So, I know that it’s 2019, but we are already talking Presidential candidates. It’s obviously critically important who is President. But it’s also important who is on your city and county councils. It’s critical that in 2020 we have great candidates for the legislature and for Congress. We need to defeat Donald Trump, but we also need to be able to govern.
Can’t Bring Yourself to Type the Word “Ass”?
Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!
“Faith Vander Voort, the newly promoted top spokeswoman at the Interior Department, voiced support for more surveillance of Muslim communities and argued that attacks by radical self-proclaimed Muslim groups pose a far bigger threat to society than climate change during a 2017 interview full of Islamophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“The comments were made during a June 8, 2017, … podcast of [a] now-defunct right-wing news outlet [she] co-founded … about a year before she joined the Trump administration ….
“During the [podcast], Vander Voort says she does not believe it is a violation of individual civil liberties for intelligence agencies to monitor phones and internet activities … of Muslim communities.
“‘I think that terrorists attacking us are the real infringement on our freedom,’ she said.”
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/03/faith-vander-voort-top-interior-press-secretary-spouted-islamophobia-climate-denial-in-2017-podcast/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: It sure sounds to me like she’s equating “Muslim” with “terrorist,” but I’m not at all surprised that climate-denial, disrespect for civil rights, and Muslim-hating go hand-in-hand with these people.
This idiot came to Interior from the staff of ex-congressman and disgraced corrupt ex-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, where she probably was the typist or something. Her “degree” is from a private Christian college I never heard of.
The article I linked above has a link to Vander Voort’s “resume.” This link takes you to stacked resumes for Zinke’s entire congressional staff, and it takes a while to scroll through it, because there are a lot of them. Zinke’s is at the top, and hers is the very last one (indicating she was the most junior and least important member of his staff), so just scroll all the way to the bottom, down to the cellar.
She also appears to have been the least-educated and least-experienced member of Zinke’s congressional staff, and she obviously got a job at Interior because he took his staff with him when Trump appointed him Secretary.
It’s telling that the biggest bullet point on her resume is “vice president” of a podcast she started herself. The rest of her “work experience” consists of working as a PR flack for Republican candidates and an assistant for a “Fox News political analyst.”
She also lists a couple of internships with Reps. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and Steve King (now you know where she got the virulent Islamphobia from).
Wikipedia describes Asuza Pacific University, her alma mater, as a “private evangelical Christian University” in California. I never heard of it. Sounds like the kind of school you go to if you can’t get into Liberty University because you flunked out of your local megachurch’s Sunday School for non-attendance.
This is the kind of people being appointed to government jobs under the Trump administration. She’s probably formulating policy behind the scenes while her bosses are outside in the barn molesting livestock.
A Tale of Two Twitter Accounts
GOP Rep. Devin Nunes has a Twitter account. Some humorist set up a parody account called @DevinCow, “which alleges to be his cow.” The congressman was not amused, but nobody heard of it, and it had almost no traffic. Until, that is, Nunes sued to have it taken down.
Now, @DevinCow has more followers than he does.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/devin-nunes-cow-twitter-followers_n_5c9207f1e4b07e05729fda85
Huffpost notes that @DevinCow has posted only one tweet:
@DevinCow: Devin Nunes Skin
Still thin.
Wherein Trump’s EPA chief acknowledges climate change is real.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/andrew-wheeler-epa-climate-change_n_5c9226ede4b0dbf58e465554
We just don’t have to worry about it in our lifetimes, that’s all.
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Apparently this moron thinks climate change is like an earthquake or flood: You know it’s gonna happen eventually, so you stockpile bottled water, and when the alarm goes off you call FEMA. But at least he admits the melting glaciers aren’t an optical illusion.
I don’t see climate change as a problem, and I don’t think you stupid humans necessarily need to do anything about it, because after it wipes out your species, we rabbits will do just fine.
“U.S. stocks extended declines after President Donald Trump signaled he would keep tariffs on China until it was clear the country was complying with terms of a future trade deal.”
What the hell does “complying with terms of a future trade deal” mean? Sounds like double-speak for “there is no deal.” Perhaps this will shed further light on the current status of Trump’s trade talks with China:
“Trump told reporters at the White House before he left for Ohio on Wednesday that the U.S. could leave tariffs in place for a ‘substantial period of time.'”
In other words, a trade deal with China hasn’t been reached and isn’t imminent or even foreseeable. Wall Street didn’t have any trouble figuring it out. The Dow is down 162 points, and probably would be down a lot more without the offset of Powell caving to Trump.
He should never have gone down this road. Forever a dumbfuck.
“WE DID IT!!
The cow that @DevinNunes is suing officially has more twitter followers than he does!!
