July 17, 2019

Why Nancy Pelosi calling Trump's tweets racist on the House floor turned into chaos

Blame Thomas Jefferson.

https://www.vox.com/2019/7/16/20696932/nancy-pelosi-trump-tweet-racist-chaos

The House of Representatives devolved into chaos Tuesday over whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had the right to call President Donald Trump’s tweets attacking four progressive lawmakers of color “racist,” as a matter of official record. The controversy started during a debate over a House resolution condemning Trump’s tweets telling the four lawmakers to leave the country and “go back” to “the crime infested places from which they came.” (The resolution ultimately passed on a vote of 240-187, with four Republican lawmakers voting in favor.) Pelosi called his remarks racist during a speech on the House floor.

“Every single member of this institution should join us in condemning the president’s racist tweets,” Pelosi said. “To do anything less would be a shocking rejection of our values and a shameful abdication of our oath of office to protect the American people.” Republicans called for Pelosi’s words to be removed from the official record, arguing the speaker broke a House parliamentary rule that states lawmakers cannot malign the character of the president.

What ensued was hours of tumult on the House floor that pushed Democrats and Republicans into their respective corners, caused the former president of the Congressional Black Caucus to “abandon” his duties presiding over the House floor, and that left Pelosi — the House speaker — temporarily banned from speaking on the House floor for the rest of the day. (We’ll explain all of this).

The mayhem comes down to House Republicans’ refusal to censure Trump, no matter the extremity of his rhetoric. Since his weekend tweets, Trump has not backed down on his comments about Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, three of whom were born in the US. He thinks they “hate” the United States, and Republicans have been steadfast in defending him.''

snip

July 16, 2019

Boris Johnson's idea that hard work cures mental illness is totally absurd - and a worrying

indication of things to come

As someone who lost a loved one to depression, the idea of strong-arming sufferers back to their desks rather than to therapy is offensive

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/boris-johnsons-idea-hard-work-cures-mental-illness-total-madness-telegraph-column/

Boris Johnson’s latest column for The Telegraph puts forward the idea that the UK can “improve mental health, save money and boost the economy all in one go”. In it, he suggests that what helped Winston Churchill cope with his depression wasn’t his alleged dependence on alcohol, but the fact that he worked hard.

“It was with work that he pitchforked off his depression; and what was true for Churchill is basically true for all of us: that to a very large extent we derive our self-esteem from what we do,” he writes. “It is often from our jobs – from being engrossed in our daily tasks – that we get that all-important sense of satisfaction.” Using a genial tone, Johnson goes on to acknowledge that work may be the thing that “stresses us out” but says it can also be the cure. He even refers to it as “therapy”.

‘Irresponsible and distasteful’

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it shares traits with a speech made by Harry Potter’s Dolores Umbridge – the Ministry of Magic bureaucrat. When she first arrives at Hogwarts, she performs a long address about the role the ministry will play which everyone writes off as harmless waffle. But hidden between the lines lies her true intention – that the ministry will become more controlling to everyone’s detriment.

As the frontrunner for Prime Minister, Johnson’s column is similarly sinister, and a worrying precursor for the future of mental health in this nation, should he – and it looks very likely he will – come to power.

snip

July 16, 2019

NYT : Joe Biden, Echoing Obama, Pledges to Shore Up the Affordable Care Act

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/us/politics/biden-health-care.html

DES MOINES — It was the singular promise that doomed the public perception of President Barack Obama’s health care law — and now former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is using it on the campaign trail.

“If you like your health care plan, your employer-based plan, you can keep it,” Mr. Biden told an AARP forum on Monday. “If you like your private insurance, you can keep it.” Mr. Biden restated nearly verbatim Mr. Obama’s Affordable Care Act promise — which was named Politifact’s “Lie of the Year” in 2013 and has been ridiculed by Republicans for years — as he detailed for the first time how he would tackle health care as president.

Mr. Biden’s proposal would create a so-called public option that would enable anyone to sign up for a government-run health plan like Medicare, allow more people to get subsidies to help pay for their health insurance and reduce the maximum percentage of income they could spend on premiums.

It puts him in direct conflict with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and others who back a single-payer “Medicare for all” plan. Mr. Sanders has led the charge to eliminate most private health insurance as part of his proposal, though other Democrats running for president have said they would seek to retain a private-insurance structure.

In Des Moines, where Mr. Biden addressed an audience of about 200 Iowa AARP members who had gathered on the campus of Drake University, the former vice president said he would not “criticize my opponents” before leaning into a harsh critique of the system favored by Mr. Sanders.

snip

July 16, 2019

IDLES - Danny Nedelko (Glastonbury 2019) Great Anti-Brexit, Pro-Immigrant song

One of the highlights of Glastonbury this year

From the album Joy as an Act of Resistance

July 16, 2019

Full Video of the 'Squad' Press Conference In Response To President Donald Trump's Racist Attacks

Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) respond to President Trump saying they should “go back” to the counties they came from.



Just those 4 represent more people than live in each of 15 states (and possibly 18 depending on the next census), and larger than the bottom 4 states combined.

