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

[numberthirty]

So, it looks like whatever that "Tariff Round Table/Announcement" was going to be wound up getting yanked from the schedule.

[aja_christopher]

They need to be asking every single person that is anywhere close to being on the fence what they need to get to work on to get their votes. Anything except that? You are absolutely risking throwing away votes that might win elections.

Nope.

You're a grown adult and you know what's a stake.

If that's not enough for you to get out and vote, then that's on you and no one else.

Which is why I constantly tell you enjoy your president -- you deserve him.

[worstblogever]

Three years ago today we ran our profile of Jean Schmidt, who on the floor of the House in 2005, called House Rep. John Murtha, a 38 year career veteran of the Marine Corps a coward for calling for troops to be removed from Iraq, getting Democrats riled up enough to drown her out with boos. While she claimed she was just quoting a Marine who she spoke to at Arlington National Cemetery about Murtha, the Marine she named denied ever making such a statement. Among her other charming moments include denying that the Armenian genocide occurred, agreeing with constituents who were Birthers, and going to an elementary school where she went ahead and took it upon herself to teach a room full of six-year olds about the word abortion. Schmidt also voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Act, voted against the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", voted against the Zadroga Act, falsely claimed "32 of 33 women who go to Planned Parenthood get an abortion", and when she misheard the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act and thought it was overturned, gleefully squealed in delight on the steps of the court. She truly earned her sobriquet. Since Schmidt's career fell apart in 2012 after voters in her district finally realized she was utterly heartless.

It was in both 2016, and in 2017, that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted profiles about Janet Porter, a longtime anti-gay, anti-choice activist from Ohio who is an old pal of Michelle Bachmann who has written articles for the madhouse that is WorldNetDaily, (including the time where she discussed the Birther controversy surrounding President Obama). In the 2016 elections, Janet Porter decided to take a crack at running for the Ohio State Senate, to challenge incumbent GOP State Senator Larry Obhof because he refused to sponsor a fetal heartbeat abortion ban bill (because it's highly unconstitutional and the courts would overturn it anyway) and lost in the primary after only garnering 35% of the vote. Her qualifications for the job were few, she was a former conservative media personality who would present insane conspiracy theories (like the one where she warned of President Obama using FEMA to “stifle dissent” or that there will be a criminal ban placed on Christianity, focusing in particular on finding ways to do so to protect gay rights, which she relates to being a “Pedophile Protection Act”. That last bit of paranoia also led her to work to create the documentary “Light Wins”, featuring several sitting Republican members of Congress. While Porter had a lot more sway back in say, 2007, her media profile diminished in 2010 after she became an obsessive Dominionist who would pray for God to take control of America’s media. That got her show cancelled on mainstream radio, so instead, she organizes wacky rallies and stunts like calling upon fetuses to testify in the Ohio House to try to get legislation as levelheaded as a fetal heartbeat bills passed, or work towards defunding Planned Parenthood, when she’s not also advocating for gay conversion therapy to be more widely utilized. Within the past FEW years, has compared the current “plight” of Christians in the United States to that of the Jews in Nazi Germany, likened gay marriage to slavery, compared fighting ISIS to trying to have abortion outlawed, claimed the End Times were upon us and the Great Flood was caused by God being angry about gay marriage a couple thousand years ago, and suggested that anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis should be considered as TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year” In August in 2016, told her fellow Christians that "God would hold them accountable" if they did not vote for Donald Trump for president and predictably declared the candidate who lost the popular vote by 3 million votes but won the electoral college was due to "the mercy of God", and "a door of opportunity" to fulfill her dream of ending abortion. She then set back to work pissing off Ohio Republicans with her unconstitutional fetal heartbeat bill, saying she hoped it would pass so it would "outlaw abortion before the mother even knows she's pregnant". Because that doesn't sound like a fanatical or inherently manipulative of a motivation, at all. If there were any doubt Janet Porter was more of a hindrance than a help to the GOP, we’ll note that she spent much of the past year serving as the spokeswoman for noted theocratic fanatic and pedophile Roy Moore in his quest to get elected to the U.S. Senate. She’s not running for office in 2018 that we know of, so we will set aside her 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 656-25, since this was established in July 2014.)


