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US Politics: The Accountability Problem


Fragile Bird

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Gads, go offline for a few horus and -- woo -- another political thread ALREADY!  A Pecker thread no less!

As far as when blackfaceing up became something people shouldn't do -- I really have no idea, as I lived where there were no African Americans, or so few as to make them invisible.  But both the home environment, the school environment (additionally Mom had been a school teacher who stopped when she married and started a family), and the church environment (in many ways the same), didn't tolerate racial language of any kind, so blackface probably was out of the question. This doesn't mean racism didn't exist, but policies for anything public (or even, as I say, at home) the language of racism wasn't tolerated.  It's easy too, to be tolerant when the only groups against which one was prejudiced, and this was allowed, were Catholics.

Which isn't to say whatever might have gone on in fraternities at the state level of colleges and universities, with students from Elsewheres  -- but as I didn't belong, who knows? Frat rats have always been assholes, whatever state.

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5 hours ago, Kalbear said:

To go back to something @Altherion said - the analogy of Sanders giving up at the convention is not the Rams and kicking the field goal; it's when, say, a team can kneel it out and the defense decides to try and dive at the knees of the other team when they're down 2 or 3 scores. There was no real chance Sanders was going to win, he gained nothing by not conceding, and he ended up just being a poor sport and fracturing things, all so he could make the people who supported him support him more, or something. I don't really understand honestly. It wasn't to gain leverage, and if Clinton bowed out his concession is not something that's legally binding.

I strongly disagree with you about him gaining nothing by not conceding: even once he knew he could not win, he likewise knew that this was about as big a chance to drag the Democrats to the left as he would ever have. Once he conceded, people would stop listening to him and there was value in showing that despite the fact that the establishment cheated to tip the scale and the fact that he was outspent by a large margin, he still got roughly 45% of the vote (depending on what exactly is counted).

Coming back to the present time, Ocasio-Cortez and Markey finally came out with a draft of the Green New Deal:

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Among the most prominent, the deal calls for "meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources." The ultimate goal is to stop using fossil fuels entirely, Ocasio-Cortez's office told NPR, as well as to transition away from nuclear energy.

In addition, the framework, as described in the legislation as well as a blog post — containing an updated version of "FAQs" provided to NPR by Ocasio-Cortez's office — calls for a variety of other lofty goals:

  • "upgrading all existing buildings" in the country for energy efficiency;
  • working with farmers "to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions ... as much as is technologically feasible" (while supporting family farms and promoting "universal access to healthy food");
  • "Overhauling transportation systems" to reduce emissions — including expanding electric car manufacturing, building "charging stations everywhere," and expanding high-speed rail to "a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary";
  • A guaranteed job "with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security" for every American;
  • "High-quality health care" for all Americans.

Obviously, all of this is aspirational -- there is nothing concrete on the table yet. I suspect none of it will go anywhere soon, even if the Democrats win in 2020. The Speaker's reaction is in the same article:

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"It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive," Pelosi told Politico. "The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they're for it right?"

I wonder if she was intentionally making a reference to A Song of Ice and Fire...

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28 minutes ago, Zorral said:

As far as when blackfaceing up became something people shouldn't do -- I really have no idea, as I lived where there were no African Americans, or so few as to make them invisible.

Whoa. So you never had a gym teacher say, "Screw it, teams are salt vs. pepper today."?

I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back, it's screwed up that most of my classes were 90% white in an area where 40% of the population is black.

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6 minutes ago, A True Kaniggit said:

Whoa. So you never had a gym teacher say, "Screw it, teams are salt vs. pepper today."?

I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back, it's screwed up that most of my classes were 90% white in an area where 40% of the population is black.

When I was in high school (early to mid 80s), every year we had Salt n Pepper Day that went back a long time. There used to be a rumble on the front lawn of the school, but by the 80s it was all talk and no action. Apparently the riots in 1967 killed students' enthusiasm for it, but the tradition went on, if only in name only. 

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Why are they so scared?

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Democrats are holding a hearing Thursday on the importance of disclosing Trump’s tax information, which would reveal how much money he makes, who pays him and how much tax he pays. 

Top-ranking Republicans on the House tax committee asked its chairman not to request the documents, even though federal law explicitly gives him the power to do so ― and even though Republicans used that power to oversee Barack Obama’s administration. 

“Transparency in our government is enormously important, but must be undertaken with appropriate care,” Reps. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) wrote in a Thursday letter to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.).

