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American Politics Thread

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That guy's lying, though - Grosskreutz didn't see a man sitting in the road, shooting people. The footage is pretty clear; Rittenhouse was fleeing from a situation and being chased, fell over, and then shot the attackers bearing down on him, including Grosskreutz.
He was clearly sitting and aiming with his gun, after he already shot someone before:
Just before Kyle Rittenhouse, seated, shot Gaige Grosskreutz, left, he had fired two shots at an unidentified man in light jeans who tried to kick him. Rittenhouse then fired a fatal shot into the chest of Anthony Huber, foreground, as the three men attempted to disarm the teenage vigilante — who had previously killed another protester, Joseph Rosenbaum — on Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Also, I really don't like how you used the word "attackers" when describing people who were defending themselves and others from an armed vigilante. Or to quote the prosecutor:
“I want you to keep in mind that we’ve all read stories and heard about heroes that step in to stop an active shooter, or to give their life to save others,” Binger told the jury. “When you think about the defendant’s behavior in this case, contrast it with Anthony Huber, a man who was there because he knew Jacob Blake, who carried his skateboard everywhere, and who rushed towards danger to save other people’s lives.”

“When a bank robber robs a bank and runs away and the crowd comes after him, can he just shoot anybody and claim self-defense?” Binger asked. “In this case, the crowd was right. The crowd knew the defendant had just shot someone.”

“That crowd was full of heroes,” the prosecutor added. “And that crowd did something that honestly I’m not sure I would’ve had the courage to do. If I see a guy running up the street with an AR-15 and I hear he just shot somebody, my first instinct is not to approach. Anthony Huber was different. Jump Kick Man was different. Gaige Grosskreutz was different. That doesn’t make them a threat to the defendant’s life. It doesn’t make their lives worthless. They don’t give up their right to defend themselves.”
 
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Respectable Lawyer is still totally disingenuous. Grosskreutz saw Rittenhouse run (flee) past him and fall over, and he was then attacked from that position. The way RL is trying to frame the situation to suggest that Rittenhouse took a seat and then started shooting is Trumpian.
Well, I'm still perplexed about you using the word "attackers" to describe the people defending themselves and others from Rittenhouse. The way you framed it is in my opinion, much, much more Trumpian.

EDIT: No point in bumping this thread over this old debate, so I'm leaving my response here
There is not a scintilla of dispute that Rittenhouse was attacked first by Rosenbaum, who charged at him.
Why did he charge at him? Could it be because Rittenhouse was acting threatening with his gun? In that case, Rosenbaum was not the attacker. You seem to have a very narrow definition of "attacker".

And the way you use words like "scintilla of dispute" is once again very Trumpian.
 
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Well, I'm still angry about you using the word "attackers" to describe people defending themselves and others from Rittenhouse. The way you framed it, is in my opinion, much, much more Trumpian.
There is not a scintilla of dispute that Rittenhouse was attacked first by Rosenbaum, who charged at him. After that first shooting, Rittenhouse attempted to flee the scene with several people in pursuit, one of whom had a makeshift weapon. I won't claim expertise nor deny that it's get murky as to what bystanders might interpret and what might be legally acceptable for those pursuers to do in that situation, but they were most definitely attacking someone who was running - quite possibly for their life - from the scene at that point.

There's many more questions to ask - was Rittenhouse's response to that first attack proportionate? What was he doing there? Was he looking for trouble? How and why did he approach the group? Would a black person have received the same verdict? Why is it legal for a 17-year old to be armed in such a manner? But please, we can address those questions without muddying the waters of what physically happened.
 
Changing gears to a less morbid subject, Morning Consult (finally!) released their updated governor approval ratings. There's not really much that's eye-opening, but all 3 Red State Democrats being above DeSantis is not something I expected.
 
Just popping in to say that the fact that Trump gets booed for saying he got vaccinated and encouraging his audiences to do the same, just proves that he has created a monster that is out of his control. This is very scary.
 
I've seen campaign ads for Doctor Oz and some other dude running for office in Pennsylvania while watching the Outback Bowl. Why are these ads airing in Alabama?
 

One year ago, a violent mob, guided by unscrupulous politicians, stormed the Capitol and almost succeeded in preventing the democratic transfer of power. All four of us former presidents condemned their actions and affirmed the legitimacy of the 2020 election. There followed a brief hope that the insurrection would shock the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy.

