All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[worstblogever]

Is anyone else deluding themselves to thinking Michael Avenatti is relevant to the Democratic Party at this point? Or if they ever were going to have someone that sketchy as a candidate for anything, even dog-catcher?

Because he's not.

[Tendrin]

The belief that Ben Shapiro's purpose is to bridge the gap to white supremacists and encourage attacks on synagogues is a stretch.

Except for all the times it happens and white supremacists who cite him as a motivator.

[Malvolio]

Is anyone else deluding themselves to thinking Michael Avenatti is relevant to the Democratic Party at this point? Or if they ever were going to have someone that sketchy as a candidate for anything, even dog-catcher?

Because he's not.

Remember when some pundits said that the Democratic Party would nominate Avenatti for President? How naive those pundits were.

[numberthirty]

Is anyone else deluding themselves to thinking Michael Avenatti is relevant to the Democratic Party at this point? Or if they ever were going to have someone that sketchy as a candidate for anything, even dog-catcher?

Because he's not.

Luckily, no one is talking about the party.

It's about that news outfits that had this guy on non-stop haven't actually addressed that it was strictly "Professional Clown Show..." when it was happening.

Now, it's "Who us? Never heard of the guy."

Doing that puts actual Democratic nominees at a disadvantage because even FNC managed to suspend Pirro when she crossed the line.

People who put this guy on Left/Right/Center while not even running down that he was obviously ripping people off? Evidently, that doesn't even warrant an actual "Hey, our bad." Never mind reporting that they were essentially providing the guy with the means to do so.

In a world where "Fake News" is a guy's "Go To", actually addressing it when this sort of a mistake was made is the very least those outfits should be doing.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Is anyone else deluding themselves to thinking Michael Avenatti is relevant to the Democratic Party at this point? Or if they ever were going to have someone that sketchy as a candidate for anything, even dog-catcher?

Because he's not.

Pfft! He was nothing more than a glorified ambulance chaser doing nothing more than milking his fifteen minutes of fame. Well, that train left the station long ago.

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Another GOP Representative Blocks Disaster Aid Bill, Delaying Emergency Relief

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie voted against the House bill that would secure $19 billion in emergency relief. Short and sweet: This is freaking CRAZY!

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reveals Chilling Morning Ritual In Face Of Death Threats

“I‘ve had mornings where I wake up & the 1st thing I do w/ my coffee is review photos of the men (it’s always men) who want to kill me.” And right wing/conservative/Republican men to boot I suspect. Absolutely disgusting!

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GOP Tax Law Doing Little For The Economy, Even Less For Workers: Congressional Study

Republican boasts about their new law have belly flopped, nonpartisan reserachers conclude. Golly gee whillickers! What a shock! NOT! But, the one percenters are doing just fine.

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Kamala Harris Slams Trump Over ‘Irresponsible’ Biden Insult: ‘It Is Wrong’

Speaking at an MSNBC town hall, the senator and 2020 presidential contender said Trump’s remarks were another example of “why he should not be president.” Think about it: The Leader of the Free World sided with a murderous dictator's insult of a former vice-president. Something like that SHOULD. NOT. HAPPEN.

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Pope Francis Says He Is Willing To Condemn Border Wall Directly To Trump

The Catholic leader told Mexico’s Televisa that he is willing to personally tell the president that it is wrong to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Like that would sway Caramel Caligula? Fat fucking chance!

[shooshoomanjoe]

Remember when some pundits said that the Democratic Party would nominate Avenatti for President? How naive those pundits were.

Not really. The only thing Avenatti did was expose more of trump's Christian values.

[ZombieHavoc]

Except for all the times it happens and white supremacists who cite him as a motivator.

Also--it may not be Ben Shapiro's intended purpose, as he sees it--but those on the more extremist right view him as such.

And he definitely bridges that gap, intentionally or not. He is a whiny, white-man-is-the-reall-victim type of dude. And he presents himself calmly, intellectually, level-headed, etc., and that is way less threatening at first to someone who just, you know, leans right or whatever.

I had a friend who began as just someone who was conservative because he was really religious and therefore pro-life. By way of Shapiro, he became a real victim complex, white people are persecuted, etc., kinda guy who became insufferable. Fortunately, to my knowledge, that dude never fully crossed that bridge. Well, I guess aside from thinking Steve Bannon and Joe Arpaio are good guys.

