All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[worstblogever]

Trump's fall from grace with Fox News continues...

Based on the accidental leak about the Mueller investigation because Manafort's lawyers are too stupid to know how to redact a document to help their client... both anchor Shep Smith and commentator Andrew Napolitano had a discussion about how "The Trump campaign colluded with Russia" on air.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I can’t see how the Republicans can still standby and support President Idiot.

As long as Trump is in office, the GOP holds onto power. It’s as simple as that.

Trump walks out of shutdown talks after Pelosi refuses to give in on wall funding

"Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!"

It looks like the art of the deal is basically holding your breath until you get your way.

Pretty much. More proof Trump only cares about his precious wall and will die on that hill along with the GOP.

[Tazirai]

Our "Liberal" media fails us daily.

CBS and NBC embrace both sides-ism in coverage of Trump’s dishonest address

[WestPhillyPunisher]

How in god’s name can ANYONE take Trump seriously when he says incredibly stupid shit like this:

WATCH: Donald Trump Says ‘Unbelievable Vehicles… Stronger, Bigger, and Faster Vehicles Than Our Police Have, Than ICE Has’

[Tendrin]

This is absolutely true. Not only was there a show, but it currently is being aired on the Heroes and Icons channel. You can watch the full episode on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1D2ynASqe4

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0732741/

As far as lifting the story. I saw an episode of Cheyenne that was lifted whole from Bogart's Treasure of Sierra Madre.

It also has a mention on the shows wik on wikipedia. xD

[SuperiorIronman]

So apparently Mexico is an automotive super power?

So in further skulking I actually stumbled onto a bot! A "Jeremy Garcia".
It had no picture, joined in December of last year, repeats phrases on different threads to build an internet presence and has no @. You know, that thing people take a personal attachment to. Basically, nobody just types gibberish AUASBUQHSUDHF and calls it a day. I found a lot of bots actually. It makes me wonder if the pictures they are using are from obituary photos considering the quality of the images and the styles.

I doubt the Russians are that dumb, but I can fully believe the GOP would try shit like that and fuck it up.

And in further skulking on Twitter, there is a certain set of parameters I keep finding in Trump supporters. This has largely been Twitter, but apparently if your a Trump supporter there, you have at least two of the following;
- Into High-school or college football
- Talk of how the government jobs work and openly admits to not being employed by them nor has a familial connection to be affected
- Bible Thumping.
- Has a variation of the "can I see the manager" hair-cut.
- Typically is over 40, at earliest 35
- Men Flex or are in suits, women are 40 year + housewives who haven't been laid in decades.

[Tazirai]

So let me get this right. He's upset because as a Millionaire, paying more in taxes means he can't go out to eat?

Sean Hannity Warns Tax Hikes Would Stop Rich People From Remodeling Homes
If Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets her way, wealthy people won’t even be able to go to restaurants, according to the millionaire radio host.

[Malvolio]

As long as Trump is in office, the GOP holds onto power. It’s as simple as that.



Pretty much. More proof Trump only cares about his precious wall and will die on that hill along with the GOP.

If Trump resigned, the Republicans would still have Pence in the Oval Office. The difference is that Pence wouldn't tweet nine stupid things before breakfast that would distract the media from whatever evil/crazy crap the rest of the Party is up to.

[Tendrin]

Oh, look.

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/01/tex...CQxbfI.twitter

Shahid Shafi identifies as a Republican because of his firm belief in small government, lower taxes and secure borders. But his commitment to core GOP values hasn’t shielded him from ire within his own party.

A group of Tarrant County Republicans will vote Thursday evening on whether to remove Shafi as vice-chairman of the county party after a small faction of members put forth a formal motion to oust him because he’s Muslim.

“We don’t think he’s suitable as a practicing Muslim to be vice chair because he’d be the representative for ALL Republicans in Tarrant County, and not ALL Republicans in Tarrant County think Islam is safe or acceptable in the U.S., in Tarrant County, and in the TCGOP,” O’Brien wrote on Facebook, adding that “there are big questions surrounding exactly where Dr. Shafi’s loyalties lie, vis a vis Democrat and Republican policies.”

