April politics

[basilosaurus]

Orange Foolius is seriously deranged. I'm willing to bet he's so narcissistic he believes the bullshit he spews.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/04/trump-interview-a-first-historical-assessment/629454/

[silva]

Anyone who follows Press Run Media, Eric Boehlert died from a bike accident today. via twitter. I'm gutted. I loved his work.

[notreal]

In the completely absurd and tragic, "rabid fox attacks Congress" was an unexpected event this weekend. Sadly, he did test positive for rabies. There's been a spate of rabid fox encounters in Arlington, I'm sure it's related and I hope that they are able to quickly bring this outbreak under control without any further loss of animal life or harm to humans.

[basilosaurus]

Apr 6, 2022 18:08:13 GMT -5 notreal said:

In the completely absurd and tragic, "rabid fox attacks Congress" was an unexpected event this weekend. Sadly, he did test positive for rabies. There's been a spate of rabid fox encounters in Arlington, I'm sure it's related and I hope that they are able to quickly bring this outbreak under control without any further loss of animal life or harm to humans.

www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-04-05/california-congressman-rep-ami-bera-bitten-by-fox

It bit Ami Bera

[notreal]

Apr 6, 2022 18:14:23 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Apr 6, 2022 18:08:13 GMT -5 notreal said:

In the completely absurd and tragic, "rabid fox attacks Congress" was an unexpected event this weekend. Sadly, he did test positive for rabies. There's been a spate of rabid fox encounters in Arlington, I'm sure it's related and I hope that they are able to quickly bring this outbreak under control without any further loss of animal life or harm to humans.

www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-04-05/california-congressman-rep-ami-bera-bitten-by-fox

It bit Ami Bera

And he's been so calm and kind about it that I am jealous of his constituents because my Congressman sucks.

[basilosaurus]

Apr 6, 2022 18:39:12 GMT -5 notreal said:

Apr 6, 2022 18:14:23 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-04-05/california-congressman-rep-ami-bera-bitten-by-fox

It bit Ami Bera

And he's been so calm and kind about it that I am jealous of his constituents because my Congressman sucks.

He's a doctor. I imagine he's well trained for a calm demeanor. Plus it apparently didn't break the skin. Still sucks to get all those shots. I've heard they're very uncomfortable. 

I never thought "rabid animal on capitol hill" would turn out to be literal.

[basilosaurus]

Interesting: paying fox news viewers to watch cnn increased their critical interpretation of news, making them less gullible.

www.salon.com/2022/04/04/can-fox-news-viewers-be-deprogrammed-paying-them-to-watch-cnn-makes-them-less-gullible_partner/

[mrsd2006]

www.cbsnews.com/news/secret-service-arian-taherzadeh-haider-ali-accused-impersonating-federal-agents/

W T H


Two men allegedly impersonated federal agents to get access to Secret Service

Two men have been arrested for allegedly impersonating federal agents over the course of several years. The FBI alleges that Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36, have been pretending to be various officers and employees of the U.S. government, including members of federal law enforcement agencies, since February 2020.

In one instance, Taherzadeh allegedly offered to buy a gun for a Secret Service agent assigned to the first lady's protective detail. Four Secret Service agents have been placed on administrative leave amid the ongoing investigation.

[CurlyQ284]

State politics but Gov Whitmer in Michigan filed a lawsuit to get the pre Roe v Wade law that bans abortion off the books in the event that Roe is overturned in the SC.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.freep.com/amp/9485031002

Dana Nessel, Attorney General said she is not going to defend the law unless the state Supreme Court orders her to.

www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/04/07/ag-nessel-refuses-use-attorney-general-office-defend-michigan-abortion-ban/9496680002/

The court leans Democrat 4-3 so I am allowing myself to hope.

[keweenawlove]

Wisconsin voter suppression officially got me this week. Tried to drop off my ballots for me and H at a ballot box on Monday night like I've been doing this for the last 2 years but a new state law took effect between February and now banning drop boxes. The form said I could drop it off at my pooling location or city hall. Tried to drop it off my my polling location on election day but the worker there said it had to be city hall (which was already closed) and I couldn't vote in person because I already had an absentee. Also, when dropping them off, each person has to personally drop off their own ballot.

I feel like I'm relatively engaged with voting and I had no idea. This is making me even more nervous for the November election with how tight our latest statewide races have been and how bad Ron Johnson needs to go....

[carmenere]

Apr 7, 2022 21:57:19 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

State politics but Gov Whitmer in Michigan filed a lawsuit to get the pre Roe v Wade law that bans abortion off the books in the event that Roe is overturned in the SC.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.freep.com/amp/9485031002

Dana Nessel, Attorney General said she is not going to defend the law unless the state Supreme Court orders her to.

www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/04/07/ag-nessel-refuses-use-attorney-general-office-defend-michigan-abortion-ban/9496680002/

The court leans Democrat 4-3 so I am allowing myself to hope.

