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

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Or...

You could actually do the common sense thing, and put a law on the books.

Those have been known to outlive a Presidency. Even outlived a President or two.

I beg to differ. Actuallly VOTING would've had a FAR more immediate impact. Anything less than that is a half-assed excuse.

[Kevinroc]

Steve Schmidt renounces the Republican Party. He previously worked on campaigns for George W. Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and John McCain.

https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/...25231004004352

29 years and nine months ago I registered to vote and became a member of The Republican Party which was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery and stand for the dignity of human life. Today I renounce my membership in the Republican Party. It is fully the party of Trump.

It is corrupt, indecent and immoral. With the exception of a few Governors like Baker, Hogan and Kasich it is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party’s greatest leaders. This child separation policy is connected to the worst abuses of

Humanity in our history. It is connected by the same evil that separated families during slavery and dislocated tribes and broke up Native American families. It is immoral and must be repudiated. Our country is in trouble. Our politics are badly broken. The first step to a

Season of renewal in our land is the absolute and utter repudiation of Trump and his vile enablers in the 2018 election by electing Democratic majorities. I do not say this as an advocate of a progressive agenda. I say it as someone who retains belief in DEMOCRACY and decency.

On Ronald Reagan’s grave are these words. “ I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.” He would be ashamed of McConnell and Ryan and all the rest while this corrupt government

Establishes internment camps for babies. Everyone of these complicit leaders will carry this shame through history. There legacies will be ones of well earned ignominy. They have disgraced their country and brought dishonor to the Party of Lincoln.

I have spent much of my life working in GOP politics. I have always believed that both parties were two of the most important institutions to the advancement of human freedom and dignity in the history of the world. Today the GOP has become a danger to our democracy and values.

This Independent voter will be aligned with the only party left in America that stands for what is right and decent and remains fidelitous to our Republic, objective truth, the rule of law and our Allies. That party is the Democratic Party.

[aja_christopher]

Or...

You could actually do the common sense thing, and put a law on the books.

Short of running for Congress, none of us here can put "a law on the books" but almost all of us here had the opportunity to vote against a candidate who condones racism, sexism, Islamophobia, and torture.

Dodge your responsibility for this all you like 30 -- it doesn't change the facts.

Regardless, I'm not going to sit here and argue with you about this -- you (and many other Americans) can either repeat said mistake or learn from it.

[PaulBullion]

Short of running for Congress, none of us here can put "a law on the books" but almost all of us here had the opportunity to vote against a candidate who condones racism, sexism, Islamophobia, and torture.

Dodge your responsibility for this all you like 30 -- it doesn't change the facts.

Regardless, I'm not going to sit here and argue with you about this -- you (and many other Americans) can either repeat said mistake or learn from it.

My money is on "repeat" with the guys shirking responsibility on this thread.

Our only hope lies with the registration of angry young voters, and unprecedented turnout of the just.

[aja_christopher]

My money is on "repeat" with the guys shirking responsibility on this thread.

Our only hope lies with the registration of angry young voters, and unprecedented turnout of the just.

Agreed -- at the end of the day it's all about average Americans getting out and taking responsibility for our democracy.

And at the very least forming a counterbalance to "Americans" who post comments like these under pictures of immigrant children in cages:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgDxjq7U0AQ4c3O.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgDxjq7VMAIRF5O.jpg

[PaulBullion]

Lawyers and medical professionals who visited a federal shelter for babies and toddlers taken from parents at border describe play rooms of crying preschool-age children in crisis.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Steve Schmidt renounces the Republican Party. He previously worked on campaigns for George W. Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and John McCain.

https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/...25231004004352

Brilliant! Every last craven and cowardly Republican in Congress busy enabling Trump when they aren't outright kissing his orange ass should be made to read those strong words from Mr. Schmidt and reflect on the evil and shame they've brought on their party and, more importantly, the country.

[worstblogever]

Reminder that a "pro lifer" shot up a pizza parlor over made-up rumors of child trafficking conducted by Hillary Clinton from there.

I actually had to wonder about this. Like, how many times did the Trump campaign slander Hillary Clinton with things like "her crooked charity" or "her ties to Wall Street" and then Trump has been proven to have done exactly what horrible thing they accused the Clintons of.

I mean, Trump has already admitted to barging into the dressing room of underage beauty pageant contestants, bragged about sexually assault, been accused of raping his first wife, and there was a detailed story about an underaged sex worker reporting on Trump assaulting her in the 90s.