Devin Nunes’ epic self own is now complete.
Congratulations @DevinCow!
Thank you for reminding us all what a colossally pathetic putz Devin Nunes is.#BeButter”
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/devin-nunes-widely-mocked-twitter-lawsuit-suffers-greatest-humiliation-yet-epic-self-complete/
Not for nothing kids, but the warrant materials ordered released by U.S. District Judge William Pauley III in Mr. Safety School
, Esq.‘s guilty plea in the “illegal campaign contribution scheme” include 19 fucking pages of redactions made at the request of SDNY.Maybe for…. reasons? Shits and giggles? A Dadaist exploration of absurd minimalism? Or because they are protecting an ongoing investigation and future felony indictments? Maybe that last one? Yeah. I think it’s that last one.
#winning
#nothingburger
#WEEEETCHUUNT!!!!!!
#REEEEPOOOOOORT!!!!!!
Not surprise, conservative SCOTUS justices unanimous in wanting more caged toddlers in rape camps.
Nice win for the Yakima nation, though. Probably only because the two boys from Georgetown Prep can’t get their act together. Both were in a daze, dreaming back to the days when they were gang-raping 15 year old prep school girls.
@9 Why not release the name? Where’s he gonna flee to? Siberia? Yeah, he can be Snowden’s roommate, if Snowden will have him.
DevinCow is too dignified. I like DevinDumbshit.. Well ok, maybe that’s a little tired.. Sue me.
#BeButter.. Oh shit, that’s brilliant… Yeah DevinCow is butter..
Trump reminds me of a case from my first-year criminal law class about a suspect who blurted out to a detective who was hounding him, “Yeah, I killed the old lady, but you’ll never prove it, so quit following me!” The topic was the admissibility of out-of-court confessions. You can guess how that one went for the defendant.
Now to my favorite airhead:
“Tomi Lahren said Wednesday on Fox News that schools are pushing progressive values earlier than ever ― and that’s why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrats want the voting age reduced. …
“Lahren said Democrats ‘are very well aware that the liberal indoctrination starts at a very young age. Whereas it used to start in college, now it starts in elementary school, middle school, high school. And they want to capture those kids very early. So again, this is just another way for them to pad their voting bloc … at the end of the day, it’s just the Democrats doing what they can to try to win an election which they can’t do unless they change the rules.'”
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/03/20/lahren-liberal-indoctrination-starts-in-elementary-school/23696974/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Let’s unpack this slowly, savoring every delicacy.
(1) In schools hijacked by Democrats, kids are taught that 2 + 2 = 4, every time. That’s a problem, because Republican math just doesn’t work that way.
(2) Even worse, they’re taught that the earth is more than 6,000 years old. On top of that, the exact amount keeps changing, and Republicans really hate squishy numbers like those science produces, except when they’re writing budgets and want 4 + 4 to = 5 (or 6, or 7, or whatever).
(3) Democrat-controlled schools tell children everyone is equal, even blacks and Latinos and … deep breath … Muslims. This blows a huge hole in white supremacy theology.
(4) It goes without saying that teaching children science blows huge holes in their entire theology. Not only that, but it has policy implications if these kids grow up to vote believing that climate change is real.
(5) She understandably sees big problems with the other “progressive values” that kids are indoctrinated with in liberal schools — sharing on the playground, for example. How can you raise future generations of capitalists with killer instincts from that kind of feedstock?
(6) Finally, we come to “changing the rules.” Yes, teaching kids the same things they’ve always been taught is “changing the rules,” because we’re in a different game now, where the GOP’s survival now requires a population ignorant and disdainful of basic math, science, and playground sharing. When the game changes, the rules must change too, because leaving the rules the same is “changing the rules.” This is based on some theory of relativity that Lahren hasn’t explained yet.
Maybe I’m overthinking this. Maybe she’s just a fucking airhead who doesn’t have a clue about what she’s bleating about.
It takes a deplorable man to lead a deplorable mob.
“Johnny Isakson becomes first GOP senator to actively condemn Trump for ‘deplorable’ McCain comments”
After noting that Trump will get a “whipping” over his McCain attacks and saying “the country deserves better” in comments shared exclusively with the conservative Bulwark website, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) was quoted saying what the president said was “deplorable.”
“It’s deplorable what he said,” Isakson remarked to a Georgia radio show. “It will be deplorable seven months from now if he says it again.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/watch-johnny-isakson-becomes-first-gop-senator-actively-condemn-trump-deplorable-mccain-comments/
Schools need to use phonics to teach reading and also teach cursive writing.
@15 Talk is cheap. It won’t mean anything until he’s willing to vote for removing Trump from office.