I don't understand, wouldn't the way to get it off the books be to repeal it via the legislature? If the law is invalid under Roe and Roe is reversed, doesn't that essentially reverse all subsequent cases based on Roe?

[CurlyQ284]

Apr 8, 2022 8:57:46 GMT -5 carmenere said:

Apr 7, 2022 21:57:19 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

State politics but Gov Whitmer in Michigan filed a lawsuit to get the pre Roe v Wade law that bans abortion off the books in the event that Roe is overturned in the SC.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.freep.com/amp/9485031002

Dana Nessel, Attorney General said she is not going to defend the law unless the state Supreme Court orders her to.

www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/04/07/ag-nessel-refuses-use-attorney-general-office-defend-michigan-abortion-ban/9496680002/

The court leans Democrat 4-3 so I am allowing myself to hope.

I don't understand, wouldn't the way to get it off the books be to repeal it via the legislature? If the law is invalid under Roe and Roe is reversed, doesn't that essentially reverse all subsequent cases based on Roe?

The MI legislature is currently in GOP control, they won't repeal it.

She is arguing in the lawsuit that the old 1930s law violates the Michigan Constitution, which has gone through a few updates since 1930.

ETA I just read there's a ballot initiative, they need 425k signatures by July 11th. If they get enough signatures a constitutional amendment will be on the ballot in November to protect reproductive choice, I signed up to get the petition.

If anyone else is in Michigan you can find more info here: mireproductivefreedom.org/

[fernweh]

Apr 8, 2022 9:12:10 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Apr 8, 2022 8:57:46 GMT -5 carmenere said:

I don't understand, wouldn't the way to get it off the books be to repeal it via the legislature? If the law is invalid under Roe and Roe is reversed, doesn't that essentially reverse all subsequent cases based on Roe?

The MI legislature is currently in GOP control, they won't repeal it.

She is arguing in the lawsuit that the old 1930s law violates the Michigan Constitution, which has gone through a few updates since 1930.

ETA I just read there's a ballot initiative, they need 425k signatures by July 11th. If they get enough signatures a constitutional amendment will be on the ballot in November to protect reproductive choice, I signed up to get the petition.

If anyone else is in Michigan you can find more info here: mireproductivefreedom.org/

thanks for posting. I just requested the petition as well.

[carmenere]

Apr 8, 2022 9:12:10 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

Apr 8, 2022 8:57:46 GMT -5 carmenere said:

I don't understand, wouldn't the way to get it off the books be to repeal it via the legislature? If the law is invalid under Roe and Roe is reversed, doesn't that essentially reverse all subsequent cases based on Roe?

The MI legislature is currently in GOP control, they won't repeal it.

She is arguing in the lawsuit that the old 1930s law violates the Michigan Constitution, which has gone through a few updates since 1930.

ETA I just read there's a ballot initiative, they need 425k signatures by July 11th. If they get enough signatures a constitutional amendment will be on the ballot in November to protect reproductive choice, I signed up to get the petition.

If anyone else is in Michigan you can find more info here: mireproductivefreedom.org/

Oh got it! That's the part I missed. Thanks for explaining.

[CurlyQ284]

Apr 8, 2022 9:58:41 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Apr 8, 2022 9:12:10 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

The MI legislature is currently in GOP control, they won't repeal it.

She is arguing in the lawsuit that the old 1930s law violates the Michigan Constitution, which has gone through a few updates since 1930.

ETA I just read there's a ballot initiative, they need 425k signatures by July 11th. If they get enough signatures a constitutional amendment will be on the ballot in November to protect reproductive choice, I signed up to get the petition.

If anyone else is in Michigan you can find more info here: mireproductivefreedom.org/

thanks for posting. I just requested the petition as well.

I'm a little alarmed I haven't heard about this yet. I'm in a lot of groups, but haven't seen anyone post about it. I saw it in a paragraph in a Bridge article about the Whitmer lawsuit. So now I'm posting it everywhere. 😬

[Mushe]

Apr 6, 2022 18:39:12 GMT -5 notreal said:

Apr 6, 2022 18:14:23 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-04-05/california-congressman-rep-ami-bera-bitten-by-fox

It bit Ami Bera

And he's been so calm and kind about it that I am jealous of his constituents because my Congressman sucks.

Right here! I consider myself lucky, and hope he’s okay.

[mbcdefg]

Two days after the 2020 presidential election, as votes were still being tallied, Donald Trump's eldest son texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that "we have operational control" to ensure his father would get a second term, with Republican majorities in the US Senate and swing state legislatures, CNN has learned.

