Slouching Towards Oblivion

Showing posts with label political payback. Show all posts
Showing posts with label political payback. Show all posts

Friday, June 16, 2023

Prick Up Your Ears


When even the Press Poodles notice something - enough to actually say something about it - and to say straight out that the behavior sucks and needs to stop - maybe we're starting to get somewhere.

Of, course there's the usual Both Sides razor blade in this apple, and that pisses me off, but at least WaPo subtly points out the differences in the way each member is using the power to block.

Manchin is being Manchin - a self-dealing prick, and coin-operated shill for the Dirty Fuels Cartel.

And Bernie is holding certain nominees in order to get a commitment from Biden to put up a real plan to reduce medication prices.

So on one side we've got Senators holding things up for reasons other than partisan politics.

But the Republicans are doing it in order to impose minority rule - perfectly in keeping with their fucked up ideas about using government to exact political vengeance (ie: "weaponizing government") - so they can suck up to Trump and his MAGA rubes.


Opinion
Senators have become hostage-takers. It should stop.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) announced during former president Donald Trump’s arraignment in federal court on Tuesday that he will use what are known as “procedural holds” to stop the confirmation of Justice Department nominees. “We have to grind this department to a halt until Merrick Garland promises to … stop going after his political opponents,” he said in a video posted to Twitter.
To decry what he wrongly claims is the politicization of law enforcement, Mr. Vance is, well, politicizing law enforcement.

Mr. Vance is not the only senator taking hostages. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is blocking more than 200 military promotions, typically approved by unanimous consent, in a gambit to stop the Pentagon from reimbursing service members who need to travel out of state for abortions. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Monday that he’ll block President Biden’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health, as well as any other health nominee, until the White House releases a comprehensive plan to cut prescription drug prices. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced blanket opposition last month to every nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency until the Biden administration rescinds proposed power plant regulations.

In taking an unprincipled stand on behalf of a criminal defendant, Mr. Vance appears to be acknowledging that a political debt has come due. He owes his Senate election to Mr. Trump’s endorsement last year.

His goal, he claims, is to “limit the number of people that [Attorney General] Merrick Garland has access to.” In practice, Mr. Vance’s announcement means Rosie Hidalgo will not get confirmed anytime soon to be director of the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women. The Senate Judiciary Committee already advanced her nomination, and she’s awaiting a floor vote. Mr. Vance says he will not put holds on nominees to the U.S. Marshals Service, but his procedural ploy also jeopardizes the confirmations of U.S. attorney nominees for Mississippi and the Southern District of California.


Most relevant for Mr. Vance’s constituents, his announcement means Cleveland is unlikely to get a U.S. attorney anytime soon. Last week, Mr. Biden nominated veteran prosecutor Becky Lutzko to oversee the Northern District of Ohio, which is responsible for combating federal crime in 40 Ohio counties that are home to nearly 6 million residents. The office has already suffered the longest stretch without a Senate-confirmed leader in its 166-year history. Ms. Lutzko has worked as a career prosecutor since 2005 and oversees the office’s appellate division. Depriving the staff of permanent leadership disadvantages the community and undermines public safety while having no impact on the probe into the former president.

Hey, WaPo - maybe you could connect a coupla more dots here by pointing up how Republicans love to bitch about "rampant crime" while blocking the appointment of federal crime fighters. Just a thought, fellas.

Mr. Garland has gone out of his way to stay above the political fray and to restore the independence of his department. He appointed Jack Smith as special counsel so he could keep the case at arm’s length. Mr. Smith charged Mr. Trump with 37 serious crimes, including violations of the Espionage Act and conspiracy to obstruct justice. William P. Barr, who served as Mr. Trump’s attorney general, called the indictment “very damning” and said Sunday on Fox News: “If even half of it is true, then he’s toast.”

Holds cannot ultimately stop confirmations, but breaking through them requires significant and valuable Senate floor time — typically two or three days per nomination — that is better used, for instance, to confirm judges to lifetime appointments. While we might like to see Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) keep the Senate in session seven days a week and cancel summer recess to force the hands of obstinate members and push through the president’s nominees, that’s not realistic.

Senators in both parties need to respect a president’s right to make appointments. It’s unconscionable to treat the people charged with keeping us safe, whether career prosecutors or generals, as pawns in partisan fights. These senators should drop their holds.

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Today's Best Joke



Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have thought he was mocking those he has railed against when posing with a handmade snowflake. However, its hidden message showed that he was the subject of the joke.

In an image that has gone viral, the Republican seemed unaware of the word "fascist" that appeared in the framed gift handed to him at a GOP political rally in Davenport, Iowa. Steven Goffman of The Washington Post tweeted that the state's Republican Governor Kim Reynolds had also been given the gift.

"My friend makes snowflakes to give to politicians who come to Iowa—there are special messages for odious Republicans—please look at the snowflake carefully," tweeted Iowa Captive of the image. As of Saturday, it had been viewed more than 1 million times, prompting wry comments.

