it, "a blob of cells", that he believes that "if the Affordable Care Act lives, America as we know it will die", that he believes the "religious beliefs" of an organization like Hobby Lobby should not be violated so they can make healthcare decisions or citizens, that we should ban same sex marriage, and in his weirdest belief, that the U.S. Capitol should be moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. Since taking office, Sen. Sasse has spent his time trying to defend the 2nd Amendment rights of suspected terrorists that we don't even trust to get on a plane, trying to strip funding from Planned Parenthood over the fake "sting" video produced by the anti-abortion group the Center for Medical Progress, and undermining U.S. diplomacy by being one of the "#47 Traitors" who sent a letter to the leaders of Iran, hoping to sabotage the nuclear treaty being negotiated by the Obama administration.

Now, while late, Sen. Sasse seems like one of the more sane members of the GOP, what with how he announced he would not be attending the 2016 Republican National Convention by saying he would "rather take his kids to watch some dumpster fires, and repeatedly criticizing Donald Trump throughout his administration, we’ll note that Sasse still voted for every single member of the Trump “Cabinet of Horrors.voted to put Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, , voted for the “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act, and voted for the atrocious GOP tax plan. It’s not words that count, Senator, it’s actions. And what we’re seeing is you’re consistently acting against the interests of the American people. We’ll continue monitoring the young Senator, and eagerly await the moment where he starts voting like the moderate he pretends to be.

[Jack Dracula]

Donald Trump Renominates Court Picks Rated ‘Not Qualified’ To Serve

He also re-upped judicial nominees hostile to LGBTQ rights, abortion and African-American voting rights. No surprise there. Those are the issues that rich, straight and misogynistic white men in power care about most.

IMO it's worth pointing out that Trump doesn't actually pick the Judicial nominees. He farmed that task out to the Federalist Society.
The only qualifications needed are extremely conservative views and a willingness to implement them.

[kidfresh512]

IMO it's worth pointing out that Trump doesn't actually pick the Judicial nominees. He farmed that task out to the Federalist Society.
The only qualifications needed are extremely conservative views and a willingness to implement them.

It is his administration and he CHOOSE to let his nominees be picked this way. He doesn't get away from the responsibility at all. He said he hires the "best people". It says even more that he doesn't even give a damn who these people pick to these positions. Throw anyone qualifications be damned and the Congress has to be the ones to "save us"? The hell.


*edit* Honestly have to give credit to the media for getting some of these people's credentials or lack there of known. If some of the horrible questioning of these people didn't go viral and make it obvious that they aren't qualified we would have been in even more trouble.

[Iron Maiden]

Do we need to look at this guy again, who struggled to answer any of the questions?

[Jack Dracula]

It is his administration and he CHOOSE to let his nominees be picked this way. He doesn't get away from the responsibility at all. He said he hires the "best people". It says even more that he doesn't even give a damn who these people pick to these positions. Throw anyone qualifications be damned and the Congress has to be the ones to "save us"? The hell.


*edit* Honestly have to give credit to the media for getting some of these people's credentials or lack there of known. If some of the horrible questioning of these people didn't go viral and make it obvious that they aren't qualified we would have been in even more trouble.

I wasn't implying that he's somehow absolved any responsibility.

[Darkspellmaster]

In good old Illinois our govener race is heating up with Chris Kennedy throwing hard ball at Mayor Emanuel. It's going to be an interesting show down when it comes to who gets the pick.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

He didn't even want to be President. He's just stuck with it because his game went too far and his ego won't allow him to quit and be perceived, in his mind, as a failure. Nobody wanted this except the truly the delusional in society. Unfortunately they make up enough of the people that actually vote to matter.

[Kevinroc]

putting the Oprah talk aside

anyone have any local or state races they are keeping an eye on?

Every single House race in my state. The California Republican Party was already very weak going into 2016, but they might become a thing of the past with the Trump Administration and Congressional GOP trying to screw us over.

[Gray Lensman]

Do we need to look at this guy again, who struggled to answer any of the questions?

Benedict Donald was told no and we all know he doesn't take that well. This is about best we can expect.