Wayne Steinhauer

Welcome to the 656th original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today, we’ll be discussing Wayne Steinhauer, the embodiment of Mr. Kotter upon reaching retirement, and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives to represent District 9 who was first appointed to that position by Governor Dennis Daugaard in 2015, before winning re-election for the first time in 2016. Steinhauer replaced Steve Hickey, the CSGOPOTD alumni who made himself infamous as an anti-LGBT bigot who had to resign in disgrace after being accused of forging signatures to get his name on the ballot in the first place. For as homophobic as Hickey was, Steinhauer is apparently just as much of a misogynist.

This became apparent in early 2017, when during discussions in the South Dakota state legislature about workplace protections for pregnant women that Steinhauer was one of eight Republican men who voted to block it and opined:

"It’s not prison. You can quit. You’ve got a choice every day. You make a choice whether you come to work. And I’m here to tell you, if a person’s not allowing you to breastfeed at work or making appropriate accommodations at work, we can pass this law, but you don’t want to work for that guy. Get the heck out of there."

Why, if we didn’t know any better, we might think that Steinhauer and his GOP pals are disingenuous and utterly full of s*** when they tout their opposition to abortion as proof that they are concerned about the unborn. And wouldn’t you know it, South Dakota Right to Life gives him a 100% rating, partially because he also co-sponsored a ban on abortion at 19 weeks that is unlikely to hold up in courts. Gotta love the hypocrisy there.

Steinhauer also has consistently shown himself to be contemptuous of workers’ rights, regardless of if that worker is pregnant or not, like when he co-sponsored legislation to prevent collective bargaining at public universities in South Dakota. His ”smaller government” principles also have shown him wanting to make the state hands-off enough to co-sponsor transphobic bathroom legislation for the state’s schools. This in spite of there being zero reports nationwide of men impersonating women or transgender citizens attacking women in restrooms.

Needless to say, with such a distressing voting record and a moment so disgusting it might alienate every mother and daughter in the state come 2018… we might see the end of Steinhauer’s career early. At least, we hope.

[worstblogever]

So, it looks like whatever that "Tariff Round Table/Announcement" was going to be wound up getting yanked from the schedule.

Wonder if Trump's meeting with video game makers to blame mass shootings on them and not guns being everywhere will also be cancelled, eh?

[numberthirty]

Nope.

You're a grown adult and you know what's a stake.

If that's not enough for you to get out and vote, then that's on you -- not me.

Here's the thing about that...

"You"?

Ain't the party. The idea that you should get to decide who it is "On" versus The Democratic Party actually taking a more serious approach to addressing what has and has not worked when it comes to winning elections?

That idea is so funny that I think I might forget to laugh.

If as much is at stake as you contend, getting serious about addressing how to put a party in a position to be able to do something about it is probably exactly what they should be doing.

[numberthirty]

Wonder if Trump's meeting with video game makers to blame mass shootings on them and not guns being everywhere will also be cancelled, eh?

While you shouldn't quote me, I believe that one is still a go.

While that should get a round of "Yakety Sax", it's not much of a shock.

[aja_christopher]

That idea is so funny that I think I might forget to laugh.

Yeah, having Trump as president is real funny, 30.

You are a great example of why it's a waste of time to try to convince some people to vote one way or the other -- people give you logical arguments and all you do is complain and make excuses for why they aren't good enough.

You're the voter -- you're responsible.

Now I'm going to follow my own advice and start ignoring you again instead of wasting even more time.

[numberthirty]

Yeah, having Trump as president is real funny, 30.

Again, I'll go ahead and let someone else handle this one...

Can't ever lose if you keep fighting strawmen, right?

