Political Randomness

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:07 pm

I've been told by many people singing songs with the word left and right throughout that use of the word is certainly not racist.

Congrats to Trump fans on not calling all those rappers racist.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:13 pm

Some people have a deplorable grasp of the concept of context.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:18 pm

Max Peck wrote: Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:13 pm Some people have a deplorable grasp of the concept of context.

Shocking no one, they understand just enough to twist it until it they think it supports rather than condemns them.

The best part is how smart they think that makes them. Like tying shoes for a toddler.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 4:47 pm

Breaking news: Joe Biden confirmed to be running.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 4:49 pm

Normally I don't even care about the entire campaign and election process. Just the end result.

God damn it, I hate feeling like I have to pay attention and have an opinion on who's running against who and how the whole thing is going.

Wake me when it's over? Not because I'm bored, but because it will spare me the whole thing.

Heh, lol.

Also, fu. But still, lol.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 4:58 pm

Max Peck wrote: Mon Sep 03, 2018 4:47 pm Breaking news: Joe Biden confirmed to be running.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:07 am

But seriously though, he is like 99.99% guaranteed running for President.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:55 am

El Guapo wrote: Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:07 amBut seriously though, he is like 99.99% guaranteed running for President.

I think he's running to get the President to send out an asinine tweet based on a headline so we can all point and laugh and the village idiot.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:44 pm

Twitter just banned Alex Jones and infowars.

Let the shitgoblinstorm commence.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Fri Sep 07, 2018 7:34 am

Hate speech on a privately owned platform, no matter how popular, is not protected speech.

GreenGoo wrote: Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:44 pmLet the shitgoblinstorm commence.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Sep 07, 2018 7:53 am

Rip wrote: Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:07 pm I've been told by many people singing songs with the word left and right throughout that use of the word is certainly not racist.

Congrats to Trump fans on not calling all those rappers racist.

Context: being called deplorable by your opponent and then adopting it as your own at rallies and in ads.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Sep 07, 2018 7:56 am

And yet the GOP have been making noise about anti-trust and regulation.

The Twitter CEO was just interviewed by committee.

Several social media platforms had already banned jones, including Apple.

I assume twitter matters more because the president thinks it does and nothing to do with principled concerns.

Twitter is on record with data showing the GOP "concerns" are bullshit, and I believe them.

Which leaves us where, exactly? The GOP also want social media to fight "fake news" and Jones is as fake news as it gets. Demonstrably so.

You can see the problem.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:47 am

GreenGoo wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2018 7:56 am And yet the GOP have been making noise about anti-trust and regulation.

The Twitter CEO was just interviewed by committee.

Several social media platforms had already banned jones, including Apple.

I assume twitter matters more because the president thinks it does and nothing to do with principled concerns.

Twitter is on record with data showing the GOP "concerns" are bullshit, and I believe them.

Which leaves us where, exactly? The GOP also want social media to fight "fake news" and Jones is as fake news as it gets. Demonstrably so.

You can see the problem.

You and the Trump administration have very different ideas about what constitutes fake news.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Sep 07, 2018 11:06 am

Right, but even if a tech company wanted to, they can't operate by waiting for the WH to tell them what is and isn't ok to publish.

I mean, I guess it's clear that tech companies are between a rock and hard place, but even the GOP must understand that regulating tech companies based on "conservative supporting news is good, anything else is fake news" will end in disaster for the GOP, right? I mean, the lawsuits alone should be enough to discourage this line of thinking.

I wouldn't even drop this at Drumpf or the WH's feet. This is a GOP problem. It would exist no matter who was in the WH. As Rubio found out, Jones isn't a blind lapdog of the GOP either. He's a rabid cockroach with zero qualms.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:55 am

New York State politics remains as gross as ever.

This is dirty politics, nearly as sleazy as it gets.

Days before Mr. Cuomo’s primary race for re-election on Thursday, the New York State Democratic Committee has sent voters a campaign mailer falsely accusing his challenger, Cynthia Nixon, of being “silent on the rise of anti-Semitism.”

It says she supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. She does not. It accuses Ms. Nixon of opposing funding yeshivas, private religious schools attended by many of the city’s Orthodox Jews. She has never said that.

“With anti-Semitism and bigotry on the rise, we can’t take a chance,” the mailer reads. “Re-Elect Governor Andrew Cuomo.”

