Random Political Posts

[LFC]

"Our Jesus(tm) never said we should feed the hungry!" --Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), probably

House Republicans are taking their first shot at slashing federal spending on nutrition programs for low-income Americans. It won’t be their last.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), is introducing a bill Tuesday, shared exclusively with POLITICO, to expand current restrictions on who qualifies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. It’s the first of what is expected to be a wave of GOP efforts this year to set limits on SNAP, the country’s largest food assistance program, which grew significantly during the pandemic. But while Republicans have telegraphed their desire to curb nutrition spending, House Democrats have yet to mount a coordinated response, raising concerns in the caucus about whether they can fend off likely GOP attacks on the program during the negotiations over the debt limit, budget and 2023 farm bill.

Johnson’s bill would expand the age bracket for able-bodied SNAP recipients without dependents, who have to meet complicated work requirements. The legislation would also limit the federal government’s ability to waive those work requirements for states he says are abusing loopholes in the system.

Supporters say enhancing work requirements as outlined in Johnson’s proposal is key to reducing cycles of perpetual poverty, and it will also save taxpayers money.

“We know that work is the only path out of poverty,” said Johnson, a member of the House Agriculture Committee whose family received SNAP benefits when he was a child growing up in Pierre, South Dakota.

He's parroting the same old discredited solution to a problem that doesn't much exist, not that something like actual existence ever slowed down a Republican.

[goldenvalley]

I just heard Biden's speech in front of the families of the people killed in the ballroom dance room on Chinese New Years.  He was so empathetic and soulful plus he offered assurances that someday the families will remember their loved ones with a smile first instead of tears first. I think he just topped Obama's words at the church shooting site a few years ago.

No wonder Carter has reportedly asked Biden to give his eulogy.  

[LFC]

Joe Biden is just flat out a good person. So was Obama. So was Carter. Bill? Eeehhhhhh. During those presidential terms the Republicans gave us Reagan, HW Bush, W Bush, and Trump. I have some respect for HW but I wouldn't call him a particularly good person.

[goldenvalley]

Mar 14, 2023 21:08:48 GMT LFC said:

Joe Biden is just flat out a good person. So was Obama. So was Carter. Bill? Eeehhhhhh. During those presidential terms the Republicans gave us Reagan, HW Bush, W Bush, and Trump. I have some respect for HW but I wouldn't call him a particularly good person.

Hard to tell with Clinton.  He was really really smart but had poor judgment and he was out to prove to everyone that he was no red neck.  HW was patrician New England, totally lacked the common touch and not empathetic to people that weren't like him.

[AnBr]

Mar 14, 2023 21:02:23 GMT goldenvalley said:

I just heard Biden's speech in front of the families of the people killed in the ballroom dance room on Chinese New Years.  He was so empathetic and soulful plus he offered assurances that someday the families will remember their loved ones with a smile first instead of tears first. I think he just topped Obama's words at the church shooting site a few years ago.

No wonder Carter has reportedly asked Biden to give his eulogy.  

Mar 14, 2023 21:08:48 GMT LFC said:

Joe Biden is just flat out a good person. So was Obama. So was Carter.

Joe Biden is a mensch.

[LFC]

Yes, the release of the hostages in Iran really was delayed until after the election to help Reagan win.

The OG October Surprise

Four decades too late a former Republican congressman spilled the details of secret meetings between former Texas Governor John B. Connally Jr. and Middle Eastern leaders ahead of the 1980 presidential election, revealing the Ronald Reagan “October Surprise” plot was real after all.

According to Republican Ben Barnes who spoke to the Times, Connally pushed Middle Eastern officials to delay the release of the 52 American hostages being held captive in Iran until after the election between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, a plan that would eventually help rob the incumbent Carter of a diplomacy win ahead of Election Day.

Barnes was moved to finally tell the story amid news of Carter’s failing health. A must read: “History needs to know that this happened.”

Here's an archive link in case you can't get through the NYT paywall.

[goldenvalley]

Mar 20, 2023 17:05:59 GMT LFC said:

Yes, the release of the hostages in Iran really was delayed until after the election to help Reagan win.

The OG October Surprise

Four decades too late a former Republican congressman spilled the details of secret meetings between former Texas Governor John B. Connally Jr. and Middle Eastern leaders ahead of the 1980 presidential election, revealing the Ronald Reagan “October Surprise” plot was real after all.

According to Republican Ben Barnes who spoke to the Times, Connally pushed Middle Eastern officials to delay the release of the 52 American hostages being held captive in Iran until after the election between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, a plan that would eventually help rob the incumbent Carter of a diplomacy win ahead of Election Day.

Barnes was moved to finally tell the story amid news of Carter’s failing health. A must read: “History needs to know that this happened.”

Here's an archive link in case you can't get through the NYT paywall.

