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

[Tami]

It comes to something when even Jeremy Hunt, the British Health Secretary in the worst UK government in living memory, seems like the voice of reason compared to Trump.

Here he is in response to Donald Trump's latest asinine tweet on the UK: https://twitter.com/Jeremy_Hunt/stat...03230601089024

While it's mostly an advantage, sometimes it's a real pain that the UK and the US share the same language. It seems to mean that every asinine US right wing political talking point, whether on healthcare or immigration or terrorism, is keen to draw in the UK as an endless cautionary tale for US Conservatives. As if we hadn't ourselves had a Conservative government since 2010.

Maybe Trump will scare those in the UK to reconsider their choice of political parties and politicians next time.

[Iron Maiden]

A chemistry professor got his kids ready for school. Then ICE arrested him on his front lawn.

ICE has got to go the way of the Dodo. This country doesn't need a Secret Police with no oversight.

Maybe WBE needs to do special profiles on Trump appointees....but that might make his head explode.

I did find this article on the guy who Trump brought out of retirement to be the ICE Director and he is pretty hard line. He wants to ship out the DACAs all together and he's been doing it as we've seen in articles like yours and the 39 year old landscaper in Michigan with a wife and 2 children.

I read a lot about how they want a clean DACA bill," Homan said, referring to Congress' drawn-out debate over a revitalized DACA program. "If we get a clean DACA bill, shame on all of us. You can’t reward people that brought children here illegally."

Trump's current wife is an immigrant and there are those who say her records are a bit dicey about how she stayed in this country. She was getting work as a model without the proper paperwork.

[Malvolio]

Republicans Split From Trump, Say Memo Doesn’t Mean Russia Probe Should End

Rep. Trey Gowdy, who helped draft the memo critical of a part of the investigation, says “there’s going to be a Russia probe.” I find this most enjoyable.

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Dodge Super Bowl Ad Used MLK Quote To Sell Trucks And People Are Not Happy

Whole lotta nope. I couldn't agree more. That spot was as crass and disrepectful to Dr. King as they came.

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Congress Left Health Care For Millions Of Poor People In The Lurch

This time the issue is funding for community clinics — which, in theory, everybody supports. Something like that shouldn't be allowed to happen in this country.

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Reportedly Scales Back Probe Of Equifax

Trump’s new CFPB chief has not ordered subpoenas against Equifax or sought sworn testimony from executives. The CFPB has also shelved plans for on-the-ground tests of how Equifax protects data. So much for actually protecting citizens. Revolting!

**********

Amtrak Train Derails After Collision In South Carolina; At Least 2 Dead

The train, which had more than 140 passengers and crew on board, was apparently on “the wrong track.”

Of course the CFPB isn't investigating Equifax. Trump has cut all of their funding. They won't be able to investigate anything!

[Coin Biter]

Maybe Trump will scare those in the UK to reconsider their choice of political parties and politicians next time.

Well, I'm afraid it will prove an inspiration to some politicians. I'm not sure someone like Jacob Rees-Mogg would have doubled down on his attack on the independence of the Civil Service in the pre-Trump days, and people within the Conservative party might think that if obvious charatanism was not a disbar to national leadership in the US, there's no reason why they shouldn't go for Boris Johnson. He's hated by many, but at least he's known, which now seems to be one of the main criteria for political success.

So far as the electorate is concerned, there are political tactics which are a lot easier to spot when they are taking place across the Atlantic, than when they are taking place at home. If anything, attitudes are hardening, and polarisation increasing.

In short, personally I think the prognosis is gloomy However, maybe I'm too negative. I'm not young anymore, and I have fears for the future, and perhaps there are developments to be inspired by, that I'm just not seeing.

[worstblogever]

Maybe WBE needs to do special profiles on Trump appointees....but that might make his head explode.

I already kind of did, if you include Ben Carson, Rick Perry, and Jeff Sessions to name a few.

But if I had to recap how dumb Betsy DeVos is, I'd have to curl up into a bottle somewhere for at least a month.

[Jack Dracula]

Of course the CFPB isn't investigating Equifax. Trump has cut all of their funding. They won't be able to investigate anything!

If anyone needed a perfect example for the downside of financial deregulation, there it is.

[worstblogever]

Three years ago, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" ran a profile of John Johnston, who was a former Marine and member of the NSA who was a candidate for District 10 of the Indiana State Senate in 2014. At first, it seemed like he might be a good challenger to incumbent Democrat Chuck Mosely... until Johnston went on social media to rant about America's social safety net, and how he wanted to cut it, lamenting that in dealing with the poor, that "no one has the guts to just let them wither and die". The media asked him if he would like to retract that statement, and instead, Johnston doubled down, comparing the downtrodden on welfare to "like training a child". Predictably, he lost the election after that, and has not made a run for office since.