In the text, which has not been previously reported, Donald Trump Jr. lays out ideas for keeping his father in power by subverting the Electoral College process, according to the message reviewed by CNN. The text is among records obtained by the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021.

"It's very simple," Trump Jr. texted to Meadows on November 5, adding later in the same missive: "We have multiple paths We control them all."

In a statement to CNN, Trump Jr.'s lawyer Alan S. Futerfas said, "After the election, Don received numerous messages from supporters and others. Given the date, this message likely originated from someone else and was forwarded."

Immediately before his text to Meadows describing multiple paths for challenging the election, Trump Jr. texted Meadows the following: "This is what we need to do please read it and please get it to everyone that needs to see it because I'm not sure we're doing it."

www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/donald-trump-jr-meadows-text/index.html

[mrsukyankee]

An update on UK politics:

1. Our Chancellor (in charge of taxation) has a wife who is non-domiciled but whose company in the UK received money during the lockdowns has also been found to have been a green card holder to the US while also being in power as an MP (which goes against what should happen legally). All of this has been leaked to the press, and our guess is that it's coming from those who don't want him to be able to run for PM in the next election (aka, Boris Johnson and his backers). Link1 Link2

2. While average citizens received up to £10,000 fines (most over £500) for breaking lockdown, Downing Street officials are only being given £50 fines and they are not allowing us to know who has broken the law. (one rule for them, one rule for us)
link

[fernweh]

Question about the January 6 committee. Don’t get me wrong I am glad they are investigating. Is anything going to come of it? Are they able to file criminal charges based on their findings? Or will it just be a ‘court of public opinion’ thing?

[neverfstop]

Apr 9, 2022 9:37:38 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Question about the January 6 committee. Don’t get me wrong I am glad they are investigating. Is anything going to come of it? Are they able to file criminal charges based on their findings? Or will it just be a ‘court of public opinion’ thing?

I think their first goal is to fact find & story tell.  We need to have  full picture understanding of what happened, who was involved, and history will be able to judge those involved.  

They are supposed to take their evidence and refer it to the justice department for prosecution.  If they think something criminal has happened, they can ask Justice to open a criminal case.  Garland has been cautious this so far because Justice Dept is supposed to be seen as independent, non-political and non-partisan.  But with the Jan 6th insurrection, it's kind of hard to ignore politics and partisanship. 

IMO, there should be criminal prosecution AND the justice department only should take case it can prove and get a guilty verdict.  If these people (and Congress people) are charged with crimes and acquitted, we end up with the Trump scenario where he was impeached twice and not convicted.  Having a not guilty verdict will give the insurrectionists cover to claim they were innocent and wrongly prosecuted.    Many people who were at trespassing in the Capitol that day have been charged, convicted and/or pled to crimes.  The committee is investigating more behind the scenes, who started it, why nobody stopped it, how it got out of control, who financed it, etc. 

[underwaterrhymes]

They just arrested a woman in Texas on murder charges and held her on $500,000 bail for “self-induced abortion.”

She’s since been released as various legal groups helped her make bail, but this is just the beginning and this is with Roe still in place.

Roe is going to fall. And I think Roe is the tip of the iceberg. The GOP has got their eyes on other civil liberties too.

FUCK everyone who stayed home in November 2016, voted third party, or voted for Trump.

www.npr.org/2022/04/09/1091907164/texas-abortion-laws-lizelle-herrera

ETA- all charges against her are being dismissed. I hope she sues the shit out of the hospital who reported her and the police department for arresting her.

www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/texas-self-induced-abortion-charge-dismissed.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR3JOMGcdOK7dt_I91HuSAoHvknrlEsynUE7Vgg6H6A0o02Dand512BcUOo

[underwaterrhymes]

France’s election is giving me heart palpitations.

Le Pen is a fucking NIGHTMARE. I’m hoping Macron pulls this one out. It’s so close.

[mrsukyankee]

Apr 10, 2022 19:52:56 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

France’s election is giving me heart palpitations.

Le Pen is a fucking NIGHTMARE. I’m hoping Macron pulls this one out. It’s so close.

Same. She would be a nightmare. It would be bad for France and the EU.

[neverfstop]

There's been some crazy developments with the Saudis and Javanka and other Trump croonies...

Before Giving Billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi Investment Fund Had Big Doubts
dnyuz.com/2022/04/10/before-giving-billions-to-jared-kushner-saudi-investment-fund-had-big-doubts/

Six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the Saudi crown prince, a close ally during the Trump administration, despite objections from the fund’s advisers about the merits of the deal.