Yeah I was sitting in my dorm room watching the inauguration of Reagan with my roommate.  We heard Sam Donaldson yelling at Reagan as he walked back into the Capital saying something like "they're free!"  My roommate said Oh that has to have been set up in advance.  Her gut reaction was correct.   And morbidly when William Casey CIA director died I thought it was a conveniently timed death as Iran Contra was getting exposure. (uncharitable of me I know he had a brain tumor) Looks like his fingerprints were on the hostage situation too.  

[jackd]

Something similar happened with Nixon's lobbying the VietCong to await his administration for a better settlement. Of course, he reneged and bombed them instead.

[andydp]

Mar 20, 2023 22:27:40 GMT jackd said:

Something similar happened with Nixon's lobbying the VietCong to await his administration for a better settlement. Of course, he reneged and bombed them instead.

One source I read was the VC had gotten stubborn on an issue late in the negotiations.  "Operation Linebacker II" was initiated.  Every single B-52 was put on a sortie to Hanoi.  We had an agreement in a week.  (Not worth the paper it was written on)

Sometimes, you have to follow Gen Patton's advice:  "Grab them by the nose and kick them in the patoot."

[jackd]

Well, there's also the minor problem of interfering in foreign policy when not in office. That's usually frowned upon. Perhaps it's even illegal.

[indy]

From the party of law and order whose mobs chant 'lock her up', surely breaking the law would be frowned upon?

[LFC]

Mar 21, 2023 14:31:33 GMT indy said:

From the party of law and order whose mobs chant 'lock her up', surely breaking the law would be frowned upon?

Cognitive dissonance, thy name is Republican.

[LFC]

A major sovereign citizen figure grifting? Say it ain't so!

Members of the far right sovereign citizen movement are best known for their clashes with law enforcement. In traffic stops and courtrooms across the country, sovereign citizens have tried—and failed—to implement their bizarre homemade legal theories when faced with the enforcement of legitimate laws.

But now two prominent branches of the movement have turned on one another, feuding over a lucrative scheme to sell fake license plates for a nonexistent “Republic of Texas.”

The feud pits the citizens of a fictitious entity called the “Republic of Texas” against David Straight, a so-called sovereign-citizen “guru” whose seminars on his legal theories have raked in big money across the country. Complicating the spat further, Straight’s wife was arrested Monday on a raft of charges.

In the past, Straight and the so-called “Texians” have been natural allies. They both subscribe to the eclectic ideas of the sovereign citizen movement which broadly encompasses groups of people who believe they exist in parallel legal universes and can, through elaborate legal filings and careful courtroom rhetoric, evade actual laws.

But the relationship between the Texas sovereign citizens and one of the movement’s most prominent members broke down this month, after the Texas group accused Straight of getting rich by selling fake license plates that sovereign citizens believe would help them avoid police. In total, the group claims Straight may have made nearly $200,000 off the bogus plates.

[goldenvalley]

There really is a sucker born every minute.

[LFC]

F*** Feinstein! She needs to GTFO. Her inabilities are already hamstringing Democrats and helping Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he will bring forward a resolution this week to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“I’d like to do it sometime this week,” Schumer said at a Monday press conference.

Schumer’s remarks come amid some Democrats’ calls for the longtime senator to resign. Feinstein — who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee — has already announced she is not running for reelection and has been absent from Washington since being hospitalized for shingles in March. Since then, the 89-year-old senator has missed nearly 60 votes and without her, President Biden’s judicial nominees have been stuck in a tied committee, waiting for their nominations to be advanced to the Senate floor.

Moscow Mitch et al have already said there's no f***in' way as they continue to obstruct nominees as they've done since before Clinton.

[andydp]

(Couldn't figure out where this could fit so here it is.


One of the things the Army is envious about is how the other services have "sexier" arsenals.  Some pilot saying how his F22 can go from 0 to 1000 in 6 seconds (or whatever) is way cooler than saying my dump truck has variable tire inflation control so I can drive on sand or asphalt.

Our biggie is the tank.  According to the article, they're looking at a whole new generation of tanks with autoloaders, reinforced armor at the top to "minimize" drone strikes, targeting capabilities and what not.  I see it as a ground counterpart to the Raptor.  As brought out in the article, when the original M1 Abrams came out, disco balls were still in use.  For clarification "MBT" stands for Main Battle Tank.  No idea what SEPv4 means.  The "X" in AbramsX simply means it has no official designation like A2 or M2

Good article but look at it as a sales brochure too.

AbramsX: The U.S. Army’s New Tank Looks Like a Game Changer


Story by Peter Suciu 

AbramsX Is Coming: Even with numerous upgrades, including a planned SEPv4, the United States Army's M1 Abrams was still developed when disco balls were all the rage and Star Wars had yet to hit the big screen.