So as reports were that Kirjsten Nielsen just shrugged when asked by the media about the location of the girls and toddlers, knowing how ICE does the worst job of background checks and employee training of any law enforcement agency, and with the story of one detention officer molesting a girl and then threatening a mother with deportation if she reported a crime to try and cover it up... I actually wondered if Pizzagate might not have also been a bit of projection.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, as well as 2017, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of Sheila Butt , a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives who we gave special attention to for responding to the existence of the Council of American-Islamic Relations on Facebook by suggesting that she should start a Council of Christian Relations and a NAAWP (which would presumably be the National Association for the Advancement of White People). What Butt might have wanted to check before she shot her mouth off that there already WAS a NAAWP back in 1953, founded by a White Supremacist in response to the NAACP. It fell apart within two years, but made a comeback in 1979, being run by none other than former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke. Sheila Butt refused to apologize, claimed she was being unfairly targeted by a liberal conspiracy for her remarks, and was offended that anyone would even suggest she was racist because of them. Butt, who is a pastor’s wife, also wrote a book in 2008 that gave advice like to not date outside one’s race to avoid having biracial children, along with other tips like “find a young man who believes he is a breadwinner so his wife could be a stay home mom someday”, that “we did not come from ‘goo’ as the theory of evolution suggests”, and that “being gay is a choice” that is typically made because of “Satan, a bad sexual experience with members of the opposite sex, or a mom who didn’t encourage her son’s masculinity”. As a legislator, Butt has racked up the kind of voting record you might expect from a Tennessee Republican, including trying to nullify federal firearms laws, declare abortion as against the law because there’s nothing in the Constitution regarding it, and to try and name the Bible as the state book. And yes, she’s quite the theocrat, having produced legislation that would ban public schools from mentioning other religions during world history lessons, because she felt Islam was being given too much attention in it., being concerned that acknowledging it exists and played a role in world history could amount to “indoctrination”. Go figure, she also started haranguing Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to block the admission of Syrian Refugees that might be resettled into the state in November of 2015. She’s also currently on board with Tennessee Republicans’ attempts to prevent the removal of Confederate monuments (but she still insists she’s not racist). But perhaps her lowest moment was when she argued against putting rape and incest exceptions into an abortion bill because they are “not verifiable”, which would be news to a lot of crime labs with rape kits and genetic testing, but it’s still sad to see a woman who believes anyone who seeks an abortion due to rape should be immediately be under suspicion of deception. Oh, and we weren’t the only ones who noticed the phenomenon that is Sheila Butt, as Samantha Bee gave her a special spotlight on Season One of her TBS show, Full Frontal, back in April of 2016, where she mocked Butt not only for her new stance on transgender citizens using public bathrooms (Hint: Butt’s ideas are on the intolerant side of the issue) for all of what we covered, and referred to Butt’s book for advice for girls, “Instead, do all the stuff Sheila Butt suggests, or as she may call it, ‘Butt Stuff.’ This Tennessee state representative wants you to do lots and lots of Butt stuff. Do Butt stuff until it hurts!”

And, we have some great news… apparently all the criticism and mockery finally withered away enough on Sheila Butt that she has decided to retire after four terms in office, and will not be running for re-election in 2018. And to that news, we wish her the most firm send off of, “Good riddance.”
 

[InformationGeek]

And another White House official is leaving town and probably one of the more competent members as well (probably why you haven't heard of him until now).

Joe Hagin, the White House official who orchestrated logistics for the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, will depart the administration next month, according to officials.

A veteran of every Republican administration since President Ronald Reagan, Hagin will return to the private sector.

"Joe Hagin has been a huge asset to my administration," Trump wrote in an emailed statement. "He planned and executed the longest and one of the most historic foreign trips ever made by a President, and he did it all perfectly. We will miss him in the office and even more on the road. I am thankful for his remarkable service to our great country."


Hagin initially told people in February that he would leave the administration in the coming weeks. Before re-entering government at the start of the Trump administration, Hagin ran a private contracting firm he founded with other former officials.

When the White House was hit with the scandal involving former staff secretary Rob Porter, however, Hagin was viewed as one of the few other officials in the West Wing who could lead a professional operation. He decided to stay for several more months.

[Trey Strain]

As someone said in the comments, Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby are doing just fine.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/s...202400074.html

[Kirby101]

As someone said in the comments, Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby are doing just fine.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/s...202400074.html

Apples and oranges. Completely different businesses and no reason to think any of this has to do with politics.

But nice try with the false equivalencies.

[PaulBullion]

As someone said in the comments, Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby are doing just fine.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/s...202400074.html

So how do you feel about the "children in cages" situation?

[JCAll]

I actually had to wonder about this. Like, how many times did the Trump campaign slander Hillary Clinton with things like "her crooked charity" or "her ties to Wall Street" and then Trump has been proven to have done exactly what horrible thing they accused the Clintons of.

I mean, Trump has already admitted to barging into the dressing room of underage beauty pageant contestants, bragged about sexually assault, been accused of raping his first wife, and there was a detailed story about an underaged sex worker reporting on Trump assaulting her in the 90s.

So as reports were that Kirjsten Nielsen just shrugged when asked by the media about the location of the girls and toddlers, knowing how ICE does the worst job of background checks and employee training of any law enforcement agency, and with the story of one detention officer molesting a girl and then threatening a mother with deportation if she reported a crime to try and cover it up... I actually wondered if Pizzagate might not have also been a bit of projection.

Remember the outcry about Hillary wanting to rip babies out of the womb days before they're born? Presumably to beat them to death on rocks afterwards.

[Tendrin]

Brilliant! Every last craven and cowardly Republican in Congress busy enabling Trump when they aren't outright kissing his orange ass should be made to read those strong words from Mr. Schmidt and reflect on the evil and shame they've brought on their party and, more importantly, the country.

Someday, guys like Bill Kristol and Steve Schmidt are going to have to reckon with how they helped get us here and we can't let them forget it.