Political Randomness

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 7:17 pm

How did that make it into the yearbook?

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:11 pm

Depends on the time and the circumstances. It's not unusual (at least in the past) to have the entire yearbook created by students with very little to no supervision. If a kid was stupid enough to put on blackface, it's not much of a stretch to imagine another kid stupid enough to think it hilarious enough to put in the yearbook.

I mean, we have present day examples of kids wearing blackface to high school basketball games with no repercussions, it's hardly a stretch to imagine those same kids showing up in yearbooks at some time in the past.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:20 pm

There's more.

https://www.twitter.com/kathrynw5/statu ... 1258466304

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:57 pm

Ah. University.

Well then. I assume they were just creating a safe space for white supremacists, free from the unruly real world. Safe spaces. What's wrong with that? Haters.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:27 pm

Alefroth wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 7:17 pm How did that make it into the yearbook?

Virginia Military Institute is a very conservative military college. It's not one of the official service academies, but it might as well be. Their most famous faculty member was Stonewall Jackson.

My best friend from high school went there and became a Navy officer (class of 1991). From what I saw through him, the culture is military-strict with an overlay of frat-bro blowing-off-of-steam. In recent decades VMI has begun to admit women and address their Confederate history, but even this hasn't been without controversy.

Northam was a 1981 VMI grad. It's not hard to believe racism was casual and socially encouraged there in the late 70s.

EDIT: It's the 1984 med school yearbook. Even worse and weirder!

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:30 pm

As far as apologies go, he made a pretty good one.

“Earlier today, a website published a photograph of me from my 1984 medical school yearbook in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive,"

“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.

“This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.

“I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their Governor.”

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:24 pm

https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/ ... 4335031301

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:27 pm

Right now Twitter is full of conservatives blasting Dems for defending Northam and Dems calling on Northam to resign.

I guess it makes sense, since Dems attacking (e.g.) Steve King would probably overlook large numbers of Republicans calling on King to resign if that ever happened even once in a million years.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:05 pm

pr0ner wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 5:59 pm This should be an interesting weekend in Virginia, as it has come out that Governor Ralph Northam, after his comments on abortion earlier this week, allegedly posed in blackface next to a guy in a KKK outfit in his med school yearbook in 1984.

I cannot believe he did not step down this morning. Governor Northam needs to get out now.

I hear he's now trying to build a story that it isn't him?

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:17 pm

malchior wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 6:15 pm I saw the story and the pictures. It is really unclear if that is him or not though the composition of the page implies either the man in blackface or KKK costume is him. Weird shit. How did this not come up before now? This is basic opposition research fodder.

He said it's him but he doesn't remember which one he is. Which is absurd.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:23 pm

But now he’s saying he doesn’t think it’s him.

Narrator: it’s him.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 1:26 pm

What's his political record like?

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 1:59 pm

GreenGoo wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 1:26 pm What's his political record like?

Like Schrodinger's Cat.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:02 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:23 pm But now he’s saying he doesn’t think it’s him.

See what happens when a young man doesn't keep a calendar.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:40 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:But now he’s saying he doesn’t think it’s him.

Narrator: it’s him.

And in the latest WaPo article it was just a silly mixup...

"The governor has been telling senior Virginia Democrats that he believes there was a mixup when the yearbook was produced and the image of a person dressed in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe mistakenly ended up on his page."

They hacked his yearbook back in the 80s obviously. Also, since it didn't seem to be a big deal at the time why change it, Southern humor being the way it was.

Oh, more examples of that Southern humor is his VMI nickname," Coonman". LOL!

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:52 pm

Oh man. That's pretty desperate.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:59 pm

Also, he says he doesn’t “think” it’s him. Which means that he can’t rule out having dressed in blackface or KKK robes at some point in his life.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:01 pm

pr0ner wrote:Oh man. That's pretty desperate.

Yeah, like a drowning man flailing about.