However, one year on, promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems. These forces exert power and influence through relentless disinformation, which continues to turn Americans against Americans. According to the Survey Center on American Life, 36 percent of Americans — almost 100 million adults across the political spectrum — agree that “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” The Washington Post recently reported that roughly 40 percent of Republicans believe that violent action against the government is sometimes justified.

Politicians in my home state of Georgia, as well as in others, such as Texas and Florida, have leveraged the distrust they have created to enact laws that empower partisan legislatures to intervene in election processes. They seek to win by any means, and many Americans are being persuaded to think and act likewise, threatening to collapse the foundations of our security and democracy with breathtaking speed. I now fear that what we have fought so hard to achieve globally — the right to free, fair elections, unhindered by strongman politicians who seek nothing more than to grow their own power — has become dangerously fragile at home.

I personally encountered this threat in my own backyard in 1962, when a ballot-stuffing county boss tried to steal my election to the Georgia State Senate. This was in the primary, and I challenged the fraud in court. Ultimately, a judge invalidated the results, and I won the general election. Afterward, the protection and advancement of democracy became a priority for me. As president, a major goal was to institute majority rule in southern Africa and elsewhere.

After I left the White House and founded the Carter Center, we worked to promote free, fair and orderly elections across the globe. I led dozens of election observation missions in Africa, Latin America and Asia, starting with Panama in 1989, where I put a simple question to administrators: “Are you honest officials or thieves?” At each election, my wife, Rosalynn, and I were moved by the courage and commitment of thousands of citizens walking miles and waiting in line from dusk to dawn to cast their first ballots in free elections, renewing hope for themselves and their nations and taking their first steps to self-governance. But I have also seen how new democratic systems — and sometimes even established ones — can fall to military juntas or power-hungry despots. Sudan and Myanmar are two recent examples.

For American democracy to endure, we must demand that our leaders and candidates uphold the ideals of freedom and adhere to high standards of conduct.

First, while citizens can disagree on policies, people of all political stripes must agree on fundamental constitutional principles and norms of fairness, civility and respect for the rule of law. Citizens should be able to participate easily in transparent, safe and secure electoral processes. Claims of election irregularities should be submitted in good faith for adjudication by the courts, with all participants agreeing to accept the findings. And the election process should be conducted peacefully, free of intimidation and violence.

Second, we must push for reforms that ensure the security and accessibility of our elections and ensure public confidence in the accuracy of results. Phony claims of illegal voting and pointless multiple audits only detract from democratic ideals.

Third, we must resist the polarization that is reshaping our identities around politics. We must focus on a few core truths: that we are all human, we are all Americans and we have common hopes for our communities and our country to thrive. We must find ways to re-engage across the divide, respectfully and constructively, by holding civil conversations with family, friends and co-workers and standing up collectively to the forces dividing us.

Fourth, violence has no place in our politics, and we must act urgently to pass or strengthen laws to reverse the trends of character assassination, intimidation and the presence of armed militias at events. We must protect our election officials — who are trusted friends and neighbors of many of us — from threats to their safety. Law enforcement must have the power to address these issues and engage in a national effort to come to terms with the past and present of racial injustice.

Lastly, the spread of disinformation, especially on social media, must be addressed. We must reform these platforms and get in the habit of seeking out accurate information. Corporate America and religious communities should encourage respect for democratic norms, participation in elections and efforts to counter disinformation.

Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late.
 
I'm on vacation and I'm coming across a lot of those souvenir shops. I'm completely and utterly disgusted by the amount of Trump propaganda and anti Biden shirts in here. I'm sorry but I refuse to support your store if you're selling any of the following

-"Lets Go Brandon."
-"The Good (Trump) The Bad (Democrats) The Idiot (President Biden)"
"Not My President (Biden)" (Hypocrites)
"If this flag offends you, I can help you pack."

You can go fuck yourself. I refuse to support your shop. I have found a some shops that don't have this trash though. I've never seen anything like this during the Obama era. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with Republicans these days. They essentially live to piss off Democrats these days, while the actual GOP lives to seek revenge and punish the Democrats.
 
