USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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Quixzlizx: Jan 7, 2007

zoux posted:

Can�t share it because it�s being embargoed under Twitters anti hate policy (lol) but this tweet she liked is in the replies, so you can get there from here

https://twitter.com/paige3691/status/1701271113697816874?s=46&t=A_iY-gupVf13dcIJPetZhQ

Thanks.

I don't remember which cycle, but there was also a Green Party VP candidate who was palling around with Holocaust deniers.

Edit: With some bonus Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 pontificating that aged real well https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-wild-beliefs-of-ajamu-baraka-jill-steins-green-party-running-mate

Quixzlizx fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Sep 12, 2023

# ? Sep 12, 2023 00:02

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# ? May 23, 2024 05:44

RBA Starblade: Apr 28, 2008; Going Home.

Games Idiot Court Jester

So does the Green Party not have mechanisms to eject these people or what

# ? Sep 12, 2023 00:17

Quorum: Sep 24, 2014; REMIND ME AGAIN HOW THE LITTLE HORSE-SHAPED ONES MOVE?

No American party has mechanisms to "eject" people like that, at least not strongly. Local parties can pass various kinds of mostly symbolic censure, and you might have a very hard time winning a primary if everybody in party leadership hates your guts, but in general the parties have very little control over who calls themselves a member.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 00:21

RBA Starblade: Apr 28, 2008; Going Home.

Games Idiot Court Jester

Quorum posted:

No American party has mechanisms to "eject" people like that, at least not strongly. Local parties can pass various kinds of mostly symbolic censure, and you might have a very hard time winning a primary if everybody in party leadership hates your guts, but in general the parties have very little control over who calls themselves a member.

I guess it's just usually the GOP that loud about it

# ? Sep 12, 2023 00:24

Main Paineframe: Oct 27, 2010

RBA Starblade posted:

I guess it's just usually the GOP that loud about it

The Republicans can't eject people either. Liz Cheney can still run as a Republican if she wants. She'll just get absolutely dumpstered in the primaries because the base loathes her.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 00:28

Bird in a Blender: Nov 17, 2005; It's amazing what they can do with computers these days.

zoux posted:

Can�t share it because it�s being embargoed under Twitters anti hate policy (lol) but this tweet she liked is in the replies, so you can get there from here

https://twitter.com/paige3691/status/1701271113697816874?s=46&t=A_iY-gupVf13dcIJPetZhQ

This tweet wouldn�t be that bad on its own, but combined with the other one, yikes. The Rainbow Coalition started by Fred Hampton was a combination of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords, and the Young Patriots. The YP were southern whites living in Chicago that used the confederate flag at their meetings. The Young Patriots were a leftist org though. So despite hanging confederate battle flags around, they actually shared a lot of the same ideas of the BPP. I don�t think you�re going to find too many organizations hanging that flag around and still being leftist these days.

Feels like cynthia McKinney probably started with this idea of having poor black and white people working together is good, but decided to go down the anti-Semite path, which is sad and stupid.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 00:55

Killer robot: Sep 6, 2010; I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it!; Pillbug

Quorum posted:

No American party has mechanisms to "eject" people like that, at least not strongly. Local parties can pass various kinds of mostly symbolic censure, and you might have a very hard time winning a primary if everybody in party leadership hates your guts, but in general the parties have very little control over who calls themselves a member.

While that is generally true, we're not discussing randos who caucused with the Greens. We're discussing their past presidental/VP nominees, those chosen by the party to lead the country. The party absolutely chooses who will lead, and we're looking at it.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 01:28

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

Killer robot posted:

While that is generally true, we're not discussing randos who caucused with the Greens. We're discussing their past presidental/VP nominees, those chosen by the party to lead the country. The party absolutely chooses who will lead, and we're looking at it.

Well no, we're looking at who they nominated over 15 years ago.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 01:45

James Garfield: May 5, 2012; Am I a manipulative abuser in real life, or do I just roleplay one on the Internet for fun? You decide!