This is the lowest form of politics, and the most dangerous, exploiting the festering wounds and fears along ethnic and religious lines.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:04 am

CNN

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday denied any prior knowledge of a mailing sent by state Democrats suggesting his primary challenger, Cynthia Nixon, would not support Jewish communities in the face of anti-Semitism.

The New York State Democratic Committee, which is effectively controlled by the two-term governor, paid for the flier, which falsely claimed Nixon supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to pressure Israel over its treatment of Palestinians, and accused her of being "silent on the rise of anti-Semitism."
...
At a press conference on Sunday, Cuomo distanced himself from the message -- calling it "wrong" -- and criticized the state party's "approval process" ahead of its printing and distribution.

"I didn't know about the mailer," Cuomo said. "I heard about the mailer. I haven't seen the mailer. The way I ran this campaign, it's been on the issues, it's been positive. I think the mailer was a mistake. I think it was inappropriate."

The clean-up efforts began a night earlier, when Geoff Berman, the state party executive director whose firing Nixon called for on Sunday, tweeted an apology.
"Let me be very clear: This mailer was a mistake and is inappropriate and is not the tone the Democratic Party should set -- it will not happen again," he wrote.

Berman also denied having signed off on it, and when asked who did, replied: "I'm not going to get into internal HR details on Twitter but the people involved are being held accountable. Believe me, we take this seriously."

As Cuomo began speaking on Sunday, Berman tweeted again to announce that the party "will work with the Nixon campaign to send out a mailing of their choosing to the same universe of people" targeted by the initial, controversial mailer. It's unclear what form that will take.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:20 am

Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:04 am

Berman also denied having signed off on it, and when asked who did, replied: "Believe me, we take this seriously."

How about a constitutional amendment that involves bamboo shoots under the fingernails every time a politician says "believe me, stuff"?

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:33 am

What is depressing is our politicians do these things because they are proven to work. And that they know it'll blow over after the fury is done because no one will in the long-term hold them accountable.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Mon Sep 10, 2018 3:39 pm

AWS260 wrote: Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:55 am New York State politics remains as gross as ever.

[...]

Isn't Cuomo running something like 40 points ahead of Nixon? Why risk going low when he can apparently just coast to a win?

Does he worry she has some sort of October surprise in the works?

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Mon Sep 10, 2018 4:03 pm

Mostly because Cuomo is as petty as another famous NY politician of note.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Mon Sep 10, 2018 5:19 pm

Holman wrote: Mon Sep 10, 2018 3:39 pm Does he worry she has some sort of October surprise in the works?

Considering the primary is this week, an October surprise would be a little late.

malchior has it right, I think. While I doubt Cuomo was aware of this particular flyer, he has nurtured a culture of power-mongering and pettiness that makes his people think stunts like this are not only acceptable, but expected.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:08 am

Andrew Cuomo in a nutshell.

The administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered the contractor building the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge enticements to meet a late August deadline to open, including the possibility of absorbing extra costs and reducing their responsibility for potential traffic accidents, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times.

The eastbound span of the bridge in the New York City suburbs was to have opened on Saturday, and the day before, Mr. Cuomo held an elaborate ceremony that included a laudatory speech by Hillary Clinton.

The event was one in a parade of infrastructure-related achievements he has touted as the Sept. 13 Democratic primary against Cynthia Nixon has neared.
***
“We didn’t make the decision on the opening of the new span. The contractor did,” Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference on Sunday. Mr. Cuomo mocked those accusing him of political motivation by saying it was as “nonsensical” as him saying “the world is flat.”

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:56 am

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:57 pm

This whole thread is epic. Seriously. Click it.

https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1 ... 4204026880

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:03 pm

Did I miss "trickle down pits"?

Quick, someone throw that on the pile. But funny.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:43 am

Georgia gets old-school, or, Spare the rod and spoil the child

A school in the US state of Georgia is asking parents to consent to allowing their children to be spanked with a wooden paddle as a form of punishment.

The Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics sent a letter to parents requesting to paddle students after their third behavioural infraction.

Students who are not authorised to be paddled will instead face a suspension.

Georgia is among 20 US states that allow corporal punishment - including paddling - in schools.

