Hey! As you know the midterm elections were held 16 days ago here in the U.S. While I had some thoughts regarding what happened at the time I was busy with the paying job and trying to get some projects completed to respond quickly. This, in retrospect, may have been a good thing.
With that in mind I'm going to offer up some very short quick takes on some of the issues that have popped up since the election. I admit they might not be as in depth as I'd like but today's holiday and I have to go to the paying job tomorrow, which means I won't be able to burn the midnight oil on this. With that in mind it's time to skip the formalities and get to the basics.
Let's start with the election. It turns out that not immediately reacting may have worked in my favor as some of the races on the West Coast were counted along with the recounts et al. Yes, there have been some nauseating things such as the role voter suppression played in Florida and Georgia. However, it looks like the U.S. House of Representatives may have actually achieved something similar to the blue wave predicted in the media with the Democrats winning 39 seats as of this typing, more than gathering a majority in that part of the legislative branch. While the Repubs did pick up some seats it looks like they won't have near the super majority the GOP were hoping for didn't materialize. Still, it will be an uphill struggle especially as meh Senators were replaced by zealots and the electoral vote winner will take this as a mandate. However, it should put a big dent on some of his evil schemes - provided he doesn't try to go for creating a Constitutional crisis in the lame duck session next month (entirely possible given Donny) by either firing Mueller or with something else.
Then there's the whole troops at the border thing. It was hard to say whether that was an election stunt or a power play intended to cause said crisis mentioned last paragraph by either violating rule sof engagement by ordering the military to shoot asylum seekers or using the troops to keep Americans from escaping if shit gets too bad. The fact that the asylum migrants were heading towards Tijuana made the troops stationing suspicious, adding to it the complete lack of mentions by the right wing media once the midterms were over make it all the more clear that this was a stunt (one reportedly referred to by troops stationed there as "Operation BS"). Now things could return to that state once the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago things the heat is off but this time around we can see through it and be nauseated by it.
However, the most troubling news regarding those in power is the news revealed two days ago (November 20, 2018) that sometime this Spring electoral vote winner Donny actually asked the Justice Department to look into prosecuting his former election opponent (Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) and former FBI Director James Comey. Put aside the irony of the Mad Fuhrer actually following through on one of his promises (notice he only does it with the most cruel and hateful ones) this is obviously a dangerous hint of the authoritarianism that he really wants to do as well as taking obstruction of justice to a new and dangerous level. While then White House counsel Don MaGahan managed to put the kabosh on this one by pointing out it could lead to impeachment I'll discuss in the print issue why this doesn't mean this is over - not by a long shot.
As for the firing of Jeffy Sessions as Attorney General and the installation of Jeffy's chief of staff Matt Whittaker (whom we'll refer to from now on as Matty Matt), the only real surprise to all this isn't that Donny shitcanned Jeffy but that it happened so damn soon after the election (roughly 24 hours). Add to this Donny's press stunt setting up CNN's Jim Acosta and revoking his press credentials to the Whiote House until forced to reinstate it. While this rightfully angered much of the nation, the fact that news trickled out from those amongst electoral vote winner Donny's minions were reportedly saying the press briefing would be fun and Donny appeared to give a signal for the intern to try and take the mic seems to show that this was a stunt to distract from the election result and Donny firing Jeffy.
So what lies ahead? Well the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago is raging against judges for ruling against him and the Congressional lame duck session ahead could either be nothing or could have a lot of bullshit go down before the gridlock that will likely happen in the next session. Time will tell as people get prepared for the holidays and wear down the final moments of 2018..
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Thursday, November 1, 2018
FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE MIDTERMS
I originally posted this as a not of the TTWN Facebook page. However, after finishing it I felt it was appropriate to share it on the blog as well.
As most Americans are aware of by now, the 2018 midterm elections are only five days away. By now many of you have heard from friends, family members, pundits, and even celebrities that we all need to do our duty and vote. Some have even suggested that everyone should mobilize to make sure one of the two parties takes back some of the power they’ve lost over the decades (you know the party by now so I don’t have to name them) by making sure they get back at least one of the two houses of the legislative branch. Some say this is needed to ensure a “blue wave” come early November. While this is a noble goal and since these are not normal times it does appear we’ve reached a “by all legal means necessary” approach ranging from canvassing and phone banking for candidates to trying to convince friends they need to vote, not everybody is able to go beyond voting or doing some work when they can due to the mixture of work schedules and various obligations ranging from family circumstances to dealing with illnesses (either one’s own or that of a loved one) and the like. Sadly, this makes things complicated for many people but sometimes the little things can help a lot. This is my attempt to do just that.
Now I have an official policy of not endorsing candidates but I do vote (actually voted early this year). Because of this I do have a few suggestions that I hope helps people who haven’t voted yet but plan to - and hopefully help motivate those on the fence regarding voting to take to the polls (remember - as I said in the previous paragraph - THESE ARE NOT NORMAL TIMES. While this is a small and imperfect list of suggestions, it is one I feel can cut across and help plants seeds in people’s minds.
If you care about freedom of speech and the right to protest then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST THE PARTY WHOSE LEADER HAS GONE ON RECORD FOR SUGGESTING THAT POLITICAL PROTESTING SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. This should be common sense but sometimes people vote party line rather than exploring the candidates, especially during the midterm elections. The fact the one person in power even thinks this at all should be proof that they have no damn business holding an elected office. While that person isn’t up for election next Tuesday people in his party are so why not let them know this attitude is not appreciate and will not fly.
If you trust women and believe them when they say they’ve experienced sexual assault then YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE FOR ANY CANDIDATE OR PARTY WHO EVEN HAS THE APPEARANCE OF NOT TAKING SEXUAL ASSAULT SERIOUSLY. From the Kavanaugh hearings to various comments for the leadership of one party makes it clear that they apparently don’t trust or respect women. They also have the arrogance to think that this stance will solidify their base and actually gain them support from women. If there’s ever a time to shut down this shit and prove them wrong it’s on this.
If you feel that women deserve the right to reproductive freedom and reproductive justice, including the belief that women have the right to make decisions over their own bodies the YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE FOR ANY CANDIDATE OR POLITICAL PARTY THAT WANTS TO TAKE AWAY THOSE RIGHTS FROM WOMEN. Ironically polls have reportedly shown the majority of people across party lines to be pro choice. However, one party has been doing their damndest in the name of "protecting the unborn" (while seemingly not to care about those already here) to erode this right into near nothingness for many parts of the country. While one election won't drastically change this, it will be a start that can allow people who support reproductive freedom and reproductive justice to build and helps to put pro forced childbirth asshats in their place.
If you feel diversity makes this country better and that current events trying to use violence to shape it to the contrary are nauseating then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST ANY PARTY WHO DOUBLES DOWN ON CODED RACIST RHETORIC (AND BEOYND DOG WHISTLES TO OUTRIGHT BULLHORNS) AND USES WHITE NATIONALIST TALKING POINTS TO IMPLY THEY WANT TO CHANGE WHO CAN BE A CITIZEN AND WHO CAN’T. This is another one that should be common sense but the mainstream media’s tendency to imply whatabout-ism and both sides-ism are legitimate on these issues make things murky and can lead to some people thinking otherwise. Current events over the past week have shown that both sides aren’t doing the same thing on these issues and that the party doubling down on said rhetoric and seemingly oblivious to what may occur in the aftermath deserve some sort of political comeuppance in the meantime.
If you think freedom of religion is important and includes not just all religions but the freedom not to believe as well then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST THE PARTY THAT USES THE TERM “RELIGIOUS LIBERTY” AS A WEAPON TO CREATE A BACKDOOR WAY TO BRING BACK DISCRIMINATION. There is one party doing this, claiming that proponents of a narrow interpretation of christianity are being discriminated against by having to provide goods and services to anyone or that they should be allowed to not allow people of different faiths to adopt children from their agency. They like to claim they are a persecuted minority even though they seem to be getting everything they want from a certain administration. Whether you’re not religious or if you are religious but don’t think the government should enforce one interpretation of one religion down the throats of the rest of us, you should do your part to vote this down ASAFP!!!!
If you feel voting is important and should be made easier for those who are able to do so then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST ANY PARTY TRYING TO STEAL THE VOTE THROUGH INTIMIDATION OR SUPPRESSION TACTICS. People like to say that if one doesn't vote they can't complain. However, when one side of the political debate wants to make it next to impossible for many to vote or even claims without proof that "illegal voters" stole the vote for a candidate from certain states (states whose electoral vote just happened to go to said candidate's opponent). From making it harder for students to vote where they go to school (I remember in college they actually tried to encourage students to vote there since their college town was where they were living when an election was held) to SCOTUS upholding voter ID requirements that require street addresses even though a indigenous reservations often rely on P.O. Boxes fro addresses this is less an attempt to make elections fair and more an attempt to rig it in favor of one party. While this should be opposed across the political divide, one party's embrace of it means people who care about this should make sure they get their power taken away from them.
This is about it for the time being. As I said before this is far from a complete list and barely scratches the surface. However, it should give people a glimpse of maybe what they should be against as they head to the polls - or maybe why they should should vote if they otherwise weren't planning to. As I said at the top of this these are not normal times and while elections alone are not enough (even politicians you like have to be watched like a hawk sometimes) at a moment like this it can send a message.
As most Americans are aware of by now, the 2018 midterm elections are only five days away. By now many of you have heard from friends, family members, pundits, and even celebrities that we all need to do our duty and vote. Some have even suggested that everyone should mobilize to make sure one of the two parties takes back some of the power they’ve lost over the decades (you know the party by now so I don’t have to name them) by making sure they get back at least one of the two houses of the legislative branch. Some say this is needed to ensure a “blue wave” come early November. While this is a noble goal and since these are not normal times it does appear we’ve reached a “by all legal means necessary” approach ranging from canvassing and phone banking for candidates to trying to convince friends they need to vote, not everybody is able to go beyond voting or doing some work when they can due to the mixture of work schedules and various obligations ranging from family circumstances to dealing with illnesses (either one’s own or that of a loved one) and the like. Sadly, this makes things complicated for many people but sometimes the little things can help a lot. This is my attempt to do just that.
Now I have an official policy of not endorsing candidates but I do vote (actually voted early this year). Because of this I do have a few suggestions that I hope helps people who haven’t voted yet but plan to - and hopefully help motivate those on the fence regarding voting to take to the polls (remember - as I said in the previous paragraph - THESE ARE NOT NORMAL TIMES. While this is a small and imperfect list of suggestions, it is one I feel can cut across and help plants seeds in people’s minds.
If you care about freedom of speech and the right to protest then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST THE PARTY WHOSE LEADER HAS GONE ON RECORD FOR SUGGESTING THAT POLITICAL PROTESTING SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. This should be common sense but sometimes people vote party line rather than exploring the candidates, especially during the midterm elections. The fact the one person in power even thinks this at all should be proof that they have no damn business holding an elected office. While that person isn’t up for election next Tuesday people in his party are so why not let them know this attitude is not appreciate and will not fly.
