Tag: Cowardice

This is not an Accident, this is a Sistah Soulja Moment

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French President Emmanuel Macron just lauded antisemitic traitor Philippe Pétain, former President of the puppet Vichy Republic.

This was not a slip of the tongue. This was a not particularly subtle appeal to supporters of the racist National Front, because he is concerned that his policy of f%$#ing the average French worker like a drunk sorority girl will lead to a further rise Marine Le Pen which would threaten his hold on power.

It is a chickensh%$ move from a chickensh%$ politician:

Nazi collaborator Philippe Pétain during centenary commemorations marking the end of World War One later this week.

Mr Macron said Marshal Pétain was a “great soldier”, even though he had made “disastrous choices” during WW2.

Pétain was praised for the defence of Verdun in 1916, but he was sentenced to death for high treason after WW2.

Some French politicians and Jewish leaders condemned Mr Macron’s comments.

What is going on here is very clear: Macron is going full pander to bigots, because he’s worried about Le Pen, whose base is profoundly bigoted.

Macron is a contemptible pissant.

Useless

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Chuck Schumer and his merry band of cowards just con firmec 15 Federalist Society Judge pukes because they did not want to wait to hit the campaign trail:

Senate Democrats accepted an offer Thursday from Senate Republicans to confirm 15 lifetime federal judges in exchange for the ability to go into recess through the midterms, allowing endangered Democrats to campaign.

The calculation by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus was simple: That Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be able to confirm roughly 15 judges if he kept the Senate in session for the next few weeks anyway. So Democrats OK’d an offer to confirm three Circuit Court judges and 12 Circuit Court judges as the price to pay to go home for election season.

Under Senate rules, even if Democrats fought the nominees tooth and nail and forced the Senate to burn 30 hours of debate between each one, McConnell would have gotten them all confirmed by Nov. 1. Democrats could have conceivably left a skeleton crew of senators in Washington to force the GOP to take roll call votes on the judges over the next few weeks, although that tactic is not typically employed by the minority.

Some liberal activists are urging Democrats to show more fight after Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court; Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos even said that Democrats “need a new Senate leader” after the agreement was struck. But senators had to weigh that dynamic along with the approaching midterms and the brutal Senate map. And with a half-dozen Democrats facing serious challenges in Senate races, it made more sense to make what Democrats said was a reasonable deal with McConnell so that they could make a serious run at saving endangered senators.

No, it was not a reasonable deal.

Once again, the Democrats have sacrificed their integrity at the altar of careerism and incumbent protection.

More importantly, they have made it even clearer that voting for them will have no meaningful impact.

The lesser of two evils is still evil.

Playing to Lose

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For the past 40 years, the Democratic Party has made what the Republicans would do to the Supreme Court a major portion of their political appeal.

It has been a major argument for supporting corporatist Democrats: Even if they are against unions, support Wall Street looters, etc., because they would fight with the rest of the party to keep reactionary whackdoodles off of the Supreme Court.

Well, it now appears that Chuck Schumer has decided that promises are for suckers:

The top Democrat in the Senate has vowed to fight President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee with everything he’s got. Just don’t expect him to crack down on his red-state Democrats who go rogue and back Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh.

“Punishment is not how this place works,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) said in an interview this week.

Schumer is trying to stay upright on a nearly impossible political balance beam he has wobbled across throughout Trump’s presidency, caught between his party’s demanding left flank and centrist Democrats whose survival in ­November’s midterm elections will decide the Senate majority. No other congressional leader has experienced dueling pressures so acutely.

Although anger against Trump has reached a fever pitch in the Democratic Party and activists are clamoring for all-out war against Kavanaugh, Schumer has opted not to use hardball tactics to pressure moderates from Republican states to join the resistance.

Yes, eliminate what is literally the only reason to vote for craptastic hypocrites like Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp, but at least your (never to be used) powder will be kept dry.

Seriously, I can think of no better way to demoralize your base.

Cowardice is both bad policy and bad politics.

The Official Headgear of the Seattle City Council

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Perfect for Caving

The Seattle City Councel has caved to Amazon and its Evil Minions™, and voted to repeal their head tax on large employers.

It appears that Jeff Bezos’ campaign donations are more important than dealing with the homeless problem:


Seattle’s city council on Tuesday rolled back its so-called “head tax” on big businesses to fund homeless services, less than a month after it unanimously approved the compromise deal.

