US Politics

[TrueBlue4ever]

40 minutes ago, Tracker said:

The only hope America has of surviving as a nation is if their Department of Justice starts aggressively prosecuting Trump and every one of the GOP and all those involved in the attempted coup. The January 6th incident was a trial run and those involved in organizing are still free. They are organizing subversion at the school board, civic and state levels to challenge any elections result they lose and to disqualify as many Democratic voters as possible.

You don’t think all of Trump’s followers won’t become more hardened, seeing their messiah railroaded by the corrupt government?

[JCon]

2 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

You don’t think all of Trump’s followers won’t become more hardened, seeing their messiah railroaded by the corrupt government?

Who cares? Can't coddle the feeble minded sheep. 

[Tracker]

2 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

You don’t think all of Trump’s followers won’t become more hardened, seeing their messiah railroaded by the corrupt government?

That is inevitable in my opinion, and the sooner it comes to that, the better the chances of America retaining some form of recognizable democracy.  If the American Civil War had come 20 or 30 years later, it would have been bloodier and more protracted, as the South would have had more time to prepare. As it is now, the right wing is busy getting ready while the center-left is waiting for a Disney-like epiphany to come to the neo-fascists. Fanatics cannot be placated with anything short of complete submission and will take advantage of any perceived weakness of their foes and attribute concessions as fear.

[the watcher]

28 minutes ago, JCon said:

Who cares? Can't coddle the feeble minded sheep. 

Those sheep are extremely well armed.  And some of those sheep belong to the military and their never ending levels of police forces. There is already background noise about separating red and blue states. I don't see any reason to think it would be any less violent than last time they did that. The big difference in  my opinion is that it will effect the rest of the planet far, far more.

Can they avoid it ? Sure, but so far they continue to push it past the tipping point. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by the watcher

[Tracker]

4 minutes ago, the watcher said:

Those sheep are extremely well armed.  And some of those sheep belong to the military and their never ending levels of police forces. There is already background noise about separating red and blue states. I don't see any reason to think it would be any less violent than last time they did that. The big difference in  my opinion is that it will effect the rest of the planet far, far more.

Can they avoid it ? Sure, but so far they continue to push it past the tipping point. 

The mindsets of military, paramilitary, conspiratorialists and fundamentalists is such that they are predisposed to acting without questioning. These all tend to believe that their way is righteous enough that it can be imposed on the unbelievers "for their own good".

[rebusrankin]

On 2021-10-05 at 10:22 AM, Tracker said:

Far-right commentator who contracted COVID threatens Dr. Fauci: 'Give me liberty or I give you death'
   
Far right extremist commentator Josh Bernstein, an anti-vaxxer who recently contracted COVID after threatening a "lead injection" for anyone who tried to vaccinate him, appears to have issued an obscenity-laden death threat against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President.

"Let me tell you something you sick twisted garden gnome," Bernstein says in the video below which was posted by the watchdog group by Right Wing Watch.

"Okay? Our rights don't come from you. They don't come from the NIH, they don't come from the Center for disinformation control, they don't come from the Wuhan Health Organization, and they certainly don't come from this fraudulent extremist authoritarian regime government, either," Bernstein declared, referring to the National Institutes of Health, and apparently the CDC , the World Health Organization, and the Biden administration.

"They come from God. That's where they come from, and not you, or any government, or any intel person or agency is going to do anything about it," he warned.

"You know, I've always said Patrick Henry had it half right: 'Give me liberty or give me death.' Bullshit. Give me liberty or I give you death. That's right. Signed, sealed and ******* delivered. So all I got to say about that. Tread lightly."

Far-right commentator who contracted COVID threatens Dr. Fauci: 'Give me liberty or give you death' - Alternet.org

Actually their rights come from the US Constitution but why use facts.

[TrueBlue4ever]

6 hours ago, Tracker said:

That is inevitable in my opinion, and the sooner it comes to that, the better the chances of America retaining some form of recognizable democracy.  If the American Civil War had come 20 or 30 years later, it would have been bloodier and more protracted, as the South would have had more time to prepare. As it is now, the right wing is busy getting ready while the center-left is waiting for a Disney-like epiphany to come to the neo-fascists. Fanatics cannot be placated with anything short of complete submission and will take advantage of any perceived weakness of their foes and attribute concessions as fear.