From McKinney's wikipedia page it looks like she was already saying Jews did 9/11 by 2008. Maybe the question isn�t "why didn't the Green Party expel her for saying Jews did 9/11" but "why did the Green Party choose a candidate who was saying Jews did 9/11".

# ? Sep 12, 2023 01:46

Main Paineframe: Oct 27, 2010

Bird in a Blender posted:

This tweet wouldn�t be that bad on its own, but combined with the other one, yikes. The Rainbow Coalition started by Fred Hampton was a combination of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords, and the Young Patriots. The YP were southern whites living in Chicago that used the confederate flag at their meetings. The Young Patriots were a leftist org though. So despite hanging confederate battle flags around, they actually shared a lot of the same ideas of the BPP. I don�t think you�re going to find too many organizations hanging that flag around and still being leftist these days.

Feels like cynthia McKinney probably started with this idea of having poor black and white people working together is good, but decided to go down the anti-Semite path, which is sad and stupid.

McKinney probably had some anti-Semitic beliefs from the beginning. Back in the 90s, she had to kick her dad off her election staff because he had an unfortunate habit of publicly making anti-Semitic comments about her opponents.

While there wasn't any particular indication at the time that she agreed with him on that, she sure fell into anti-Semitic conspiracy theories awfully quickly after her political career petered out. She lost her Senate seat in 2006, ran for president in 2008, and by the end of 2009 she was hanging out with Holocaust deniers and quoting from books with titles like "The Shadow Money-Lenders". It's entirely possible that she held such views all along, but was smart enough to realize that voicing those views wouldn't exactly help her win elections.

Killer robot posted:

While that is generally true, we're not discussing randos who caucused with the Greens. We're discussing their past presidental/VP nominees, those chosen by the party to lead the country. The party absolutely chooses who will lead, and we're looking at it.

I don't think she's meaningfully involved in the Green Party anymore. She pretty much dropped out of politics more than a decade ago.

As for why she was picked in 2008, don't forget that the Greens tend not to have a whole lot of great options. In the 2008 Green Party Convention, she was the only candidate who had ever won an American political election before. Forced to choose between a former senator and a bunch of nobodies who couldn't even win city council seats, I don't think they needed to dig very hard into McKinney's record before making a decision.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 01:59

Quixzlizx: Jan 7, 2007

Fister Roboto posted:

Well no, we're looking at who they nominated over 15 years ago.

If you'd like to check my link above, 2016 wasn't 15 years ago. That's not even mentioning that the presidential candidate was hanging out in Moscow with Michael Flynn at RT banquets.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 02:28

I AM GRANDO: Aug 20, 2006

zoux posted:

Remember Cynthia McKinney, the six-term Georgia congresswoman who came to national prominence when she said that Bush did 9/11 in April of 2002? Or you might remember that she had an altercation with Capitol police in 2006 because they didn't recognize that she was a member and stopped her (this was where I first found out about the Congressional Pin)? IN 2008 she was the Green Party candidate and got 0.12% of the vote and that's more or less the last I ever heard of her. But she's still around.

Why do these people always have such poor design skills? It�s like antisemitism is comorbid with making poo poo that�s loving impossible to read.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 02:46

Push El Burrito: May 9, 2006; Soiled Meat

She really missed her timing. In 10 years when the Republican party splits into the Conservative Big Business Party and the Racist Meme Party she would have done gangbusters in the latter.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 02:51

James Garfield: May 5, 2012; Am I a manipulative abuser in real life, or do I just roleplay one on the Internet for fun? You decide!

I AM GRANDO posted:

Why do these people always have such poor design skills? It�s like antisemitism is comorbid with making poo poo that�s loving impossible to read.

What happened to that guy who made the extremely detailed conspiracy theory photoshops? It could be his fault.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 02:57

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

James Garfield posted:

What happened to that guy who made the extremely detailed conspiracy theory photoshops? It could be his fault.