The tax would have collected about $275 per head on employees at businesses with more than $20 million in annual revenue, raising roughly $48 million a year for housing and other services for the city’s booming homeless population. By the latest count, King County was home to more than 12,000 people experiencing homelessness, most of them in Seattle.

“We have reached the conclusion that this is not a winnable battle at this time,” Councilwoman Lisa Herbold said before the vote. “I am not someone who walks away from what looks like a losing fight, but … there is so much more to lose between today and November.”

Pressure from Amazon had already cut the original tax nearly in half, but then the company joined Starbucks and others in backing a campaign to put the tax to a referendum vote this fall. The No Head Tax campaign had raised more than $285,000 through the end of May, according to filings with the city.

………

The decision to repeal the tax was blamed on the bottomless coffers of the opposition, a nod to Amazon’s stunning wealth, and thus, influence in local politics.

“I have been unable to find a way forward that we could out-fund and out-resource the opposition campaign by November,” said Councilwoman Lorena Gonzalez ahead of the vote. “Money has funded this campaign that put us in a position where we have to repeal this law.”

NO.

You don’t just give up without a fight.

You fight, and you make them spend that money, and you talk about Amazon is the worst employer in America that constantly has its hand out for subsides, and you staple this issue to recently retired Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz so that his putative campaign for President.

Amazon and Starbucks don’t own Seattle, and you need to fight back.

Pathetic.

What a Whiny Bitch

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It appears that the man with a merkin on his head is too much of a crybaby to deal with the fact that some football players disagree with him:

President Trump abruptly called off the White House celebration honoring the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles after nearly all of the players and coaches said they would boycott the visit after the president’s demands that players stand during the national anthem at games.

 White House officials said that fewer than 10 members of the team were planning to attend the celebration on Tuesday afternoon on the South Lawn despite weeks of planning for the event, which is usually a nonpolitical celebration of a football victory.

 Instead, this year’s event to honor the Eagles has become a bitter reflection of the deep divisions in the United States over race, patriotism and Mr. Trump himself. When it became clear that most members of the team would not attend, Mr. Trump issued a blistering statement disinviting them.

 “The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Mr. Trump said in a statement released Monday evening. “They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.”

Yeah, this is the guy to protect us from the would be terrorists.

When he’s not playing golf, he is cowering under his desk.

Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi Will You Please Go Now

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to unequivocally condemn the National Football League’s new rules — designed to prevent players from protesting by kneeling during the national anthem — is one of the reasons many black voters, particularly black millennials, question whether the Democratic Party has their best interests in mind.

At a CNN town hall Wednesday, anchor Chris Cuomo asked Pelosi whether she was okay with the rule change.

“I would be more okay with it if they had consulted with the players,” Pelosi said, referring to the NFL Players Association’s claim that athletes had not been given a chance to weigh in on the new rules. “I don’t think the players agreed to this. This is the owners, and, by the way, it’s the owners who would be fined.”

“I love the national anthem,” she added. “I’m from Baltimore. That’s where it was written during the War of 1812. So I’m very possessive of it. Sometimes people say, ‘Maybe we should change the national anthem.’ No.”

“I love the national anthem. I love the flag,” Pelosi said. “And I love the First Amendment, and I’ll just leave it at that.”

As one Twitter commenter noted, “Pelosi is unwilling to take a stance on an issue that’s literally killing Black people.”

This sort of prevarication is endemic to the Democratic Party establishment, and it loses elections.

Cowardice never gives good policy, and almost never gives good politics.

It’s this sort of sh%$ that makes potential voters wonder whether you will ever stand up on THEIR behalf.

Poem, apologies to Theodore Geisel, after the break:

Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi will you please go now!
The time has come.
The time has come.
The time is now.
Just go.
Go.
Go!
I don’t care how.
You can go by foot.
You can go by cow.
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi will you please go now!
You can go on skates.
You can go on skis.
You can go in a hat.
But
Please go.
Please!
I don’t care.
You can go
By bike.
You can go
On a Zike-Bike
If you like.
If you like
You can go
In an old blue shoe.
Just go, go, GO!
Please do, do, do, DO!
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi
I don’t care how.
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi
Will you please
GO NOW!
You can go on stilts.
You can go by fish.
You can go in a Crunk-Car
If you wish.
If you wish
You may go
By lion’s tale.
Or stamp yourself
And go by mail.
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi
Don’t you know
The time has come
To go, go, GO!
Get on your way!
Please Nancy P.!
You might like going in a Zumble-Zay.
You can go by balloon . . .
Or broomstick.
Or
You can go by camel
In a bureau drawer.
You can go by bumble-boat
. . . or jet.
I don’t care how you go.
Just get!
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi!
I don’t care how.
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi
Will you please
GO NOW!
I said
GO
And
GO
I meant . . .
The time had come
So . . .
Nancy WENT. 

