Politics And Current Events

Viva la Ben
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Postby Viva la Ben » Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:58 am

Who really knows how many sex workers Clarence Thomas has caged under his bench?

shmenguin
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Postby shmenguin » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:27 pm

A GOP wing of the SCOTUS is compromised/anti-democracy. We already knew this. But it’s good to clear up the ambiguity. Thomas is obviously a complete hack. Combine this with Kavanaugh’s conspiracy-riddled behavior at his hearing and his pre-election favor to MAGA by releasing that completely in accurate statement about elections being decided on election night, and it starts to crystallize.

Roberts plays the role of grown up, while giving cover to Thomas, Alito and Kavanaugh to support bad faith, right wing rulings that won’t go so far to actually trigger catastrophe, but far enough that we crawl in that direction.

Not sure where we go from here. The SCOTUS is thoroughly compromised and incapable of ruling on political matters. To pretend that the court is anything but a rubber stamp for partisan arguments is just proof that you are a hack, or that because the court is capable of ruling appropriately on benign matters erases out the clearly partisan nature of their rulings on charged matters.

Unfortunately we're in a place where agreeing on basic objective reality is impossible. A tacit agreement that the court is partisan would be the first step (yes, the liberal justices are partisan too). Understanding this, we need a more stable means for resolving political issues than putting things in front of a court of Yale hacks.
This reads as if SC ruled in favor of Trump. What am I missing? There hasn't been any real surprises despite the "lean" of the court. I don't follow it nor do I spend any waking time thinking about it so it's possible there have been rulings.

Is it because it wasn't 9-0 and I'm reading too much into it?
the fact that it wasn't 9-0 is extremely telling in itself. but thomas' dissent then makes an indefensible claim that "no evidence of fraud" means that there's still fraud out there waiting to be found. therefore there's no way to determine if the election results are legitimate. it's polished up bullshit and it shows he's in no unclear terms unfit to serve.

he's continuing to give oxygen to the Big Lie. purposefully. tactically.

troy is correct that the left makes partisan rulings as well. the whole thing is broken. but when the left stays close to center and the right flies off the handle into crazy town, things come to a head. you can't have this from thomas. you can't have what kavanaugh did before the election. these are sending very clear and dangerous signals

tifosi77
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Postby tifosi77 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:30 pm

I can't believe it took this long and he was under "audit" all this time, lmao.
Never mind the fact that there's nothing about the audit process that preempts an individual from making their tax returns public. The notion that his returns from, say, 2012 were still under audit is farcical.

Morkle
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Postby Morkle » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:35 pm


Donald Trump reported making more than $1.6 billion in outside revenue and income during his four years as President of the United States, according to a review of his financial disclosures by CREW. While Trump publicly took credit for donating his taxpayer-funded salary, that ended up being less than 0.1% of the revenue and income he disclosed during his presidency.

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Postby Gaucho » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:36 pm

Image

Morkle
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Postby Morkle » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:41 pm


New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the NHL team after allegations emerged in Russia that he beat up an 18-year-old girl in 2011.

Panarin is one of the few Russian athletes to have publicly criticised Vladimir Putin and his team suggested the assault allegations are a smear tactic to punish the player.

“Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies any and all allegations in this fabricated story,” the Rangers said in a statement on Monday. “This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events.

“Artemi is obviously shaken and concerned and will take some time away from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations.”

Although Panarin lives in the United States he still has family in Russia.
Also hockey related. Putin is a psycho.

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Postby shmenguin » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:06 pm

Can’t tell if this is worse for the world than Newsome’s dinner


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Postby shmenguin » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:28 pm

Super serious political person who thinks congress shouldn’t stand in the way of a president bribing foreign governments wonders: hey...what’s up with that?


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Postby Dickie Dunn » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:36 pm


New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the NHL team after allegations emerged in Russia that he beat up an 18-year-old girl in 2011.

Panarin is one of the few Russian athletes to have publicly criticised Vladimir Putin and his team suggested the assault allegations are a smear tactic to punish the player.

“Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies any and all allegations in this fabricated story,” the Rangers said in a statement on Monday. “This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events.