David Dees Died

# ? Sep 12, 2023 03:06

Republicans: Oct 14, 2003; - More money for us

- Fuck you

I AM GRANDO posted:

Why do these people always have such poor design skills? It�s like antisemitism is comorbid with making poo poo that�s loving impossible to read.

Maybe anything too well-designed gets met with suspicion by the intended audience. Kinda like how those recent nazi groups get written off as FBI false flags because they look too well-funded and organized due to the matching uniforms.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 03:11

PhazonLink: Jul 17, 2010

Push El Burrito posted:

She really missed her timing. In 10 years when the Republican party splits into the Conservative Big Business Party and the Racist Meme Party she would have done gangbusters in the latter.

another funny missed timed poo poo post was Milo "pedo poo poo is actually okay".

He would still get canceled by regressives because they want stealthy/invisible gay token, and not his gimmick where he calls himself the f word.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 03:15

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

I AM GRANDO posted:

Why do these people always have such poor design skills? It�s like antisemitism is comorbid with making poo poo that�s loving impossible to read.

Same reason Nigerian Prince scammers put tons of typos and obvious tells in there, you only want to attract the absolutely most credulous people in the world

# ? Sep 12, 2023 03:46

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

How does the military work? :thunk:

https://twitter.com/halbritz/status/1701340908845719554

# ? Sep 12, 2023 14:33

Angry_Ed: Mar 30, 2010; Grimey Drawer

Charlz Guybon posted:

How does the military work?
https://twitter.com/halbritz/status/1701340908845719554

Tuberville is astoundingly stupid, and in a Congress that includes such "geniuses" like Louie Gohmert that's saying a lot.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 14:39

Randalor: Sep 4, 2011

Is Tuberville really that much of a dumbfuck or is he just playing at being oblivious while obstructing as hard as he can? I honestly can't tell anymore.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 14:39

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Queering Wheel posted:

So if that's true, do we have any other reliable way to tell how popular a politician or position on an issue really is, or how an election will probably go? Do we just go off of things like vibes?

Given how the last midterms went way better for Dems than expected, what if the entire narrative of Biden's unpopularity is just complete BS because all the polls are just hosed?

The polls are still reasonably accurate. There is just a larger margin of error. If a race is going to be decided by 2 points and you know:

Candidate A is getting somewhere between 48% and 54% of the vote.

Candidate B is getting somewhere between 46% and 52% of the vote.

Then, you can't get a really clear feeling for who is going to win from the data. You can use your best guess to assume that Candidate A is slightly more likely to win, but can't say so definitively.

If you run those polls a lot and Candidate A is closer to the 54% most of the time and Candidate B is closer tot he 46% most of the time, then you can assume that Candidate A likely has more support.

If something is way outside of the margin of error (~12 points in either direction), then you can safely assume that even the wonkiest margin of error results won't change the result.

The problem is that most major elections are decided by less than 4 points. So, if you are relying on a single poll (especially one 1.2 years before the election), then it is basically impossible to tell who is actually winning unless the margin is huge. You also have problems where national polls don't technically describe who will win the election because of the electoral college.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 14:44

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Another example of Biden's policies causing average Americans to spend thousands of dollars just to keep living their life the way they always have.

quote:

Incandescent light bulbs are now largely banned, so one fan spent a paycheck stockpiling 3,500 bulbs he said should last 75 years

In August, incandescent bulbs were largely banned in the US and could no longer be sold or made.

The Energy Department says the change will reduce utility bills and carbon emissions.

Ahead of the ban, Kevin Szmyd spent $1,700 on a lifetime supply of incandescent bulbs � about 3,500.

Incandescent light bulbs are essentially now banned in the US, but Kevin Szmyd, a 25-year-old software developer from New Hampshire, isn't planning to make the switch to more energy-efficient LEDs anytime soon.