“These are the kinds of headlines the party doesn’t need right now,” Steinhauser said. “Doubling down on shrinking the tent is a very bad idea. It does make me wonder what’s next. Are they going to say no Catholics can be in a leadership positions in the party or no Jews? I mean, what is the religious standard that they want to impose?”

I'm gonna go ahead and say 'yes, that's exactly what they'd like to do next'.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Oh, look.

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/01/tex...CQxbfI.twitter








I'm gonna go ahead and say 'yes, that's exactly what they'd like to do next'.

The GOP, the party of inclusion, yo.

====================

Senate Republicans Won’t Fund The Government If It Means Defying Trump

They’re just not feeling that whole “coequal branch of government” thing. Three words about Republicans: GUTLESS. FUCKING. COWARDS.

**********

FDA Postponing Some Food Inspections As Shutdown Drags On, Commissioner Says

The partial shutdown is on track to be the longest since the 1970s if the government doesn’t reopen by Saturday. if someone dies as a result of food poisoning because there weren't any FDA inspections, THAT will be on Trump's head.

**********

Trump Threw ‘Temper Tantrum’ After Dems Refused Border Wall, Chuck Schumer Says

According to a source familiar with the meeting, the Senate minority leader had confronted Trump in the situation room about the human cost of the partial shutdown, which has left some federal employees with diminishing means to pay for basic necessities.

“You’re using people as leverage. Why won’t you open the government and stop hurting people?” Schumer said.

According to the source, Trump replied: “Because then you won’t give me what I want.”

Outside the White House, Pelosi echoed Schumer’s message, telling reporters that she did not believe Trump fully appreciated the financial impact on the federal workers who have been showing up to work without getting paid, or who have not been able to work at all since the shutdown began just before Christmas.

“The president seems to be insensitive to that. He thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money,” Pelosi said. “But they can’t.”

THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is the President of the United States, an overgrown, spoiled brat pitching an unholy fit that's threatening nearly a million people because he refuses to compromise.

**********

Evangelical Pastor Defends Trump’s Border Plan: ‘Heaven Itself Is Gonna Have A Wall’

Robert Jeffress cited the Bible on “Fox & Friends” to support the president’s plans for a border wall — but not all Christians agree. Well, of course bible thumpers like this shitstain supports the wall.

**********

Donald Trump’s Old Advice About How To Defeat A Wall Comes Back To Haunt Him

“Don’t give up. Don’t allow it to happen. If there’s a concrete wall in front of you, go through it, go over it, go around it, but get to the other side of that wall.”

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Steve Southerland, whose career prior to joining Congress included working as a mortician and funeral home director, and felt he was qualified to serve in our government because he was “a grief expert”. Southerland was quoted as once saying his $174,000 Congressional salary was “not much money”, yet still managed to get drunk on the clock and go skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee with several Republicans on a trip to Israel back in 2012. He also was “shocked” and “insulted” by comments by President Obama at the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast after the president heralded the United States’ proud history of respecting the religious freedoms of others, for whatever reason. Southerland also drew criticism for hosting a “Men Only” fundraiser in March 2014, that on its flier advised to “tell the misses not to wait up”, and then tried defending it later by saying his primary opponent, Gwen Graham, probably had hosted lingerie parties and not invited men, so there was nothing wrong with it. Because that doesn’t sound misogynistic at all. Steve Southerland lost in the 2014 elections to Graham in the GOP Primary for his seat, and already announced he will not try to avenge that loss in the 2016 election cycle. His political career is seemingly over already.

On this date in 2016, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Steve Katz, a former veterinarian, who was accused of illegally disposing of the remains of a German shepherd, and another time, attacking a Chihuahua in his care (because Katz was not a dog person, go figure) yet somehow managed to get elected to the New York Assembly in the Tea Party Wave in 2010. Despite of Katz being on the York Assembly’s Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and voting against a bill in 2012 that would have legalized medical marijuana… he was arrested while, you guessed it, in possession of marijuana. Katz decided against running for re-election in 2016.

