Old Man Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 2 hours ago, unclevlad said: ARGH. Supreme Court does NOT suspend Texas' law to allow purported immigrants to be arrested. Despite the fact that this has been held to be a federal power for YEARS. And they did it by just kicking it back to let the appellate courts rule. The gutless approach. Note that 'purported immigrants' covers anyone in all of Texas that LEOs think might have immigrated illegally. It's a "papers please" law except that they might ignore your papers anyway. Federal power to determine immigration law is usually held to derive from the Congressional power to determine citizenship, as enumerated in the Constitution. Instead this SCOTUS, which last week was wringing its hands about the possibility of a patchwork of state laws for federal elections, allowed Texas to implement its own immigration law. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 It's as if the SCOTUS is gun shy over making any controversial rulings, given the hornets' nests stirred up by their recent ones. Which gives the impression of cowardice on top of corruption. Not a reassuring image. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-trump-debt-remarks-2024-b2516386.html Quote President Joe Biden on Wednesday joked about his 2024 election opponent’s outsized legal troubles when he invoked former president Donald Trump’s problems in finding a bond to secure a nearly half-billion dollar judgment against him as he addressed a crowd of supporters at a fundraiser in Dallas, Texas. Mr Biden, who was on the second day of a three-day trip to several Western states, told attendees at the campaign event that a person had approached him to talk about a high debt burden. “Just the other day this defeated looking man came up to me and said: ‘Mr. President I need your help. I’m in crushing debt. I’m completely wiped out,’” he said. After a moment, Mr Biden delivered the punchline, telling the crowd that he had responded: “Donald, I’m sorry. I can’t help you”. tkdguy, Pariah, wcw43921 and 2 others 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 Protesters Shout Down Kyle Rittenhouse At University Of Memphis Appearance Cygnia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 3 hours ago, Cygnia said: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-trump-debt-remarks-2024-b2516386.html I'm really glad Joe Biden and other Democrats have finally taken the gloves off in public against the Republicans. Taking the high road was never going to win for them when their opponents have been wallowing in the mud for years. You just know Donald Trump's 'phone will combust from all the posts he'll make over this. Old Man, Cygnia and tkdguy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperion Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Purpose of government: serve the people. Trump's government: people serve Trump (you're all fired!!!!!! 👹👹👹🥳🥳🥳) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 It’s a Good Time to Start Worrying About Christian Nationalism Quote Though it usually is best to avoid dependence on one data point, allow me to zero in on a single tweet that appeared recently to highlight the danger. [William E. Wolfe, a Pentagon & the State Department official during Trump, and besties with the architect of Project 2025, wrote on March 7]: We need to see the deeper spiritual realities at play. This ain’t just a political fight, it’s a spiritual war. Heaven and Hell are real. Demons exist. And there are two main demons being worshipped in America right now: 1) Molech, who demands child sacrifice (abortion) 2) Baphomet, whose demonic goat-like representation is gender-bending (LGBTQIA+) The “Equality Act” and “Reproductive Rights” aren’t just “policies” that the radical Left/Democrats support They are sacraments, acts of worship to their demon gods “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 It’s time for Christians to call on America to repent of our idol worship of demons and return to the One True Living God and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ Maybe God raise up more idol smashers for our days yet. DShomshak, rravenwood, Dr. MID-Nite and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Two other points from the above article I'd like to comment upon: Quote Dismissing criticism of Christian nationalism as a sneaky liberal ploy to attack all right-of-center Christians is profoundly disingenuous. But I suppose when you’re combatting Beelzebub in the name of Jesus, the Ninth Commandment is not operative. Well, of course not. For comparison, God also commanded, "Thou shalt not kill" -- then promptly commanded the Israelites to exterminate entire cities in their conquest of Canaan. The commandments of morality are for within the sectarian tribe. They do not apply to the infidel. Quote Last year, the far-right Heritage Foundation published an article declaring that Christian nationalism is a term “mostly used as a smear against conservative Christians who defend the role of religion in American public life” and that the “lack of standard definition allows critics to bundle evils like white supremacy and racism with standard conservative views on marriage, family, and politics.” Conservatives don't use a standard definition of Critical Race Theory, either; it seems to be anything that might make conservative white people