6 Democrats Who Should Never Get Your Votes Ever Again

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They are Senators Joe Manchin (WV), Joe Donnelly (IN), Bill Nelson (FL), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), and Mark Warner (VA).

Simply put, they just voted to appoint admitted torturer Gina Haspel as head of the CIA, and this is a direct endorsement of torture, and they know it.

This is not about politics.  This is about right and wrong, and they have morally disqualified themselves from any position of authority.

This is an affront to basic human decency:

What’s a little harsh interrogation between friends? President Donald Trump’s pick Gina Haspel was today voted in by the Senate as the new head of the CIA, despite playing a key part in post-9/11 torture programs under President George W. Bush.

Her role in destroying the CIA’s damning torture tapes in earlier years makes her the perfect spy boss for Trump, the President for whom force, secrecy, and lies are solutions to every problem.

Let me reiterate:  Trump does not matter here.  This isn’t about Donald Trump, or the Republican Party, or the Easter Bunny.

This is about torture, and this is about rewarding torturers, which these 6 Senators just did.

Note that this was not an empty gesture.  Their votes were crucial to her approval:

Lawmakers approved Haspel’s nomination 54 to 45, with six Democrats voting yes and two Republicans voting no, after the agency launched an unprecedented public relations campaign to bolster Haspel’s chances. She appears to have been helped, too, by some last-minute arm-twisting by former CIA directors John Brennan and Leon Panetta, who contacted at least five of the six Democrats to endorse her bid to join President Trump’s Cabinet, according to people with knowledge of the interactions.

Do the math.  If they had all voted against the torturer, it would have been 48 to 51, if just 5 of them had voted against the torturer, Haspel would still had been rejected by 1 vote.

There is a special place in hell for these cowards.

Spelunking Helmet, the Official Hat of Congressional Democrats

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It turns out there is low level of moral depravity that conservative Democrats will affirm out of abject cowardice.

It is also a losing proposition in the long run, when Democrats refuse to stand up for the basic standards, their voters know that they will refuse to stand up for them:

The Senate appears to be moving full speed ahead on confirming Gina Haspel as director of the CIA.

The Intelligence Committee is expected to vote to advance her nomination to the floor during a closed business meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning, and a Saturday morning announcement by Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly further reduced the suspense.

“I believe that she has learned from the past, and that the CIA under her leadership can help our country confront serious international threats and challenges,” Donnelly said in a statement. “Importantly, Ms. Haspel expressed to me her commitment to be responsive to congressional oversight and to provide her unvarnished assessment — both to members of Congress and the president.”

Donnelly’s office said the Indiana Democrat met Thursday with Haspel, the current acting director of the CIA.

The same night, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Penceappeared together Indiana at a rally in support of Donnelly’s Republican challenger Mike Braun.

During the event, Trump and Pence criticized Donnelly for his voting record, while also pushing him to support the CIA nominee. In his statement, the senator said the support Haspel has received from the intelligence community was an important factor in his decision.

The people in the intelligence community who are supporting her are covering their own asses.

Either they were complicit in torture, or they are interested in sucking up to a woman who they see as being the next head of the CIA, and either their boss, or their client.

The ultimate fault lies with Barack Obama, who should have prosecuted torturers, but instead retained and promoted them.

Deliberately Missing the F%$#ing Point

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The New York Times has a story about how Republicans are using the specter of impeachment to bolster their chances of reelection in what is a difficult cycle.

It’s an interesting narrative, but it is profoundly wrong:

As Republican leaders scramble to stave off a Democratic wave or at least mitigate their party’s losses in November, a strategy is emerging on the right for how to energize conservatives and drive a wedge between the anti-Trump left and moderate voters: warn that Democrats will immediately move to impeach President Trump if they capture the House.

What began last year as blaring political hyperbole on the right — the stuff of bold-lettered direct mail fund-raising pitches from little-known groups warning of a looming American “coup” — is now steadily drifting into the main currents of the 2018 message for Republicans.

The appeals have become a surefire way for candidates to raise small contributions from grass-roots conservatives who are devoted to Mr. Trump, veteran Republican fund-raisers say. But party strategists also believe that floating the possibility of impeachment can also act as a sort of scared-straight motivational tool for turnout. Last week, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas used his re-election kickoff rally to introduce a video featuring a faux news anchor reading would-be headlines were conservatives not to vote in November.