Two years ago today, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Tim Donnelly, a former two terms member of California State Assembly from 2011-2015, in spite of the fact that Donnelly was featured as an anti-immigrant goon trying to "fix the fence" on the Colbert Report back in 2006. During his 2010 campaign, he was speaking at Cal State University at Fresno, and called for the resignation of the student body president because he was an undocumented immigrant on the school's dean list (which only made the crowd gathered heckle Donnelly) and made it a personal quest once in office to see them kicked out of the country. If nothing else, though, Tim Donnelly had great aspirations, and felt like his place in the California legislature wasn't enough, getting ballsy enough to run for Governor of California in the hopes that he could win the GOP nomination to challenge the legendary Jerry Brown in the 2014 elections. However, Los Angeles times uncovered a speech delivered by Donnelly in 2006 when he was running around with the Minutemen militia, and he compared illegal immigration to warfare, with some proud reflections on our ancestors killing Mexicans. Somehow, though, Donnelly got even more xenophobic in May, getting on social media to link to an article by radical anti-Muslim commentator Frank Gaffney, that claimed his primary opponent Neel Kashkari, a former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Financial Stability, who worked on helping the American economy recover from the 2007-2008 banking crisis, and a Hindu... was part of a secret plot to institute Sharia Law upon the American financial system. In spite of being a politician in California, Donnelly campaigned against the ban of the sale of the Confederate flag in state-owned souvenir shops. At this point, Donnelly only floats around the fringe of California politics from outside the legislature, trying to prevent people from being required to give their kids their vaccinations before they go to public school. Donnelly actually ran for U.S. House to represent California’s 8th Congressional District in 2016, but finished third in the primary with only 21% of the vote, far behind Rep. Paul Cook.

One year ago, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled Clayton Fiscus, a now former member of the Montana House of Representatives from 2013 through 2017, who prior to ever being elected, stated his desire to try and pass a bill to have intelligent design taught in public school classrooms, in spite of the fact that repeatedly, such legislation has always been overturned as a violation of the separation of church and state. Shortly after his re-election in 2014, Fiscus tried yet again to strike a blow for Creationists, with a bill to allow students to challenge the theories of evolutionary biology, under the guise of “critical thinking skills”, without any irony. But let’s not let that one issue be the only thing in Fiscus’ voting record we take exception to. The rest of it has some equally frustrating stances, like in February of 2013, when he voted for HB 384, a bill that would have made it legal for children to bring their guns to school. (Hell of a way to respond to the Newtown Massacre, only a few weeks earlier, right?) Or his vote against SB 107, which would repeal Montana’s law that any sexual contact between two individuals of the same sex should be considered “deviate sexual relations” (Yeah, effectively, he was standing for homosexuality still being a crime.) Fiscus introduced a bill to begin drug testing welfare recipients in Montana (that old failed conservative policy chestnut), and voted for HB 245, one of those bizarre Republican efforts to legalize the sale of raw milk. Fiscus abruptly decided to not run for re-election in 2016, so we’ll set aside his CSGOPOTD profile at this time and go ahead and take a look at a different wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 644-25, since this was established in July 2014.)

[worstblogever]

Alan Harper
Welcome to the 644th original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today we’ll be discussing Alan Harper, a man who was first elected to office in the Alabama House of Representatives back in 2006 as a Democrat, but switched his party affiliation to Republican in 2012, partly to preserve his own career after the rest of the GOP redrew his district, but it’s not hard to understand why, when you hear some of the ideas he’s floated the past several years.

Alan Harper earned his share of infamy on November 30th, 2015, when he got on Facebook, and posted a screed asking people to take care to only shop at American (Christian) businesses:

“As you travel during the holidays or any other time, please try to shop and purchase gas and other items at American owned stores. The [convenience] stores/tobacco outlets, etc. with the lights around the windows and doors are not owned by God fearing Christians. In large part, these stores are owned by folk that send their profits back to their homeland and then in turn use these funds against our country to create turmoil, fear and in some cases death and destruction.”

After facing well-earned criticism for his nativist, ill-informed rant (which included not just an opinion editorial in his local newspaper, but a denouncement from the Alabama Republican Party), Alan Harper took what passes for the high road in Republican politics by choosing to not apologize and said he was, what else, double down on his claims and say he was “being taken out of context”.

The Daily Beast, while filing report, took a look back only a few weeks early and noted that Harper also expressed support for a police officer in a news story where he dragged an African Americanstudent of their classroom in South Carolina:

“JUST reporting facts from my past experience, but when a police officer asks or instructs me to undertake an action…I do it immediately and without question. If not, I full well expect to have the ‘snot’ kicked out of me and that is fine if I am non compliant.”

Other than the statement the Alabama GOP released to be critical of Harper’s statements, they did nothing else against him, including leaving him in charge of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee in the Alabama House. Because nothing encourages tourists from foreign lands like leaving a raging xenophobe in charge of them.