“Traditional pensions are disappearing in America, and the federal government just made it easier for employers to get rid of them. With no fanfare in early March, the Treasury Department issued a notice that allows employers to buy out current retirees from their pensions with a one-time lump sum payment. The decision reverses Obama-era guidance, issued in 2015, that had effectively banned the practice after officials determined that lump-sum payments often shortchanged seniors.”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/economy/lump-sum-pensions-retirement/index.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Hey Trump, let’s cut the bullshit and stop pretending you’re pro-worker, okay? It’s getting pretty transparent whose side you’re on.
11,
Too many names. Too many potential felonies.
Starting with Lil’ Donnie Jr. who signed some of the fraudulent checks and approved the disbursements of “foundation” and “org” money to Essential Consultants.
But then you also have Eric, CFO Weiselberg, Viktor Vekselberg and his Renova Group partners (cutout payments to Essential Consultants) who include some mighty big Russian/Ukranian and domestic players, Alfa Bank, German Khan, and dozens of their associates and domestic business partners.
This goes to thousands of pages of documents involving these transfers and payments surrounding not just the Porn Payoff but dozens of campaign related transfers, contributions from foreign sources, and inauguration donations (which make up their own separate investigation owing to the sums and complexity). It’s a foreign money shit storm surrounding the Trump Org, Trump Foundation, Trump Campaign, the Porn Lady, Essential Consultants, the Inauguration, Melania’s “party planner” and it looks like perhaps the NRA and maybe even the RNC.
All built carefully and methodically from the ground up by the craven duplicity, and vainly execrable pettiness of 63 million mouth breathing dullards we all know as our Republican friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers, may they all rot in hell with ass cancer.
Because this is really “the status quo” for Republicans now.
Demorat Pornstar Party Of Pussywhipped Punks News–Kirsten Gillibrand (D-PMS) demands amnesty, Social Security for all undocumented Demorats, and elimination of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
————————————————-
During a campaign stop in Iowa Tuesday, Democrat presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand argued America needs to give amnesty to all illegal aliens living in the United States in addition to allowing them into the social security system.
Gillibrand is also supportive of eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I believe that it [ICE] has become a deportation force,” GIllibrand said. “We should get rid of it, start over, reimagine it and build something that actually works.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2019/03/20/gillibrand-we-need-to-give-social-security-to-illegal-aliens-n2543409
and ha trolls like hog slop @ 20…
Heh. Wasn’t Charles Krauthammer in favor of amnesty? Oh he thought amnesty would be palatable if that fucking wall was built.. Smart guy that klownservatic.
11 million plus folks who work the most thankless jobs this country can dish out – jobs no troll would work. But then those jobs wouldn’t be thankless if the trolls managed to squeeze out a fart’s worth of gratitude.
I’ve said it a million times – if you don’t like “those people” being here then don’t hire their cheap labor to line your greedy pocket. Try hiring one of your idiot relations for a change.
+32.64% for the period January 1, 2018 through March 20, 2019.
I keep seeing these ads on TV asking for money for the Holocaust surviviors in the former Soviet Union. World War II ended almost 75 years ago, so I’m thinking the survivors are getting a little long in the tooth or even already dead by now, given the harsh treatment at the hands of the Nazis and the Soviets. Can we check and see if those folks have gone to their final rewards? Certainly there can’t be so many of these survivors that the people paying for these expensive TV ads can’t pick up the tab for their own charity. Using other people’s money to meet your goals doesn’t win friends and influence people or help your public image.
Maybe it’s time for this particular organization to self-fund its campaign to help the Holocaust survivors and leave the rest of us out of it.
22,
You’ve been watching too much FOX, probably late at night.
It’s only a few weeks away. I suppose then it must be the “Passover Box” ad from IFCJ. FOX gives them a good rate. They are a legit charity doing good works. They target FOX viewers because appealing to American Xtians is their “niche”. Probably not a bad one right now. American Xtians have a lot to be ashamed about these days when it comes to supporting racist Nazis. Business is probably booming. About 75% of revenue goes to programming. About 80,000 survivors in the former USSR states.
“Certainly there can’t be so many of these survivors that the people paying for these expensive TV ads can’t pick up the tab for their own charity.”
Ummm… precisely who the fuck do you think does pay for the ads, numbnuts? The people who don’t support the charity? What the high holy fuck is wrong with you?
22,
Well… No.
Not really.
You did not think.
Gotta love Repuglicans..
The Florida Repuglicans, after the people spoke at the ballot box on the issue, wants to impose a poll tax..
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/19/poll-tax-any-other-name-florida-gop-undermines-newly-restored-voting-rights-14
Who says Repuglicans are against taxes? They never met a poll tax they didn’t like. Disgusting.