Trying to keep a straight face when I came across this in the NYT:

"This Democrat said the governor was determined to prove it was not him in the photograph and was even considering using facial recognition software."

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:19 pm

$iljanus wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:01 pm
pr0ner wrote:Oh man. That's pretty desperate.
Yeah, like a drowning man flailing about.

Trying to keep a straight face when I came across this in the NYT:

"This Democrat said the governor was determined to prove it was not him in the photograph and was even considering using facial recognition software."

That's some pretty sophisticated software that can see through a white hood.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 4:33 pm

For some context, a reporter asked this after he claimed he "darkened" his face to be Michael Jackson in a dance contest. Cause that is better, amirite? We have to be living in a simulation. The absurdity of today is just off the charts. Was it always this absurd and the idiots in charge were just better at hiding incompetence until now?

https://twitter.com/studentactivism/sta ... 4670419969

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:19 pm

Rip tells me that denying it ever happened is better than admitting it happened and apologizing.

I assume Northam has hired Rip as an advisor.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:17 pm

https://www.twitter.com/DPRK_News/statu ... 5194777601

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:49 pm

His current attempts to extricate himself from this mess should be studied by all politicians as the wrong way to handle things.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:21 pm

hepcat wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:49 pm His current attempts to extricate himself from this mess should be studied by all politicians as the wrong way to handle things.

But this is the new way. Devil's Triangle is a drinking game. The meeting was about adoption. It was a Michael Jackson costume. All the ridiculous, cringe inducing bullshit that any self respecting person would never think to utter is the new way out. As long as you put something out there, you can move on and act like your transgressions never happened.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:37 pm

At least he hasn’t yelled “FAKE NEWS!”.

...yet.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:36 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:21 pm As long as you put something out there, you can move on and act like your transgressions never happened.

Because there is an army of people willing to sell their soul to defend "their guy" against "the other". It's...galling. And frightening.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:47 pm

Well.... I am not hearing a single person defend him at this point.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:51 pm

Unagi wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:47 pm Well.... I am not hearing a single person defend him at this point.

Define "defend him"? You mean something like this?

https://twitter.com/dlippman/status/1091838745467326464

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:53 pm

OK, well that's "NEW: ".

But really, show me someone who's protecting their own political future -and- defending him.

Freyland · Post by **Freyland** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 12:07 am

I have a question.

If he had stopped at his initial, respectable apology, would it be "necessary " for him to resign? It seemed to acknowledge a poor way of thinking in his younger days with intent to live up to better expectations now. Assuming that there isn't more recent evidence to suggest he has been maintaining that mentality in the last 5-10 years, isn't that enough?

Obviously he has dug himself a hole since that apology but I'm curious.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 12:27 am

People were calling on him to resign before the press conference today. So I don't think that did anything but dig him a bigger hole.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 12:48 am

I'm guessing he thought that a strong apology would save him, and when that wasn't working, he pivoted to the Shaggy "It Wasn't Me" defense. But...too late for that after the apology.

What a mess.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 2:40 am

Unagi wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:47 pm Well.... I am not hearing a single person defend him at this point.

Oh, yeah, my bad. Lawbeef was referring (I think) to the GOP deny everything, gaslight everyone style of political damage control. I was referring to the general GOP voter who seems content to support their dude no matter how insane a theory they propose in defense of the indefensible.

Seems to me the Dems are possibly too quick to hang their own out to dry. In any case, I was referring to the various nightmarish GOP politicians that get away with outrageous lies because stigginit is more important that they truth to a lot of people.

Well, I do hear the far left doing some crazy shit too, but I don't pay attention to those people because they are crazy and not representative of the left in general. There's no hippie news feeding a constant stream of propaganda to their viewers for example. I realize that the right believe every MSM is doing that, but that's just more false narrative they like to gaslight with. Which is not to say that all MSM is awesome and never has bias, it just rarely reaches the level of bias that Fox reaches on a daily basis.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 2:44 am

pr0ner wrote: Sun Feb 03, 2019 12:27 am People were calling on him to resign before the press conference today. So I don't think that did anything but dig him a bigger hole.