“Artemi is obviously shaken and concerned and will take some time away from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations.”

Although Panarin lives in the United States he still has family in Russia.
Also hockey related. Putin is a psycho.
Panarin probably doesn’t want his family to get Titov’d.

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Postby Morkle » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:39 pm

Super serious political person who thinks congress shouldn’t stand in the way of a president bribing foreign governments wonders: hey...what’s up with that?

What an embarrassing question given all that he's been a part of for the past 4 years.

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Postby shmenguin » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:45 pm

Super serious political person who thinks congress shouldn’t stand in the way of a president bribing foreign governments wonders: hey...what’s up with that?

What an embarrassing question given all that he's been a part of for the past 4 years.
Sasse has no recollection of what you're talking about.

things really have been simplified. the only republican in washington that has any credibility as a legitimate part of government is Romney. the others all told us who they were a year ago. So Burr, Sasse, Kenzinger, 100% of house members, etc. thanks for playing. You can come back to reality at any point. you just need to apologize to the world for how craven and obscene you were during the first impeachment. if any of these people admitted and showed contrition for what they did, they'd actually have a brighter future.

tifosi77
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Postby tifosi77 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:56 pm

Congress' power is weakening because they've spent over half a century willfully ceding their power to the Article II branch so they don't have to do anything of consequence in the execution of their office.

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Postby CBear3 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:00 pm

The longer form of Sasse’s complaint is, Republicans in Congress try to lean on small government and limited government intervention. But **** still needs to get done so Presidents continue to rely on executive orders to move the country at all.

Forget the impeachment and that, it’s just a buy product of Congress either being deadlocked or controlled by a party that doesn’t want the fedgov to do anything.

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Postby faftorial » Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:02 pm

Crazy MAGA doctor arrested for assault on election day:
Before the alleged attack in the Hialeah parking lot, police said the man, who has not been identified, was standing in front of Wright while in line to pay for his groceries. When he noticed Wright was standing close to him, the man asked her in Spanish to remain socially distant, according to the Herald.

Wright ignored the man, prompting him to repeat the request in English. Wright then allegedly “mumbled bad words” in response, the newspaper reported.

Once in the parking lot, Wright allegedly walked up to the man and stood within one foot of his face. The man asked her to step back, police said, which enraged her even more.

The arrest report said Wright called him a slur for Hispanic people. She also allegedly said, “We should have gotten rid of you when we could.”

Then the doctor used her keys to scratch and “stab the victim’s vehicle while saying he needed to go back to his country,” the Herald reported. When the man took out his phone and attempted to call the police, Wright allegedly punched him. When the phone dropped to the ground, Wright stomped on it and kicked the man, police said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... 4_na-ans_4

faftorial
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Postby faftorial » Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:13 pm

Congress' power is weakening because they've spent over half a century willfully ceding their power to the Article II branch so they don't have to do anything of consequence in the execution of their office.
When congress can't agree on anything this is what happens.

faftorial
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Postby faftorial » Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:24 pm

no
Apparently, there is more than just tax records:
Forensic accounting experts from FTI Consulting are expected to assist prosecutors in assessing whether the Trump Organization manipulated property values for tax breaks, or to obtain favorable loan rates, The Washington Post previously reported.

The investigation is fairly developed, but the tax returns are an integral part of the picture. The Supreme Court order — allowing Vance to execute the subpoena — could mean a lot of work is ahead for investigators as the records are voluminous, spanning eight years.

The investigation began as a look into alleged hush money payments to two women during Trump’s 2016 campaign but is now focused on the Trump Organization’s business dealings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

MR25
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Postby MR25 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:42 pm

The longer form of Sasse’s complaint is, Republicans in Congress try to lean on small government and limited government intervention. But **** still needs to get done so Presidents continue to rely on executive orders to move the country at all.

Forget the impeachment and that, it’s just a buy product of Congress either being deadlocked or controlled by a party that doesn’t want the fedgov to do anything.

Yeah this is where I'm at. Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy when you say "See, we told you big government doesn't work" after you spend the majority of your effort preventing the government from actually doing anything of substance.