Ahead of new regulations going into effect, Szmyd built up a collection of about 3,500 of the light bulbs.

On August 1, the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs was effectively banned in the US. The new guidelines originated during Obama's presidency but were rejected by the Trump administration. Now, under the Biden administration, the near-total ban has gone into effect. Those who already have the bulbs, however, will be able to keep them.

Szmyd is a member of a Facebook group named "Antique incandescent lamp/light bulb collectors," which has been active long before the ban went into effect. The group is for bulb enthusiasts, with members sharing updates on their collections, helping others identify specific bulb models, and answering questions people have about light bulbs. Chad Shapiro, the group's administrator, said in a Facebook post the group mostly focused on vintage lightbulbs manufactured before the 1940s.

The new rules only allow light bulbs that meet a certain level of efficiency. And since most incandescent bulbs don't meet those standards, they are now basically banned from being made or sold in stores.

Some people, including Szmyd, believe that the government is overreaching by effectively taking certain light bulbs off the market.

"I don't think that the government should be involved with making the customer make a decision," Szmyd told Insider. "I think it's a little silly for a government to go in and say, 'we don't think you're going to make the best decision with buying light bulbs. So we're going to prevent you from making the wrong decision.'"

Szmyd said he'd rather see a push toward nuclear power instead.

He saved two weeks of pay to fund his collection worth about $1,700, he told Insider, seeking out bulbs on places such as Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay.

"I think I must have contacted everyone who sells light bulbs within 250 miles of me," Szmyd said.

He's not the only one who decided to stock up on incandescent bulbs. Kathleen Parker, a Washington Post columnist, said she purchased 200 bulbs because she enjoyed the "warm, pink glow" that the incandescent give off compared to LED bulbs.

The new regulations are estimated by the Department of Energy to save Americans $3 billion a year. Because LED bulbs are more efficient, nudging consumers into adopting them more widely will lead to cheaper utility bills while also being better for the environment, the department says. It estimates that by 2053, carbon emissions will be slashed by 222 million metric tons as a result of the new guidelines.

Though LED bulbs may cost more upfront, they last 25 to 50 times longer than incandescent, meaning buyers are set to save money in the long run.

But Szmyd said that avoiding the white-blue hue of the LEDs in favor of the "nice color" of the old-school bulbs was worth devoting an entire paycheck to acquire the stockpile, which won't be running out anytime soon.

"I consider it a lifetime supply," he told Insider. "I would say I did the math. I have a bunch of spreadsheets with all of the lighting fixtures in my house. And I have almost exactly the amount of bulbs I'm going to need for the next 75 years."

https://www.businessinsider.com/man-buys-incandescent-light-bulbs-stockpile-ban-2023-9

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:04

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Randalor posted:

Is Tuberville really that much of a dumbfuck or is he just playing at being oblivious while obstructing as hard as he can? I honestly can't tell anymore.

His only career accomplishment is being a college football coach, what does your heart tell you

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:15

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The WSJ has an interesting article where they got a focus group comprised entirely of people with the exact same birthday as Joe Biden and asked them their thoughts about his age.

https://twitter.com/AndrewRestuccia/status/1701585127879414067

quote:

Is Biden Too Old to Run Again? We Asked People Born on His Exact Birthday

About half of Americans born in 1942 are still alive�and many of them describe busy lives that include work

Louise Smoczynski is enjoying a quiet retirement in Madison, Wis., but she and her friends are starting to have health problems. Ken Diller is a biomedical engineering professor in Austin, Texas, who has taught for 50 years and isn�t ready to spend his days relaxing on a beach.

They have one thing in common: They were born on Nov. 20, 1942, the same day as Joe Biden. The 46th president, the oldest to occupy the White House, is campaigning for a second term that, should he win, would put him in office until age 86.

These octogenarian voters are among nearly a dozen Americans born the same day as the president that The Wall Street Journal interviewed. They are uniquely suited to answer one of the biggest questions hanging over the 2024 election: Is Biden too old to run again?