“Senate Majority Leader Schumer announced the impeachment trial of President Trump,” one of the anchors says.

And when Representative Steve Stivers of Ohio, the chairman of the House Republican campaign organization, convened about two dozen party strategists in February for a private dinner at a French bistro here, the attendees were surprised when he addressed an issue not included in his formal PowerPoint presentation: the threat of impeachment against Mr. Trump, which he said fired up the party base.

First, Republicans are now now, nor have the EVER been, a small donation party.

Small donors are, at best, icing on the cake.

What this is about is getting Nancy Pelosi to do what she did in 2006, and panic and declare that impeachment is, “Not on the table”.

The depressing thing is that it’s probably going to work.

No one ever lost money going long on the cowardice of the leadership of the Democratic Party.

Cowardly Pissant

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Last year, Donald Trump signed an executive order repealing an Obama order limiting firearms access to people with psychological issues.

Now that someone has murdered 17 people at a high school, his administration is refusing to release a photo of his signing the order:

The White House has refused to release a photo of President Donald Trump signing a law making it easier for some people with mental illness to buy guns.

 Despite repeated requests from CBS News, the White House press office has issued only a one-line response.

 Mr Trump last year repealed an Obama-era rule allowing the names of certain people on mental health benefits to be entered into a criminal database.

 The controversy follows a shooting by a suspect who had mental health issues.

………

CBS News says it requested a copy of the image – which White House photographers confirm exists – 12 separate times by phone or email.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has only said in a note dated 19 April 2017: “We don’t plan to release the picture at this time.”

CBS News asked the White House again on Thursday to release the photo, but has not received a response.

He really is a chicken sh%$, isn’t he.

Lame Politician of the Day, The Death of Hashtag Metoo Edition

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It appears that Susan Collins’ response to the fact that her so-called deal over the tax plan is a fraud is to accuse reporters of sexism:

Quite a moment just now. We asked Susan Collins about House Republicans vowing not to pass the provisions McConnell promised her to win her tax vote. She stared for several seconds and said she thought the press's coverage of the tax bill has been extremely sexist.

— Paul McLeod (@pdmcleod) December 19, 2017

Oh, you delicate snowflake………

Maybe They Can Expand Medicaid Now

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In Virginia, a recount of a House of Delegates race has has the Democrat winning the race by one vote, which creates a 50-50 tie in that body:

The balance of power in Virginia’s legislature turned on a single vote in a recount Tuesday that flipped a seat in the House of Delegates from Republican to Democratic, leaving control of the lower chamber evenly split.

The outcome, which reverberated across Virginia, ends 17 years of GOP control of the House and forces Republicans into a rare episode of power sharing with Democrats that will refashion the political landscape in Richmond.

It was the culmination of last month’s Democratic wave that had diminished Republican power in purple Virginia.

Democrat Shelly Simonds emerged from the recount as the apparent winner in the 94th House District, seizing the seat from Republican David Yancey. A three-judge panel still must certify the results, an event scheduled for Wednesday.

Of the 23,215 votes cast in the district on Election Day, Yancey held a lead of just 10 votes going into Tuesday’s recount.

But five hours later, after a painstaking counting overseen by local elections officials and the clerk of court, Yancey’s lead narrowed — and then reversed.

The final tally: 11,608 for Simonds to 11,607 for Yancey.

………

Power sharing in the House of Delegates is an awkward exercise; the last such arrangement was in 1998. Committee chairs have to be negotiated, as does the person who will serve as speaker. With the parties split 50-50, there is no mechanism to break ties, and any legislation short of 51 votes does not advance.

Republicans hold a slight 21-to-19 edge in the state Senate, but with a Democratic lieutenant governor to break ties and a Democratic governor with veto power, Republicans may be forced to advance a more bipartisan agenda.

It’s a dramatic shift that caught even top Democrats by surprise. Republicans have controlled the 100-seat House since 2000; even outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), a cheerleader for his party, had thought the Republican edge was insurmountable.

………

The final makeup of the legislature is not settled. Recounts in two additional races are taking place this week: on Wednesday in Richmond’s District 68, where the Democrat leads by 336 votes, and on Thursday in Fredericksburg’s District 28, where the Republican leads by 82 votes. Democrats are seeking a new election in the latter because more than 100 voters were mistakenly given ballots for the wrong legislative district.