[worstblogever]

On this date in both 2017, as well as 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” had its first profile of the U.S. House Representative from Florida’s 1st Congressional District Matt Gaetz, now beginning his second term in office after winning re-election in 2018 with 67% of the vote, in spite of cancelling his final town hall debate prior to the election, and leaving his opponent, Jennifer Zimmerman, to address attendees alone. Gaetz schlepped his way onto the political scene back in the Tea Party Wave in 2010 (in spite of the fact that he was arrested for DUI only two years prior), where he was elected to three terms in the Florida state legislature through the benefit of not facing a primary challenger or general election opponent, EVER. He was, of course, following in the footsteps of his daddy, in the sort of political nepotism that seems to be the norm in the GOP far too often. And with his daddy’s help and a lot of campaign financing, Gaetz won a crowded GOP primary in a conservative-leaning district in 2016 over six other challengers, and coasted to victory over Democrat Steven Specht in the general election.

Gaetz’s own campaign site touts his fanatical defense of the 2nd Amendment, including fighting to maintain Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” Laws (even after the death of Trayvon Martin), his deranged obsession with abortion that sees him try to force women to undergo medically unnecessary ultrasounds before getting one and his desire to defund Planned Parenthood, his pride in supporting legislation that makes life harder for all illegal immigrants. His voting record backs all that up, and more, as it includes opposition to same-sex marriage, support for stricter Voter ID laws to combat the statistically non-existent problem of in-person voter fraud at the cost of disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters, and drug testing welfare recipients, which has been a failed conservative policy every time it’s implemented until judges throw the law off the books for being unconstitutional. From the point he announced his campaign, Gaetz was hyping Donald Trump as president, and ranting about immigrants and Muslim terrorists, which is the sort of rhetoric that plays in a district in the Florida panhandle that borders Alabama, sadly.

Well, setting all of his xenophobia and conservative extremism aside, we actually took notice of Matt Gaetz because of what we can only summarize as a “total dick move” that he pulled on the morning of September 25th, 2016. The sports world was shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic death of young Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez at that time… and for whatever reason, Matt Gaetz decided to politicize it for all that it was worth like an opportunistic douchebag, and turn it into a criticism of those who were kneeling during the national anthem to protest police violence.

”To all who will kneel during the anthem today - just remember how Jose Fernandez risked his life just for the chance to stand for it.”

The criticism for exploiting a tragedy for political gain was fast, and sharp, but not enough to overcome the sheer amount of money Gaetz dumped into his Congressional run and the partisan lean of the district.

CSGOPOTD was not wrong to train our eyes on this little weasel. On February 16th, 2017, he introduced modest legislation to… oh… y’know, just abolish the entire Environmental Protection Agency. Gaetz didn’t even flinch about what a disgrace this attempt was, planning to attend all his town halls, albeit his idea to curtail dissent at them? Have militia groups loyal to him show up to provide a sense of “security”.

If you were wondering how “in deep” with the hard right Matt Gaetz has become, look no further than House Resolution 477, a bill that Matt Gaetz sponsored that was written by one of his top aides, who went on Reddit to ask a sub-forum dedicated to Donald Trump and white nationalism, that often has open discussions of Neo-Nazi ideals, Islamophobia and white supremacy. THAT is where the Congressman’s ideas are coming from, and surprise, the bill itself was written to investigate former FBI Director James Comey and… yup, Hilary Clinton. And, when it comes to legislation he doesn’t write, Gaetz frequently is opposed to any sort of governance, voting against Disaster Relief for Hurricane Harvey (even though his Florida district itself is almost certainly going to need hurricane relief at some point), and in December of 2017, Rep. Gaetz was the sole member of Congress to vote against an anti-human trafficking bill, because he’s apparently okay with the practice of slavery and sex slavery.

It’s curious to see that as his first year in office was coming to a close, Matt Gaetz has been desperately flailing about trying to protect Donald Trump from Special Counsel Robert Mueller at every opportunity. Whether it’s going on Fox News to say, "If Bob Mueller were any more biased, we'd have to give him credentials for the mainstream media," or meeting with Trump and then telling the media that the Mueller investigation is “infected with bias” (remember, Mueller is a life-long Republican), Gaetz seems determined to handcuff himself to Trump to his own peril.

This included his January of 2018 attacks upon FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and when there were texts between the two not being immediately made public, Gaetz claimed it was “the biggest coincidence since the immaculate conception”. When asked on CNN to explain what the hell that actually means, Gaetz was unable to explain how the situation applied to the origin story of Jesus Christ, because of course he couldn’t, he’s a moron.