Most said no. But they were candid about the risks of aging in the years to come.

�He has certainly got his wits about him,� said Smoczynski, a Democrat who voted for Biden in 2020 and plans to support him again.

Smoczynski said she and the president are at a cutoff age, �where once you�re 80, it�s definitely downhill.� She said she had been largely healthy most of her life, but was diagnosed about two years ago with endometrial cancer and continues to receive treatment for the illness.

�A lot of our friends are dying or getting dementia,� she said. �I probably shouldn�t bring that up because that makes 80 look terrible.� Still, she tries to maintain a positive attitude: �People are living longer and living better lives. Eighty is the new 60.�

A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that 73% of voters think Biden is too old to seek a second term, compared with 47% of voters who said the same of 77-year-old former President Donald Trump, who is likely to be Biden�s Republican opponent.

Many of those born the same day as Biden described busy lives that still include work. They expressed frustrations about being underestimated because of their age, contending that 80-year-olds today are healthier and more active than ever.

At the same time, some acknowledged they face regular reminders that age is taking its toll, citing health problems and restless sleep. About half of the 2.8 million Americans born in 1942 are still alive, federal data show.

�We�ve all declined, obviously. But you can still be pretty sharp,� said Earl Evans, a retired wine salesman who lives in St. Augustine, Fla. Like almost all of the other 80-year-olds in this story, Evans was already aware he was born the same day as the president when a Journal reporter, relying on public records, found and called him to discuss it.

�The smartest guy in the world could be 80, and it would be a drat shame to not have him in the White House,� said Evans, who is president of a local wine club and fills his days with trips to the gym and the beach.

But Evans also thinks the president isn�t as sharp as he used to be, and he raised concerns about his mental and physical health. A self-described �old-school conservative,� Evans voted for Trump in 2020 and he doesn�t think the former president is declining as rapidly as Biden. �It�s not so noticeable,� he said of Trump�s age.

Biden is part of a sliver of the Silent Generation whose lives unfolded at a fortuitous moment. By arriving just before the 1946 start of the baby boom, they were first in line for the economic spoils of the post-World War II era, including cheap homes and educations, a rapid expansion of the federal safety net, paternalistic employers that provided generous pensions and game-changing advances in medical care.

That has allowed them to amass power and wealth at levels unmatched by those born before and after them. �They essentially won the birth lottery,� William Emmons, a former economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said of Americans born in the early 1940s.

During the 30-year period from 1989 to 2019, people born in the 1940s accumulated more wealth than generations that came before or after them at the same ages, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released last year.

Those born in the early 1940s also benefited from the relatively low birthrates of the previous decade. �When there are fewer people you�re competing with, all promotions come pretty easily,� said Dowell Myers, a professor at the University of Southern California.

Every president who served over the past three decades, with the exception of Barack Obama, was born in the 1940s, as were Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Not every group in America had a smooth path back then. Women and minorities struggled through decades of discrimination. Some managed to succeed despite significant hurdles.

Charles Watkins, a retired mechanical-engineering professor who lives in Bergen County, N.J., and was born the same day as Biden, rose to the top of his field, graduating from Howard University in 1964 and going on to hold positions at Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

�I think that my generation in particular has seen a lot of changes in our society,� said Watkins, who is Black. �We�ve witnessed the evolution of our country.�

Biden often looks back fondly on a time in American history when working-class people could afford a comfortable life. Those his age say it is unlikely they could do the same thing today.

Carol DeLong, a retired church administrator from Southold, N.Y., who was born the same day as the president, said the apartment she and her husband rented shortly after they got married cost about $75 a month, including utilities, roughly $720 a month in today�s dollars. In 1968, the couple paid $15,000 for the colonial home DeLong still lives in with her tri-colored collie, Izzy. Today, the house is worth nearly $1 million.