Shapiro is in ways one of the worst of this crop of...political analysts(?) because he seems reasonable at a glance.

I don't know how people in the media can approach this kinda topic though. I think it's important to point out (though I don''t think you can ever turn someone back once they've gone down that hole), but at the same time, it feeds into the persecution complex that people like Shapiro, his followers, and conservatives have anyway.

[ZombieHavoc]

Also, if Mitch McConnell gets a SCOTUS pick before 2020...man.

If only there were some way, some place people could have gone and like checked a little box in November 2016, that could've prevented a conservative super majority Supreme Court for decades to come. Something that would've been like super easy to do, require very little time and have a huge impact on the country for decades. Siurely people would not sit out something that imporant, right? No way. Not in America, you commie!

[InformationGeek]

Oh, this was why Roy Moore was trending on Twitter.

Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t.....

...If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating....Judges and Supreme Court Justices!

[ed2962]

Also--it may not be Ben Shapiro's intended purpose, as he sees it--but those on the more extremist right view him as such.

And he definitely bridges that gap, intentionally or not. He is a whiny, white-man-is-the-reall-victim type of dude. And he presents himself calmly, intellectually, level-headed, etc., and that is way less threatening at first to someone who just, you know, leans right or whatever.

I had a friend who began as just someone who was conservative because he was really religious and therefore pro-life. By way of Shapiro, he became a real victim complex, white people are persecuted, etc., kinda guy who became insufferable. Fortunately, to my knowledge, that dude never fully crossed that bridge. Well, I guess aside from thinking Steve Bannon and Joe Arpaio are good guys.

Shapiro is in ways one of the worst of this crop of...political analysts(?) because he seems reasonable at a glance.

I don't know how people in the media can approach this kinda topic though. I think it's important to point out (though I don''t think you can ever turn someone back once they've gone down that hole), but at the same time, it feeds into the persecution complex that people like Shapiro, his followers, and conservatives have anyway.

Exactly. Aside from from being Jewish, Ben coughs up many of the same talking points that appeal to the alt-lite. Anti-Feminism, Anti-Immigration, Anti-Hollywood, Anti-Liberal, Anti-Identity Politics ( except when he comes to his identity)...While of course Ben doesn't want to see the Nazi's take, it's not hard to see how he ( and a few other social media stars) have become gateways to the alt-right.

[ed2962]

Not really. The only thing Avenatti did was expose more of trump's Christian values.

Right. No one really took Avenatti as a political candidate seriously. People just liked seeing him make Trump squirm.

[ZombieHavoc]

I think I said in here before that Avenatti is like the left version of Trump, only we are smart enough to not elect Avenatti president.

He got under Trump's skin partly because he's the same kinda person Trump is, corruptopn and skeletons and all, and came at Trump the same way, but with better syntax.

[Tuck]

Exactly. Aside from from being Jewish, Ben coughs up many of the same talking points that appeal to the alt-lite. Anti-Feminism, Anti-Immigration, Anti-Hollywood, Anti-Liberal, Anti-Identity Politics ( except when he comes to his identity)...While of course Ben doesn't want to see the Nazi's take, it's not hard to see how he ( and a few other social media stars) have become gateways to the alt-right.

It's the algorithms. It's on Facebook and Google, et al.

I watched a Joe Rogan interview with Adam Connover (Adam Ruins Everything), and the suggestions were bonkers. A lot of "_____ destroys feminist/SJW" type videos.

I recall this coming up previously with Facebook's algorithm sorting people out. It's built that way.

[ZombieHavoc]

It's the algorithms. It's on Facebook and Google, et al.

I watched a Joe Rogan interview with Adam Connover (Adam Ruins Everything), and the suggestions were bonkers. A lot of "_____ destroys feminist/SJW" type videos.

I recall this coming up previously with Facebook's algorithm sorting people out. It's built that way.

Yeah, but you don't have to watch the suggested videos to get all of Shapiro's shitty takes that Ed lists above--they're all contained in his own videos.

[Tuck]

Yeah, but you don't have to watch the suggested videos to get all of Shapiro's shitty takes that Ed lists above--they're all contained in his own videos.

But the issue at hand is getting from Shapiro's boilerplate stuff to Stormfront. That's on the algorithms.