[Scott Taylor]

He didn't even want to be President. He's just stuck with it because his game went too far and his ego won't allow him to quit and be perceived, in his mind, as a failure. Nobody wanted this except the truly the delusional in society. Unfortunately they make up enough of the people that actually vote to matter.

Plus our only requirement for someone to be president, as I understand it, is that a person must be a natural born citizen of the United States, a resident for 14 years, and 35 years of age or older. Nothing about them wanting to, being educated, being particularly smart, being nice, having past experience, etc.

I agree with you about why he ran but his victory might mean alot of changes in who wins elections in the future. Especially as partisan politics on both sides continue to erode people's faith in the system.

Do we need to, as a country, re-think the definition of "qualified" to run for office?

[TheInvisibleMan]

Plus our only requirement for someone to be president, as I understand it, is that a person must be a natural born citizen of the United States, a resident for 14 years, and 35 years of age or older. Nothing about them wanting to, being educated, being particularly smart, being nice, having past experience, etc.

I agree with you about why he ran but his victory might mean alot of changes in who wins elections in the future. Especially as partisan politics on both sides continue to erode people's faith in the system.

Do we need to, as a country, re-think the definition of "qualified" to run for office?

yes we do

I maintain that if a person wishes to run for POTUS, they must first have held some sort of elected office (it could be Town Clerk for all I care) but something

[Dalak]

This is why Climate Change fits better, and why those that oppose it won't drop 'Global Warming' like the POTEC.

PHOTOS: The Sahara Desert, Painted White With Snow

For a few fleeting hours Sunday, people perched in the arid heights of northwest Algeria caught sight of something rarely seen: the Sahara Desert, shrouded in white. Residents of Ain Sefra, a small town surrounded by the Atlas Mountains of Northern Africa, walked outside to find a dusting of snow underfoot — and more than a foot of it crowding the town's outer boundaries.

While it's not unheard of — snow visited this landscape in December 2016, after all — the wintry weather is indeed rare for the region: As NPR's Maggie Penman pointed out at the time, the last major snowfall in Ain Sefra before that happened back in 1979.

But, as Forbes noted, the unlikely winter wonderland was not alone in experiencing extreme weather this past week — and indeed, it came about because of odd patterns elsewhere:

"The east coast of the United States continues to face the brutally cold winter storm Grayson and Sydney, Australia swelters in the hottest temperatures seen in nearly 80 years at 116.6 degrees Farenheight.

"High pressures over Europe caused cold air to be pulled down into northern Africa and into the Sahara Desert. This mass of cold air rose 3,280 feet to the elevation of Ain Sefra, a town surrounded by the Atlas Mountains, and began to snow early Sunday morning."

Still, the scene Sunday was not to last.

By late afternoon, the dunes' blazing orange and red had reasserted themselves over the surrounding palette, as rising temperatures forced the snow to give way again to sand.

And we got snow here for the first time in quite a few years down in deepinthehearta Texas. It's also been very wet for the last few years after the usual drought conditions persisting through my school days and well into Obama's tenure, so it's clear to me at least that very well established weather patterns are shifting. That means that while we still need to get a handle on what we're doing to the environment before it leads to true catastrophe, we're too late to stop disruption to global weather patterns.

[Dalak]

Plus our only requirement for someone to be president, as I understand it, is that a person must be a natural born citizen of the United States, a resident for 14 years, and 35 years of age or older. Nothing about them wanting to, being educated, being particularly smart, being nice, having past experience, etc.

I agree with you about why he ran but his victory might mean alot of changes in who wins elections in the future. Especially as partisan politics on both sides continue to erode people's faith in the system.

Do we need to, as a country, re-think the definition of "qualified" to run for office?

I also think there needs to be some sort of significant penalty for knowingly lying to members of the public by any government officials. The bar is far too low on this type of behavior and if no one wants to raise it for the common good then it looks like someone's going to have to reach up and twist the ear of society like a tough-as-nails granny who's tired of whippersnappers causing trouble at the table. If that means we have to legislate away the first amendment rights of government officials to repeatedly tell known and proven untruths when they are publicly representing the US, then I'm not sorry about that in the slightest.