My bad, it appears that Ralph Northam, the Governor elect, appears to be determined to kowtow to Republicans as a part of any implementation of Medicaid expansion, despite his promises on the campaign trail.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory since 1976: The mainstream Democratic Party.

Damn

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Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee said on Tuesday that Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan stripped her amendment, which would have repealed authorization for the use of military force against ISIS, from a defense-spending bill.

“Ryan stripped my 01 AUMF repeal amdt from DOD Approps in the dead of night. This is underhanded & undemocratic. The people deserve a debate!” she tweeted Tuesday night.

Lee’s amendment, which received bipartisan support, would have repealed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force and made Congress pass another one to continue the campaign against ISIS.

You knew that this was going to happen.

If the Republicans weren’t willing to repeal the AUMF under Obama, who they loathed,  they won’t do it now.

It is cowardice.

Because of the 2001 AUMF, they don’t have to vote to authorize the next war, and the members of Congress do not want to own that decision.

What a Delicate Snowflake

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Donald Trump is refusing to make a state visit to the UK until he gets promises that he won’t see protestors.

If he cannot handle some protestors carrying signs, how can he be expected to fight terrorists?

Donald Trump reportedly told Theresa May he will not make a state visit to the UK until he is guaranteed a “better reception”.

The US President asked the Prime Minister to prepare a “warm welcome” before he agrees to set a date, it has been claimed.

The pair spoke on the phone to discuss the planned state visit, which has now been postponed until next year.

“I haven’t had great coverage out there lately, Theresa,” Mr Trump told Ms May, according to a transcript of the conversation seen by The Sun.

Ms May replied: “Well, you know what the British press are like.”

But Mr Trump added: “I still want to come, but I’m in no rush.

“So, if you can fix it for me, it would make things a lot easier.

“When I know I’m going to get a better reception, I’ll come and not before.”

Narcissistic cowardice is no way to run a foreign policy.

We Don’t Need More Democrats, We Need Better Ones

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In response to strategies to deal with Donald Trump and his nefarious agenda, Blue Dog/New Dem type Democratic members of the Senate are capitulating in advance:

While congressional Democrats were certainly slow to come to grips with Donald Trump’s election and therefore appeared hesitant to back the calls for resistance that flooded the streets in major American cities in the immediate aftermath, they’ve since embraced their role as the loyal opposition. But even as most Senate Democrats gear up for confirmation battles with a whole host of questionable Trump Cabinet picks, some of their Democratic colleagues are already willing to kowtow to the president-elect’s most fundamental decisions.

………

 Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown argued for a strategy of Democratic obstruction to a Trump agenda by pointing to Republicans’ past intransigence. “We’re going to help them confirm their nominees, many of whom are disqualified? It’s not obstruction, it’s not partisan, it’s just a duty to find out what they’d do in these jobs,” he said. Brown pointed out that Republicans have “been rewarded for stealing a Supreme Court justice,” referring to the nearly yearlong delay of hearings on President Obama’s nominee to succeed deceased Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia.

 Still, nearly all the five Democratic senators facing re-election in 2018 in states that strongly supported Trump — by 19 percentage points or more — apparently disagree with their more progressive colleagues and have rushed to signal their willingness to cooperate with the new regime.

 “That’s just bullsh%$,” West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, [Whose daughter was (until it became public0 given a phoney degree and also runs Mylan which gouges people on EpiPens] whose state supported Trump by 42 percent, said of his fellow Democrats’ strategy of opposition. “I’m going to help [Trump] when I can. But I’m going to be holding him accountable when I need to,” he added.

 “When I need to,” means “I will never hold him accountable.”

North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was quick to suggest that she is ready to work with Republicans on legislation to invest in “clean coal” technologies, as she praised a decision to boot oil pipeline protesters from Standing Rock. Heitkamp was one of the first Democrats to meet with the president-elect and his transition team at Trump Tower last week. Trump won North Dakota by more than 36 points and there’s speculation he is considering Heitkamp for secretary of agriculture or energy.

Supporting police brutality against Indian protestors forever. Gotta love it.

Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, who is also up for re-election in 2018 and who represents a state that went for Trump by 19.3 percentage points, has already said he is ready to work with the incoming Trump administration on military mental health care issues, curbing the exodus of U.S. jobs to foreign countries and combating the opioid epidemic.

 “We can’t just say ‘no’ because the idea comes from the other side of the aisle,” argued Montana Sen. Jon Tester last week. Tesler has long signaled a willingness to work with Trump. He chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that failed to orchestrate his party’s wresting control of the upper chamber from the GOP.