“Former Trump confidante Hope Hicks to cooperate with House Democratic probe into Trump … [she] plans to turn over documents to the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into potential obstruction of justice.”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/politics/hope-hicks-house-democratic-investigation/index.html
Another day, another domino.
@19 “Too many names.”
You and I both know there’s only one name we’re really interested in, and that’s the one I’m talking about.
@20 “Kirsten Gillibrand (D-PMS) demands amnesty, Social Security for all undocumented Demorats, and elimination of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
That’s not what she said. You’re a liar on all three counts.
(1) Gillibrand supports a path to citizenship for illegals, not amnesty.
(2) Gillibrand does not support Social Security for all undocumented [immigrants], only those who pay taxes into the system, and why shouldn’t they get benefits they’re paying taxes for?
(3) Gillibrand does not support eliminating immigration and [c]ustoms [enforcement], she supports replacing the dysfunctional ICE with a new agency.
Yes, I know pulling your head out of your ass long enough to do some basic fact-checking is a bridge too far for you. Thanks for asking.
@21 Krauthammer was smart compared to these fuckwads, and you could feel sorry for him because he was stuck in a wheelchair. I can’t work up any sympathy at all for the morons who pass themselves off as “conservatives” these days. William Buckley wouldn’t be able to distinguish them from tree stumps.
What will drive the next recession: a credit bubble will pop..
So what’s new? Mortgages (sub-prime or otherwise?).. No
Defaulting auto borrowers.. hardly…
Answer: Corporate debt.. A binge since 2009…
Those “wise users” of capital, those “job creators” will drag this economy to the deepest depths of misery. This guy uses the “B” world – “Biblical”:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-the-us-falls-into-a-recession-a-credit-bubble-will-explode-2019-03-20
“Prepping” of sorts would be a good idea.
@30 Well, I’ve been watching this for quite a while, and you’re absolutely right. These companies are scamming their shareholders, because a lot of that borrowing has been used for buybacks and dividend raises. Now what does it tell you when a company borrows to raise its dividend? It means they can pay the dividend only if they continue borrowing.
You can’t really blame the corps, though. Asking a CFO to ignore cheap loans is like asking a CEO to ignore easy profits. It not only makes sense to borrow when money is cheap, it’s stupid not to. It just so happens they’re not using it to expand their businesses or raise workers’ wages. Management has a fiduciary duty to suck up its stockholders; it has no fiduciary duty to suck up its employees, and without unions, not much practical reason to do so, either. That pretty much explains who gets the money corps borrow, and why.
ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) bailed out borrowers, especially profligate and irresponsible borrowers, at the expense of savers. What’s a little moral hazard when you’re staring a Great Depression in the teeth? But the Fed should have normalized interest rates, and eaten the accompanying recession, after the danger passed. Probably no later than 2012 or 2013. Still, late is better than never.
But Powell’s policy isn’t better late than never, it’s better never than late. He simply caved in to Trump and Wall Street. Consequently, corporate borrowing continues apace.
Here’s what shareholders need to know about corporate debt: It has to be paid back some day, most likely at higher interest rates. Bigger debt + higher interest rates = bigger bite out of cash flow. So there’s a new game in town: When shopping for stock, don’t shop for EPS (earnings per share) or fast-growing dividends; shop for responsible management. A management that would fool its shareholders is a management that will fuck its shareholders. To figure out if they’re brewing up future dividend cuts they’re not telling you about, look at debt and payout ratios, maturity dates, and review the dividend history to see if rapid dividend raises coincided with rapid debt accumulation. If they did, it’s not a coincidence, it’s a yellow or red flag.
Basically, read the financials, and use common sense. Nobody ever borrowed their way to prosperity. Either the stock gains and dividend raises are supported by real profit growth, or they’re a dangerous illusion. There’s no in-between.
The doctor seems to spending a lot more time with the horse trailer lately.
@32 It’s getting off to its sins – spewing rape fantasies in on-line forums.
@32 Must be tough being his wife, knowing you’ve been deserted for a horse.
Time magazine has an interesting article by Molly Ball about impeachment. Her take: Articles of impeachment against Trump are all but inevitable. Probably by the end of this year.
http://time.com/5551306/nancy-.....peachment/
Some excerpts:
” … according to a March Quinnipiac poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans now believe Trump committed crimes before becoming President.”
“Large majorities say they would favor Trump’s impeachment and removal from office if Mueller finds he authorized coordination with Russia or obstructed justice.”
” … the push for impeachment is likely coming. ‘It gets more difficult to avoid every day,’ says a House Democrat who has voted against every impeachment resolution presented so far.”