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Postby Pavel Bure » Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:08 pm


New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the NHL team after allegations emerged in Russia that he beat up an 18-year-old girl in 2011.

Panarin is one of the few Russian athletes to have publicly criticised Vladimir Putin and his team suggested the assault allegations are a smear tactic to punish the player.

“Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies any and all allegations in this fabricated story,” the Rangers said in a statement on Monday. “This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events.

“Artemi is obviously shaken and concerned and will take some time away from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations.”

Although Panarin lives in the United States he still has family in Russia.
Also hockey related. Putin is a psycho.
Hopefully the team provides him security. No one wants to see the Putin Poisoning again.

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Postby shmenguin » Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:12 pm

At some point, the Sasse/Kenzinger republicans will need to come up with an answer to: What does being a Conservative mean?

To conserve means to not change, to move slowly and carefully, to protect legacy institutions and be wary of up and coming trends. It's not a winning message to 51% of the country, however, since even the center left does feel a pressing need to address wealth inequality, climate change, criminal justice, etc. So do you double down on guns/god/immigration? MAGA already has that covered. So where these guys find themselves is without any sort of proprietary ideology, with 20% of the country behind them. It's a dead end with national elections, and maybe state and local now, too.

Kenzinger's funny. He went on the Bulwark with Charlie Sykes and did his elevator pitch for nu conservatism. His very first point was how being a conservative means the expansion of opportunity - for everybody. What? When? How? Huh? It means preserving opportunity for those who already have it. In practice and by definition.

The center-right is in such a weird place. Some of the non-Trumpy house members...maybe they switch teams if they're in purple enough areas. Sasse should just go be a private citizen at this point, though. His aspirations are a complete dead end.

tifosi77
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Postby tifosi77 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:33 pm

Too much of what it means to be a 'conservative' in the U.S. has precious little to do with actual political conservatism imo. I tend to agree with Shmengy's and MR's takes that it does not bolster your argument that government is inherently bad if the primary reason it is bad is because of bad faith actors doing their damndest to ensure it won't work.

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Postby MalkinIsMyHomeboy » Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:02 pm

Too much of what it means to be a 'conservative' in the U.S. has precious little to do with actual political conservatism imo. I tend to agree with Shmengy's and MR's takes that it does not bolster your argument that government is inherently bad if the primary reason it is bad is because of bad faith actors doing their damndest to ensure it won't work.
and yet these are also the same people who think it's the government's responsibility to crack down on drug use or block people from using certain bathrooms. It's so blatantly hypocritical. to them, big government is good if it enforces morals derived from evangelism

I think a libertarian party could do well in the US but I don't know if we'll ever overcome the current two party system

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Postby shmenguin » Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:43 pm

I think a libertarian party could do well in the US but I don't know if we'll ever overcome the current two party system
libertarianism isn't some blossoming flower. we've already passed its peak popularity, and now people have realized there was nothing ever there. infrastructure is pretty important, we've come to find. COVID/vaccination matters are also not great examples of how libertarianism would flourish here, and how there's a strong need for central federal leadership.

it's a quaint ideology for childless men, but fails every pressure test

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Postby NTP66 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:46 pm

Pissbaby calling the SCOTUS, a third of which he picked, a witch hunt is my favorite thing this week.

Troy Loney
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Postby Troy Loney » Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:52 pm

I think a libertarian party could do well in the US but I don't know if we'll ever overcome the current two party system
libertarianism isn't some blossoming flower. we've already passed its peak popularity, and now people have realized there was nothing ever there. infrastructure is pretty important, we've come to find. COVID/vaccination matters are also not great examples of how libertarianism would flourish here, and how there's a strong need for central federal leadership.

it's a quaint ideology for childless men, but fails every pressure test


The variety of reasons this libertarian's utopia failed is predictably hilarious.

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Postby shmenguin » Mon Feb 22, 2021 5:04 pm

like imagine a national vaccine rollout. you’d have a month of debates regarding whether or not we should use tax money (if such a thing is even a thing) to secure the vaccines. Then you’d have to consider whether it’s considered slavery for anti vaxers to have to pay to vaccinate others.

We just got a taste of life without a strong federal presence. Worked out just wonderfully.

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