July 16, 2019

Trump Says Racist Nonsense Because He Means It and Because He Knows He Can Win on It

https://www.theroot.com/trump-says-racist-nonsense-because-he-means-it-and-beca-1836381388

Donald Trump, in a series of tweets from Sunday night well into Monday morning, doubled down on his racist, xenophobic criticism of four Democratic congresswomen, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley. After calling on the congresswomen to go back to their countries and fix them, Trump followed up his attack by demanding an apology—making abundantly clear his belief that challenging these women is an effective campaign strategy. “Their disgusting language and the many terrible things they say about the United States must not be allowed to go unchallenged,” he tweeted. “If the Democrat Party wants to continue to condone such disgraceful behavior, then we look even more forward to seeing you at the ballot box in 2020.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1150556166566633472
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1150720283654938625
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1150732346099978240
Trump stayed on the topic for most of Monday morning, extensively quoting Republican Senator (and favorite GOP foot servant) Lindsey Graham, who said the congresswomen’s proposed policies—policies that include confronting climate change, closing down migrant child detention camps, and increasing the minimum wage—will “destroy the country.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1150766494697107456
As I write, members of the political punditry are debating (and no doubt, will continue to debate) whether what Trump has to say about sitting members of Congress is racist racist or just racist lite. And at this point, litigating his personal racism, and those of his supporters, feels both inconsequential and redundant, especially when Trump himself has made one fact very clear: He thinks he can win on racist rhetoric in 2020, and he thinks this because he has actually done it.

The timing of his attack feels important here: shortly after all four freshmen Congresswomen testified about the dehumanizing, barbaric conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Their presence at the border, and refusal to whitewash what they saw, brought new scrutiny to the practice of detaining children and families. The news cycle, even briefly, had shifted its focus to the dangerous cruelty of our detention practices. Trump may not be particularly good at anything, but he knows how to play the hits, and he’s particularly good at pouncing when there’s already blood in water: members of the freshman congresswomen’s own party—most notably, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—had publicly singled them out for being insufficiently loyal to the party line. The way it all played out was almost as predictable as it was shameful.

Some may be tempted to speculate that all his anti-immigrant, explicitly racist speech is an elaborate distraction from other matters on the horizon: former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony for instance. This is a mistake. If Trump is erratic in other respects, racist speech and racist policy is something he’s been consistent on, as a candidate, as a president, and before that, as a private citizen.

snip

July 16, 2019

Police: Flushing drugs could create Alabama 'meth-gators'

https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2019/07/police-flushing-drugs-could-create-alabama-meth-gators.html



Tennessee police arrested a man after he allegedly tried to flush a dozen grams of drugs down his toilet, something police jokingly said could create “meth-gators” in Alabama.

Officers with the Loretto Police Department in Tennessee arrested a suspected drug dealer who was found attempting to flush grams methamphetamine down the toilet on Saturday, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.

Once police entered Perry’s home, officers found him trying to flush the meth and several items of paraphernalia down his toilet. Andy Perry was arrested after police found 12 grams of meth, 24 fluid ounces of liquid meth, and several paraphernalia items inside the house. He was charged drug possession with intent for resale, possession of drug paraphernalia, and tampering with evidence.

The police department released a statement on Facebook about the incident.

“This Folks…please don’t flush your drugs m’kay (sic). When you send something down the sewer pipe it ends up in our retention ponds for processing before it is sent down stream. Now our sewer guys take great pride in releasing water that is cleaner than what is in the creek, but they are not really prepared for meth."

snip

July 15, 2019

do NOT freak out on on the bullshit Harris poll that shows Pete at 1%

That poll is extraordinarily flawed, all over the board on a historical basis, is run by the despicable RW rotter Scott Rasmussen, surveys a crazy amount of Rethugs/non-Dems (63%) and conservatives/so-called mods (73%), and overall is worth the paper I wipe my dainty brown arse with when I venture into the loo.

That is all.

July 15, 2019

This is getting escalated by Rump and the forces of white nationalism to the point where there are

quite likely going to be multiple, serious attempts to assassinate multiple Democrats, whether lone-wolf in nature, or via sophisticated and coordinated operations.

I wish I was being hyperbolic, but I fear I am not in the current July 2019 American zeitgeist.

Rump just literally said, at a presser, that he has no problem that neo-nazis and white nationalists agree with him and amplify his messaging.

July 14, 2019

Craziest Cricket World Cup final ever!!! England finally won their first and it went to a Super Over

for the first time ever.


Came down to the last ball, New Zealand needed 2 from 1 and they got run out for only 1 run.

England win Cricket World Cup after super-over drama against New Zealand
• New Zealand 241-8; England 241 all out
• England win super over to claim World Cup for first time
• Latest reaction to England winning the World Cup

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/14/england-new-zealand-cricket-world-cup-final-match-report-super-over


England have won the Cricket World Cup for the first time after a thrilling victory over New Zealand at Lord’s in a match that had to be settled by a super over. After winning the toss and opting to bat Kane Williamson’s New Zealand side yet England a victory total of 242, Henry Nicholls top scoring with 55 and Tom Latham adding a useful 47 lower down the order. Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett took three wickets apiece.

England looked deep in trouble when they were reduced to 86 for four by some expert bowling but a superb century partnership from Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler wrestled back the initiative, and Stokes’s dramatic, unbeaten 84 forced the super over. Stokes and Buttler came out to bat for England. Trent Boult was the bowler for New Zealand and his line was impeccable but a four from Buttler off the final ball meant England posted a total of 15.

Joffra Archer took the ball for England but a wide off the first ball set the tone. Jimmy Neesham hit a six and it came down to Martin Guptill needing two runs off the final ball to win the World Cup. He was run out by Buttler and England took the glory.

Williamson’s 30 off 53 balls reflected New Zealand’s watchful approach on another tricky pitch, Nicholls overturning an lbw decision on nought to top-score with 55 off 77 deliveries. Plunkett’s key breakthroughs, the all-important scalp of Williamson among them, took the headlines though Woakes was the metronome of the England attack, especially early on. Mark Wood and Archer turned up the heat - although England gave away 17 wides in 30 extras. Wood equalled the fastest delivery in the tournament at 95.7 miles per hour while he chipped in with the wicket of Ross Taylor – earning an lbw decision that would have been overturned had New Zealand not earlier burned their review.


snip





England's Jos Buttler runs out New Zealand's Martin Guptill to win the 2019 Cricket World Cup final