And here’s the money quote:
“Despite entrenched partisanship, Americans profess to be open to accepting Mueller’s conclusions. In a February, Washington Post/George Mason University poll, 61% said they would support impeaching Trump and removing him from office if Mueller concludes he authorized his campaign to coordinate with Russia, and 65% would support removal if he is found to have obstructed justice.”
30,
Mauldin (and some central bankers) have been saying that for more than a year now. The problem seems to be, and they admit it, that they have absolutely no idea what would trigger the predicted panic. In that time we’ve seen a series of unsecured, high yield junk bond collapses, a series of Fed rate hikes, Brexit, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, GOP Shitdowns, and President Diaper-Baby tweet storms threatening all out trade wars and even nuclear wars.
I’m not saying he’s wrong. On paper it looks today like the C-Suites are taking on debt the way tatooed strippers took out mortgages back in 2008. But if I moved into Krugerrands back in 2017 when these guys first started talking like this I would have missed a lot of portfolio growth.
Some asset bubbles dont pop. But they may still deflate. It’not as if the idiots who bought WeWork paper were snaked into it by sleazey ratings agencies in bed with the market makers. But in 2008 once people saw a rise in mortgage defaults and understood how much pure lying bullshit had been baked into those mortgage backed securities, of course they panicked. They knew they’d been lied to but they had absolutely no way to quantify either the lies or the resulting levels of risk because of how the securities themselves were created. Everyone who invested in WeWork bonds knew exactly what kind of risk they were taking.
I know where Poodebutt probably is:
“A troubling new report by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests many U.S. citizens — potentially numbering in the hundreds — are being wrongly detained for deportation every year after Immigration and Customs Enforcement misidentifies them as undocumented immigrants.
“The report, published Wednesday, focused specifically on alleged wrongful detention of Americans in the Miami area. ‘ICE appears to be asking Miami-Dade County to jail a number of U.S. citizens every month, even though citizens can’t be deported or held by ICE,’ the ACLU said.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-detainers-miami-florida-aclu_n_5c92c7c3e4b01b140d3536d9
Roger Rabbit Commentary: It was inevitable that a dysfunctional and broken like ICE, egged on by Trump’s Gestapo mentality, would start kidnapping and rendering innocent U.S. citizens. Sen. Gillibrand was right; we should disband ICE and start over with a brand new agency.
“George Conway … offered an explanation Thursday as to why the president hadn’t spoken to special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his Russia investigation. Conway claimed that a lawyer for Trump told him the president ‘couldn’t be allowed’ to talk to Mueller because ‘he’d lie his ass off.'”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/george-conway-donald-trump-worst-kind-of-dumb_n_5c93762ce4b08c4fec34e6c3
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Utterly believable, because we know Trump lies his ass off. When someone lies so much he doesn’t even know whether he’s lying, you don’t want that person to be a witness under any circumstances. Even first-year law students know that.
37,
America was stampeded into creating DHS by fear mongering and greed. The department should be dismantled and its agencies devolved to the Departments they came from. In that process ICE should be reformed into an administrative agency primarily tasked with processing claims. America does not need an internal paramilitary army going house to house under cover of darkness terrorizing poor communities kicking in doors and dragging away pregnant women at gunpoint in front of their sobbing children.
That doesn’t make us “great”. It makes us sadistic.
“Sen. Isakson calls Trump’s McCain remarks ‘deplorable,’ but few GOP colleagues weigh in. The Georgia senator is one of just two lawmakers within the GOP conference to directly criticize Trump publicly over his recent round of attacks on McCain.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-isakson-calls-trump-s-mccain-remarks-deplorable-few-gop-n985511
The sound of silence …
39 – Yes, the Department of Homeland Security is not needed.
The Christchurch massacres were not “domestic” terrorism.
Christchurch was “International Terrorism”…
…exported from white supremacists in the United States.
Having a broken tail light while black. What were they thinking?? They could have been shot!
“Cop pulls gun on black students over broken tail light – then bizarrely tries to blame the Supreme Court”
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/watch-cop-pulls-gun-black-students-broken-tail-light-bizarrely-tries-blame-supreme-court/
@43 For white cops, black skin constitutes probable cause.
Of course he did. But Devin Nunes’ cow would never do that.
“Stunning video of Devin Nunes defending the N-word emerges after his disastrous lawsuit against parodies”
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/stunning-video-devin-nunes-defending-n-word-emerges-disastrous-lawsuit-parodies/
I’m in favor of expanding SCOTUS; 15 minds are better than 9, no matter how brilliant. But these things take time, and it’s unlikely it can be accomplished in time for Trump to make the new appointments.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-isakson-calls-trump-s-mccain-remarks-deplorable-few-gop-n985511
I like the idea of D.C. and Puerto Rican statehood, too.