In recent news, the GOP member John Katko announced that he won't be seeking reelection. He was one of the 9 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. Naturally, the bloated windbag that is Trump is delighted at this, saying "Another one bites the dust". While this means we lost an actually intelligent Republican there is a silver lining here. With another Republican not seeking reelection means the Democrats have a higher chance at fully claiming Congress, which could give Biden far more push and prevent more... less-savory Republicans from taking the spot and causing more grief for everyone. It's a gamble, naturally, but it does inspire hope that Congress can get more Democrats in to further shift the power into the right hands. Granted, I know not all Democrats are good (lookin' at you, Munchin) but any fresh additions that can bolster Biden's chances of finally shutting down all the Republican nonsense that has poisoned our country is a help. Here's hoping that someone decent (and who isn't a Republican yes-man to Trump) can take Katko's place and help get this country back on track before it implodes due to Trump's toxic influence.
 
Probably a good time to point out neither Manchin nor Sinema have voted against any of Biden’s judicial nominees so far.
 
It's more likely that they would vote Biden's pick, since it will do nothing to affect their grasp over the Supreme Court unless Biden's pick can make some really insane arguments that changes the minds of even the most staunch of conservative Judges on the current group of Judges.

Now I'm wondering when they do start the nomination process for the replacement, since if I got my facts right, Breyer retires next year which will be the new term for those elected and re-elected in this election.
 
So, a recent Yahoo News poll (or something like that) said that many Republican individuals feel that Putin is a "stronger leader" than Biden. So, the GOP feels that a dictator like Putin, who is willing to invade another country, is a more worthy leader than someone who is trying to fix 4 years of discord and malcontents caused by a megalomaniac tyrant? I think it's safe to say that Republicans are officially braindead. It amazes me just the sheer amount of damage Trump has done to our country that his fanatic followers are willing to side with Putin over Biden simply because Trump didn't win the elections. Really, I knew the GOP and its morals was going down the tubes but this is even worse than I thought.
 
Now I'm wondering when they do start the nomination process for the replacement, since if I got my facts right, Breyer retires next year which will be the new term for those elected and re-elected in this election.
Breyer would retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term, which would be this summer. Biden should announce his nominee soon after that.
So, a recent Yahoo News poll (or something like that) said that many Republican individuals feel that Putin is a "stronger leader" than Biden. So, the GOP feels that a dictator like Putin, who is willing to invade another country, is a more worthy leader than someone who is trying to fix 4 years of discord and malcontents caused by a megalomaniac tyrant? I think it's safe to say that Republicans are officially braindead. It amazes me just the sheer amount of damage Trump has done to our country that his fanatic followers are willing to side with Putin over Biden simply because Trump didn't win the elections. Really, I knew the GOP and its morals was going down the tubes but this is even worse than I thought.
The far-right has loved Putin for a long time; they view Russia as the savior of the white race. It was only a matter of time before it bled into mainstream conservatism.
 
Breyer would retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term, which would be this summer. Biden should announce his nominee soon after that.

The far-right has loved Putin for a long time; they view Russia as the savior of the white race. It was only a matter of time before it bled into mainstream conservatism.

To be honest I'm not too surprised, as I have heard snippets about it here and there. Yet I'm still disgusted that Republicans have become such scum to be more supportive to a dictator over a decent human being whose trying to fix the gargantuan mess Trump left. Especially since Putin played Trump like a fiddle back when the latter was in the big chair. Just goes to show how bad things have gotten.
 
Senate MINORITY leader McConnell can say whatever he wants. He doesn't determine it this time. lol
I still expect him to pull some kind of procedural fuckery to prevent the other party from executing nominations. So I'm gonna figuratively hold my breath until whoever Biden picks is safely seated at the court.

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Don’t worry about McConnell. He’s completely powerless right now.
Anyway, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to appointing a Black woman to the court. Conservative talking heads are reacting exactly how you would expect.
 
Anyway, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to appointing a Black woman to the court. Conservative talking heads are reacting exactly how you would expect.
Be careful what you wish for when it comes to identity-based pledges for judicial appointments. I'm all for a Black woman with solid progressive jurisprudence, but Reagan's promise to appoint a female justice got us Sandra Day O'Connor, and H.W. Bush's promise to appoint a Black justice got us Clarence Thomas. Mind you, Biden's political instincts trend conservative and he's obsessed with a dead ideal of bipartisanship, so I'm not holding out hope for the liberal credentials of any appointment he makes, Black woman or not.
 
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