uncomfortable. So, hey, turnabout is fair play. This isn't an academic debate; it's raw political conflict against people who speak openly about jailing or even murdering their opponents. I'm not going to worry much about hairsplitting definitions. Dean Shomshak Old Man and Pariah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Another point. Quote There are many carnival barkers within Christian nationalism. For instance, disgraced former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, who has embraced the banner of white Christian nationalism and proclaimed, “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God.” And from the "demons are real" post from Wolfe: Quote It’s time for Christians to call on America to repent of our idol worship of demons and return to the One True Living God and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ The oath of office is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet, there's this: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof Huh. Can we really feel that people with beliefs like the above, will honor their oaths? Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ternaugh Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 1 hour ago, DShomshak said: Two other points from the above article I'd like to comment upon: Well, of course not. For comparison, God also commanded, "Thou shalt not kill" -- then promptly commanded the Israelites to exterminate entire cities in their conquest of Canaan. The commandments of morality are for within the sectarian tribe. They do not apply to the infidel. Conservatives don't use a standard definition of Critical Race Theory, either; it seems to be anything that might make conservative white people uncomfortable. So, hey, turnabout is fair play. This isn't an academic debate; it's raw political conflict against people who speak openly about jailing or even murdering their opponents. I'm not going to worry much about hairsplitting definitions. Dean Shomshak There's safety in numbers When you learn to divide How can we be in If there is no outside (From "Not One of Us", by Peter Gabriel) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Mike Johnson's days as Speaker could be coming to a close. House passes the spending bills, but The Usual Suspects have smoke coming out their ears, and are starting to talk about ousting him. I'm NOT a fan of the damage the MAGA Clown Show does...but the potential upside is, the longer they continue their posturing, and the closer it gets to election day, one has to believe, the more this will negatively impact them in the elections. OK, most of the clowns are pretty much immune to election-time pressure; their individual districts are too safe for them to be voted out. It remains to be seen how it'll play out in the broader electorate. The deadline to avert a partial shutdown is midnight, with a big question remaining...whether someone like Tuberville will block it. If it passes, especially before the shutdown? I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson's ousted next week. The vote to pass the spending bill was 286-134; all the Democrats voted to pass, so we're talking about 2 out of 3 Republicans voted No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 The Republican Study Committee, comprising more than 170 GOP House Republicans, released a budget proposal for 2025 on Wednesday. Among its "high points" are: raising the retirement age; enshrining "life begins at conception" as national law; lowering social security benefits; making Medicare compete with private insurance plans; and general reduction in "entitlements" spending. You can read the text of the proposal here. It should be noted that Republican lawmakers in electorally vulnerable states are already disavowing the proposal. But it's reasonable to assume that this is what the GOP would do if they regain power. Democrats have already started heatedly denouncing it. If they make that a significant part of their campaigning, the Republicans may have handed the Dems the key to a majority in Congress. Iuz the Evil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 2 hours ago, unclevlad said: Can we really feel that people with beliefs like the above, will honor their oaths? Seven Mountains is explicitly about "Christian" takeover of government (among other things) for the express purpose of imposing "Christian" values on American society. So, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Anyway, pfft, it's only the Constitution. The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments explicitly ban slavery and guarantee civil and voting rights, and yet Jim Crow was the law of the land -- or at least large sections of it -- for decades. Like all laws, the Constitution has only as much power as the people charged with implementing it choose to grant. (Plus there's the old argument that Constitutional phrases that seem to demand religious neutrality only mean neutrality among Christian denominations. Also, early in the Republic's history states established specific denominations, on the grounds the Constitution spoke only to the Federal government. Two views the SCOTUS have never endorsed, but hey, a sufficiently radical and zealous SCOTUS could throw out 200+ years of precedent.) In other news, I am not sure this bit of wackiness from Tennessee is going anywhere, or is even real. Considering other Republican lunacy, though, a