Gaetz amped up his racist diatribes since our first profile as well, claiming that Haiti is “disgusting” with “everywhere you look in Haiti, it’s sheet metal and garbage” in an interview with Chris Hayes on MSNBC. He invited Chuck Johnson, an alt-right conspiracy theorist and Holocaust Denier to Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address, and Gaetz himself has gotten in the habit of spreading conspiracy theories, himself.

In October of 2018, Gaetz was claiming that women and children in Honduras were being paid by George Soros to join a caravan of migrants leaving that country for the United States. Which, was exactly the sort of rhetoric which enraged MAGA-Bomber Cesar Sayoc and Neo-Nazi synagogue shooter Robert Bowers within days of him aiding the spread of that conspiracy theory. Only a few weeks later, only the day after the 2018 election, Gaetz was leading the 2018 equivalent of the Brooks Brothers riot outside of the Broward County Board of Elections, spreading conspiracy theories about Democrats attempting to steal the election from Republican candidates.

We’re going increasingly disturbed by Matt Gaetz’s behavior, and holding out hope that his name turns up in the Mueller investigation as the Congressional candidate that Russians aided the election of. Any news that would bring his young career to a screeching halt would be music to our ears, because he is legitimately dangerous to have this active in American politics.

[numberthirty]

From the "Illinois" politics end, it looks like this will spin out of Ed Burke being charged. Could be pretty interesting...

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/fo...der-ald-burke/

Forensic audit ordered on workers’ comp program under Ald. Ed Burke

[Tami]

Nina Khrushcheva Trump's wall with Mexico follows in the footsteps of authoritarian leaders throughout history

By Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at The New School

Instead of leading the world away from its worst impulses, as America did for most of the 20th century, President Donald Trump’s demands for a wall on the U.S. southern border look to be leaning closer to the autocratic acts and optics of tyrannical regimes.

Throughout history, autocratic leaders have relied on walls to control their people. From the fierce tyrant who first began building China’s Great Wall in roughly 220 BC to Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev (my great-grandfather as it happens) who ordered construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, walls have represented undemocratic forces.

This symbolism alone should have given a president pause. Instead, Trump continues his vehement demands — and insisted on forcing a partial government shutdown once Congress balked.

[Tami]

Inside Bill Browder's blood money battle with Vladimir Putin

On May 29 2018, the financier-turned-campaigner Bill Browder made a trip to Madrid to meet José Grinda González, a special prosecutor at the Spanish attorney general’s office who has had significant success in dismantling Russian transnational crime syndicates. Browder intended to share evidence he had uncovered regarding €30m in criminal proceeds that had been used to buy luxury properties on the coast of Spain.

At 09.40 the following morning, as he was leaving for an 11:00 meeting, Browder found two officers from the Spanish National Police waiting outside his hotel room. They asked Browder for ID before informing him that they had an Interpol warrant and that he was being placed under arrest. The police were accompanied by the general manager of the hotel, who requested that Browder be allowed to pack. He stepped back into his room and, rather than pick up his toothbrush, sent a tweet.

“Urgent: Just was arrested by Spanish police in Madrid on a Russian Interpol arrest warrant. Going to the police station right now.”

The first post immediately attracted responses from journalists and activists, but Browder was aware that there might be some scepticism surrounding this message. As the force behind the Magnitsky Act – which seeks to curtail the activities of kleptocrats laundering money through the world’s financial institutions – he is a target for trolls and malicious online actors; it was possible that his account had been hacked and false information disseminated. He thought it imperative that he did something else to convince observers of the severity of his situation.

The American-born UK citizen was taken from the hotel and put in the rear of a police car. He sat behind a smeared plastic screen, the two officers up front. They had yet to take his phone so, surreptitiously, he took a photograph in which the police were clearly visible, and posted it online.

Moments later his phone rang, and the car stopped. Browder was patted down and his device confiscated. He was placed back in the vehicle, cut off from the outside world. Normally, this would be part of a series of events in which the detainee is processed and allowed access to legal representation. However, from Browder’s perspective, the procedure was fraught with consequences that could see him indefinitely detained – or placed in mortal danger.