 In May, Tesler said about Trump that “he’s got some pretty goofy opinions, but hopefully we’ve got some stuff we can work on,” Tesler is now up for re-election in a state that preferred Trump by 20 points.

I have identified the differences between conservative Democrats and liberal (moderate)  Republicans:

A liberal (moderate) Republican will:

  • Talk about the need to work across the aisle.
  • Plead for moderation.
  • Chastise his party for extremism.
  • Sometimes vote against his party.
  • When the vote is close, and it is important, he will vote with the Republicans.

A conservative Democrat will:

  • Talk about the need to work across the aisle.
  • Plead for moderation.
  • Chastise his party for extremism.
  • Sometimes vote against his party.
  • When the vote is close, and it is important, he will vote with the Republicans.

So-called experts are puzzled as to why voters, “Vote against their own interests,” for Republicans.

It’s simple: With people like this in our party leadership, they know that we’ll never deliver on promises to make their lives better.

Hell, Hillary Clinton’s whole f%$#ing campaign was a promise not to make ordinary folks’ lives better, and we saw how well THAT worked out.

Reality Has a Well-Known Liberal Bias

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It appears that Facebook has given up on trying to prevent fake news from showing up on its users feeds because said fake news overwhelmingly comes from right wing sources, and they are too terrified of the flying monkey crowd to tweak their algorithm:

It’s no secret that Facebook has a fake news problem. Critics have accused the social network of allowing false and hoax news stories to run rampant, with some suggesting that Facebook contributed to Donald Trump’s election by letting hyper-partisan websites spread false and misleading information. Mark Zuckerberg has addressed the issue twice since Election Day, most notably in a carefully worded statement that reads: “Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 percent of what people see is authentic. Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes. The hoaxes that do exist are not limited to one partisan view, or even to politics.”

Still, it’s hard to visit Facebook without seeing phony headlines like “FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide” or “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President, Releases Statement” promoted by no-name news sites like the Denver Guardian and Ending The Fed.

………

According to two sources with direct knowledge of the company’s decision-making, Facebook executives conducted a wide-ranging review of products and policies earlier this year, with the goal of eliminating any appearance of political bias. One source said high-ranking officials were briefed on a planned News Feed update that would have identified fake or hoax news stories, but disproportionately impacted right-wing news sites by downgrading or removing that content from people’s feeds. According to the source, the update was shelved and never released to the public. It’s unclear if the update had other deficiencies that caused it to be scrubbed.

“They absolutely have the tools to shut down fake news,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous citing fear of retribution from the company. The source added, “there was a lot of fear about upsetting conservatives after Trending Topics,” and that “a lot of product decisions got caught up in that.”

………

In a Facebook post published after the election, former Facebook product designer Bobby Goodlatte blamed the social network for boosting the visibility of “highly partisan, fact-light media,” and for not taking bigger steps to combat the spread of fake news in the lead-up to the election. “A bias towards truth isn’t an impossible goal for News Feed,” he wrote. “But it’s now clear that democracy suffers if our news feeds incentivize bullshit.”

Yeah ……… That whole free market saving the world thing? ……… Not so much.

Peter Thiel Has Officially Become Too Cartoonishly Evil to Be a Bond Villain

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I don’t mean for his support of Donald Trump, or for his literal exploration of Vampirism to extend his own life, or for his gay baiting in college.

That’s evil, but I think that this is not excessive by the standards of Bond villains.

Give him a white Persian cat, and he would fit in just fine.

But he gave a speech at the National Press Club, he complained that, “If you’re a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have no effective access to our legal system.”

PayPal co-founder and tech billionaire Peter Thiel on Monday offered a jaw-dropping defense of his decision to bankroll wrestling icon Hulk Hogan’s invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gawker for publishing a sex tape featuring him.

“If you’re a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have no effective access to our legal system,” he said. “It costs too much. This was the modus operandi of Gawker in large part it was to go after people who had no chance of fighting back.”

The declaration came as Thiel was speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to tout the presidential bid of GOP candidate Donald Trump.

Thiel spent at least $10 million supporting Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker. Thiel had been engaged in a personal feud with the website for years. As a result of the lawsuit, Gawker was driven out of business.

Fordham Law School professor and criminal justice expert John Pfaff was quick to note that in 2007, many states’ entire budgets for indigent defense — money allotted to provide legal counsel to those who cannot afford it — is in the single-digit millions.

I hope that his fellow PayPal founder Elon Musk sends him into space, and leaves him there.