If you trust women and believe them when they say they’ve experienced sexual assault then YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE FOR ANY CANDIDATE OR PARTY WHO EVEN HAS THE APPEARANCE OF NOT TAKING SEXUAL ASSAULT SERIOUSLY. From the Kavanaugh hearings to various comments for the leadership of one party makes it clear that they apparently don’t trust or respect women. They also have the arrogance to think that this stance will solidify their base and actually gain them support from women. If there’s ever a time to shut down this shit and prove them wrong it’s on this.
If you feel that women deserve the right to reproductive freedom and reproductive justice, including the belief that women have the right to make decisions over their own bodies the YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE FOR ANY CANDIDATE OR POLITICAL PARTY THAT WANTS TO TAKE AWAY THOSE RIGHTS FROM WOMEN. Ironically polls have reportedly shown the majority of people across party lines to be pro choice. However, one party has been doing their damndest in the name of "protecting the unborn" (while seemingly not to care about those already here) to erode this right into near nothingness for many parts of the country. While one election won't drastically change this, it will be a start that can allow people who support reproductive freedom and reproductive justice to build and helps to put pro forced childbirth asshats in their place.
If you feel diversity makes this country better and that current events trying to use violence to shape it to the contrary are nauseating then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST ANY PARTY WHO DOUBLES DOWN ON CODED RACIST RHETORIC (AND BEOYND DOG WHISTLES TO OUTRIGHT BULLHORNS) AND USES WHITE NATIONALIST TALKING POINTS TO IMPLY THEY WANT TO CHANGE WHO CAN BE A CITIZEN AND WHO CAN’T. This is another one that should be common sense but the mainstream media’s tendency to imply whatabout-ism and both sides-ism are legitimate on these issues make things murky and can lead to some people thinking otherwise. Current events over the past week have shown that both sides aren’t doing the same thing on these issues and that the party doubling down on said rhetoric and seemingly oblivious to what may occur in the aftermath deserve some sort of political comeuppance in the meantime.
If you think freedom of religion is important and includes not just all religions but the freedom not to believe as well then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST THE PARTY THAT USES THE TERM “RELIGIOUS LIBERTY” AS A WEAPON TO CREATE A BACKDOOR WAY TO BRING BACK DISCRIMINATION. There is one party doing this, claiming that proponents of a narrow interpretation of christianity are being discriminated against by having to provide goods and services to anyone or that they should be allowed to not allow people of different faiths to adopt children from their agency. They like to claim they are a persecuted minority even though they seem to be getting everything they want from a certain administration. Whether you’re not religious or if you are religious but don’t think the government should enforce one interpretation of one religion down the throats of the rest of us, you should do your part to vote this down ASAFP!!!!
If you feel voting is important and should be made easier for those who are able to do so then YOU SHOULD VOTE AGAINST ANY PARTY TRYING TO STEAL THE VOTE THROUGH INTIMIDATION OR SUPPRESSION TACTICS. People like to say that if one doesn't vote they can't complain. However, when one side of the political debate wants to make it next to impossible for many to vote or even claims without proof that "illegal voters" stole the vote for a candidate from certain states (states whose electoral vote just happened to go to said candidate's opponent). From making it harder for students to vote where they go to school (I remember in college they actually tried to encourage students to vote there since their college town was where they were living when an election was held) to SCOTUS upholding voter ID requirements that require street addresses even though a indigenous reservations often rely on P.O. Boxes fro addresses this is less an attempt to make elections fair and more an attempt to rig it in favor of one party. While this should be opposed across the political divide, one party's embrace of it means people who care about this should make sure they get their power taken away from them.
This is about it for the time being. As I said before this is far from a complete list and barely scratches the surface. However, it should give people a glimpse of maybe what they should be against as they head to the polls - or maybe why they should should vote if they otherwise weren't planning to. As I said at the top of this these are not normal times and while elections alone are not enough (even politicians you like have to be watched like a hawk sometimes) at a moment like this it can send a message.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
IS VOTING ALONE ENOUGH?
Sorry for a lot of what appears to be radio silence on a busy news week. I had a long week at the paying job and didn't really have the time to comment on a lot of things.
By now you've heard more than enough people telling you that it's necessary to get as many people to vote in the midterms coming up in about nine days. Some go further in saying you should vote a straight party ticket regardless of who's on the ballot. In the meantime we've had a week that included mail bombs being sent to Democratic politicians and some other people important enough to be on electoral vote winner Donny's (a/k/a" the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago) enemies list, which ended with the capture of Cesar Sayoc Jr in Florida (whose van was covered with a mix of Trump stickers and certain liberals with crosshairs on their faces) as well as yesterday's horrific shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Add to this Donny's implication that the media brought this on themselves by treating the right wing badly as well as voter suppression efforts hell bent on helping the Repubs and it seems that many of us are facing an uphill struggle.
It's in this framework that many on the liberal to left leaning side are focusing on the electoral side of things. While I agree that this election is important (we are not anywhere remotely near normal times) I do fear that the focus on elections overlooks the need for protesting the injustices around us. Yes, I get (and accept to a point) those who want to focus on turning out the vote. In this go round it's necessary to get as many people as possible to completely blindside the chance for stealing the election on the homefront. However, it's also necessary for people to peacefully protest and take to the streets since those in power aren't willing to listen to their constituents.
As for those claiming people need to suck it up and go Democratic, even volunteering to get out the vote for them, it's a noble thing to do but it's hard for some people given that the establishment Democrats are not making it easy given their tendency to cut deals with Repubs (such as Schumer agreeing to fast track conservative judges just around the time the Kavanaugh hearings happened) rather than do the work of fighting every little thing Donny wants (y'know - what the Repubs did under Obama). That's not to say that both parties are the same but people do want someone to vote for rather than against and that's something the Democrats should take into account in 2020 and beyond.
So should people vote if they're able to? Of course they should. Should they protest the policies of electoral vote winner Donny and his minions? Of course. What should be avoided is the impression that merely working on elections is more important and imply that there shouldn't be people protesting. That doesn't help anyone in these times.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
SO KAVANAUGH'S A SCOTUS JUSTICE NOW - WHAT WE CAN SEE FROM ALL THIS
As you already know by now the Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court with Sen. Susan Collins (R, ME) being one of the two deciding votes along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D - WV). Even after a week where it was delayed due to an FBI background check related to multiple sexual assault allegations, he managed to squeak through despite being unpopular with the majority of the American people. He was officially confirmed Saturday night with a ceremonial swearing in by electoral vote winner Donny Monday. There are some things that have come to light in the aftermath that we should remember going forward.
First, with Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court expect things to take a scary turn in this country, especially as it relates to the rights of women, racial minorities, workers - basically anyone who isn't a wealthy whit econservative christian with a penis. Pro forced childbirth types are celebrating Bart O'Kav's being on the court hoping it will strip women of reproductive autonomy in not only the right to have an abortion but also the right to access contraception as well. Kavanaugh's pro business stances means that odds are labor will be in for a rough go and the environment is probably going to get varying degreees of shittier as time goes forward. I know some people have been saying that things might not be that bad but if Kavanaugh (or JOhn Roberts0 suddenly goes moderate it will definitely be a surprise - and it would be dishonest to assume otherwise.
However there are some things that I do find interesting in the wake of all this. While the future is still uncertain with theese developments I do feel they should be noted.
First, I'm very curious about which Democrat will step into the well funded opposition slot against Susan Collins in Maine. With her vote for Bretty Brett she's pretty much choked any proof she was a moderate Repub and left it for dead in a DC alley to choose the increasingly rightward tilt of the GOP against the American people. Her refusal to understand that people are following through in anger to fund any opposition against her and acting like it's indignant or a form aof bribery is esecially ironic since she's been in office over 20 years and knows damn well how donors work (and what string lay with taking the cash). Some say formed Obama administration official Susan Rice will step up, but since Collins isn't up for re-election until 2020 it's anyone's guess what will happen.
On the Democratic side of the aisle, it may be too late now but Manchin's vote for Bretty Brett is proof that someone whould've primaried the living shit out of him. The Senator form West Virignia has voted with Donny's ideas over half the time and, while the fact he was allowed to getaway with it also doesn't help the establishment Democrats, his current vote is a definite knife in the back to the party he claims to stand with. The fact that his vote may take the Supreme Court and turn it into a hard righ tpartisan attack dog shows why not just Democrats but anyone who should be aware of what's going on should be angry - and rightfully so.
Then there's the FBI background check. Called by Jeff Flake late on a Friday afternoon, it was given a week to wrap everything up. While the time may or may not be an issue, the fact that electoral vote winner Donny and his minions set paramaters that wouldn't allow for a full investigation on the allegations of sexual assault - and didn't contact either Kavanaugh or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford - give this the appear of a sham to provide cover for Repubs to vote and claim their nominee was innocent (Flake's pretty much final act in the Senate showed his so-called never Trump stance to be media optics more than any real convictions). While the FBI has done horrific things in the past (look up COINTELPRO for a big example), in this case it's up in the ari whether they were in the tank for Donny and his team in support for their candidate or had their hands tied (the fact they couldn't take info from people walking in with information only adds to the murkiness).
As for the establishment Democrats it's reaffirmed that they really should stop being so wishy washy. Their tendency for decorum and civility had them holding back on questioning Kavanaugh on his stance on issues (especially in terms of lack of follow up questions) before the allegations hit. In addition the fact that too many in that party are paid by the same donors means that some of them tend to dive when they should stand. This is even more evident by seeming to refuse to fight fire with fire when Sen. Chuckles Grassley (R - IA) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R - SC - and who seems to really want Attorney General Jeffy's job) got all indignant over Dems questions over lack of access to Bretty Brett's paper - and that was before Dr. Blasey Ford's allegations were released.
This also makes some wonder how good establishment Dems are at deal making when Sen. Chuck Schumer (D - NY) to fast track a numebr of judges. Normally a deal should imply that both sides get something but it appears that this time the Dems got screwed big time. I hope I'm wrong about this but I fear I'm not.
At this point there is one thing that appears indisputable - any semblance that there are moderate Repubs is pretty much gone with this vote. Even the people the mainstream media want to call opposition to Donny tend to vote with him almost all the damn time. With this vote they've proved that they don't believe sexual assault providers and will choose any odious candidate or nominee who'll enforce their agenda regardless of whether it benefits the American people or not. It also shows once again that the GOP seems to be incapable of acting in good faith and should be seen as incapable of doing so both by the media and the public. Their complaints abotu obstruction over Kavanaugh when they refused to give Merrick Garlansd a hearing shows they still care more about their power and try ing to achieve Karl Rove (or as Dubay called him "Turdblossom")'s plan for a permanent Repub supermajority by any means necessary over anything that might actually help those people who aren't rich white conservative men, white conservative christians, or white supremacists.
So far the Repubs are whining about "angry left wing mobs" (while overlooking hwo the Tea Party acted under Obama) and a lack of civility. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch NcConnell (or Addison the Turtle, R- KY) thinks the anger will blow over. If people really want change it shouldn't - and musn't blow over.
Will this lead to a blue wave in the midterm elections next month? Some polls say yes but others claim Kavanaugh reaffirmed the Repub base. Also, given that the Repubs use of voter suppression tactics shows they're perfectly willing to lie, cheat, and steal to win elections means Democrats and independents who are pissed over the GOP pushing Kavanaugh through in this way need to get out and vote in numbers. They can't afford to take things for granted.