[numberthirty]

You are a great example of why it's a waste of time to try to convince some people to vote one way or the other -- people give you logical arguments and all you do is complain and make excuses for why they aren't good enough.

Let's go ahead and address "Actual Reality" versus what is in blue.

In a Joy Reid interview, she said she actually had to see the youth vote not go to HRC to believe that it would happen.

If that assumption was not made and even a small improvement in the youth vote had happened in some places, what I did(or did not do) would have been a non-issue(not that it actually was an issue, mind you).

Seeing that reality for what it is and addressing it is probably what needs to happen. If folks want to set that aside and put the responsibility on voters? Their call.

Pretty flawed approach to actually making any worthwhile progress, but their call.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Wonder if Trump's meeting with video game makers to blame mass shootings on them and not guns being everywhere will also be cancelled, eh?

If they were smart they'd send this image to Trump in messages...

[JCAll]

If they were smart they'd send this image to Trump in messages...

You think the secret service would be upset if everyone started mass sending Trump GIFs from Mortal Kombat?

[aja_christopher]

http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/p...n-on-abortion/

In 2017, 38% of women said they believe abortion should be illegal in all/most cases. 42% of men do as well. That's not a massive difference. Gender is actually one of the areas where support doesn't differentiate much if at all. The differences manifest along racial, religious, educational, and ideological backgrounds.

"Only a fool would leave it up to a bunch of old men to decide what's best for women -- especially Republican men like Trump or Pence [Christian] or whatever conservative justices they appoint."

-----

Re-reading this just shows me how stupid some of these arguments are -- even when you map it out for some people, they still don't get it.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

How Brazil’s ‘Lord Of Guns’ Armed Rio’s Drug War With U.S. Weapons

Weak U.S. laws mean it’s not just our guns being trafficked; it’s our gun violence, too. I'm sure the NRA and the gun lobby must be proud about this. Meanwhile....

**********

Our National Reckoning On Guns Hasn’t Included The Firearm Industry. It Should.

While a growing protest of lax gun laws has put the NRA in the hot seat, the business leaders responsible for manufacturing millions of guns annually remain unquestioned and unbothered. Needless to say, that HAS to change. Meanwhile....

**********

Florida Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Guns On Campus

Gov. Rick Scott has expressed hesitancy over the bill and hasn’t ruled out a veto. What makes people think college staffers are anymore qualified to be carrying guns than high school staffers? Ridiculous!

**********

Florida Teacher Keeps Job After Telling Students Not To Date Anyone ‘Acting Like A N****r’

“He loves to talk about politics and Donald Trump,” one student said. How that miserable scumsucker kept his job is a wonder to me. If a black teacher used a slur to describe whites, he'd be thrown out on his ass in an instant.

**********

Sean Hannity Gets Called Out On His Own Show: You Don’t Tell The Truth

Univision’s Jorge Ramos gets into it with Fox News host. Nice to see Sean Hamhocks get roasted for a change.

[Mister Mets]

You didn't mention Saddam's atrocities prior to this post and my response is that regardless of what he was doing, it wasn't our place to go in and kill tens of thousands of innocent people and nearly destroy an entire country to prevent him from doing so, especially without the support of the vast majority of our international allies.

And come on, Mets -- just as with abortion we both know which side of the fence the Democrats and the Republicans stand on marijuana, generally speaking, which is why Obama didn't interfere with those states that chose to legalize it, while Sessions is now challenging said choice.

I'll be blunt -- I'm not going to sit here and play ideological semantics, as I have much better things to do with my time.

I mentioned that Hussein was a dictator. Even if that doesn't get to the specifics (chemical weapon stockpiles, his sons' rape chambers), implicit in that is that he has had a lot of innocent people killed and used force to curtail freedoms.

With the legalization of marijuana, if seems you want Democrats to get credit for something they believe when a majority of officeholders aren't willing to be on the record for it. It also allows for a defense of Republicans on the grounds that officeholders secretly support the right side in a controversial issue, but aren't willing to be on the record about it for political convenience. Just like Democrats.