Gropers already have 2 seats on the court, so I think at least 2 of the new seats should go to groping victims.
@45 Cows don’t get to choose their owners. Poor cows! I feel especially sorry for Devin Nunes’ cow.
The undercover vice cop who arrested Stormy Daniels is now charged with misusing the power of arrest to kidnap and rape two other women.
Meanwhile, studies have shown that police are a major source of violence against sex workers.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/ohio-police-unit-arrested-stormy-daniels-disbands-officer-charged-kidnap-rape/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: When I post stories like this, I’m not knocking all police. The vast majority of cops are decent, hardworking professionals who deserve our wholehearted support.
But the badge doesn’t automatically make someone a “fine” person. Like everything else, there are good and bad cops. It’s obvious America has a problem with racist cops, killer cops, and corrupt cops.
Police departments need to do a better job of recruiting the right people, training them well, supervising them properly, and weeding out the bad cops.
Our laws are too protective of cops, and not protective enough of citizens. Washington recently took a step in the right direction by passing legislation that will make it easier to prosecute cops for unjustified killings.
Police unions have too much power over discipline. Their role should be limited to representing members in disciplinary proceedings. They should not be allowed to bargain for lenient policies and procedures in their contracts that put innocent citizens at risk. As with any other employment, you should accept the terms and conditions that are offered, or seek other employment.
45, 48,
Interesting aspect of Nunes suit:
He is forum shopping to have the case tried in VA.
Both Nunes and Twitter are CA. Neither Nunes nor Twitter have any physical presence or connection to VA.
But CA has anti-SLAPP law. VA none.
So Nunes only reason for filing in VA is to gain at least limited disco in order to fuck with Twitter.
Steven Biss is corrupt as fuck and not worth a wet fart as a lawyer. Twitter has enough money to hire plenty of real muscle. My guess is Twitter’s initial response is challenge to jurisdiction / motion for change of venue, which they win. Then they move to quash under CA anti-SLAPP and submit their invoice. Which even Biss must be wary of. So the minute Nunes loses venue in VA he drops the suit, proving that his claims are without merit.
The real question Twitter should be asking is who is paying Biss’ fees? Or is he working for Beets too?
“Republicans who don’t watch Fox News have markedly different political views than Republicans who do, according to a new poll.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/alternate-reality-republicans-dont-watch-fox-news-dramatically-different-views-republicans/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Now there’s scientific evidence that Fox twists gullible minds.
The media isn’t doing journalism these days. For decades, all they’ve been doing is creating political propaganda that supports right wing and lefts wing ideologies. Fox is conservative and somewhat libertarian, and the rest are liberals, progressives, Democrats and socialists with a smattering of anarchist and communist blended in.
Remember The Flight 93 Election?
The childishly asinine bit of prose that sought to give justification for racist assholes throwing away their patriotic allegiance and principles in 2016 because “reasons”?
Whelp, in reaction to humiliation in 2018 and in prep for 2020, there’s a new version of that thinking being passed around by your Crazy Uncle Freedumb.
Only this time, “The Party of Lincoln” is calling for another civil war.
Because this really is “the status quo” for Republicans now.
And it’s time the rest of us started treating them like the dangerous group of violent radical terrorists they really are.
52,
Stop demanding “neutrality” from journalists. It’s stupid. It makes you look even stupider than calling for starving Khazak survivors from Sobibor to stop starving.
Neutrality is not the goal. Objectivity is.
You don’t want “neutral” judges. You want objective judges.
Insisting that all claims are equally valid is backward and stupid.
You’ll only persuade people as backward and stupid as yourself with this kind of “bothsiderist” nonsense.
While you watch with mounting concern as your beloved Republican Party continues to spiral into horror and white nationalist mayhem under the leadership of The Adult Diaper President, you need to stop wasting your energies trying to convince the rest of us that any of this is either “reasonable” or a consequence of “unforeseeable outside forces”. The GOP has been a racist heat seeking political missile since the 1960s. This shit was inevitable and very deliberate.
And just as you people had decades to gradually accommodate yourselves to modern ideas of tolerance, respect, and human dignity, so too have you had decades of opportunity to course correct this slow-motion train wreck of a political party.
Instead you bought a jet-ski. On credit. Oh well.
“I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad.”
That’s their “President” speaking directly to so-called “conservatives”. Talking like some knuckle dragging mobster threatening the neighborhood to “pipe down” or his goons might have to “get rough”.
And conservatives love it. Time after time polls continue to show that no matter what they say in polite company, down to the very last one of them, so-called “conservatives” love it when their President talks like this.