"In this school we take discipline very seriously," Superintendent Jody Boulineau told local media.

"There was a time where corporal punishment was kind of the norm in school and you didn't have the problems that you have," he added.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:12 pm

EDIT: And now I see this posted in the other thread when I went there to post another story.

Not seeing this around so Ill post it...most likely as a repost someone beat me to.

Money taken from FEMA goes to ICE and from Homeland Security to ICE again

So right when FEMA needs all they can get the Trump admin took $10 million from them and gave it to ICE. Also they seem to have moved $200 million from all over Homeland Security to ICE.

As a potentially catastrophic hurricane bears down on the East Coast of the US, the shifting of $10 million from FEMA's operating budget to fund immigration detention and deportations is drawing condemnation from Democrats.
But that's a drop in the bucket.

The Trump administration this summer quietly redirected $200 million from all over the Department of Homeland Security to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, despite repeated congressional warnings of ICE's "lack of fiscal discipline" and "unsustainable" spending.
The Department of Homeland Security asked for the money, according to a document made public this week by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley. Of the $200 million, the document says $93 million will go to immigrant detention, a 3% budget increase that will fund capacity for an additional 2,300 detainees; and $107 million for "transportation and removal," or deportations, a 29% budget increase.

The move comes as the Trump administration has pursued an aggressive immigration agenda, ramping up arrests of undocumented immigrants and deportations.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:15 pm

Doesn't FEMA have a blank check, at least after the fact? It's like budgeting for snow removal: you plan for what you think you'll need, but the streets get plowed and the budget rises to meet the cost. I suppose a $10M budget cut could reduce their ability to pre-position supplies and personnel.

I get that the real issue is robbing other agencies to fund Trump's detention camps.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:27 pm

does $10mil even register on either of their budgets? I realize neither is the military but still. I've worked on projects bigger than that.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:19 am

GreenGoo wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:27 pm does $10mil even register on either of their budgets? I realize neither is the military but still. I've worked on projects bigger than that.

That was honestly my first impression. $10mil seems moderately insignificant to a large Federal agency. I still hate it in principle, but...

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:29 am

I think Congress was trying to lock down how Trump uses funds, so unilaterally diverting $10m from disaster relief is a separation of powers issue.

Caught with his tiny hands in the cookie jar.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 1:45 am

gbasden wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:19 am
GreenGoo wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:27 pm does $10mil even register on either of their budgets? I realize neither is the military but still. I've worked on projects bigger than that.
That was honestly my first impression. $10mil seems moderately insignificant to a large Federal agency. I still hate it in principle, but...

It does buy a lot of paper towels.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 8:24 am

https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1 ... 8131908608

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 9:35 am

If tax is theft and nobody needs all of these government handouts, and we need to slash money and programs across the board, why does ICE need to steal everyone else's money?

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 1:09 pm

https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/ ... 9340046337

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 2:16 pm

LordMortis wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 9:35 am If tax is theft and nobody needs all of these government handouts, and we need to slash money and programs across the board, why does ICE need to steal everyone else's money?

Detention camps for migrant children.

Even though hundreds of children separated from their families after crossing the border have been released under court order, the overall number of migrant children under detention has exploded to the highest ever recorded — a significant counternarrative to the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the number of families illegally coming to the United States.

Population levels at federally contracted shelters for migrant children have quietly shot up more than fivefold since last summer, according to data obtained by The New York Times, reaching a total of 12,800 this month. There were 2,400 such children in custody in May 2017.

The camps are at capacity. Increasing their budget the transparent way would be bad optics.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:09 pm

The American Gestapo need more funds to grow without accountability.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Sep 14, 2018 12:42 pm

All your fake new in one read.

https://observer.com/2018/09/walkaway-f ... ebook-ban/

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Sep 14, 2018 11:35 pm

NC banned a study on sea-level rise.

RALEIGH

North Carolina legislators voted in 2012 to ban the use of a report that showed the ocean could rise as much as 39 inches by 2100.

Now, with Hurricane Florence bearing down on the Carolinas, and thousands evacuating from the coast, that decision is once again making national headlines and drawing criticism from those who say state leaders who approved the bill were nearsighted.

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local ... rylink=cpy

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 1:15 am

"Nearsighted" seems like an odd way of spelling "bought off by real estate developers."