A panel that screens investments for the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund cited concerns about the proposed deal with Mr. Kushner’s newly formed private equity firm, Affinity Partners, previously undisclosed documents show.
-----
In Washington, Mr. Kushner had also helped broker $110 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over 10 years. He helped protect those and other weapons deals from congressional outrage over the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and the humanitarian catastrophe created by the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.
----------
But the Saudis agreed to pay Mr. Mnuchin’s firm only a 1 percent asset management fee, compared to 1.25 percent for Mr. Kushner’s, the documents indicate. On a $2 billion investment, that would pay his firm $25 million a year, not including a share of any profits earned by the Affinity fund.

[basilosaurus]

What kind of demon tunnel did this collision unleash upon the world? This after TFG's previous endorsement of competitor Parnell, alleged spouse abuser who lost custody of his children. Winning bigly.

edition.cnn.com/2022/04/09/politics/trump-mehmet-oz-endorsement-pennsylvania/index.html

[mrspez07]

Apr 8, 2022 8:14:02 GMT -5 keweenawlove said:

Wisconsin voter suppression officially got me this week. Tried to drop off my ballots for me and H at a ballot box on Monday night like I've been doing this for the last 2 years but a new state law took effect between February and now banning drop boxes. The form said I could drop it off at my pooling location or city hall. Tried to drop it off my my polling location on election day but the worker there said it had to be city hall (which was already closed) and I couldn't vote in person because I already had an absentee. Also, when dropping them off, each person has to personally drop off their own ballot.

I feel like I'm relatively engaged with voting and I had no idea. This is making me even more nervous for the November election with how tight our latest statewide races have been and how bad Ron Johnson needs to go....

Unless your county clerk is on the conspiracy train, it’s worth calling or emailing them about your experience. It could have been poor election judge training or could be the rules (as stupid as they are). Generally, county clerks from both parties seem to take their jobs and the election rules/ vote count seriously. I say MOST, not all.

[BlondeSpiders]

Apr 7, 2022 8:15:39 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Interesting: paying fox news viewers to watch cnn increased their critical interpretation of news, making them less gullible.

www.salon.com/2022/04/04/can-fox-news-viewers-be-deprogrammed-paying-them-to-watch-cnn-makes-them-less-gullible_partner/

This is really encouraging. Jesse just got back from spending 2 weeks with his parents, who have moved straight past Fox to Newsmax.   They don't spout off and he refuses to engage them anyway. But, ick.

[Bad Dingo]

I 100% blame Bernie (and his supporters and anyone who voted 3rd party) for the state of SCOTUS and women beginning to be arrested for having an abortion.  It was obvious what the R's main goal was.

He put his ego and agenda above all else and here we are.

www.npr.org/2017/04/20/524962482/sanders-defends-campaigning-for-anti-abortion-rights-democrat

www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a9203970/democrats-abortion-economic-justice/

[wanderingback]

Apr 12, 2022 7:43:34 GMT -5 Bad Dingo said:

I 100% blame Bernie (and his supporters and anyone who voted 3rd party) for the state of SCOTUS and women beginning to be arrested for having an abortion.  It was obvious what the R's main goal was.

He put his ego and agenda above all else and here we are.

www.npr.org/2017/04/20/524962482/sanders-defends-campaigning-for-anti-abortion-rights-democrat

www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a9203970/democrats-abortion-economic-justice/

I guess this has turned in to an @@@@@ thread
@@@@

Unfortunately, this is not new that someone was arrested for their pregnancy outcome. There have been a few dozens arrests over the past 20+ years. I don’t think it’s Bernie Sanders fault.

The Democratic Party and white women specifically have been getting the messaging regarding abortion wrong for a very long time. Reproductive justice advocates have been screaming about this for decades. This didn’t start with Bernie Sanders.

[mrsukyankee]

link


Boris Johnson has been fined for breaking his own Covid laws by attending a party for his birthday in No 10, but he has vowed to fight on as prime minister in defiance of furious calls for him to quit.



Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Johnson’s wife, Carrie, were also given fixed-penalty notices for attending the gathering on 19 June 2020 in the cabinet room, with the Metropolitan police saying more than 50 have been issued. It was reported on Tuesday that all three had paid their fines.



Johnson and Sunak are thought to be the first sitting prime minister and chancellor to be criminally sanctioned. Both senior politicians were also accused of misleading parliament by previously denying they had attended parties during lockdown.

...Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister and SNP leader, also called for the prime minister to quit. “Boris Johnson must resign,” she said. “He broke the law and repeatedly lied to parliament about it. The basic values of integrity and decency – essential to the proper working of any parliamentary democracy – demand that he go. And he should take his out of touch chancellor with him.”