So Brett Kavanaugh is in the Supreme Court now? While that will likely lead this country to some ugly places, we also have to take in the lessons we now have and do the political equivalent of fighting fire with fire. That means voting but also watching politicians like hawks (even the ones you like) to make sure they're serving the public good, not th egood of their wealthy donors.
First, with Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court expect things to take a scary turn in this country, especially as it relates to the rights of women, racial minorities, workers - basically anyone who isn't a wealthy whit econservative christian with a penis. Pro forced childbirth types are celebrating Bart O'Kav's being on the court hoping it will strip women of reproductive autonomy in not only the right to have an abortion but also the right to access contraception as well. Kavanaugh's pro business stances means that odds are labor will be in for a rough go and the environment is probably going to get varying degreees of shittier as time goes forward. I know some people have been saying that things might not be that bad but if Kavanaugh (or JOhn Roberts0 suddenly goes moderate it will definitely be a surprise - and it would be dishonest to assume otherwise.
However there are some things that I do find interesting in the wake of all this. While the future is still uncertain with theese developments I do feel they should be noted.
First, I'm very curious about which Democrat will step into the well funded opposition slot against Susan Collins in Maine. With her vote for Bretty Brett she's pretty much choked any proof she was a moderate Repub and left it for dead in a DC alley to choose the increasingly rightward tilt of the GOP against the American people. Her refusal to understand that people are following through in anger to fund any opposition against her and acting like it's indignant or a form aof bribery is esecially ironic since she's been in office over 20 years and knows damn well how donors work (and what string lay with taking the cash). Some say formed Obama administration official Susan Rice will step up, but since Collins isn't up for re-election until 2020 it's anyone's guess what will happen.
On the Democratic side of the aisle, it may be too late now but Manchin's vote for Bretty Brett is proof that someone whould've primaried the living shit out of him. The Senator form West Virignia has voted with Donny's ideas over half the time and, while the fact he was allowed to getaway with it also doesn't help the establishment Democrats, his current vote is a definite knife in the back to the party he claims to stand with. The fact that his vote may take the Supreme Court and turn it into a hard righ tpartisan attack dog shows why not just Democrats but anyone who should be aware of what's going on should be angry - and rightfully so.
Then there's the FBI background check. Called by Jeff Flake late on a Friday afternoon, it was given a week to wrap everything up. While the time may or may not be an issue, the fact that electoral vote winner Donny and his minions set paramaters that wouldn't allow for a full investigation on the allegations of sexual assault - and didn't contact either Kavanaugh or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford - give this the appear of a sham to provide cover for Repubs to vote and claim their nominee was innocent (Flake's pretty much final act in the Senate showed his so-called never Trump stance to be media optics more than any real convictions). While the FBI has done horrific things in the past (look up COINTELPRO for a big example), in this case it's up in the ari whether they were in the tank for Donny and his team in support for their candidate or had their hands tied (the fact they couldn't take info from people walking in with information only adds to the murkiness).
As for the establishment Democrats it's reaffirmed that they really should stop being so wishy washy. Their tendency for decorum and civility had them holding back on questioning Kavanaugh on his stance on issues (especially in terms of lack of follow up questions) before the allegations hit. In addition the fact that too many in that party are paid by the same donors means that some of them tend to dive when they should stand. This is even more evident by seeming to refuse to fight fire with fire when Sen. Chuckles Grassley (R - IA) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R - SC - and who seems to really want Attorney General Jeffy's job) got all indignant over Dems questions over lack of access to Bretty Brett's paper - and that was before Dr. Blasey Ford's allegations were released.
This also makes some wonder how good establishment Dems are at deal making when Sen. Chuck Schumer (D - NY) to fast track a numebr of judges. Normally a deal should imply that both sides get something but it appears that this time the Dems got screwed big time. I hope I'm wrong about this but I fear I'm not.
At this point there is one thing that appears indisputable - any semblance that there are moderate Repubs is pretty much gone with this vote. Even the people the mainstream media want to call opposition to Donny tend to vote with him almost all the damn time. With this vote they've proved that they don't believe sexual assault providers and will choose any odious candidate or nominee who'll enforce their agenda regardless of whether it benefits the American people or not. It also shows once again that the GOP seems to be incapable of acting in good faith and should be seen as incapable of doing so both by the media and the public. Their complaints abotu obstruction over Kavanaugh when they refused to give Merrick Garlansd a hearing shows they still care more about their power and try ing to achieve Karl Rove (or as Dubay called him "Turdblossom")'s plan for a permanent Repub supermajority by any means necessary over anything that might actually help those people who aren't rich white conservative men, white conservative christians, or white supremacists.
So far the Repubs are whining about "angry left wing mobs" (while overlooking hwo the Tea Party acted under Obama) and a lack of civility. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch NcConnell (or Addison the Turtle, R- KY) thinks the anger will blow over. If people really want change it shouldn't - and musn't blow over.
Will this lead to a blue wave in the midterm elections next month? Some polls say yes but others claim Kavanaugh reaffirmed the Repub base. Also, given that the Repubs use of voter suppression tactics shows they're perfectly willing to lie, cheat, and steal to win elections means Democrats and independents who are pissed over the GOP pushing Kavanaugh through in this way need to get out and vote in numbers. They can't afford to take things for granted.
So Brett Kavanaugh is in the Supreme Court now? While that will likely lead this country to some ugly places, we also have to take in the lessons we now have and do the political equivalent of fighting fire with fire. That means voting but also watching politicians like hawks (even the ones you like) to make sure they're serving the public good, not th egood of their wealthy donors.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Kavanaugh Scandals - BREAKING!!!!
Updated with the correct spelling of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's name.
Normally to say it's been a wild week and a half would be a statement of exaggeration at points. However, with the recent news in the confirmation hearings and scandals of electoral vote winner Donny's SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh it might be understating things.
Yep, within 10 or so days Kavanaugh's hearings went from seeming clean and wrapped up to a mountain of drama as several women have accused Kavanaugh of attempting to sexually assault them back in the 80s. First, it was Christine Blasey (now Dr. Christine Blasey Ford) and her claim that in high school Kavanaugh and his friend (conservative writer Mark Judge) reportedly corralled her into a bedroom where they put on loud music as Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth while trying to take her clothes off and get on top of her. The reported assault was foiled only when Judge reportedly jumped in and toppled all three of them to the floor, giving her a chance to escape. First mentioned by Dr. Ford during a therapy session with her husband in 2012 she had reported it to her Senator (who happened to be CA Senator Dianne Feinstein, currently on the Senate Judiciary Committee) and her Congressperson when his nomination was announced but decided not to go public until the media somehow found out through leaks and tracked her down. Upon hiring a lawyer she had taken and passed a lie detector test.
Over the weekend an article in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer reported that while in college at Yale Kavanaugh reportedly took off his pants and tried to shove his genatalia into the face of a female student named Deborah Ramirez, who was forced to touch it as she pushed him away. While Ramirez admits she doesn't remember all the details there are some people who remember it happening and others who knew her back them who claim she was always truthful, almost to an fault.,. In addition, the story came to Farrow and Mayer's attention because their mutual classmates at Yale were e-mailing about the incident in July.
ON top of that there was Michael Avenatti's claim that he's representing a third woman who may have a similar claim to Ford and Ramirez., as well as reports of possibly a fourth woman coming forward on a similar topic.
Meanwhile Repubs in the Senate are almost hell bent on pushing Kavanaugh through with the Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, IA) calling for a committee nomination vote on Friday morning, less than a day after Ford's scheduled testimony. Democrats on the Committee would like the FBI to reopen an investigation but the Repubs are adamant that it's unnecessary.
The sad thing is that, while the Repubs and Kavanaugh talk lip service about getting to the truth their actions make them appear to have made up their minds in favor of Kavanaugh and not even having the appearance of caring about sexual assault as an issue. This is made even more clear by electoral vote winner Donny's doubling down in support of Brett while claiming he wants to get to the truth.
The latter is especially twisted given that Donny has the power to ask the FBI to reopen the background check. Him and the Senate could say to slow down the process and let the investigation occur. They did it for the accusations made by Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991 and it reportedly took three days. By not doing this, the Repubs are giving the appearance of caring more about getting a conservative majority on the Supreme Court in case the blue wave of the Democrats gets them out of power in one or both houses of Congress in the midterm elections than any desire for the truth.
Why is Donny doubling down and not asking for an investigation, even if it could prove that Kavanaugh is telling the truth? A whole post can be written on that but I have a feeling it's a combination of his lust for unchecked power via a Justice who'll give that to him as well as his antipathy towards the FBI playing as much of a role as anything.
What's sad though is in their quest to push Kavanaugh into a lifetime appointment on the US Supreme Court it appears that things got overlooked (case in point; Kavanaugh's recent admission that he had a calendar form 1982. If that's the case why the fuck wasn't that in the vetting?), if not corners being cut. Given the gravity of this position a just and remotely sane world would do the smart thing and delay the hearings until they can (to steal a quote from electoral vote winner Donny) "find out what the hell is going on."
However, the Repubs don't wan to do that. They've hired a "female prosecutor" for the questions to ask Ford Thursday (even though she and her lawyer requested that there not be a special questioner here, which has some wondering if she'll show up or not) rather than own up to the stuff they want to ask as they thinly veil their plan to protect Kavanaugh at any cost (they even refuse to let Deborah Ramirez appear at a hearing). While we don't know the truth it appears that the GOP Senators don't care and would rather rally around their judge than do what's best for the people.
And by not investigating we may never really know the truth - and that's the saddest, asn most nauseating part of all this.
Normally to say it's been a wild week and a half would be a statement of exaggeration at points. However, with the recent news in the confirmation hearings and scandals of electoral vote winner Donny's SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh it might be understating things.
Yep, within 10 or so days Kavanaugh's hearings went from seeming clean and wrapped up to a mountain of drama as several women have accused Kavanaugh of attempting to sexually assault them back in the 80s. First, it was Christine Blasey (now Dr. Christine Blasey Ford) and her claim that in high school Kavanaugh and his friend (conservative writer Mark Judge) reportedly corralled her into a bedroom where they put on loud music as Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth while trying to take her clothes off and get on top of her. The reported assault was foiled only when Judge reportedly jumped in and toppled all three of them to the floor, giving her a chance to escape. First mentioned by Dr. Ford during a therapy session with her husband in 2012 she had reported it to her Senator (who happened to be CA Senator Dianne Feinstein, currently on the Senate Judiciary Committee) and her Congressperson when his nomination was announced but decided not to go public until the media somehow found out through leaks and tracked her down. Upon hiring a lawyer she had taken and passed a lie detector test.
Over the weekend an article in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer reported that while in college at Yale Kavanaugh reportedly took off his pants and tried to shove his genatalia into the face of a female student named Deborah Ramirez, who was forced to touch it as she pushed him away. While Ramirez admits she doesn't remember all the details there are some people who remember it happening and others who knew her back them who claim she was always truthful, almost to an fault.,. In addition, the story came to Farrow and Mayer's attention because their mutual classmates at Yale were e-mailing about the incident in July.