“Weaponizing our nation’s tax code by targeting political foes only serves to weaken our system of government, not strengthen it,” Brady and Neal wrote. “If there are valid concerns with financial disclosure, then let’s come together to legislate a thoughtful solution to require additional disclosures.” 

 

Republicans Ask Democrats To Please Leave Trump’s Tax Returns ALONE
Top House Republicans decry an oversight tactic that they used in the Obama years.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-trump-tax-returns_us_5c5c8263e4b0a502ca33612c

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Shockingly Roberts votes with liberals in ordering a stay of a Louisiana TRAP antichoice law. Also shocking, Kavanaugh dissented by himself in one of the most dishonest bullshit ways people have ever seen and basically declared quite loudly his intent to eviscerate roe whenever he is given the chance. 

Case may still make it to scotus. This is just blocking the law from going into effect before it is heard.

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1 minute ago, Kalbear said:

Shockingly Roberts votes with liberals in ordering a stay of a Louisiana TRAP antichoice law. Also shocking, Kavanaugh dissented by himself in one of the most dishonest bullshit ways people have ever seen and basically declared quite loudly his intent to eviscerate roe whenever he is given the chance. 

Case may still make it to scotus. This is just blocking the law from going into effect before it is heard.

Yeah, no surprise, as far as Kavanaugh goes. He appeared an entitled frat-boy rapist and he is in the process of confirming it with his ongoing behaviors.

 


The Green New Deal’s Huge Flaw
It completely ignores the most crucial environmental, economic, and racial-justice issue of all: where we live.

https://slate.com/business/2019/02/green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-flaw-land-use.html

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Environmentalists know transportation is the elephant in the room. At first blush, the easiest way to attack that problem is to electrify everything, and that’s largely what the Green New Deal calls for, with goals like “100 percent zero emission passenger vehicles by 2030” and “100 percent fossil-free transportation by 2050.” The cars we drive feel more easily changeable than the places we live.

But electric vehicles are nowhere near ready for widespread adoption—and even if they were, “half of the world’s consumption of oil would remain untouched,” Bloomberg reports. A Tesla in every driveway just won’t cut it.

The Economy
Even if there were an electric car in the garage of every net-zero McMansion, sprawl’s regressive legacy would persist in the economy. Sprawl requires us to spend more time and more money to reach the places we need to go.


The strongest demonstration of this is the fact that Americans’ jobs are far from where they live. This is particularly true for poor people and people of color, a phenomenon known as “spatial mismatch.” 

 

 

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From my POV, the 'Green New Deal' is more of an opening position than something adamantly held to.

That said, the Green New Deal has flaws so severe it'll be unworkable even if watered down a great deal with double the timeline.  

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1 hour ago, A True Kaniggit said:

Whoa. So you never had a gym teacher say, "Screw it, teams are salt vs. pepper today."?

I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back, it's screwed up that most of my classes were 90% white in an area where 40% of the population is black.

Dude, I think I just found out what 'triggered' means. I ABSOLUTELY heard shit like that in school, in the 90's. I have a vivid memory, and I mean vivid, that just surfaced regarding playing 'jeopardy' for a semester review in History class and when dividing us into teams the teacher said 'Let's do salt and pepper'.

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2 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

I'm curious - what can the fed do about sprawl? That is literally the least federally mandated and regulated thing in the US. 

Maybe not the Fed, but the insurance companies.  Not going to bother with the links, but I have been tracking more and more articles where insurance companies are basically saying 'if you are stupid enough to build here, then we will not insure you' - with 'here' being areas prone to flood and storm damage. 

 

The other thing is utility costs: yes, you've snared a great deal on a mega mansion - but said mega mansion is a two hour commute from your workplace and comes with outrageously expensive utility bills.  Plus, all you end up seeing of the new pad is the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom - might as well be an apartment.  Half my route is like this - the people living in those places are either barely making ends meet, or they're gone half the time (as in not in the area) to make the money to pay the bills.  Most of the rest are retired folks with paid off mortgages who get nice tax breaks and don't go anywhere.   More and more seriously nice houses sitting on the market without takers.

 

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19 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

I'm curious - what can the fed do about sprawl? That is literally the least federally mandated and regulated thing in the US. 

Well, I think that is why the writer says it is very difficult to grapple with. I'm a suburbanite of Seattle. How do you force people like me to come in nearer the city? Especially since economic forces are forcing people further out. 