Now, what would you expect the voting record of a Democrat-turned-Republican in Alabama looks like? Well, this might be shocking to you, but when you look at Harper’s voting record, it looks like he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing throughout his entire career as a Democrat. Conveniently, whenever Alabama Republicans brought a vote to the floor on abortion or LGBT rights, Democrat Harper would be absent that day and not vote. Once he became a Republican, though, whenever those bills hit the floor, he was a reliable “YEA” vote, and in fact, would even co-sponsor conservative legislation:

• February 20th, 2014: Alan Harper votes for HB 45, an amendment to Alabama’s state constitution to allow for a monument to the Ten Commandments to be placed on state property (an obvious First Amendment violation, because Roy Moore already proved that years prior).
• March 4th, 2014: Harper votes for HB 490, a “fetal heartbeat” anti-abortion bill that would effectively ban abortion at six weeks, before most women even know they are pregnant.
• April 3rd, 2014: Alan Harper votes for SB 63, a bill to begin drug testing welfare recipients in Alabama (even though these bills always fail to find significant drug use among those on public assistance, and they eventually get overturned as violations of the Fourth Amendment).
• March 11th, 2015: Harper votes for HB 18, to reauthorize the use of the electric chair against death penalty prisoners in Alabama.
• February 17th, 2016: Alan Harper co-sponsors HB 45, a bill aimed at banning fetal tissue being sold or used in research, which was born on insane conservative conspiracy theories started around the time by the anti-abortion group, the Center for Medical Progress, and their widely debunked Planned Parenthood “sting” video.
• May 4th, 2016: Harper votes to attempt to ban dilation and evacuation abortions in Alabama, even though the procedure is protected via Roe v. Wade. (Surprise, it was overturned by a judge.)
• April 25th, 2017: Harper votes for HB 24, a bill aimed at denying gay couples the ability to adopt by giving adoption agencies the “religious freedom” to decide to reject adoption applicants as they see fit.
• April 27th, 2017: Alan Harper votes for SB 60, a bill meant to preserve Confederate monuments in Alabama.

We are glad to report, however, that after twelve years as a state legislator, and now that he’s started delving into bigotry unabashedly, Alan Harper will not be running for re-election in 2018. Alabama continues to have a good year for getting rid of its Republican refuse.

[Jack Dracula]

Pissy POTUS won't like funding for his precious wall being left on the Congress cutting floor.

It does give him an excuse for not getting it done.
"I tried, but the Democrats and the traitors in the GOP wouldn't let me! SHAME ON THEM!"

[WestPhillyPunisher]

A bit of good news here in my home state:

SCOTUS denies Pa. GOP lawmakers' attempt to delay drawing new congressional map

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an attempt by top Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers to delay drawing a new congressional map after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found it unconstitutional.

Days after the state high court threw out the state’s congressional district map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, drawn to favor Republicans and discriminate against Democrats, State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) and State House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

In their request for a stay of the state court order, Scarnati and Turzai said that the justices were essentially legislating from the bench, taking power that the U.S. Constitution gives to state legislatures.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. denied the stay request.

Experts had viewed the request as a long shot, since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court explicitly noted in its order that it was based solely on the state Constitution, keeping it out of the federal realm.

I'm sure Republican leaders in other states were hoping the Surpremes would rule in favor of the state's GOP so they could roll out, or maintain their own gerrymandering schemes, but that ain't happening now. Good.

[BeastieRunner]

A bit of good news here in my home state:

SCOTUS denies Pa. GOP lawmakers' attempt to delay drawing new congressional map



I'm sure Republican leaders in other states were hoping the Surpremes would rule in favor of the state's GOP so they could roll out, or maintain their own gerrymandering schemes, but that ain't happening now. Good.

You're having a good week already!

[PaulBullion]

Not true, the Kochs and Mercers will funnel more money into conservative think tanks and superpacs to ensure that their personal agendas are carried out while the average guys voice in Washington becomes weaker.

You only need to buy one Paul Ryan. The rest of the money goes into the Caymans accounts.

[PaulBullion]

Well, I'm afraid it will prove an inspiration to some politicians. I'm not sure someone like Jacob Rees-Mogg would have doubled down on his attack on the independence of the Civil Service in the pre-Trump days, and people within the Conservative party might think that if obvious charatanism was not a disbar to national leadership in the US, there's no reason why they shouldn't go for Boris Johnson. He's hated by many, but at least he's known, which now seems to be one of the main criteria for political success.

So far as the electorate is concerned, there are political tactics which are a lot easier to spot when they are taking place across the Atlantic, than when they are taking place at home. If anything, attitudes are hardening, and polarisation increasing.

In short, personally I think the prognosis is gloomy However, maybe I'm too negative. I'm not young anymore, and I have fears for the future, and perhaps there are developments to be inspired by, that I'm just not seeing.

Is UKIP still a thing though?

[Kevinroc]

Dow Jones industrials drop 500 as stock market losses deepen

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireS...banks-52847413

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 500 points Monday, bringing it back just below 25,000 points, a level it first crossed a month ago. The heavy losses deepened a slump that began on Friday as investors worried that creeping signs of higher inflation and interest rates could derail the market's record-setting rally.

[InformationGeek]

Dow Jones industrials drop 500 as stock market losses deepen

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireS...banks-52847413

And now here's a photo to go along with that.