ON top of that there was Michael Avenatti's claim that he's representing a third woman who may have a similar claim to Ford and Ramirez., as well as reports of possibly a fourth woman coming forward on a similar topic.
Meanwhile Repubs in the Senate are almost hell bent on pushing Kavanaugh through with the Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, IA) calling for a committee nomination vote on Friday morning, less than a day after Ford's scheduled testimony. Democrats on the Committee would like the FBI to reopen an investigation but the Repubs are adamant that it's unnecessary.
The sad thing is that, while the Repubs and Kavanaugh talk lip service about getting to the truth their actions make them appear to have made up their minds in favor of Kavanaugh and not even having the appearance of caring about sexual assault as an issue. This is made even more clear by electoral vote winner Donny's doubling down in support of Brett while claiming he wants to get to the truth.
The latter is especially twisted given that Donny has the power to ask the FBI to reopen the background check. Him and the Senate could say to slow down the process and let the investigation occur. They did it for the accusations made by Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991 and it reportedly took three days. By not doing this, the Repubs are giving the appearance of caring more about getting a conservative majority on the Supreme Court in case the blue wave of the Democrats gets them out of power in one or both houses of Congress in the midterm elections than any desire for the truth.
Why is Donny doubling down and not asking for an investigation, even if it could prove that Kavanaugh is telling the truth? A whole post can be written on that but I have a feeling it's a combination of his lust for unchecked power via a Justice who'll give that to him as well as his antipathy towards the FBI playing as much of a role as anything.
What's sad though is in their quest to push Kavanaugh into a lifetime appointment on the US Supreme Court it appears that things got overlooked (case in point; Kavanaugh's recent admission that he had a calendar form 1982. If that's the case why the fuck wasn't that in the vetting?), if not corners being cut. Given the gravity of this position a just and remotely sane world would do the smart thing and delay the hearings until they can (to steal a quote from electoral vote winner Donny) "find out what the hell is going on."
However, the Repubs don't wan to do that. They've hired a "female prosecutor" for the questions to ask Ford Thursday (even though she and her lawyer requested that there not be a special questioner here, which has some wondering if she'll show up or not) rather than own up to the stuff they want to ask as they thinly veil their plan to protect Kavanaugh at any cost (they even refuse to let Deborah Ramirez appear at a hearing). While we don't know the truth it appears that the GOP Senators don't care and would rather rally around their judge than do what's best for the people.
And by not investigating we may never really know the truth - and that's the saddest, asn most nauseating part of all this.
Monday, September 3, 2018
The Brett Kavanaugh Debacle - or Why the Democrats Need Decisiveness Now INstead
Sorry for not getting to this sooner but I've been busy with the paying job et al but since time is of the essence here it needs to be done now.
Tomorrow is an important and scary day in terms of what will happen in the U.S. Senate. It is the day when electoral vote winner Donny's latest Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh faces the first day of hearings over whether he will be confirmed to be a SCOTUS justice - a lifetime appointment. Since Donny announced him in July, shortly after the sudden retirement of justice Anthony Kennedy (a retirement that may have been engineered behind the scenes according to some sources) we have learned about some of his ruling and have a glimpse of where he could lead SCOTUS for decades to come. From what the Senate and news reports have been able to decipher, Kavanaugh's appointment could sway the Court in a hard right direction in terms of business issues against labor and towards allowing employers to use religious beliefs as an excuse to deny goods and services to people due whether it be denying employees access to birth control or the possibility of using religious liberty as a tool to discriminate against LGBTQ people. However, it is what we don't know that's most troubling.
Thousands of pages regarding Kavanaugh's court rulings and positions were blocked from release by the Senate Judiciary Committee (and Sen. Chuck Grassley [R, IA] in particular). Because of thisthe Senate doesn't have access to a full range of where Kavanaugh stands in order to see if he could be a good fit on the US Supreme Court or whether his appointment (which, let us remember, is for life) would be good for the country. Lawsuits have been filed to try and gain access but insult to injury was added when the White House withheld access to over 100,000 pages of records from Kavanaugh's time as a White House lawyer under former President George W/ Bush, citing executive privilege. These records could reveal more of how he helped guide Dubya's administration as well as where he would stand on issues like torture and the like.
Now some people may be reading this and say, "Executive privilege is good. Some things should probably be secret from teh public, even from a past administration." However, during the Obama administration the Senate wanted as many records as possible regarding the appointment of SCOTUS justice Sonia Sottemayor and got around 90% of them in the process. Add to this the desire by the Repubs to push the nomination and get Kavanaugh in before the midterm elections and it's clear that what we don't know about the guy is potentially what makes him dangerous on the Federal bench.
Thus, if there's ever a time when the Democrats as a whole need to suddenly grow a fucking spine and actually act like the opposition party it's at a time like this.
However, some people reading this may see that last sentence and go, "Wait a minute. A President has a right to his Supreme Court nominees getting approved." Some may even go further and say that Neil Gorsuch didn't have this problem and that the Repubs didn't treat Obama nominees like this. With that in mind, let's overcome the selective memory here and prove this is a massive pile of horseshit with two words: Merrick Garland.
Yep, you remember Garland. A judge that reportedly was respected by both sides and was rumored to be an easy confirmation - all the way until Obama nominated him and them the Repubs in the Senate refused to even give him a hearing. Their excuse - Obama was a lame duck and SCOTUS appointment didn't normally happen in the last year of a President's term. \However, Presidents have done so in the past with some nominees withdrawn (LBJ's nominations of Abe Fortus and Homer Thornberry) and some approved (Hoover's success nomination of Benjamin Cardozo in 1932).
Also, the term lame duck applies to the last months in office after either losing re-election or after your two terms are up and the next election took place. It doesn't apply nearly a year before the fucking election happens (in Obama's case the nomination was made in March 2016, eight months before the election). In other words,the bastards lied and moved the goalposts. While it can be debated whether it was merely for partisan bullshit power play or racism, the result is Obama was denied his Supreme Court pick due to some power play bullshit.
Which leads us to now. As with Gorsuch, the Repubs want the nomination pushed through and confirmed - preferably with no protests whatsoever.. This is rooted in something further back than Donny but in Karl Rove's strategy in making sure the Repubs remain a supermajority in both houses of Congress in spite of what the people want. While electorally they may not have succeeded right away, their attitude is to rule as if the other side doesn't matter and is only there as a participation trophy.
This, as well as the attempt to push Kavanaugh through without access to all his records or the time to study where he could lead this nation to, is proof that Democrats should stand strong and deny Kavanaugh the Supreme Court confirmation. It won't be pretty and there will be an adverse reaction, especially in the corporate owned media which is still more into cocktail parties than the people they're supposed to be a watchdog for. However, Kavanugh's hard right stance would turn this country down a path that would be anti labor, anti woman, and make life more difficult and unfair for anyone who isn't a white conservative christian with a penis
In other words if there's a time for the Democrats in the Senate (as well as those alleged never Trump Repubs) to grow a spine and say this shit won't fly it's now.
Tomorrow is an important and scary day in terms of what will happen in the U.S. Senate. It is the day when electoral vote winner Donny's latest Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh faces the first day of hearings over whether he will be confirmed to be a SCOTUS justice - a lifetime appointment. Since Donny announced him in July, shortly after the sudden retirement of justice Anthony Kennedy (a retirement that may have been engineered behind the scenes according to some sources) we have learned about some of his ruling and have a glimpse of where he could lead SCOTUS for decades to come. From what the Senate and news reports have been able to decipher, Kavanaugh's appointment could sway the Court in a hard right direction in terms of business issues against labor and towards allowing employers to use religious beliefs as an excuse to deny goods and services to people due whether it be denying employees access to birth control or the possibility of using religious liberty as a tool to discriminate against LGBTQ people. However, it is what we don't know that's most troubling.
Thousands of pages regarding Kavanaugh's court rulings and positions were blocked from release by the Senate Judiciary Committee (and Sen. Chuck Grassley [R, IA] in particular). Because of thisthe Senate doesn't have access to a full range of where Kavanaugh stands in order to see if he could be a good fit on the US Supreme Court or whether his appointment (which, let us remember, is for life) would be good for the country. Lawsuits have been filed to try and gain access but insult to injury was added when the White House withheld access to over 100,000 pages of records from Kavanaugh's time as a White House lawyer under former President George W/ Bush, citing executive privilege. These records could reveal more of how he helped guide Dubya's administration as well as where he would stand on issues like torture and the like.
Now some people may be reading this and say, "Executive privilege is good. Some things should probably be secret from teh public, even from a past administration." However, during the Obama administration the Senate wanted as many records as possible regarding the appointment of SCOTUS justice Sonia Sottemayor and got around 90% of them in the process. Add to this the desire by the Repubs to push the nomination and get Kavanaugh in before the midterm elections and it's clear that what we don't know about the guy is potentially what makes him dangerous on the Federal bench.
Thus, if there's ever a time when the Democrats as a whole need to suddenly grow a fucking spine and actually act like the opposition party it's at a time like this.
However, some people reading this may see that last sentence and go, "Wait a minute. A President has a right to his Supreme Court nominees getting approved." Some may even go further and say that Neil Gorsuch didn't have this problem and that the Repubs didn't treat Obama nominees like this. With that in mind, let's overcome the selective memory here and prove this is a massive pile of horseshit with two words: Merrick Garland.
Yep, you remember Garland. A judge that reportedly was respected by both sides and was rumored to be an easy confirmation - all the way until Obama nominated him and them the Repubs in the Senate refused to even give him a hearing. Their excuse - Obama was a lame duck and SCOTUS appointment didn't normally happen in the last year of a President's term. \However, Presidents have done so in the past with some nominees withdrawn (LBJ's nominations of Abe Fortus and Homer Thornberry) and some approved (Hoover's success nomination of Benjamin Cardozo in 1932).
Also, the term lame duck applies to the last months in office after either losing re-election or after your two terms are up and the next election took place. It doesn't apply nearly a year before the fucking election happens (in Obama's case the nomination was made in March 2016, eight months before the election). In other words,the bastards lied and moved the goalposts. While it can be debated whether it was merely for partisan bullshit power play or racism, the result is Obama was denied his Supreme Court pick due to some power play bullshit.
Which leads us to now. As with Gorsuch, the Repubs want the nomination pushed through and confirmed - preferably with no protests whatsoever.. This is rooted in something further back than Donny but in Karl Rove's strategy in making sure the Repubs remain a supermajority in both houses of Congress in spite of what the people want. While electorally they may not have succeeded right away, their attitude is to rule as if the other side doesn't matter and is only there as a participation trophy.
This, as well as the attempt to push Kavanaugh through without access to all his records or the time to study where he could lead this nation to, is proof that Democrats should stand strong and deny Kavanaugh the Supreme Court confirmation. It won't be pretty and there will be an adverse reaction, especially in the corporate owned media which is still more into cocktail parties than the people they're supposed to be a watchdog for. However, Kavanugh's hard right stance would turn this country down a path that would be anti labor, anti woman, and make life more difficult and unfair for anyone who isn't a white conservative christian with a penis
In other words if there's a time for the Democrats in the Senate (as well as those alleged never Trump Repubs) to grow a spine and say this shit won't fly it's now.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Whoa! That Was a Double Whammy - Jury Verdict and Plea Deal Edition!