�It�s just ridiculous what people are paying for houses now,� said DeLong, adding that some of her grandchildren are moving away because of the high cost of living.

Despite their greater financial security, many of the oldest Americans are opting to stay in the labor market. Roughly 650,000 Americans 80 and older were working last year, according to the Census Bureau, about 18% more than a decade earlier.

They include Ken Diller, a University of Texas biomedical-engineering professor in Austin. His research touches on the importance of sleep to a healthy life, which he thinks can make people more functional as they age. �I very much enjoy going to work and being productive,� he said.

John Bruno, also born the same day as Biden, sometimes works seven days a week as an orthopedist in Alexandria, Va., and sings in his free time. Eighty doesn�t feel that old to him, given that people are living longer these days.

Peter Holmes actually talked to Biden about the fact that they were born the same day when he spotted him outside a jewelry store in Nantucket, Mass., years ago. �How many people have the exact same birthday as you? Same day, Same year,� he shouted. Biden came over and talked to him for 10 or 15 minutes, and Holmes showed him his driver�s license to prove it. �That�s cool, man,� Holmes recalled Biden saying.

�He was extremely gracious and extremely personable, and even my wife, who should we say was somewhat of a Republican, was charmed,� Holmes said. The two men have talked several times on Biden�s subsequent trips to the island, he said.

These days, Holmes spends much of his time with a Nantucket social club, which meets six days a week at an old fisherman�s shanty on the island. His wife died in July from cancer after being on a ventilator for 29 days.

�I think there is something to be said about wisdom, and wisdom comes with age, for better or worse,� he said.

Despite enjoying his conversations with Biden, Holmes said he didn�t vote for him and probably won�t support him in 2024. His affection for Biden doesn�t overcome his conservative political beliefs.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy...share_permalink

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:21

Edgar Allen Ho: Apr 3, 2017; by sebmojo

Byzantine posted:

Most of the time when people try to claim Christianity amalgamated or stole ideas from other religions it's coming from the angle of discrediting it. A noble goal, but one which drives people to grab ideas separated by thousands of years and thousands of miles (Horus, Yule, Krishna, Mithras, Sol Invictus, etc) and claim they all somehow swirled together around...nothing, since they claim there's no historical Jesus.

So Paul or James or whoever just woke up one day and grabbed a bit of Hindu myth and a bit of Roman myth and a bit of Germanic myth somehow and mixed it all up like the Powerpuff Girls and then convinced enough people his new god was cool that it hit critical mass.

There�s also a whole rear end ethnicity that wrote half the Bible and it got codified in Babylon like 800 years before dear friend Josh was born, just sayin, it�s kinda our mythology too

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:22

Randalor: Sep 4, 2011

FlamingLiberal posted:

His only career accomplishment is being a college football coach, what does your heart tell you

... my heart is just kinda shrugging and asking if that needs to be an "or" question.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:23

Shooting Blanks: Jun 6, 2007; Real bullets mess up how cool this thing looks.

-Blade

FlamingLiberal posted:

His only career accomplishment is being a college football coach, what does your heart tell you

Having seen what good college football coaches earn, I'd kill for that career.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:31

Judgy Fucker: Mar 24, 2006

FlamingLiberal posted:

His only career accomplishment is being a college football coach, what does your heart tell you

Hey now, there's been ~~plenty~~ some CFB coaches who aren't just total idiot meatheads.

Tuberville is not one of them. He's not even a meathead, just a moron.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:31

Boris Galerkin: Dec 17, 2011; I don't understand why I can't harass people online. Seriously, somebody please explain why I shouldn't be allowed to stalk others on social media!

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Another example of Biden's policies causing average Americans to spend thousands of dollars just to keep living their life the way they always have.

https://www.businessinsider.com/man-buys-incandescent-light-bulbs-stockpile-ban-2023-9

He should tokenize these and sell them as NFTs.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:48

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

Boris Galerkin posted:

He should tokenize these and sell them as NFTs.