Have we reached the “certain point”? Better not test him. This is exactly what fascism looks like. When your rights and freedoms are taken away by fear and intimidation. And Republican voters love it.
“A Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to sending pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Donald Trump … leading up to last fall’s midterm elections. Cesar Sayoc, 57, sobbed as he entered the plea before a federal judge in New York. ‘I’m extremely sorry,’ he said …. He could get life in prison at sentencing Sept. 12 on 65 counts …. ”
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/03/21/florida-man-pleads-guilty-to-mailing-bombs-to-trump-foes/23698110/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: They’re always extremely sorry when they get caught and face living in a cage for the rest of their lives.
@55 “I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad.”
Well, I don’t know about that, but he does have the support of at least one mail bomber. See #56 for details.
@52 Most of the media in this country is owned by conservative rich white guys.
American media is so conservative that any news outlet that engages in “neutral” reporting is considered “liberal.”
Typical of the rest of the country, here in “liberal” Seattle, all three of our major TV news stations plus our only surviving daily newspaper are owned by Republicans.
@53 “And it’s time the rest of us started treating them like the dangerous group of violent radical terrorists they really are.”
Working on it. See #56.
What really sticks in my craw about your link is that guy has the nerve to depict an American flag waving over his bleating about scalping other Americans. He’s nothing more than a domestic terrorist.
+33.52% for the period January 1, 2018 through March 21, 2019
Demorat Pornstar Party Of Stealing Medicare News– Latest Demorat war on Seniors, “Medicare For All” largest healthcare scam in history; Demorats hide language in bill that ends Medicare entirely and lets Seniors die.
——————————-
“Medicare for All, this bait and switch — they’ve chosen a program that’s very popular and for good reason — and they’re promising that everyone will have it, but, in fact, that’s not at all what the bill says. The Sanders bill and the companion bill in the House actually eliminate Medicare along with Medicaid, with all commercial health insurance, the kinds of insurance people buy in the individual market … and they also outlaw employer-provided health insurance. It will be illegal for employers to cover their workers, their workers’ families, [and] even retirees who worked their whole lives and were promised this coverage upon retiring. That will all be illegal.”
https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2019/03/21/betsy-mccaughey-medicare-all-doctors-avoid-seniors-plague/
@61 “‘Democrats would rather walk on hot coals than explain to the public what [Medicare for All] costs,’ added McCaughey. ‘The Urban Institute-Brookings evaluation of the bill said it would cost $32 trillion — trillion with a ‘T’ — every ten years. The Mercatus Institute at George Mason University agreed. There is very little disagreement about what this bill would cost.'”
Great! That’s only $3.2 trillion a year, and we’re spending $3.6 trillion now. What would you like to do with the $400 billion a year we’ll save under this bill?
I hope the Horse is ok.
Wouldn’t you know it? hog slop @ 61 links to the garbage of serial liar Betsy McCaughey…
a classic article on this loon:
https://newrepublic.com/article/69929/no-exit
Yes there’s more recent stuff including that she’s a drumpf hire. Use teh google.
Employer-provided health care was never intended to satisfy America’s health care needs. It originated during World War 2 as a perk to attract scarce workers when wages were frozen under wartime government price and wage controls. It proved popular, so many employers retained this benefit after the war ended and wage controls were lifted, but in those days premiums were small, medical care was more rudimentary, and health care spending was a much smaller percentage of GDP.
America has never developed a comprehensive, efficient, solution to its health care needs. What government didn’t provide to veterans, the active military, and its own employees was left mostly to employers. This did nothing for retirees or the unemployed. The capitalist solution proved so inadequate that by the early 1960s Congress had established Medicare and Medicaid for senior citizens and the poor. But this still left us with a jury-rigged patchwork health care system that left many people out and even failed to meet the needs of many who had some degree of coverage under private insurance. And that was even before private insurers began refusing to insure pre-existing conditions and refusing to pay for covered but expensive care, with the result that medical bills became the leading cause of personal bankruptcies in America, and the possibility of getting sick threatened the financial well-being of every American, including those with insurance.
Republicans love to talk about running government like a business, but no manager of a private company would neglect our inefficient health care system as Congress has. He would consolidate its divisions, look for economies of scale, standardize procedures and procurement, and produce timely, high quality, effective health care at lower cost. You wouldn’t see a CEO of a widget company set up half a dozen separate divisions to produce widgets.
It’s time to stop treating our health care system like a poorly run widget factory and bring it into the modern era. It’s time America, for the first time, had a coordinated health care system that saves money while covering everyone and providing timely and high quality medical care.
We know what must be done. The only thing standing in our way is lack of willingness to do it. And Republicans.