Sometimes it seems that news comes at us fast and furious, especially in the current political landscape. It almost seems that those in power want to throw everything at us at once in hopes that we get overwhelmed and give up trying to find out the truth. This is especially true in terms of the Mueller probe, reports of possible Russian interference (though the mainstream media seems to overlook that there was a home grown element that wanted to steal the election for Donny as well). This means there are moments when it's best to take things in and get as much information as possible before writing or posting something. However, today events happened that require immediate posting.
Let's start with the news the media was awaiting but wondering what would happen. This afternoon Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight counts of financial crimes in a Federal courthouse in Virginia. These counts include five charges of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of hiding a foreign bank account. The jury was deadlocked on the other 10 charges electoral vote winner Donny's former campaign manager faced so the judge declared a mistrial.
Manafort's attorney says he's currently considering his options and is disapointed in the verdict. However, this part of the story isn't over yet as Manafort could possibly appeal the conviction. However, Manafort is also facing another trial in Washington D.C. later this fall from other charges related to the Russia probe. What that means is there's the possibility of a plea deal in exchange for cooperating with investigators (which may not be more of a possibility given Paul Manafort faces 80 years in Federal prison [i.e.: a life sentence basically]). There's also the possibility that electoral vote winner Donny would suddenly pardon Manafort. However, while Donny has been pardoning quite a few horrible people this instance could be a case where the optics would be so bad that blowback would be inevitable and fairly swift.
Then there's the news about Michael Cohen, electoral vote winner Donny's former lawyer and "fixer," who today reached a plea deal and plead guilty to eight criminal counts. Among these counts are tax fraud and false statements to a bank. In that sense there is some similarity to the charges Manafort was convicted of a few states southward. However Cohen's plea has a unique twist in that he plead guilty to campaign finance violations. The latter refers to his admission that he made payments to two women "at the direction of a candidate,"
Yes, apparently Cohen admitted that he arranged the payouts to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal at electoral vote winner Donny's direction. He told the judge that the payments were "for the principal purpose of influencing the election." To add a strange layer of the bizarre to these news reports news broke of them occurring at pretty much exactly the same time.. giving news organizations a double whammy to report on. As part of the plea deal Cohen faces far less time than Manafort (46-53 months in prison) but this plea is a sign that Mueller has something.
It's also a sign that, for the first time since news of possible Russian interference and other assorted election meddling broke, reports of electoral vote winner Donny being complicit in this shit show has gone from a conjecture that many people felt was possible to Michael Cohen telling a judge under oath that he was involved.
So where does that leave electoral vote winner Donny? Hard to say. So far Donny's claiming that Manafort's conviction has nothing to do with him though one has to wonder why he didn't ask questions that he would run Donny's campaign without pay). However, since he now almost definitely has prison time ahead Paul Manafort might see this as a chance to reach some deal on other charges and cooperate. If that happens this could lead to a lot of heat on those around Donny from those we know about (Donny's son Little Donny, his son in law Jared et al in the meeting with the Russian attorney at Trump Tower) to maybe even someone who has so far escaped scrutiny (people seem to overlook that Manafort picked co-electoral vote winner Mikey and made the arrangements for Mikey and Donny to meet and cement the deal).
Will this be the beginning of the end for Donny and Mikey and their minions? Will electoral vote winner Donny start a war as a diversion (which can also help him quash any dissent against his tremendous reign, bigly)? Will the Democrats slowly plot to impeach Donny and co if they win the midterms? While it does appear that there's something that fits the high crimes and misdemeanors here time will tell what goes down. What can be said here though is that we now have proof that Donny's paying off women he cheated on his wife fits a campaign finance violation and that his fixer has flipped (proving what many have suggested when he hired long time Bill and Hillary Clinton ally Lanny Davis as his attorney).
That Manfort's conviction and Cohen's plea deal happened isn't necessarily a big deal (though some worried that jurors may have been influenced by Donny's tweets and may get a mistrial for Manafort on all counts). However, that both went down at the same time reveals that today was a big day for the Mueller probe and the various tentacles that have spun off to other courts and the like. This may not be a smoking gun but the barrel is beginning to simmer a little on these fronts.
Let's start with the news the media was awaiting but wondering what would happen. This afternoon Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight counts of financial crimes in a Federal courthouse in Virginia. These counts include five charges of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of hiding a foreign bank account. The jury was deadlocked on the other 10 charges electoral vote winner Donny's former campaign manager faced so the judge declared a mistrial.
Manafort's attorney says he's currently considering his options and is disapointed in the verdict. However, this part of the story isn't over yet as Manafort could possibly appeal the conviction. However, Manafort is also facing another trial in Washington D.C. later this fall from other charges related to the Russia probe. What that means is there's the possibility of a plea deal in exchange for cooperating with investigators (which may not be more of a possibility given Paul Manafort faces 80 years in Federal prison [i.e.: a life sentence basically]). There's also the possibility that electoral vote winner Donny would suddenly pardon Manafort. However, while Donny has been pardoning quite a few horrible people this instance could be a case where the optics would be so bad that blowback would be inevitable and fairly swift.
Then there's the news about Michael Cohen, electoral vote winner Donny's former lawyer and "fixer," who today reached a plea deal and plead guilty to eight criminal counts. Among these counts are tax fraud and false statements to a bank. In that sense there is some similarity to the charges Manafort was convicted of a few states southward. However Cohen's plea has a unique twist in that he plead guilty to campaign finance violations. The latter refers to his admission that he made payments to two women "at the direction of a candidate,"
Yes, apparently Cohen admitted that he arranged the payouts to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal at electoral vote winner Donny's direction. He told the judge that the payments were "for the principal purpose of influencing the election." To add a strange layer of the bizarre to these news reports news broke of them occurring at pretty much exactly the same time.. giving news organizations a double whammy to report on. As part of the plea deal Cohen faces far less time than Manafort (46-53 months in prison) but this plea is a sign that Mueller has something.
It's also a sign that, for the first time since news of possible Russian interference and other assorted election meddling broke, reports of electoral vote winner Donny being complicit in this shit show has gone from a conjecture that many people felt was possible to Michael Cohen telling a judge under oath that he was involved.
So where does that leave electoral vote winner Donny? Hard to say. So far Donny's claiming that Manafort's conviction has nothing to do with him though one has to wonder why he didn't ask questions that he would run Donny's campaign without pay). However, since he now almost definitely has prison time ahead Paul Manafort might see this as a chance to reach some deal on other charges and cooperate. If that happens this could lead to a lot of heat on those around Donny from those we know about (Donny's son Little Donny, his son in law Jared et al in the meeting with the Russian attorney at Trump Tower) to maybe even someone who has so far escaped scrutiny (people seem to overlook that Manafort picked co-electoral vote winner Mikey and made the arrangements for Mikey and Donny to meet and cement the deal).
Will this be the beginning of the end for Donny and Mikey and their minions? Will electoral vote winner Donny start a war as a diversion (which can also help him quash any dissent against his tremendous reign, bigly)? Will the Democrats slowly plot to impeach Donny and co if they win the midterms? While it does appear that there's something that fits the high crimes and misdemeanors here time will tell what goes down. What can be said here though is that we now have proof that Donny's paying off women he cheated on his wife fits a campaign finance violation and that his fixer has flipped (proving what many have suggested when he hired long time Bill and Hillary Clinton ally Lanny Davis as his attorney).
That Manfort's conviction and Cohen's plea deal happened isn't necessarily a big deal (though some worried that jurors may have been influenced by Donny's tweets and may get a mistrial for Manafort on all counts). However, that both went down at the same time reveals that today was a big day for the Mueller probe and the various tentacles that have spun off to other courts and the like. This may not be a smoking gun but the barrel is beginning to simmer a little on these fronts.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Attacking A Nation;s Free Press is Playing With Fire
Today over 300 newspapers in the U.S. have joined together, publishing editorials fighting back against electoral vote winner Donny's frequent smear of the media as "the enemy of the people." Donny has pushed this line of nauseating garbage in numerous tweets and speeches, even continuing to use it after five journalists from the Capital Gazette newspaper in the Anapolis, MD are on June 28, 2018. Boasting the importance of a free press, they seek to fight against our electoral vote winner's role in emboldening increasingly dangerous situations for those working in the news and the work they do. While we agree with the sentiment of these editorials, we at TTWN wondering how many of them are going to state one obvious fact the mainstream media seems to overlook: why Donny's calling the media the enemy of the people (or sometimes the true enemy of the people) is playing with fire and downright dangerous.
First, let's look at what makes this dangerous. By making this smear electoral vote winner Donny is implying that the media and those who work in it are against the American people if they write or report on anything that puts him in a bad light. Part of the goal is for Donny to get attention (like almost every time he tweets way too early in the morning). However, there is also a more deliberate reason, as when 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl was told after the GOP primary when she asked him why he continues to attack the press and he replied that he did it so that when they publish something, the public won't believe them. Now let's put aside why they didn't immediately report that to the public once he said it (off the record or not, the people should have the right to know that shit), a politicians creating a situation where the media is treated as an opposing force that must be stopped emboldens some in said politician's fan base to commit acts of violence against the media (most recently in the Capital Gazette shooting) as well as scenarios where they face increasing verbal (if not physical) violence while doing their jobs (way too many stories of attacks from those at Donny's rallies to count). While some would say the latter is like professional wrestling and those doing it may be viewing a journalist like a wrestling vilain. However, pro wrestling is scripted to some degree in terms of characters and this is real life so that alone should be cause for alarm.
This leads to something even more disturbing. An Ipsos public opinion survey published earlier this month found that 43% of Repubs believe the President should have the power to "shut down news outlets engaged in bad behavior." The question that arises from this is what constitutes bad behavior worthy of something being shut down? While some may claim it would be something in bad faith, judging form electoral vote winner Donny's words if he had the power he'd likely use it to shut down those who say bad things about him or report on something he's trying to cover up. That is dangerous on a number of levels.
That danger also overlooks something that Americans should know but likely don't these days - journalism is the only profession protected under the First Amendment. This means that they're supposed to speak truth to power and call out politicians when they fuck up. Yes there are laws against slander and libel but this means the government cannot impinge on the media's freedom to do their jobs and hold people accountable just like they can't interfere with an individuals'freedom of speech.
At this point there may be a Repub or two reading this wanting to mock it with some Donny approved talking points. They may want to shout, "You need to accept that Trump won?" or make some disparaging remarks about liberals ( or libtards as some would call them) while asking what the big deal is with the media whining. For those people I have this to say, if Donny sets a precedent where the President can shut down news outlets, let's say a Democratic candidate wins in 2020 or later. What's to keep the Democratic leader from shutting down conservative media outlets?
If thos eon the right are really sincere about freedom of speech (and not just merely wanting it for the right wing and oppression for everyone else) then they need to stand against this whether it';s their guy or not.