But we already have Litecoin

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:49

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

McCarthy plans to announce impeachment proceedings against Biden tomorrow. He has 18 Republicans who have not signed on yet (only 1 Republican has said they are against it, though) and he can only afford to lose four total.

The impeachment will dramatically narrow in scope from previous accusations to try and better provide a clear reason and narrative for the impeachment without getting bogged down in the specific claims.

The two areas of focus will be:

1) Interference at the DOJ to protect Hunter Biden from federal charges and arrange a "sweetheart" plea deal.

2) The idea that Biden was accepting bribes indirectly through Hunter Biden from 2013 through 2019.

Even though none of the money went to Joe Biden, they allege that the foreign entities paying Hunter Biden were doing so in exchange for official favors from Joe Biden that were favorable to China as well as Kazakhstani and Russian-affiliated oligarchs in Ukraine. The payments to Hunter prevented Biden from having to support his son, so they were in effect a payment to Joe Biden that was sent to Hunter Biden instead.

They also expect that the White House won't comply with all of their document requests and are prepared to add obstruction of justice to the impeachment charges as well.

https://twitter.com/politico/status/1701600159736709332

quote:

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is planning to announce to his GOP conference on Wednesday morning that the House will move forward with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, a source familiar with the plan confirmed to POLITICO.

It's a huge win for conservatives, who have pressured the California Republican for months to move existing investigations into the Democratic president into a formal impeachment inquiry. Some members of McCarthy's right flank have openly threatened to try to strip him of the House gavel if their demands weren't met.

But the long-debated move puts centrists, particularly the 18 vulnerable Republicans in Biden-won districts, in an uncomfortable place. It could also threaten to derail efforts to work with the White House to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month.

The House GOP could hold a vote as early as next week, according to another person familiar with the matter.

McCarthy�s expected announcement was first reported by Punchbowl News.

The whip count: So far, McCarthy doesn�t have 218 GOP votes needed to launch an impeachment inquiry. He and other top Republicans have tried to characterize such a step as strengthening their investigative power, rather than a concrete move toward attempting to boot the president from office � semantics that matter to centrist Republicans.

Still, some moderates have signaled they may get on board if the Biden administration appears to be stonewalling attempts to get certain documents.

�As of now I don�t support [an impeachment inquiry]. I think an inquiry should be based on evidence of a crime that points directly to President Biden, or if the President doesn�t cooperate by not providing documents,� Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said in a statement to POLITICO. �There�s clearly corruption with Hunter using his Dad�s name to earn tens of millions of dollars. But impeachment needs to be about the dad, not the son.�

Investigations status report: House Republicans will hold a special conference meeting on Thursday, where Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) will brief their colleagues on the status of their Biden-related investigations.

The two men have been coordinating on a sweeping probe: Comer focused on trying to find an elusive link between Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden�s business deals. Meanwhile, Jordan has homed in on the years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden and the unraveled plea deal with now-Special Counsel David Weiss.

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 16:01 on Sep 12, 2023

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:52

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

He's been terrible at counting the votes so far. While I think this will probably pass, there's a non-negligible chance that he won't get the votes.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 15:55

Randalor: Sep 4, 2011

I mean, even if the votes.go through... okay, congrats, we know that means nothing because Trump was impeached twice and nothing mattered. Congrats, McCarthy, you proved you had more seats in the house. Do you want a gold star?

# ? Sep 12, 2023 16:22

Gumball Gumption: Jan 7, 2012

Poverty rate doubled and median income dropped in 2022 with the rollback of pandemic programs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/12/business/economy/income-poverty-health-insurance.html

quote:

Poverty increased sharply last year in the United States, particularly among children, as living costs rose and federal programs that provided aid to families during the pandemic were allowed to expire.