If you believe this is inevitable, then your original thought of “the only hope America has of surviving” is moot - it is already dead if there is no way of bringing the hard right wing back from the edge. So if you aren’t going to try and save them, then for sure go hard after Trump we al, and be prepared to burn the Republican party to the ground and face the war those supporters will bring as a shoe that his brand of politics won’t be allowed. But if democracy is what you strive for, work to make voting easier for all and put in safeguards so that the right wing courts and Republican state leaders can’t rig the electoral vote rather than putting Donald in his place. 

[Tracker]

11 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

If you believe this is inevitable, then your original thought of “the only hope America has of surviving” is moot - it is already dead if there is no way of bringing the hard right wing back from the edge. So if you aren’t going to try and save them, then for sure go hard after Trump we al, and be prepared to burn the Republican party to the ground and face the war those supporters will bring as a shoe that his brand of politics won’t be allowed. But if democracy is what you strive for, work to make voting easier for all and put in safeguards so that the right wing courts and Republican state leaders can’t rig the electoral vote rather than putting Donald in his place. 

It is inevitable if nothing changes, and I am doubtful if the will is there. It is going to be messy no matter which way it goes, but the longer it takes, the worse it will be,

[wpgallday1960]

Empires rise and fall.  What we are witnessing is the decline of the American empire, mainly due to internal social rot.  The political and social/cultural divides are too vast to be overcome, IMO. When close to half the country doesn't believe democracy is working and put their own individual rights ahead of the common public good, the result is inevitable. I'm just not sure if the end will come slowly over the next several decades or arrive quickly in a violent civil war.

[Tracker]

Republicans would "rather end democracy" than turn away from Trump, says Harvard professor

Co-author of "How Democracies Die" says the GOP is ready to seize power. But they might not be able to keep it.  It can happen here. The "it" ought to be obvious by now: an authoritarian or even fascist regime in the United States. That was a big reason why Harvard professor Steven Levitsky, along with his colleague Daniel Ziblatt, published the 2018 book "How Democracies Die." They wanted to warn Americans of the dangerous signs they saw in Donald Trump's presidency that followed the authoritarian playbook.

So where are we now in terms of our democracy? I spoke with Levitsky recently for Salon Talks, and here's one line that really stood out: Levitsky told me, "Five years ago I would have laughed you out of the room if you suggested our democracy could die." But today, he added, we see the Republican Party apparently focused on breaking our democracy. In a nutshell, Levitsky believes the threat to our democracy is more acute today than when Trump was in the White House, since the GOP is desperate to retain its fading power in the face of hostile demographic change.

Levitsky describes today's GOP as "clearly an authoritarian party." Worse yet, it's no longer all about Trump. He sees the GOP continuing on its anti-democratic path for years to come, saying that even the contested term "fascist" is becoming more defensible given the GOP's defense or denial of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Republicans would "rather end democracy" than turn away from Trump, says Harvard professor | Salon.com

[the watcher]

18 hours ago, Tracker said:

Republicans would "rather end democracy" than turn away from Trump, says Harvard professor

Co-author of "How Democracies Die" says the GOP is ready to seize power. But they might not be able to keep it.  It can happen here. The "it" ought to be obvious by now: an authoritarian or even fascist regime in the United States. That was a big reason why Harvard professor Steven Levitsky, along with his colleague Daniel Ziblatt, published the 2018 book "How Democracies Die." They wanted to warn Americans of the dangerous signs they saw in Donald Trump's presidency that followed the authoritarian playbook.

So where are we now in terms of our democracy? I spoke with Levitsky recently for Salon Talks, and here's one line that really stood out: Levitsky told me, "Five years ago I would have laughed you out of the room if you suggested our democracy could die." But today, he added, we see the Republican Party apparently focused on breaking our democracy. In a nutshell, Levitsky believes the threat to our democracy is more acute today than when Trump was in the White House, since the GOP is desperate to retain its fading power in the face of hostile demographic change.