state bill to ban imaginary "chemtrails" does not seem implausible. At least there'll be no problem enforcing it. Tennessee is trying to ban 'chemtrails' from planes based on a wild conspiracy theory (msn.com) Dean Shomshak TrickstaPriest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 More-original source for Dean's last... https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2024/03/20/tennessee-senate-passes-bill-banning-chemtrails-what-to-know/73027586007/ What scares me is, it's plausible to read this as a separate tactic by Christian nationalists. Attack science to promote the authority of faith. They don't *have* to believe it, they may darn well know it's idiotic...so what? It got through the Tennessee Senate. That means it's not just wild-eyed conspiracy nuts, to me. Lord Liaden and DShomshak 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 (edited) There appear to be a few Senates that are replete with wild-eyed conspiracy nuts. But as broader policy, all these Republican tactics have as their unifying base, the promotion of fear. Fear of immigrants, of doctors, of scientists, of teachers and librarians, of homosexuals and transvestites, of socialists and Democrats. It's all they have in terms of "policy." They need people to be afraid so they'll vote for Republicans to "protect" them, even if what they fear doesn't exist. In fact, especially if it doesn't exist, because then Republican lawmakers don't have to actually do anything about it. It's why the House GOP voted against the bipartisan border security bill. Donald Trump proclaimed that he needed a less-secure border to campaign on, essentially ordering Republicans to kill it. (And incidentally revealing that Trump and the GOP must believe their voters are colossally ignorant, oblivious, and stupid.) Edited March 22 by Lord Liaden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 JUST dropped into my inbox...US believes a branch of ISIS, based in Afghanistan and a frequent critic of Putin, is responsible for the Moscow attack that...last I saw...claimed 40 lives. And, yeah...fearmongering is likely sufficient explanation too. And certainly, BOTH can be true. Iuz the Evil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 31 minutes ago, unclevlad said: JUST dropped into my inbox...US believes a branch of ISIS, based in Afghanistan and a frequent critic of Putin, is responsible for the Moscow attack that...last I saw...claimed 40 lives. And, yeah...fearmongering is likely sufficient explanation too. And certainly, BOTH can be true. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/22/europe/crocus-moscow-shooting/index.html confirmed, ISIS took credit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-68642036 But Putin wants to blame the Ukraine instead anyways Quote Officials here in Kyiv moved quickly to rule out any link to the Moscow gun attack. The foreign ministry, a presidential adviser and the military intelligence agency all say, categorically, that Ukraine was not involved – and that its war with Russia will be decided on the battlefield. The Russian FSB security service is claiming the Moscow attackers were caught on their way to Ukraine, and that they had contacts on the other side supporting them. But an intelligence representative here, has called the idea the gunmen would head for the Ukrainian border "absurd". Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukrainian defence intelligence, told the BBC the area is full of Russian military and security services. Any terrorist fleeing the scene of an attack would have to be "stupid or suicidal" – or want to get caught - to head there, says Yusov. The fear in Kyiv is that Russia will use the attack to escalate its aggression against Ukraine even further, that blaming Kyiv, with its Western allies, will be a way of rallying support for President Vladimir Putin and his full-scale invasion - and mobilising more Russian soldiers, for that fight. Hermit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 Well of course Putin's gonna blame Ukraine. The sun rose, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 Second grader tries to organize classmates to adopt a horse as class pet. (Longish tiktok video but you have to watch till the end.) Ranxerox, wcw43921, unclevlad and 1 other 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 30 minutes ago, Old Man said: Second grader tries to organize classmates to adopt a horse as class pet. (Longish tiktok video but you have to watch till the end.) ........................................................................ Can someone help me pick my jaw up off the floor? I wanna smile, and I wanna cry, and........wow.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 3 hours ago, Old Man said: Second grader tries to organize classmates to adopt a horse as class pet. (Longish tiktok video but you have to watch till the end.) 2 hours ago, unclevlad said: ........................................................................ Can someone help me pick my jaw up off the floor? I wanna smile, and I wanna cry, and........wow.... Ditto. I was wondering at first why this was on the Political thread... and then yeah. Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 31 minutes ago, BoloOfEarth said: yeah. Wow. What he said... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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