I think Frey is asking if anyone is ever free from their youthful indiscretions? At what point is it ok to say "I've changed" while also having demonstrated that fact over years of behaviour (this is all hypothetical. I don't know this dude form Adam) and have people accept that you have, in fact, changed?

Is putting on blackface an unforgiveable act that removes you from the Dem political sphere permanently, no matter how young, stupid or drunk you were? Note that I'm not saying any of that applies here (except maybe the stupid part), I'm just extrapolating. Is he doomed to become a SCOTUS judge?

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 11:06 am

Unagi wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 11:53 pm OK, well that's "NEW: ".

But really, show me someone who's protecting their own political future -and- defending him.

Yeah. We're going to need someone higher-up than a retired state-level Northam crony before this becomes the Democratic party defending him.

I haven't even been looking, but I think every high-profile Dem I've seen (all the presidential candidates, all the committee heads I follow, all the ones with a solid Twitter game, etc, from AOC to Pelosi to HRC) have called for him to resign.

It's also fun that there's also a whole lot of this going around:

https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/10 ... 1979581440

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 11:21 am

I don't know how I missed it when it was published, but apparently Mitch McConnell refused to meet the various public health charity organizations when the ACA repeal was being floated (again) in 2017. One of those organizations was the March of Dimes, a group dedicated to to fighting the debilitating impacts of polio in children. Why does that matter? Because Mitch had polio as a child (I had no idea) and he was given charity care through a program that ultimately had him fully recover. Similar to Paul Ryan, I now believe Mitch is a self-hating bureaucrat that cannot accept his life would have likely been different if not for the intervention of public monies and charity.

I almost feel bad for him. But then I remember he's a giant sack of shit that's actively working against democracy and I have another sip of coffee.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 4:37 pm

Important WaPo article on the whole Northam ordeal, and the hypocrisy of Republicans calling on Northam to resign while not calling on Trump to do the same.

Finally, the GOP is calling out a chief executive for his appalling insensitivity on an issue of race: Saturday, via Twitter, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) decried that chief executive’s “past racist behavior” and said “He should resign.” In two tweets posted on Saturday, Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel listed off what she sees as that same chief executive’s callousness on race, including, apparently, his appearance in a photo, 35 years ago in which one person is in blackface and the other is wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood. The conduct that these Republicans denounced clearly deserves condemnation, no matter how or when it occurred.

Unfortunately, they’ve reserved their scorn for one chief executive, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, and have held back when it comes to criticizing a chief executive from their own party, President Trump, for his racially divisive statements and public positions. That is naked hypocrisy.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 4:42 pm

I mean, sure, but doing that would harm their own political careers. What they *could* do with little danger is call on King (I think that's his name?) to resign. So the argument still works even if we pick a lesser target.

Also to be fair, naked hypocrisy is barely a sin in this political era, let alone a mortal one. Ignoring facts without consequences is where the US political environment appears to be right now. Hypocrisy pales comparatively.

em2nought · Post by **em2nought** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 6:30 pm

Something tells me I better get my copy of Operation Petticoat now before somebody gets offended by this scene.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Feb 04, 2019 11:21 am

Overreact much, snowflake?

There's a huge difference between a scene in a film or tv show in which folks wears dark clothing and face paint in order to blend in for the sake of stealth during a break in/night mission, and someone putting on a wig, heavy shoe polish and standing next to someone in a Klan outfit for the sake of...well...not sure what that was all about. But I'm assuming it wasn't a Seal Team Six operation.

Sheesh, you far right folks are so easily scared that everyone's out to get you that you've probably hired someone to make sure there's no Ginsburg or Ocasio-Cortez under your bed or in your closet at night. Do you sleep with a Rush Limbaugh night light? You know, the one that's viagra blue?