The poverty rate rose to 12.4 percent in 2022 from 7.8 percent in 2021, the largest one-year jump on record, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. Poverty among children more than doubled, to 12.4 percent, from a record low of 5.2 percent the year before. Those figures are according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which factors in the impact of government assistance and geographical differences in the cost of living.

The increases followed two years of historically large declines in poverty, driven primarily by safety net programs that were created or expanded during the pandemic. Those included a series of direct payments to households in 2020 and 2021, enhanced unemployment and nutrition benefits, increased rental assistance and an expanded child tax credit, which briefly provided a guaranteed income to families with children.

Nearly all of those programs had expired by last year, however, leaving many families struggling to stay ahead of rising prices despite a strong job market and improving economy.

The increasing cost of living added to the challenge last year. The poverty threshold, which is based on the cost of essential items like food and housing, rose sharply: A family of four living in a rental home was considered poor under the supplemental measure if the family’s income was less than $34,518 in 2022, up from $31,453 in 2021.

Higher prices didn’t just hit the poor. Median household income, adjusted for inflation, fell 2.3 percent in 2022, to $74,580, as the fastest inflation since 1981 overwhelmed the impact of increased employment and rising wages.

“People are working hard,” said Margaret O’Conor, who runs Common Pantry, a small food bank in Chicago. “They’re just not making ends meet, the cost of living is too much.” Rent in particular has soaked up a lot of people’s extra earnings.

Common Pantry, like many food banks, had demand explode during the pandemic and then recede in 2021, when people received stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment benefits and the child tax credit, among other assistance. Then, as those programs lapsed, demand began to climb again.

“2022 just threw us,” Ms. O’Conor said. “We were not expecting it. I don’t think any food pantry was really expecting it.”

# ? Sep 12, 2023 16:27

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Randalor posted:

I mean, even if the votes.go through... okay, congrats, we know that means nothing because Trump was impeached twice and nothing mattered. Congrats, McCarthy, you proved you had more seats in the house. Do you want a gold star?

https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1701616529404465290

He doesn't have the votes. How is this different from a voted-on inquiry?

# ? Sep 12, 2023 16:29

bird food bathtub: Aug 9, 2003; College Slice

Randalor posted:

I mean, even if the votes.go through... okay, congrats, we know that means nothing because Trump was impeached twice and nothing mattered. Congrats, McCarthy, you proved you had more seats in the house. Do you want a gold star?

They don't give half a sideways flying gently caress about it at that point. They'll have their whataboutism ammunition for Fox to slop into the trough of their squealing hog viewers, and that's all they care about. As long as they can use the word "Impeached" for Biden their propaganda will do what it's meant to do.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 16:30

BetterToRuleInHell: Jul 2, 2007; Touch my mask top
Get the chop chop

To me, the saddest part of all of this dumb poo poo is that all of it is so goddamn obviously true yet we can't all agree on it.

By that I mean, yes Trump did try to overturn the election, yes Biden and McConnell and Feinstein and the rest of the geriatric fucks are too goddamn old, yes Biden's failson got easy gigs and got paid because he is Biden's son, yes Paxton used his position to gently caress his sidepiece and get kickbacks, yes to all of that and more.

Vote them out, arrest them, do it all, this is such a clown show.

# ? Sep 12, 2023 16:30

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

zoux posted:

https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1701616529404465290

He doesn't have the votes. How is this different from a voted-on inquiry?

None, just more embarassing.

Gumball Gumption posted:

Poverty rate doubled and median income dropped in 2022 with the rollback of pandemic programs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/12/business/economy/income-poverty-health-insurance.html

The child poverty rate is pretty wild. The expanded child tax credit was a decent amount of cash, but making it a monthly payment seems to have had a significant impact as well.

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Sep 12, 2023

# ? Sep 12, 2023 16:33

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# ? May 23, 2024 05:44

MixMasterMalaria: Jul 26, 2007

haveblue posted:

But we already have Litecoin

Meet the "Incoindescent" fork

# ? Sep 12, 2023 16:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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