[mojotastic]

How Brazil’s ‘Lord Of Guns’ Armed Rio’s Drug War With U.S. Weapons

Weak U.S. laws mean it’s not just our guns being trafficked; it’s our gun violence, too. I'm sure the NRA and the gun lobby must be proud about this.

Is not really USA fault, specially since in the article they said that rifles are the 5% of the guns in Brazil, they are actually only 1% of all guns in Brazil, also you have to consider how old some of these weapons are, remember that around the same both Peru and Colombia had terror groups operating in the area, and they would get their weapons by buying them from Viktor Bou ex KGB operative who was known as one of the most notorious gun traffickers, in Colombia there are reports where the military itself would sell guns to the FARC the FARC would also get those guns from the raid they did to military outpost and lastly the guns might have come from other guerrillas group in central america remember that the US provided the weaponry to some of those guerrillas in the 80s and 90s.


Just over 80 per cent of the 8,956 firearms seized by law enforcement agencies in 2015 were revolvers and pistols. The rest comprised a smattering of shotguns and carbines. Less than one per cent included sub-machine guns and automatic or semi-automatic rifles. From January to May of 2016, another 3,943 firearms were collected by police, most of which consisted of pistols and revolvers.

These latest trends are remarkably consistent over time. There were just over 154,000 firearms collected by police between 2001-2014. The high-water mark for firearm seizures in Rio de Janeiro came in 2003 when over 15,000 guns were retrieved from crime scenes. Between 2008 and 2014, the numbers oscillated between 7,000 and 9,000 per year. The proportion of these consisting of revolvers and pistols hovered at 80 percent, with less than two percent including heavier weaponry.

Identifying the type of firearms used in crime matters. Contrary to the claims of some government officials, most guns used in homicide were sourced from Rio de Janeiro or neighboring states and not from neighboring countries. Although many seized guns have their serial numbers physically erased by a previous owner, three quarters of those with the markings left intact can be traced to a relatively small number of private security companies and civilian owners registered in Rio de Janeiro.

Weapons are routinely leaked and stolen from the arsenals of the Brazilian police and armed forces, albeit in smaller quantities. For example, Brazilian police have reported losses of Colt (.223) and Taurus (0.40) handguns while FN rifles (7.62) have also been recovered with markings from the Brazilian marines. There are relatively few reported cases of military-style firearms and ammunition going walking, but they still represent a risk. According to some sources, Brazil's armed forces have an estimated surplus stock of around 800,000 firearms.

Ultimately, most of the guns seized in the state of Rio de Janeiro were originally manufactured in Brazil. The most significant source is Brazil's largest manufacturer, Taurus. In 2015, the Secretary for Public Security estimated that about 40 percent of all guns seized were made by the Porto Alegre-based firm. Other big Brazilian gun makers, such as Rossi and Imbel, are not far behind and account for a decent share of collected handguns. Weapons from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, China the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Spain, Turkey and, of course, the United States are well represented.

Firearms data is messy and it is challenging to get hard numbers. No one knows how many guns are officially registered in the country. The best estimate is that there are upward of 17.6 million firearms in circulation, at least half of which are illegal, but it is difficult to be sure.

One of the reasons for this uncertainty is that the National System for Firearms and the National Military Management Arms System are still not fully operational. Complicating matters, the Disarmament Statute signed into law in 2003 was supposed to improve registration and investigation, yet implementation was resisted by state authorities and gun rights activists from the outset.

A popular misconception is that automatic assault rifles trafficked from neighboring countries are behind the city´s spike in lethal violence. Grainy footage of young men menacingly waving AK-47s are circulating in social media. Media stories regularly feature line-ups of arrested suspects and their arsenals of heavy weaponry

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rober...b_7831298.html

https://www.opendemocracy.net/democr...guns-come-from

Link in Spanish
http://www.dw.com/es/traficante-de-a...ork/a-15507500