Why is everyone so mean?? US Politics: September 2022

i'm rereading inferno. trying to figure out which circle of hell belongs to people who traffic migrants for political gain

i'm thinking 8th circle, pouch #5 for Desantis, minimum

Which one has the damned souls upside down in shit?

Dante and Virgil are on the rim of the third pit, ditch, or trench of Circle VIII for those guilty of Simony. These sinners used their positions in the church for personal monetary gain. The Simonists are upside-down in round holes the size of baptismal fonts.

From each of these holes protrude the feet and legs of a spirit, with the rest of the body upside down in the hole. The soles of their feet are on fire, and Dante sees one shade who is apparently suffering more torment than others, moving and shaking violently; his feet are burning more fiercely than the others.

Ah, here it is: the Eighth Circle (Fraud)--Second Pouch--Flatterers are immersed in human excrement (Canto 18).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAvXnBgJMdM

xp alfred

Senator Cruz voted against this. https://t.co/mht1OgtvwL

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 21, 2022

Fact-checkin' Cruz

I like the dude on the left's hair but the eyebrows need waxing

The Zodiac killer has a cyst

Also "the exact same playbook" used by law enforcement the world over to go after outlaws and crooks, but sure.

These radical Dems have zero qualms about weaponizing their public office to go after their political enemies. The same exact playbook used by Communists and Fascists throughout world history!!! https://t.co/G3selPMUkr

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 22, 2022

well there is the kernal of a valid criticism there -- we try to address political problems (half the country loves trump) with legal solutions (send him to jail).

civil lawsuits don't usually end up with someone in jail, unless the defendant punches the judge or something

xp

there's also the law breaking, but yeah...

presumably all of this is about the NY AG's lawsuit, which also mentions a number of state criminal laws they think were violated

so, maybe not just civil lawsuits!

The AG has made referrals to the IRS, the SDNY and the Manhattan DA.

we try to address political problems (half the country loves trump) with legal solutions

afaics rather less than a quarter of the country loves Trump, but they are enthusiastic to the point of mania and they vote. another large cohort of Trump voters are far from loving him but they believe their self-interest means making common cause with him. they would love to go back to 'the old days' of Bush-Cheney but can't see a path back, so they're stuck.

otoh, the Democrats would dearly love to pick up a big chunk of the tens of millions of infrequent voters and non-voters, but they're mired in the politics of timidity and are afraid to leave the comfort of their current coalition. so, they bet all our futures on making tiny gains at the electoral margins to keep their boat afloat.

well there is the kernal of a valid criticism there -- we try to address political problems (half the country loves trump) with legal solutions (send him to jail).

― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, September 22, 2022 12:52 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

i think its exactly the opposite, the fact that half the country loves him is the only reason he's not in prison right now

Dude should have been in prison for decades now. It’s just that we don’t treat white (people) collar crime as “crime”.

...But Walker does not necessarily need to be a policy wonk, said Theodore Johnson, a senior director at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank. Walker’s role as a solid Republican vote in the Senate may be enough for many conservatives, he added.

“This is just going to be a guy who puts his head down, maybe says some dumb stuff,” said Johnson, an expert in race and politics. “But if he is a reliable vote, you know, is it better to have than Warnock, who’s a reliable vote [for Democrats] 90-plus percent of the time? People may be willing to make that trade-off that he may not be the most gifted or qualified, but he’s going to do as he’s told by McConnell.”

the shining city upon a hill

Fossil fuel giant Koch Industries has poured over $1m into backing – directly and indirectly – dozens of House and Senate candidates who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s win on 6 January 2021.

Koch, which is controlled by multibillionaire Charles Koch, boasts a corporate Pac that has donated $607,000 to the campaigns or leadership Pacs of 52 election deniers since January 2021, making Koch’s Pac the top corporate funder of members who opposed the election results, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign spending.
...Although the Koch-funded Super Pac AFP Action had suggested it would not back election deniers after 6 January, analysts aren’t shocked given Koch’s lobbying and legislative priorities, which include fighting various tax and regulatory measures related to fossil fuel issues including climate change that affect the company’s bottom line.
“Like other corporations pledging change following January 6, Koch Industries has returned to business as usual,” said Sheila Krumholz, who leads OpenSecrets.
...“Like many big business spenders, Koch seems more interested in their favored party controlling Congress than the characteristics of specific members,” Vandewalker added.