@64 Wilbur Ross’s ex. Or, I should say, one of ’em. She married him 2 months after he divorced his first wife. Now try to convince me she wasn’t the “other woman” in the breakup of his first marriage. Eventually her turn came to get kicked to the curb, too.
“I hope the Horse is ok.”
I kicked Doctor Dumbfuck in the balls the other day. He won’t be posting for a while.
Good fucking grief.
“Pompeo suggests Trump was put on Earth to save the Jews: ‘As a Christian, I believe it’s possible’”
“Could it be, that President Trump right now has been sort of raised for such a time like this just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from an Iranian menace?” CBN News asked.
“As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible,” Pompeo replied.
“I am confident that the Lord is at work here,” he added.
Fuck you and your god.
Only a few weeks ago he was a hero of the deplorable mob. Now he’s a traitor.
“Trump fans launch all-out attack on ex-Navy SEAL GOP lawmaker for defending McCain: ‘You’ll be a one-term wonder’”
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/trumps-base-attacks-republican-ex-navy-seal-congress-defending-john-mccain-youll-one-term-wonder/
Over on the Dont-Tread-On-Us FB page, the other handful of Republicans who have also mildly rebuked Trump on the McCain hate he’s been spewing are now traitors, although Romney has been a traitor for some time now. Of course, Ann Coulter is now back to being a traitor. Sean Hannity is also a traitor now, because he did an interview with Donna Brazile.
The deplorable mob cult defines treason a little bit different than other Americans.
@68 Well, you have to keep in mind the audience. And remember that a politician will tell them what they want to hear. I don’t think it’s realistic to hope Democrats can win the Bible Belt. At least not without a population die-off. An epidemic among the anti-vaxxers could do it.
@61,
You left out the part where the bill forces you to get a dick tattoo on your face.
Oh. Never mind. I see you already have one.
MAGA!
The GOP’s favorite racist congressman, whose district is under water, bragged about Iowans “helping each other” while Katrina victims (unspoken: African-Americans) wanted government handouts.
In reality, “people in Louisiana and New Orleans took care of each other through the worst of it all” while the Republican administration before this one fumbled the government response.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steve-king-new-orleans-katrina_n_5c93ddb2e4b0a6329e13d2ae
I’ll give Steve King one thing, though: Iowa farmers are self-reliant. They have to be. Dozens of Iowa farmers got tariff bailouts from Trump ranging from $1 to $25.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2018/11/25/federal-trade-assistance-trickles-iowa-farmers-hurt-trade-war/2065652002/
It’s really to bad to see the First Amendment being trashed on college campuses. We worked so hard to write the Constitution, making the First Amendment the first and most important of the Amendments, and now these educational institutions are doing their best to stifle speech with which they disagree. The whole point of free speech is to be offended by what others may say. That’s the only way to reach consensus and govern in a limited and effective way.
Another judge has frowned upon the Wisconsin GOP’s slimy lame-duck power grab.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wisconsin-lame-duck-laws-blocked_n_5c93b953e4b08c4fec35bca5
Roger Rabbit Commentary: If this is legal then we should do it to them every chance we get. Why should we play nice if they won’t?
@73 No, you can’t teach Adam and Eve in the freshman biology class.
@73 Another troll who can’t spell “too.” We get a lot of them on this blog. Why can’t we get any literate trolls? Is our reputation that bad?
Remember when using personal emails for official business was a huge no-no? So do I.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/21/politics/elijah-cummings-jared-kushner-personal-account/index.html
Hypocrisy is every Republican’s middle name.
“Why can’t we get any literate trolls?”
Doctor Dumbfuck used to be literate, y’all, amirite? Then he wasn’t. It happened to the loon, too. He used to be Puddybudd. Then he became the loon (RIP).
It’s hard being a troll here. It takes its toll.
73,
“Abstinence Only”
“Global Gag”
“”Nevertheless she persisted”
What were you saying about freedom of speech?
@78 “It’s hard being a troll here.”
Judging from how many of those cowards have cut and run, I can’t argue with you. Here are just a few:
Mark the Redneck aka bet welsher
Proud to be an Ass
Mr. Cynical aka goatfucker
lostinaseaofblue
GBS
righton
prr
Marvin Stamm
Rufus
klake
Chuck
PBJ
Ranger
christmasghost
janet s
americafirst
zapporo
… and not to be left out under any circumstances, the inimitable and irreplaceable but not indispensable Puddybutt.
An oldy but goody by Facts Support My Position, posted 11/9/2006 @25:
“We didn’t actually vote Republicans out of office. We flushed the toilet.”
@80 you can probably add Dumbfuck to that list too……….oh, my bad because they’re all Dumbfucks