"If the snowflake fits," tweeted the Democratic Senator Bob Duff, who is majority leader, of the Connecticut Senate. Right-wing commentator Laura Loomer wrote on Twitter: "DeSantis got trolled in Iowa. Read the snowflake."

The term fascist has been bandied around to describe some of the actions of DeSantis in running the Sunshine State.

Earlier this March, Florida Democratic congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost said that DeSantis's policies targeting Black, transgender and LGBTQ people smacked of "fascism."

In 2022, DeSantis signed into law the Parental Rights in Education bill, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. It stopped sexual orientation or gender identity being discussed in kindergarten through third grade and limited such instruction in other age groups.

DeSantis was also criticized for barring the teaching of an Advanced Placement African American studies course in the state-school curriculum.

The Washington Post reported that GOP lawmakers in Florida have proposed legislation that includes requiring teachers to use pronouns of children's sex as assigned at birth.

Although he has not declared his intentions, DeSantis is considered a key contender to be the GOP nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

However, a leading expert on fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, from New York University, warned this month that DeSantis would "destroy our democracy" if he were to take the White House.

DeSantis's Iowa trip faced another glitch when a video truck appeared outside the event, playing clips that showed his conflicting statements on social security. He has distanced himself from his previous support for privatizing the program and raising retirement age.

A DeSantis run for president would involve a clash with Donald Trump, who mocked the Florida governor's visit to Iowa on his Truth Social account. "Very small crowds for Ron DeSanctimonious in Iowa," wrote the former president.

"He's against farmers, Social Security, and Medicare, so why would people show up—other than fake stories from the fake news!"

Friday, March 17, 2017

Today's Tweet



Like the man said: It's not about budgets - it's about retribution for somebody having insulted 45*'s delicate sensibilities.

Monday, February 06, 2017

The Coming Purge



And we thought the Tea Party was bad?  We ain't seen nothin' yet, bubba.

McKay Coppins, in The Atlantic:
“The question is not whether he’s vengeful,” conservative columnist Ben Shapiro told me. “The question is how willing he is to use the levers of government to exact that revenge.”
He goes on to talk about Glen Beck, and his paranoia, and his worry that people have taken what he said too seriously.

This isn't a fucking game.  "The Left" has been trying to warn those idiots for a good long time that they're playing with a loaded gun.

These assholes spent almost 30 years taking a giant shit in their audiences' brains and now they fret because people have done exactly what people do - they came to believe what they were told every day by somebody speaking in a confident authoritative tone.

You can see it every day in the comments sections and on Facebook etc. The arrogance of deliberate ignorance is tough and fibrous and persistent and malignant.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Hope's Fading Glimmer

Donald Trumps inauguration line-up has become a joke, with no big-name stars accepting his invitation to play the esteemed gig (tickets for which cost $350).
Previously, it was revealed Elton John, country star Garth Brooks, and opera singer Andrea Bocelli had all turned down the President-elect’s celebratory bash.
We can now add Celine Dion of decliners. According to The Wrap, Las Vegas hotelier Steve Wynn promised Trump the "Power of Love” singer would make an appearance, but failed to deliver.

So far, it has been confirmed that 16-year-old Jackie Evancho, an America’s Got Talent contest, will play the “Make America Great! Welcome Celebration”.
I've always tho't there must surely be something redeeming about Celine Dion, but I could never find it - but hey, maybe that's it.

Friday, October 04, 2013

Today's Quote

(updating a post from a coupla days ago - Kinda Says It All)
The president also mocked Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) for saying Wednesday that his party has "to get something out of" the shutdown fight, even though he doesn't "know what that even is.”
"You have already gotten the opportunity to serve the American people. There's no higher honor than that," Obama said to applause. "You've already gotten the opportunity to help businesses like this one. Workers like these. So the American people aren't in the mood to give you a goody bag to go with it. What you get is our intelligence professionals being back on the job. What you get is our medical researchers back on the job. What you get are little kids back in the head start."
That's the Obama we need to hear from on a much more regular basis.

I'm not saying The Prez should match nasty for nasty, I'm saying there's no need to suffer fools.  You get a chance to grab a dipwad like Stutzman by the heel and dangle him in the sunshine so everybody can see him for the small and empty-souled know-nothing leech that he is, then you should do it.  And as for pickin' on some junior putz who nobody's gonna remember when he's gone?  Fuck him - little man wants to be in the majors, then he plays the full nine.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Storm's A-Brewin'

And it's about to start rainin' estrogen all up in here.  We can hope so anyway.


Sarah Slamen tried to make her voice heard in her home state - in front of a group of her employees - and was forcibly removed from the hearing room when the Committee Chair decided she just couldn't stand any more of Ms Slamen's disrespectful remarks Sarah was revealing the truth about the Texas Legislature.



hat tip = Addicting Info