Yes there are legitimate criticisms of the mainstream media and their establishment bias. However, they are not the enemy of the people and anyone who says otherwise is playing with a fire that, if not fought immediately and consistently, could burn down one of the few pillars of our society that should be upheld across the board.
First, let's look at what makes this dangerous. By making this smear electoral vote winner Donny is implying that the media and those who work in it are against the American people if they write or report on anything that puts him in a bad light. Part of the goal is for Donny to get attention (like almost every time he tweets way too early in the morning). However, there is also a more deliberate reason, as when 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl was told after the GOP primary when she asked him why he continues to attack the press and he replied that he did it so that when they publish something, the public won't believe them. Now let's put aside why they didn't immediately report that to the public once he said it (off the record or not, the people should have the right to know that shit), a politicians creating a situation where the media is treated as an opposing force that must be stopped emboldens some in said politician's fan base to commit acts of violence against the media (most recently in the Capital Gazette shooting) as well as scenarios where they face increasing verbal (if not physical) violence while doing their jobs (way too many stories of attacks from those at Donny's rallies to count). While some would say the latter is like professional wrestling and those doing it may be viewing a journalist like a wrestling vilain. However, pro wrestling is scripted to some degree in terms of characters and this is real life so that alone should be cause for alarm.
This leads to something even more disturbing. An Ipsos public opinion survey published earlier this month found that 43% of Repubs believe the President should have the power to "shut down news outlets engaged in bad behavior." The question that arises from this is what constitutes bad behavior worthy of something being shut down? While some may claim it would be something in bad faith, judging form electoral vote winner Donny's words if he had the power he'd likely use it to shut down those who say bad things about him or report on something he's trying to cover up. That is dangerous on a number of levels.
That danger also overlooks something that Americans should know but likely don't these days - journalism is the only profession protected under the First Amendment. This means that they're supposed to speak truth to power and call out politicians when they fuck up. Yes there are laws against slander and libel but this means the government cannot impinge on the media's freedom to do their jobs and hold people accountable just like they can't interfere with an individuals'freedom of speech.
At this point there may be a Repub or two reading this wanting to mock it with some Donny approved talking points. They may want to shout, "You need to accept that Trump won?" or make some disparaging remarks about liberals ( or libtards as some would call them) while asking what the big deal is with the media whining. For those people I have this to say, if Donny sets a precedent where the President can shut down news outlets, let's say a Democratic candidate wins in 2020 or later. What's to keep the Democratic leader from shutting down conservative media outlets?
If thos eon the right are really sincere about freedom of speech (and not just merely wanting it for the right wing and oppression for everyone else) then they need to stand against this whether it';s their guy or not.
Yes there are legitimate criticisms of the mainstream media and their establishment bias. However, they are not the enemy of the people and anyone who says otherwise is playing with a fire that, if not fought immediately and consistently, could burn down one of the few pillars of our society that should be upheld across the board.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
One Year After Charlottesville
Today marks the first anniversary of the horrific extreme right rally in Charlottesville, VA that made news as participants arrived armed, some with Nazi flags (including one asshat brandishing a semi automatic weapon while wearing a shirt with a Hitler quote on it) and attacks on counter protesters that culminated in the murder of Heather Heyer by a neo Nazi who I won't name here. We all know about the violence as well as electoral vote winner Donny's back and forth on supposedly disavowing the white supremacists and Nazis (remember "on both sides").
Today it will be marked on the right by rallies in both Charlottesville, VA as well as in Washington, DC (the latter organized by the main guy behind the first horrifying rally). In the case of DC, reports indicate that counterprotesters may be outnumbering the Nazis but since it's still happening it's hard to tell for sure.
A live feed from Truthdig reported that the rally marchers from the "alt right" were between 30 and 50 with more counter protesters. While this is a good sign =(as is the live feed from AJ+) things are still in progress so who knows what will unfold later on.
As for us at TTWN we're in solidarity with those marching against hate in DC, Charlottesville, and NYC. Here's hoping things remain safe. There will be more to report on this later so we'll be exploring it when we can and get back to you,
Today it will be marked on the right by rallies in both Charlottesville, VA as well as in Washington, DC (the latter organized by the main guy behind the first horrifying rally). In the case of DC, reports indicate that counterprotesters may be outnumbering the Nazis but since it's still happening it's hard to tell for sure.
A live feed from Truthdig reported that the rally marchers from the "alt right" were between 30 and 50 with more counter protesters. While this is a good sign =(as is the live feed from AJ+) things are still in progress so who knows what will unfold later on.
As for us at TTWN we're in solidarity with those marching against hate in DC, Charlottesville, and NYC. Here's hoping things remain safe. There will be more to report on this later so we'll be exploring it when we can and get back to you,
The Past Week Summarized - Primary Elections and What Not
Yes, I know today marks the first anniversary of the white supremacist shit show that went down in Charlottesville, VA that eventually ended up in James Fields Jr. murdering counter-protester Heather Heyer with a car. While I will comment on that in a later post today I felt it was necessary to give a brief overview of the past week.
For many parts of the USA this past Tuesday was primary election day on the road to the 2018 midterm elections. There were some hopeful results and some bad ones. Starting with TTWN's original home base of Missouri where voters overwhelmingly rejecting an anti union right to work law. Though there are some rumors the heavily Repub MO state legislature have right to work again on the ballot in November to be part of the sate constitution (I haven't been able to confirm that though) this is a good sign indeed. Also of note in MO is the defeat of longtime St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch (seven term incumbent with almost 30 years in office) by Wesley Bell, who was reportedly motivated towards public office after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO four years ago. Yes, time will tell what Bell's performance as a county prosecutor will be like but after decades in office McCulloch had been there too long and a change might be a good thing in a place as tension filled as the St. Louis area.
Overall though the election news was bittersweet in retrospect. Brent Welder, whose campaign was suddenly highlighted as a potential win in the wake of the victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in NY earlier this summer, lost the primary race of the 3rd Congressional District in Kansas to Sharice Davids, a gay Native American veteran and former MMA fighter. While some noted a computer glitch in one area of the district (Johnson County, KS) it is worth noting that while said district does have the cities with the 2nd and 3rd largest populations in Kansas (Overland Park and Kansas City respectively) , one of them is in Johnson County, which can arguably be called the most affluent and right wing part of the Kansas City metropolitan area (yes, the 2nd and 3rd largest cities in Kansas are both suburbs of the largest city in Missouri) so while the glitch could be foul play the attitudes of the area could be more important. IN the Ohio special election it remains too close to call between Repub Troy Balderson and Democrat Danny O'Connor. While Balderson (and in turn electoral vote winner Donny) has claimed victory O'Connor is waiting until every vote is counted. Also of note is that they'll have to be up on the ballot again in November.
What we do know. In many places the incumbents won their races, which is to be expected since they usually do. However, though the corporate owned mainstream media likes to call progressive inspired groups such as Our Revolution and Justice Democrats as failures for not getting every candidate they endorsed elected, it should be noted that out of the 13 candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats, 7 won the primary race. I know people will think that trails something like the tea party in the 2010 midterms but those people overlook that the teabaggers will largely astroturfed even from the start which makes it far different from progressive candidates who won't accept SuperPAC money.
This barely scratched the surface. So what now? Now the road is set towards November and the negative ads will likely be ramped up along with voter suppression efforts that will avoid the media scruinty they should get (and which gave us electoral vote winner Donny back in 2016). We don't know what will happen in those elections but I do know that turning out the vote will be more important than ever this time around because of said suppression efforts and that we need to be on guard against this shit ever more nowadays.
ONly a couple of months left so strap yourselves in 'cause it will be a turbulent ride.
For many parts of the USA this past Tuesday was primary election day on the road to the 2018 midterm elections. There were some hopeful results and some bad ones. Starting with TTWN's original home base of Missouri where voters overwhelmingly rejecting an anti union right to work law. Though there are some rumors the heavily Repub MO state legislature have right to work again on the ballot in November to be part of the sate constitution (I haven't been able to confirm that though) this is a good sign indeed. Also of note in MO is the defeat of longtime St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch (seven term incumbent with almost 30 years in office) by Wesley Bell, who was reportedly motivated towards public office after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO four years ago. Yes, time will tell what Bell's performance as a county prosecutor will be like but after decades in office McCulloch had been there too long and a change might be a good thing in a place as tension filled as the St. Louis area.
Overall though the election news was bittersweet in retrospect. Brent Welder, whose campaign was suddenly highlighted as a potential win in the wake of the victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in NY earlier this summer, lost the primary race of the 3rd Congressional District in Kansas to Sharice Davids, a gay Native American veteran and former MMA fighter. While some noted a computer glitch in one area of the district (Johnson County, KS) it is worth noting that while said district does have the cities with the 2nd and 3rd largest populations in Kansas (Overland Park and Kansas City respectively) , one of them is in Johnson County, which can arguably be called the most affluent and right wing part of the Kansas City metropolitan area (yes, the 2nd and 3rd largest cities in Kansas are both suburbs of the largest city in Missouri) so while the glitch could be foul play the attitudes of the area could be more important. IN the Ohio special election it remains too close to call between Repub Troy Balderson and Democrat Danny O'Connor. While Balderson (and in turn electoral vote winner Donny) has claimed victory O'Connor is waiting until every vote is counted. Also of note is that they'll have to be up on the ballot again in November.
What we do know. In many places the incumbents won their races, which is to be expected since they usually do. However, though the corporate owned mainstream media likes to call progressive inspired groups such as Our Revolution and Justice Democrats as failures for not getting every candidate they endorsed elected, it should be noted that out of the 13 candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats, 7 won the primary race. I know people will think that trails something like the tea party in the 2010 midterms but those people overlook that the teabaggers will largely astroturfed even from the start which makes it far different from progressive candidates who won't accept SuperPAC money.
This barely scratched the surface. So what now? Now the road is set towards November and the negative ads will likely be ramped up along with voter suppression efforts that will avoid the media scruinty they should get (and which gave us electoral vote winner Donny back in 2016). We don't know what will happen in those elections but I do know that turning out the vote will be more important than ever this time around because of said suppression efforts and that we need to be on guard against this shit ever more nowadays.
ONly a couple of months left so strap yourselves in 'cause it will be a turbulent ride.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Post Summit Good and Bad News
So the summit between Kim Jong Un (North Korea) and electoral vote winner Donny happened yesterday. The good news is we're still here - for now at least. Somehow neither one's temper got the best of them and decided to get us all blown up real good, Given that either one of them tend to act like little kids we can be forgiven that that could be a possibility.
Now the bad news - while North Korea has said they'd take steps towards complete denuclearization it appears to be the same rehash of promises they've made numerous times in the past. Donny, the deal maker that he is, jumped at the offer without putting anything in place to verify or acknowledging that this will take time and be a somewhat long process (something Obama and company did put into the Iran deal that Donny's so anxious to scrap).
Meanwhile there are reports that the Dept of Homeland Security wants to strengthen our northern border - the one with Canada. While there are obvious problems with things like NAFTA and the G7, claiming the Great White North is a national security threat would be funny if these were normal times. With Donny in charge, it appears to be a way to not have to get Congress' approval before acting like he normally does. All while Donny praises Un, claiming he is loved by his people and is tough because "he has to be" (overlooking the way too many human rights violations).