To be sure, the Koch Pac’s support for 52 election deniers included a number of members whose votes are often helpful to fossil fuel interests.

may not be the most gifted or qualified

MAY not...

xp

well there is the kernal of a valid criticism there -- we try to address political problems (half the country loves trump) with legal solutions (send him to jail).

Do you think this is what prosecutors are trying to do? Are they so ready to take on the biggest white collar beasts? To really get Both Sides Now, maybe we should always have a Republican and a Democratic prosecutor on each case, or each involving a member of the Trump family and retainers.

The R and the D prosecutors could decide what to do, if anything, of course.

another guilty party skates

Rep. Matt Gaetz likely to avoid charges in sex-trafficking probe as federal prosecutors recommend against them, people familiar say https://t.co/kfshVa01RL

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 23, 2022

Do you think this is what prosecutors are trying to do?

sorry, my point probably got lost or buried, which is that we should be focused like a laser beam on winning votes, not locking people up. the latter is often antithetical to the former. you can't win political battles by legal means, but often it seams like it's the only solution that occurs to us.

Charles Koch should get all his money taken away.

Given how much attention has been focused on Gaetz, that decision is very surprising.

He asked for a pardon for it too

Given the fact that this DoJ has been leak proof, and they have stayed true to their policy of not making overt investigative announcements within 60 days of an election, I have serious skepticism about the sources in this reporting. https://t.co/GHesa5cP21

— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) September 23, 2022

All worrying about today's WaPo claim that "prosecutors recommended against charging" Matt Gaetz - it's actually good news; it's by @DevlinBarrett who wrote that FBI found "no grand [Jan 6] conspiracy" the week before the 1st seditious conspiracy charge 1/https://t.co/sTZbl5NaPC

— capitolhunters (@capitolhunters) September 23, 2022

lol the reporter who wrote the story retweeted that Mueller She Wrote tweet. Any attention good attention.

Stolen valor dude gets his budget snipped:

The House GOP campaign arm is slashing a near-$1 million ad buy meant to target Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) — essentially walking away from what could have been an easy pickup for the party.

The move comes a day after an Associated Press report that Kaptur’s opponent, JR Majewski, lied about his resume, including claiming that he deployed to Afghanistan. Majewski beat out two state legislators in a May primary contest for the northwest Ohio district.

today in Republicans pic.twitter.com/hdupOA6Qin

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 23, 2022

Thing about this guy: he served.

It was nothing spectacular. But he served. He spent a couple months loading planes in Qatar. They don't make movies about Air Force logistics guys, but he served. That's more than a lot of people did.

He could have ran on that record.

1/ https://t.co/ya3orlZTJN

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) September 23, 2022

but he served. That's more than a lot of people did.

jackoffmotion.gif

I only bring a carry on when I fly I am a hero

He could have ran on that record.

Yes, he served without any special distinction and later he was perfectly happy to lie his head off to convince people he was some kind of hero. Which says more about him?

That's guy's thread is pretty reasonable, lest anyone think it was some blanket defense. I mean:

Nothing wrong with loading planes.

Absolutely nothing wrong with being just a logistics guy.

But Macho Studs like him, they've spent so much time calling anyone who wasn't a SEAL Sniper Ninja Door Kicking Green Bean Beret a pussy, that he's embarrassed by his own service.

3/

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) September 23, 2022

it's reasonable, but that stonekettle guy is tiresome to me

I didn't think it was a blanket defense but he's the guy at work who was totally a Delta SEAL operator bro, totally, fuck off with any genuflection toward "service."

that guy is indeed a veteran

I know people try, but it's probably impossible to truly thread the needle of "honoring" veterans while condemning US imperialism. a lot of people didn't "serve" because they didn't want to kill innocent people for no reason

majestic Majewski:

GOP congressional nominee @JRMajewski made a Fleetwood Mac/Cranberry Juice TikTok parody (since-deleted but saved by me from his Parler) in front of the Qanon "Qs" painted on his lawn in 2020. (Majewski has repeatedly denied being a Q follower.) https://t.co/mBa6Z4W8EO pic.twitter.com/dS2xwzqhgx

— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 9, 2022

Fleetwood MaQ

Fuck the Prussian fixation on “honoring” people in uniform.

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies

now they're using it for fundraising

New email from the National Republican Senatorial Committee asks supporters where they want Republican governors to “ship” migrants next. pic.twitter.com/E0Ly5Rubl1

— Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) September 23, 2022

The governor has brushed off the claims, saying all of the migrants got on the plane voluntarily.

“It is opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater,” his office said in a statement.

(that's a DeSantis quote, not Abbott)