Levitsky describes today's GOP as "clearly an authoritarian party." Worse yet, it's no longer all about Trump. He sees the GOP continuing on its anti-democratic path for years to come, saying that even the contested term "fascist" is becoming more defensible given the GOP's defense or denial of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Republicans would "rather end democracy" than turn away from Trump, says Harvard professor | Salon.com

The trouble in the States is they don't have a party that legitimately wants a real democracy that serves the people. It's obvious what the Republicans are and how far they are willing to go. But the Democrats are like a wolf in sheep's clothing. There really is no one to stop what's happening. Bernie took a run at change but when it looked like he might actually have a shot at it the powers behind the curtain squashed him. I've been wrong before but I really don't see a way out for the US.

[Tracker]

'Shameful and dangerous': Oklahoma woman faces 4 years in prison for miscarriage
   
Reproductive rights advocates warned Thursday that the manslaughter conviction of a woman in Oklahoma following her pregnancy loss is just the latest case that sets a "dangerous precedent" for pregnant people across the country—and represents the result of numerous extreme restrictions on reproductive rights including Texas' six-week abortion ban.

Twenty-year-old Brittney Poolaw was sentenced last week to four years in prison after being convicted of first-degree manslaughter, a charge that was applied to a miscarriage she experienced last year.

After seeking medical attention at Comanche County Hospital for the pregnancy loss, which happened early last year when Poolaw was 17 weeks pregnant, she was arrested in March 2020 and incarcerated with her bond set at $20,000. Unable to afford bail, Poolaw has now spent more than 18 months behind bars for her miscarriage.

Calling Poolaw's prosecution and conviction "shameful and dangerous," the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) said it is supporting Poolaw "as she explores her legal options."

The group noted that at her one-day trial last week, a medical examiner's report did not identify Poolaw's use of controlled substances as the cause of her pregnancy loss. Oklahoma's manslaughter and murder laws also do not apply to miscarriages, but a prosecutor nonetheless sought Poolaw's conviction.

An autopsy report found that the fetus tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and another drug in the liver and brain, while the medical examiner detected a congenital abnormality, placental abruption, and chorioamnionitis, according to ABC affiliate KSWO.

"Ms. Poolaw's case is a tragedy," said the organization. "She has suffered the trauma of pregnancy loss, has been jailed for a year and half during a pandemic, and was charged and convicted of a crime without basis in law or science."

'Shameful and dangerous': Oklahoma woman faces 4 years in prison for miscarriage - Alternet.org

[JCon]

Doug Flutie is on the list. Hope to never see him at a CFL event again. 

 

 

[Goalie]

Just now, JCon said:

Doug Flutie is on the list. Hope to never see him at a CFL event again. 

 

 

Ric flair... shocking said nobody ever 

[Tracker]

Texas schools official tells teachers they must offer 'other perspectives' when teaching the Holocaust
   
A Southlake, Texas school official is under fire after telling teachers if they have a book in the classroom about the Holocaust they must also teach "other perspectives."

“Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979," Gina Peddy, the executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Carroll Independent School District, said in a training session Friday, as the recording (below) from NBC News shows.

“And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives," she told teachers in a training session on the new law.

“How do you oppose the Holocaust?" one teacher asked.

“Believe me," Peddy said. “That's come up."

At issue is a new Texas state ordinance drafted and rushed into law after parents complained about books teaching about racism.

"The training came four days after the Carroll school board, responding to a parent's complaint, voted to reprimand a fourth grade teacher who had kept an anti-racism book in her classroom," NBC News reports.

“Teachers are literally afraid that we're going to be punished for having books in our classes," one elementary school teacher told NBC News. “There are no children's books that show the 'opposing perspective' of the Holocaust or the 'opposing perspective' of slavery. Are we supposed to get rid of all of the books on those subjects?"

Conservatives across the nation have been attacking and threatening school boards over the nearly non-existent teaching of Critical Race Theory, and are demanding all teaching about racism end.

LISTEN: Texas schools official tells teachers they must offer 'other perspectives' when teaching the Holocaust - Alternet.org

'Just Looking Out!': Capitol Cop Who Warned Rioter To Scrub Facebook Charged By Feds. Officer Michael Riley told a Jan. 6 rioter that he agreed with his "political stance" but suggested he remove photos taken inside the Capitol building.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Michael Riley, seen here in 2011, faces two charges of obstruction. A veteran Capitol Police officer has been charged by federal authorities with two counts of obstruction after he allegedly warned a Capitol rioter to remove Facebook posts that showed him inside the building.