Will these talks be a beginning in a path toward deescalation and possibly peace on this front? That goes into the time will tell category. However, anyone who thinks this is over is deluding themselves, the path is just beginning and everyone has just dipped a toe in the water before jumping in.
Now the bad news - while North Korea has said they'd take steps towards complete denuclearization it appears to be the same rehash of promises they've made numerous times in the past. Donny, the deal maker that he is, jumped at the offer without putting anything in place to verify or acknowledging that this will take time and be a somewhat long process (something Obama and company did put into the Iran deal that Donny's so anxious to scrap).
Meanwhile there are reports that the Dept of Homeland Security wants to strengthen our northern border - the one with Canada. While there are obvious problems with things like NAFTA and the G7, claiming the Great White North is a national security threat would be funny if these were normal times. With Donny in charge, it appears to be a way to not have to get Congress' approval before acting like he normally does. All while Donny praises Un, claiming he is loved by his people and is tough because "he has to be" (overlooking the way too many human rights violations).
Will these talks be a beginning in a path toward deescalation and possibly peace on this front? That goes into the time will tell category. However, anyone who thinks this is over is deluding themselves, the path is just beginning and everyone has just dipped a toe in the water before jumping in.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Electoral Vote Winner Donny, the Legal Weed Issue, and Why We Should Be Suspicious
With the summit issue out of the way I'd like to briefly address a toss off line electoral vote winner Donny said just before he left for Canada for the G7 Summit (where his arriving late, leaving early, and acting like a bullying 6th grader has already been discussed elsewhere). One of the things he said to the press was the he'd probably go along with a bipartisan bill to protect legal marijuana. This has led some in the media to hint that the electoral vote winner might kinda sorta be on board with legalizing weed. While some libertarians may find delight in this I have a feeling it's some throwaway line for the midterms that, like anything Donny says that isn't complete fucked up and horrible, shouldn't be believed for a second.
Why? Let's remember that he also hinted at being in favor of this issue while on the campaign trail against Hillary Clinton. So what occurred to prove we shouldn't believe this for even a nanosecond.
One sentence: ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFFY SESSIONS.
Yes, the fact he appointed and the Repubs confirmed a man who once "joked" that he used to think that Ku Klux Klan were okay until he "found out some of them smoked pot" should be the most obvious proof that he has no goddamn intention of seeing this through. Add to ths the increase in proftis for private prisons and the proof should be at least in the ingredients of the pudding if not in the dessert itself.
With that in mind let's say that such a bill did happen and somehow manage to get passed through Congress. While it be a good thing and put a massive dent in the drug war, what are the odds that the Repubs wouldn't attach something completely fucked up such as a complete outlawing of abortion and contraception to the bill or maybe something that overturns the equal protection clause of the Civil Rights Acts of 1965 and brings back discrimination (which, believe me, a lot of Donny's fans would love). You and I know damn well the pretty much no Democrat in good (or even slightly mediocre) conscience could support that and it wold go nowhere.
I worry that is what electoral vote winner Donny is counting on - using the issue to mislead people for midterm votes but making sure nothing gets done that would hinder the red meat his fan base wants. Thus, anytime he shoots something like this off the hip we should act with extreme caution at best and probably assume he's full of it and lying out of his ass.
Part of me wishes it wasn't that way but look at Donny's record.
EDITOR'S NOTE: ON this post I do plan to allow comments. However, I do reserve the right to delete hateful (racist, misogynist, homophobic/transphobic) or otherwise ignoramt shit or to close down comments altogether if that has to be done. Keep that in mind if you wish to comment.
Why? Let's remember that he also hinted at being in favor of this issue while on the campaign trail against Hillary Clinton. So what occurred to prove we shouldn't believe this for even a nanosecond.
One sentence: ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFFY SESSIONS.
Yes, the fact he appointed and the Repubs confirmed a man who once "joked" that he used to think that Ku Klux Klan were okay until he "found out some of them smoked pot" should be the most obvious proof that he has no goddamn intention of seeing this through. Add to ths the increase in proftis for private prisons and the proof should be at least in the ingredients of the pudding if not in the dessert itself.
With that in mind let's say that such a bill did happen and somehow manage to get passed through Congress. While it be a good thing and put a massive dent in the drug war, what are the odds that the Repubs wouldn't attach something completely fucked up such as a complete outlawing of abortion and contraception to the bill or maybe something that overturns the equal protection clause of the Civil Rights Acts of 1965 and brings back discrimination (which, believe me, a lot of Donny's fans would love). You and I know damn well the pretty much no Democrat in good (or even slightly mediocre) conscience could support that and it wold go nowhere.
I worry that is what electoral vote winner Donny is counting on - using the issue to mislead people for midterm votes but making sure nothing gets done that would hinder the red meat his fan base wants. Thus, anytime he shoots something like this off the hip we should act with extreme caution at best and probably assume he's full of it and lying out of his ass.
Part of me wishes it wasn't that way but look at Donny's record.
EDITOR'S NOTE: ON this post I do plan to allow comments. However, I do reserve the right to delete hateful (racist, misogynist, homophobic/transphobic) or otherwise ignoramt shit or to close down comments altogether if that has to be done. Keep that in mind if you wish to comment.
Brief Thought on the North Korean summit that managed to happen almost in spite of Donny and Un
As I type this electoral vote winner Donny and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un are busy in the midst of a summit that's both historic and worrisome. At stake is the fate of North Korea's nuclear weapons and Donny's insistence on complete denuclearization. Also at stake is what Donny might give on the deal.
I think many people would agree that something this historic actually happening is almost a miracle in and of itself. Given Donny's cancelling so Un wouldn't a few weeks back, John Bolton's insistence on the Libya model, and Rudy Giuliani's mouthing that Un was on his hands and knees for this, one would be forgiven if they thought it would fall apart before it happened. While sources close to Donny claim it's going ahead of schedule and he'll leave Singapore early, there are still questions that linger.
First, what will happen with this in the long run. For Donny it's about getting the Nobel Peace Prize and looking good in the corporate owned mainstream media. This is especially true after his behavior at the G7 Summit in Canada last weekend appeared to alienate allies while he insisted Russia be allowed back in the summit. For Un it's harder to say since the mystery around him is something he plays to his advantage. Yes, North Korea's population is impoverished and starving. However, what guarantees do we have that whatever aid or business benefits going to NK will help the people? Also, what's to keep the other side from breaking the treaty? While most people are logical enough to realize nuclear weapons shouldn't be used the fact we're dealing with Donny and Kim Jong Un here means we have to wonder what lies ahead.,
Then there's the difficulty of negotiations even with allies. While Donny has proven he wants to be friendly with tyrants and dictators to the extent of pissing off trusted allies, especially Canada, diplomacy takes time and work to make things come to fruition. This can be hard even with skilled negotiators when dealking with a situation like this. While such negotiators and deal makers know the value of compromise and knowing when to stand firm, Donny claims to go on instinct which means anything can happen. The fact he's leaving early also can be suspect.
This leaves us to wonder what will happen next? While some sort of detente or understanding is needed between the two nations, one also has to keep their fingers crossed that things don't go completely downhill or that the world doesn't get blown to hell.
Time will tell here. Let's hope that what went down this week isn't completely catastrophic.
I think many people would agree that something this historic actually happening is almost a miracle in and of itself. Given Donny's cancelling so Un wouldn't a few weeks back, John Bolton's insistence on the Libya model, and Rudy Giuliani's mouthing that Un was on his hands and knees for this, one would be forgiven if they thought it would fall apart before it happened. While sources close to Donny claim it's going ahead of schedule and he'll leave Singapore early, there are still questions that linger.
First, what will happen with this in the long run. For Donny it's about getting the Nobel Peace Prize and looking good in the corporate owned mainstream media. This is especially true after his behavior at the G7 Summit in Canada last weekend appeared to alienate allies while he insisted Russia be allowed back in the summit. For Un it's harder to say since the mystery around him is something he plays to his advantage. Yes, North Korea's population is impoverished and starving. However, what guarantees do we have that whatever aid or business benefits going to NK will help the people? Also, what's to keep the other side from breaking the treaty? While most people are logical enough to realize nuclear weapons shouldn't be used the fact we're dealing with Donny and Kim Jong Un here means we have to wonder what lies ahead.,
Then there's the difficulty of negotiations even with allies. While Donny has proven he wants to be friendly with tyrants and dictators to the extent of pissing off trusted allies, especially Canada, diplomacy takes time and work to make things come to fruition. This can be hard even with skilled negotiators when dealking with a situation like this. While such negotiators and deal makers know the value of compromise and knowing when to stand firm, Donny claims to go on instinct which means anything can happen. The fact he's leaving early also can be suspect.
This leaves us to wonder what will happen next? While some sort of detente or understanding is needed between the two nations, one also has to keep their fingers crossed that things don't go completely downhill or that the world doesn't get blown to hell.
Time will tell here. Let's hope that what went down this week isn't completely catastrophic.
Friday, March 9, 2018
Responses to the Parkland Fl School Shooting - The Good, The Bad, and the Just Plain Stupid
Yes, whether we like it or not, the return to the blog can't go forward without addressing the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Fl three weeks and two days ago where Nikolas Cruz managed to carry an AR-15 to school and kill 17 people (14 of his former fellow students [he was expelled the year before] and three teachers) and managed to escape for 45 minutes before being arrested. While naming him was necessary for this paragraph, he will be referred to as the Parkland shooter for the rest of this post so we can avoid giving him anymore publicity or coverage than we have to.
In the past few weeks there have been a number of reactions from both the surviving students to people who watched this unfold in horror on the news. As such, there have been a variety of reactions to the horrific tragedy. Since much of this has been gone over on the news, I will keep this brief and look at the good, the bad, and the truly stupid responses to what went down on Valentines Day 2018 in this Florida town.
THE GOOD:
The good response is from the survivors of the shooting, who went from being frightened to being hurt over the loss of their classmates to being pissed and wanting action to make sure kids in school don't have to worry about getting (to quote one survivor) "shot in the fucking face." Their demands for some sort of action on how damn easy it was for the shooter to get a gun has ignited the debate on gun control, in part due to what they went through and part due to the students having a privilege that helps them get their points across to middle America in a way that might not have been available to those who were protesting in Ferguson a few years back would (to name one example).
It's not an easy path. Already these kids are facing a smear campaign on social media that seems to mesh part school bullying mixed in with the anonymous hatred the worldwide waste of time we call the Internet is known for. Add to that the rumor that these kids were crisis actors and it's apparent that they have a struggle ahead. However, their apparent refusal to give up and follow the advice of grown ups who seem to act more like middle school kids (have you seen our government these days) is a sign of hope. Also find it interesting that some of them apparently plan to work with activists and teens in Chicago on the issue of gun violence, thereby taking down one of right's classic arguments on violence in this country (NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch even brought up Chicago in her speech at this year's CPAC conference just one day after a town hall appearance in Florida where she was confronted by one of the shooting survivors).
Yes, these kids have a long road ahead but never doubt adolescent anger as a fuel to push things forward in a society gone mad.