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That strategic positioning hasn’t gone without notice. As Kristin Kanthak, a professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, put it on Twitter: “You know we are at a disgusting moment in our nation’s history when the billionaire sending out dick pics is the HERO of the story.”

Jeff Bezos Brings the Receipts
The Amazon founder goes to war with a tabloid.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/jeff-bezos-accuses-national-enquirer-extortion/582319/

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Favorite tweet I saw on Bezo v. Pecker

Check out @matthewfederman’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/matthewfederman/status/1093663427753533440?s=09

1) Never start a war with a man who buys ink by the barrel

2) Never start a war with a man that delivers all those barrels with free two day shipping

 

My irrelevant thought on Virginia are the Govenor and Lt. Govenlr need to go while the AG should stay for he handled the best I think one could in this case. Though the Republican Senate Leader got into game:

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Another Virginia politician — state Sen. Tommy Norment, the Republican majority leader — was swept up in the growing blackface scandal Thursday after it was revealed that he was one of the editors of a 1968 Virginia Military Institute yearbook that featured racist language and students in blackface.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/top-va-senator-tommy-norment-swept-state-blackface-scandal-n969021

Meanwhile, saw a few tweet from Floridians thanking Virginia yet knew Flordia could not keep out of it.

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Republican Rep. Anthony Sabatini of Florida is the latest politician facing calls for his ouster after damning high school photos of him dressed in blackface.

Sabatini is refusing to resign, however, calling the photo a “prank.”

 

https://atlantablackstar.com/2019/02/07/florida-republican-refuses-to-resign-over-blackface-photo-says-he-was-only-impersonating-his-friend/

Though this look a little desperate:

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The city commissioner of a small beach town in Florida resigned this week after being censured amid complaints she allegedly licked her male co-workers' faces and groped them during meetings and events.

Nancy Oakley, who served as the Madeira Beach city commissioner from 2007 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2019, submitted her letter of resignation Tuesday.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-city-commissioner-resigns-following-complaints-she-licked-men-s-n968791

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21 minutes ago, ThinkerX said:

Maybe not the Fed, but the insurance companies.  Not going to bother with the links, but I have been tracking more and more articles where insurance companies are basically saying 'if you are stupid enough to build here, then we will not insure you' - with 'here' being areas prone to flood and storm damage. 

This is a different problem. Most sprawl is not in areas which are more dangerous than the city it surrounds (most of the time, it's less).

26 minutes ago, ThinkerX said:

The other thing is utility costs: yes, you've snared a great deal on a mega mansion - but said mega mansion is a two hour commute from your workplace and comes with outrageously expensive utility bills.

You live in a very sparsely populated state. I'm currently at almost the exact opposite of that (i.e. New York City, though not Manhattan) and I can tell you that the utility bills are outrageously expensive despite the fact that I'm in an apartment rather than a mansion. It's not that the electricity itself is expensive (it's fairly cheap in New York state), but the price more than doubles due to "delivery charges" and other fees of this nature. The same is true for water. It doesn't matter what one does here: the closer to the places where there are many good jobs, the more expensive everything gets.

And in fact this happens pretty much everywhere in the world; it's a nearly inevitable consequence of concentrating so much wealth (and therefore also so many jobs) into small spaces. I can imagine a world where this is not the case, but it wouldn't look much like ours.

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1 hour ago, Martell Spy said:

Well, I think that is why the writer says it is very difficult to grapple with. I'm a suburbanite of Seattle. How do you force people like me to come in nearer the city? Especially since economic forces are forcing people further out. 

So am I. Probably the main thing fed policy can do is expand the social safety net and beef up HUD. But really there isn't much they can do. Improve transportation options, improve ability for telecommuting and the like. But little else.

And arguably that's not remotely as big a deal as most of the other stuff. 

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Also, at this point the most sane thing a true opponent of abortion could do is assassinate one of the liberal justices. A bunch of 6-3 rulings would be just fine with Roberts.

Another question. Will the dems ever win the Senate again? 

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21 minutes ago, Triskele said:

It is not that difficult to envision a future where the Dems hold the House and the White House but the Repubs hold the Senate and the courts....like...forever.

I want someone to start a youtube channel where we get to observe people that didn't vote for Clinton in the Midwest suffering over future SCOTUS decisions and wailing WHYYYY.....*

 

*I don't really want this, but fuck, I am frustrated.  

I don't think I've ever seen a film or show of his, but Sasha Baren Cohen seems ideal for the host of this hypothetical program.

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