Officer Michael Angelo Riley was on K-9 duty on Jan. 6 and even responded to reports of an explosive device near the Capitol complex, according to authorities. The next day, Riley reached out to a Facebook friend ― one he knew because they were both “avid fishermen and members of fishing-related Facebook groups” ― and warned him to take down posts showing him inside the Capitol.

“[I’m] a capitol police officer who agrees with your political stance. Take down the part about being in the building they are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to [get] charged,” Riley wrote. “Just looking out!”

'Just Looking Out!': Capitol Cop Who Warned Rioter To Scrub Facebook Charged By Feds | HuffPost Latest News

[Tracker]

Epstein Bragged About Gift From Woody Allen Before Raping Russian Model, Lawsuit Says

A new lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court paints a disturbing picture of Epstein’s continued pattern of preying on young women even after his sex crimes were exposed.
A new accuser has filed a class-action lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, claiming the late sex-trafficker raped and assaulted her numerous times from 2017 through 2019—including at his homes in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the months leading up to his arrest—after interviewing her on Skype and promising to aid her career.

The woman, a Russian national referred to as Jane Doe, also claims Epstein gave her a tour of his Palm Beach mansion and showed off a broken guitar, a gift he claimed was from his longtime friend, the disgraced director Woody Allen.

Doe’s complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, also names Epstein’s veteran executive assistant Lesley Groff as a defendant. Groff helped to facilitate Epstein’s sex ring, the suit claims, by “purchasing plane tickets, sending money, making appointments, and sending various communications from New York.”

According to the complaint, Doe was in her early twenties and living in Moscow when Epstein targeted her in 2017, and she soon learned she wasn’t alone. The multimillionaire sex-offender also “fraudulently lured dozens and dozens of women from Russia and elsewhere in Europe into his orbit using false promises of career,” the suit alleges.

“For the next two years—presumably in the middle of his being investigated by federal law enforcement officials and up until his widely-reported arrest in July 2019—Epstein, with Groff’s assistance, repeatedly trafficked Jane for his personal sexual use and abuse, fraudulently promising her assistance with her work and career to further lure her to Paris, Florida, and the Virgin Islands, including through New York,” the filing states. “Epstein continued to use Jane as an object for his sexual gratification.”

Lawyers for Groff, who has denied playing any part in Epstein’s trafficking scheme, told The Daily Beast they’re “confident” the suit will be tossed. “This lawsuit should never have been filed,” Michael Bachner and Jon Whitcomb said in a statement. “It does not contain a single factual allegation that Lesley in any way knowingly engaged in any wrongdoing or was aware of any misconduct committed by Jeffrey Epstein.

Jeffrey Epstein Bragged About Gift From Woody Allen Before Raping Russian Model, Lawsuit Says (thedailybeast.com)

 

[Mark F]

On 2021-10-15 at 10:09 AM, Tracker said:

'Shameful and dangerous': Oklahoma woman faces 4 years in prison for miscarriage

this is madness.... its The Handmaid's tale,  or something like rural India, Pakistan.

people arent shocked anymore bymthis kind of crazy thing.

pretty soon expect to see honour killings by fascist men in the states.

3 hours ago, Tracker said:

other perspectives'

lol, like what....the jews brought it on the selves, or they are a disease, or it didnt happen.

luckily, mthe Nazis were very good record keepers.

what a facking madhouse.

a few years afo a judge in alberta asked a rape compainant why "she didnt just close her legs"

so much stupidity in this world

Edited October 16, 2021 by Mark F

[Tracker]

Black flag: Understanding the Trumpists' latest threatening symbol.  Trump zealots have begun flying black U.S. flags, which signal no quarter for enemies. It's a threat of violence

It's an old truism that the "real bad men" (and bad women) "move in silence and violence." That's certainly true for the most dangerous and most effective of Donald Trump's allies, henchmen, henchwomen, and other followers. But for Donald Trump himself, and most of his political cult, that rule does not apply.