THE BAD:
The bad response involves the reaction from those who seem to want to blame the actions of the shooter on everything but the guns and his ability to get them so damn easily. I'll focus on a few examples here since this can be very far reaching.
The first bad reaction (though the one that appears understandable on the surface) is to blame this on mental illness. While there are reports of police making numerous calls to the shooter's home over the years (including some reportedly for mental health reasons) this overlooks that many people have diagnoses of mental illness that don't commit violent crimes (some have suggested that they may be more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrate it). While I understand why some people may want to use this as the main reason it is a strawperson that, while it may have some role, is fairly far down on the list.
Then there's the idea that it's the culture's fault. By this I don't mean a society where semi automatic weapons are plentiful and be purchased with few, if any, restrictions on them. I'm talking about people blaming violent movies and video games for the shooting. Some even extend this blame to music and songs. While I know some parents may be concerned about violent media making them numb to the effects of violence, blaming the culture overlooks the fact that many other countries have many of the same violent movies, music, and video games yet don't have the shootings. While the shooting happened just after the new print issue was for the most part completed (though before it got printed due to a combination of weather, the paying job,and illness), I plan on tackling why people like to blame culture for shootings and what their true goals may be by blaming something linked to the First Amendment rather then the Second Amendment in issue 154 (hopefully out in April).
The most ignorant response in reaction to the shooting is one I came across in a meme a relative shared on a social netowrking site (I won't name them since they don't need the publicity) that tried to blame lack of discipline from parents for what happened in Florida. While it mentioned that parents both have to work, it also tried to smear the fact that discipline methods have changed in schools and tried to claim the removal of God from schools led to this. People who believe this may sincerely think this to be the case they overlook a few things. One, we don't know how the Parkland shooter was raised. From news reports we learned he as adopted and lost his dad at a young age and began to unravel last year after his mom died. However, we don't know exactly how he was raised by them and what happened along the way. As for the removal of God from schools, parents who want their kids to learn about religion have a place to send them - it's called the place of worship of their choice. Memes like this appear for several reasons. First, some people actually believe them. Also, sharing them online is also a great way to piss people off who disagree with you (I later came across a meme from the same source (though I don't know if it was posted before or after the one mentioned earlier in this paragraph) claiming those offended were "too narcissistic to consider views other than their own." Either way it overlooks what we don't know about the shooter and tries to pin easy blame on things or beliefs they're against (further continuing the unfrtunate habit in this society that every adult generation likes to believe they're living in the fall of Rome and that the youth of today are at fault somehow) rather than seek actual solutions
THE JUST PLAIN STUPID
The just plain stupid reaction is the response that arming school personnel would guarantee things like this wouldn't happen in the future. Putting aside the fact that there was an armed officer on school grounds who stayed outside while it was going down (for reasons we don't really know yet), the plan sometimes focuses on arming teachers. This plan is widely unpopular. Teachers hate it because they have enough to deal with without trying to make sure they're a good shot. Students are likely not big fans of this response because of the simple reasons that sometimes teachers have bad days. Can you imagine a teacher on a bad day with access to a fully loaded weapon? The mind boggles at what could go wrong there.
An honorable mention in stupid reactions is the claim that the school shooting happened because God wasn't allowed in school. As I mentioned earlier those wanting their children to learn about religion can go to the place of worship of their choice for that. This reaction is stupid for two reasons. First, if their creator is all powerful and all knowing that how can he/she.it be stopped at the school door? Also, it overlooks the church shooting in Texas a couple months back where people were killed while praying. Nobody would claim God isn't allowed in a church so, while that wasn't a school shooting, it is a mass shooting with a body count - and that's where this line of reasoning falls apart. While not as stupid as the idea of arming teachers and hoping they don't snap and take out some kids they're trying to teach, it's still pretty ridiculous.
IN A NUTSHELL...
The truth is there are a number of reasons why this tragedy happened., Some have suggested bullying played a role but we'll learn down the road whether that's true or not. Other have pointed out the shooter's alleged racism and misogyny, factors that lead him to fight and got him expelled a year before (the most extreme thing a public school can do). While early reports he was actively part of a white supremacist group (in this case, the Republic of Florida) is murky at best, reports that the shooter had carved a swastika in his magazine and had plenty of ammo makes this one of many likely reasons (especially since the school was reportedly 40% Jewish). Still, since initial reports of tragedies like this tend to be error filled, time will tell as we learn what is true and what is misinformation.
Having said that, we must realize that the good, the bad, and the truly stupid must be looked at and explored in kind. To do otherwise is shoddy aat best and confirmation bias at worst.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For the time being I have decided to allow comments for this. However, I am willing to delete racist, mispgynistic, anti LGBTQ, and anti-semetic comments and will shut down commenting altogether if necessary.
In the past few weeks there have been a number of reactions from both the surviving students to people who watched this unfold in horror on the news. As such, there have been a variety of reactions to the horrific tragedy. Since much of this has been gone over on the news, I will keep this brief and look at the good, the bad, and the truly stupid responses to what went down on Valentines Day 2018 in this Florida town.
THE GOOD:
The good response is from the survivors of the shooting, who went from being frightened to being hurt over the loss of their classmates to being pissed and wanting action to make sure kids in school don't have to worry about getting (to quote one survivor) "shot in the fucking face." Their demands for some sort of action on how damn easy it was for the shooter to get a gun has ignited the debate on gun control, in part due to what they went through and part due to the students having a privilege that helps them get their points across to middle America in a way that might not have been available to those who were protesting in Ferguson a few years back would (to name one example).
It's not an easy path. Already these kids are facing a smear campaign on social media that seems to mesh part school bullying mixed in with the anonymous hatred the worldwide waste of time we call the Internet is known for. Add to that the rumor that these kids were crisis actors and it's apparent that they have a struggle ahead. However, their apparent refusal to give up and follow the advice of grown ups who seem to act more like middle school kids (have you seen our government these days) is a sign of hope. Also find it interesting that some of them apparently plan to work with activists and teens in Chicago on the issue of gun violence, thereby taking down one of right's classic arguments on violence in this country (NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch even brought up Chicago in her speech at this year's CPAC conference just one day after a town hall appearance in Florida where she was confronted by one of the shooting survivors).
Yes, these kids have a long road ahead but never doubt adolescent anger as a fuel to push things forward in a society gone mad.
THE BAD:
The bad response involves the reaction from those who seem to want to blame the actions of the shooter on everything but the guns and his ability to get them so damn easily. I'll focus on a few examples here since this can be very far reaching.
The first bad reaction (though the one that appears understandable on the surface) is to blame this on mental illness. While there are reports of police making numerous calls to the shooter's home over the years (including some reportedly for mental health reasons) this overlooks that many people have diagnoses of mental illness that don't commit violent crimes (some have suggested that they may be more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrate it). While I understand why some people may want to use this as the main reason it is a strawperson that, while it may have some role, is fairly far down on the list.
Then there's the idea that it's the culture's fault. By this I don't mean a society where semi automatic weapons are plentiful and be purchased with few, if any, restrictions on them. I'm talking about people blaming violent movies and video games for the shooting. Some even extend this blame to music and songs. While I know some parents may be concerned about violent media making them numb to the effects of violence, blaming the culture overlooks the fact that many other countries have many of the same violent movies, music, and video games yet don't have the shootings. While the shooting happened just after the new print issue was for the most part completed (though before it got printed due to a combination of weather, the paying job,and illness), I plan on tackling why people like to blame culture for shootings and what their true goals may be by blaming something linked to the First Amendment rather then the Second Amendment in issue 154 (hopefully out in April).
The most ignorant response in reaction to the shooting is one I came across in a meme a relative shared on a social netowrking site (I won't name them since they don't need the publicity) that tried to blame lack of discipline from parents for what happened in Florida. While it mentioned that parents both have to work, it also tried to smear the fact that discipline methods have changed in schools and tried to claim the removal of God from schools led to this. People who believe this may sincerely think this to be the case they overlook a few things. One, we don't know how the Parkland shooter was raised. From news reports we learned he as adopted and lost his dad at a young age and began to unravel last year after his mom died. However, we don't know exactly how he was raised by them and what happened along the way. As for the removal of God from schools, parents who want their kids to learn about religion have a place to send them - it's called the place of worship of their choice. Memes like this appear for several reasons. First, some people actually believe them. Also, sharing them online is also a great way to piss people off who disagree with you (I later came across a meme from the same source (though I don't know if it was posted before or after the one mentioned earlier in this paragraph) claiming those offended were "too narcissistic to consider views other than their own." Either way it overlooks what we don't know about the shooter and tries to pin easy blame on things or beliefs they're against (further continuing the unfrtunate habit in this society that every adult generation likes to believe they're living in the fall of Rome and that the youth of today are at fault somehow) rather than seek actual solutions
THE JUST PLAIN STUPID
The just plain stupid reaction is the response that arming school personnel would guarantee things like this wouldn't happen in the future. Putting aside the fact that there was an armed officer on school grounds who stayed outside while it was going down (for reasons we don't really know yet), the plan sometimes focuses on arming teachers. This plan is widely unpopular. Teachers hate it because they have enough to deal with without trying to make sure they're a good shot. Students are likely not big fans of this response because of the simple reasons that sometimes teachers have bad days. Can you imagine a teacher on a bad day with access to a fully loaded weapon? The mind boggles at what could go wrong there.
An honorable mention in stupid reactions is the claim that the school shooting happened because God wasn't allowed in school. As I mentioned earlier those wanting their children to learn about religion can go to the place of worship of their choice for that. This reaction is stupid for two reasons. First, if their creator is all powerful and all knowing that how can he/she.it be stopped at the school door? Also, it overlooks the church shooting in Texas a couple months back where people were killed while praying. Nobody would claim God isn't allowed in a church so, while that wasn't a school shooting, it is a mass shooting with a body count - and that's where this line of reasoning falls apart. While not as stupid as the idea of arming teachers and hoping they don't snap and take out some kids they're trying to teach, it's still pretty ridiculous.
IN A NUTSHELL...
The truth is there are a number of reasons why this tragedy happened., Some have suggested bullying played a role but we'll learn down the road whether that's true or not. Other have pointed out the shooter's alleged racism and misogyny, factors that lead him to fight and got him expelled a year before (the most extreme thing a public school can do). While early reports he was actively part of a white supremacist group (in this case, the Republic of Florida) is murky at best, reports that the shooter had carved a swastika in his magazine and had plenty of ammo makes this one of many likely reasons (especially since the school was reportedly 40% Jewish). Still, since initial reports of tragedies like this tend to be error filled, time will tell as we learn what is true and what is misinformation.
Having said that, we must realize that the good, the bad, and the truly stupid must be looked at and explored in kind. To do otherwise is shoddy aat best and confirmation bias at worst.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For the time being I have decided to allow comments for this. However, I am willing to delete racist, mispgynistic, anti LGBTQ, and anti-semetic comments and will shut down commenting altogether if necessary.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Catching Up
Hey! Sorry for the lack of action on the blog post front. A combination of being called into work, technical issues, and getting sick delayed things somewhat. I'm going to try to play catch up in the next few posts. Bear with us and again, sorry for the delay.
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