When the first of the tanks – named for the late General Creighton W. Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and commander of the 37th Armored Battalion – rolled out for field testing in 1982, it was designed to take on the Soviet's T-72.

The Abrams MBT has been upgraded, and it will receive advanced capabilities including an electrical power margin, Vehicle Health Management Systems, integrated counter-improvised explosive device protection, a new Auxiliary Power Unit enabling silent watch, embedded training, and an Ammunition Data Link.

Future upgrades will further integrate a color camera, Eye-safe Laser Range Finder, and a cross-platform laser pointer to facilitate multi-domain battle awareness into the commander’s sight. In addition to a lethality upgrade, the M1A2 SEPv4 also promises to include full-embedded training to maximize crew proficiency in the system.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/abramsx-the-u-s-army-s-new-tank-looks-like-a-game-changer/ar-AA16hNLF?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=3b995e893565403eb4aa171d7d4bfa4a&ei=11

[LFC]

May 1, 2023 19:12:02 GMT andydp said:

No idea what SEPv4 means. 

I did a quick search and it stands for "M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 4 (SEPv4)." It's simply the fourth verions and SEPv4 refers to the bundle of upgrades. This lists the Abrams versions as SA, SEPv2, SEPv3, and SEPv4 along with all the new goodies included in each one.

[LFC]

First Amendment, bitches! And this is a Trump appointee!

A school district in Pennsylvania must allow students to convene an After School Satan Club, a federal judge ruled on Monday.

“In a victory for free speech and religious freedom, a federal court has ruled that the Saucon Valley School District must allow the After School Satan Club to meet in district facilities,” the ACLU announced.

In a Monday filing, issued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and shared by the ACLU, a judge found that “here, although The Satanic Temple, Inc.’s objectors may challenge the sanctity of this controversially named organization, the sanctity of the First Amendment’s protections must prevail.”

The school district must allow the After School Satan Club, which is sponsored by The Satanic Temple, to meet during the school year on three previously agreed-upon dates, but it won’t have to distribute permission slips for the club for students to take home, according to the filing.

The national ACLU, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Dechert LLP filed suit against the school district on behalf of The Satanic Temple in March, arguing the district violated the First Amendment by prohibiting the club from meeting in the district’s facilities.

[snip]

An After School Satan Club was allowed to meet earlier this year in Virginia following a similar controversy that made headlines.

If you read the Satanic Temple's Seven Fundamental Tenets you can understand why the white Christian nationalists hate and fear them so much. They truly are polar opposites with one side representing evil and the other representing good. Can you tell by this list of the tenets which is which? I know you can.

THERE ARE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL TENETS
I
One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
II
The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
III
One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
IV
The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
V
Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
VI
People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
VII
Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

[goldenvalley]

Sadly, this is the way it works many times: 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqBL5WZMcGn

[AnBr]

Unavailable.

[goldenvalley]

May 2, 2023 12:28:55 GMT AnBr said:

Unavailable.

I thought that embedding it here would make it visible to all. Guess not.  Sorry.

The gist of it is the dad says he practices democracy with his kids by giving a voice on which pizza to order and movie to watch. Then he laughs and says he's the one with the money so they get the pizza and movie he wants.  

[AnBr]

He is teaching laissez-faire, not democracy.

[LFC]

This is how the Christian right handles mental illness.

[pnwguy]

May 31, 2023 21:21:44 GMT LFC said:

This is how the Christian right handles mental illness.

In prison, you can make them have jobs and profit from their work.  God(R) approves!

[LFC]

Power companies, f***ing us over for fun and profit. Is it any wonder they hate things like rooftop solar?

US power companies have made political donations of at least $215m to dark money groups in recent years, according to a new analysis of 25 for-profit utilities, amid growing concerns around how they wield influence.

Such secretive donations to barely regulated non-profit groups have helped utilities increase electricity prices, hinder solar schemes and helped elect sympathetic legislators in recent years.

While dark money giving to tax-exempt groups is legal, a number of utilities have faced criticism for it. In Arizona and Alabama, power companies faced blowback after they used dark money to aid the election of friendly regulators. In Michigan, regulators barred another company from using dark money entirely after it spent $43m on politics in just three years.

Sometimes, power company dark money giving hides illegality. In 2021 in Ohio, FirstEnergy Corporation pleaded guilty to using dark money groups to bribe politicians in exchange for bailouts.

In another instance of ethically questionable actions, Florida Power and Light (FPL) used dark money to interfere with ballot initiatives, and the elections of five politicians who in part aimed to tackle the high prices of electric bills and environmental and climate goals.

“We are captive payers. To be funding lobbying against clean energy and climate that customers actually want goes against the public interest,” said Jean Su, a senior attorney at environmental group Center for Biological Diversity.