Trump and his followers were loud, exuberant and enthusiastic on Jan. 6. The lethal attack on the Capitol had been publicly announced weeks in advance, and should have come as no surprise. Trump's rallies and gatherings continue to celebrate violence and the prospect of revenge — and specifically of "getting even" with Trump's "enemies."

Steve Bannon, Trump's former campaign chairman and White House strategist, has now threatened to recruit Republican-fascist "shock troops" with the apparent goal of undermining the U.S. government, and by implication multiracial democracy, if and when Trump and the Republicans regain control of both Congress and the White House.

On a daily basis Fox News and other elements of the right-wing disinformation propaganda machine use stochastic terrorism and other techniques to radicalize their audience into committing acts of political violence. To this point, the Democratic Party and the political and news media class in general have remained in denial, and largely passive in response. 

In one troubling new development, Trump supporters have begun flying all-black American flags, in an implicit threat to harm or kill their opponents — meaning nonwhite people, "socialist liberals," Muslims, vaccinated people and others deemed to be "enemies" of "real America." As media critic Eric Boehlert recently noted, the liberal opinion site Living Blue in Texas is sounding the alarm about the specific meaning of the black flag and the Republican-fascists support for terrorism and other political violence. That post, "Are Your Republican Neighbors Planning on Killing You?", merits lengthy quotation:

It didn't take long to find hundreds of videos where these Trumpers and so-called patriots were hanging black American flags.  Black American flags are the flags that mean "no quarter shall be given." They are the opposite of the white flag of surrender.

According to the people on TikTok and the Sun (British tabloid), the black American flag originated in the civil war and was flown by the Confederates.

It means that they will not surrender, will not take prisoners, and are willing to die for their cause. It means they will execute their enemies. Who are their enemies? Pretty much any non-Conservative. You know, Democrats, Liberals, LGBTQ, BIPOC, and the vaccinated.

So, we're the enemy, and they're openly professing to want to execute us. … So, why are they doing this?

Covid vaccinations, mostly. They believe that Joe Biden has declared a civil war on them by mandating that employers with over 100 employees and the military have vaccinations.

Yes, they say civil war, and they say it's already started. But, unfortunately, many of them also live in states where masks and vaccines are required by state governments, healthcare, and law enforcement.

An alarming number of military members have been making Tik Toks talking about how they are being discharged because they refuse the vaccine. It's alarming because there is probably an equal number of guys on there talking about the civil war plans and actively using Tik Tok to recruit these military and ex-military members.

The biggest message they have been sending out is, "it's time" or "the time is now." ...

Although showing guns on Tik Tok is supposed to be against community guidelines, they show lots of videos of their guns, shooting them, wearing them, or sitting on their bed.  They primarily use Tik Tok as a recruiting tool and let others know their willingness to commit violence. Then they tell people to message them or where to find them on Telegram.

However you interpret these videos posted by Trump followers and other neofascists — which could be mainly performative — it is clearly true that the American right is increasingly willing to accept or condone violence as a means of expanding and protecting their social and political power. (Salon did not find licensed news photographs of these flags, and has made the editorial decision not to reproduce the images mentioned above, which are easy to find on social media.)

Public opinion polls and other research have repeatedly shown that millions of Republican voters and Trump followers would support the use of violence to remove Joe Biden from office because of the "Big Lie" and their belief that that he is not a legitimate president. Similarly, a large proportion of Republicans believe that the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 were "patriots" whose use of violence was justified.

Black flag: Understanding the Trumpists' latest threatening symbol | Salon.com

[Goalie]

I wonder how the punk rock band Black Flag feels about this. 

 

[bustamente]

It really is a cult, a cult of stupidity

 

[the watcher]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/20/donald-trump-truth-social-app-apple

Trump is launching his own social media platform. Lol , and I can't stand Facebook, Maybe I will avoid this one right off the bat.

[JCon]

Just now, the watcher said:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/20/donald-trump-truth-social-app-apple

Trump is launching his own social media platform. Lol , and I can't stand Facebook, Maybe I will avoid this one right off the bat.

It's already been hacked. 🤣

A loser platform for the losers. 

[bustamente]

 

[JCon]

 

[blue_gold_84]

As if his profile pic is him eating a taco salad. LOL