The Republic Is Saved.

[orange87]

2 minutes ago, jack said:

Isn't Connecticut one of the highest taxed states in the US? 

Our corporate tax rate is 7.5% which is only slightly above average. Connecticut has a highly skilled/educated workforce, very high quality of life and very desirable suburbs. You get what you pay for.

[spenser1058]

Special for @prahaboheme: the Czech Republic is giving China what for over Ukraine:

From The Washington Post 

It’s The Mouse That Roared! Charge On!

[orange87]

The federal government is behind the curve on minimum wage and marijuana. 30 of 50 states have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. 39 of 50 states have marijuana laws that are less strict than federal marijuana laws.

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, orange87 said:

The federal government is behind the curve on minimum wage and marijuana. 30 of 50 states have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. 39 of 50 states have marijuana laws that are less strict than federal marijuana laws.

It stands to reason - after all, the states are “the laboratory of democracy”. Obamacare, after all, was just a slightly modified version of Romneycare (and it originated in a Republican think tank).

In any event, with folks like The Turtle and Joe Manchin in the Senate and Kevin McCarthy and Madison Cawthorn in the House, it’s a miracle anything gets passed at all.

Edited April 30, 2022 by spenser1058

[jack]

On 4/30/2022 at 4:20 PM, spenser1058 said:

It stands to reason - after all, the states are “the laboratory of democracy”. Obamacare, after all, was just a slightly modified version of Romneycare (and it originated in a Republican think tank).

In any event, with folks like The Turtle and Joe Manchin in the Senate and Kevin McCarthy and Madison Cawthorn in the House, it’s a miracle anything gets passed at all.

Yep. Besides, the federal rate should be a floor. Each state needs to decide what is appropriate based on the cost of living. 

Thankfully, Cawthorn does not do any legislating. 

[orange87]

I think if Roe v Wade gets overturned and if Biden cancels student loan debt, those things will help Democrats in the midterms and will also help Biden's approval rating.

[spenser1058]

18 minutes ago, orange87 said:

I think if Roe v Wade gets overturned and if Biden cancels student loan debt, those things will help Democrats in the midterms and will also help Biden's approval rating.

There’s been a lot of talk about Democrats being unmotivated and especially if Roe v. Wade is going down, that should motivate the faithful.

Now if we can just get The Lincoln Project to do an ad about how eager the GQP is to bring back coat-hanger abortions. Those rather graphic pics and debates were all the rage in my HS extemp days.

What’s really weird is how the US is going backwards on this while Catholic countries like Ireland and in Latin America are easing up on abortion bans. “The GQP - taking us at warp speed back to the ‘50’s”.

[orange87]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

There’s been a lot of talk about Democrats being unmotivated and especially if Roe v. Wade is going down, that should motivate the faithful.

Now if we can just get The Lincoln Project to do an ad about how eager the GQP is to bring back coat-hanger abortions. Those rather graphic pics and debates were all the rage in my HS extemp days.

What’s really weird is how the US is going backwards on this while Catholic countries like Ireland and in Latin America are easing up on abortion bans. “The GQP - taking us at warp speed back to the ‘50’s”.

And if Hillary won in 2016 then none of this would be happening.

Edit: Now I'm a Burg!

Edited May 3, 2022 by orange87

[jack]

1 hour ago, orange87 said:

I think if Roe v Wade gets overturned and if Biden cancels student loan debt, those things will help Democrats in the midterms and will also help Biden's approval rating.

Wouldn't it be Casey V Planned Parenthood and not Roe? Roe was constitutional right to privacy i.e abortion. Casey was viability which is what the Tennessee law is based on. 

Edit, I guess both could be overturned, neither or just Casey. 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by jack

[orange87]

We have to realize that the modern GOP is the party of big government overreach. They think the government should control women's reproductive systems and that the government should lock adults in prison for smoking plants in their own home that are safer than alcohol. "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I’m from the government and I’m here to help."

[spenser1058]

51 minutes ago, jack said:

Wouldn't it be Casey V Planned Parenthood and not Roe? Roe was constitutional right to privacy i.e abortion. Casey was viability which is what the Tennessee law is based on. 

Edit, I guess both could be overturned, neither or just Casey. 

 

It’s somewhat moot from the public’s standpoint. Availability of abortion with sensible restrictions is where popular sentiment has been for ages.

The Clintons got the politics right on this three decades ago: abortion should be “available, safe and rare”.

If you thought the public believed the left was going too far with “defund the police” (which despite GQP lies, Biden never supported), just wait until folks react to this. This is very likely what’s necessary for effective pushback against the far right.

What’s going to move the needle even further is that the wingnuts are now mobilizing against medical abortions (including the “morning after” pill) as well as surgical ones.

When you reach that level, it’s clear you’re not “protecting unborn children”, you’re trying to regulate sex and a woman’s control of her own body.

Edited May 3, 2022 by spenser1058

[jack]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

It’s somewhat moot from the public’s standpoint. Availability of abortion with sensible restrictions is where popular sentiment has been for ages.

The Clintons got the politics right on this three decades ago: abortion should be “available, safe and rare”.

If you thought the public believed the left was going too far with “defund the police” (which despite GQP lies, Biden never supported), just wait until folks react to this. This is very likely what’s necessary for effective pushback against the far right.

What’s going to move the needle even further is that the wingnuts are now mobilizing against medical abortions (including the “morning after” pill) as well as surgical ones.

When you reach that level, it’s clear you’re not “protecting unborn children”, you’re trying to regulate sex and a woman’s control of her own body.

Available, safe and rare has not been the public discourse for at least a decade. It may be what the public wants but it is not what the public gets. 

I don't know how much public pushback there will be since the issue goes down to the state. It will depend on what each state does. 

The opposition to the morning after pill is not a real movement. Only the deepest of a social conservative is against the pill and they are minorities in the GOP. 

[spenser1058]

26 minutes ago, jack said:

Available, safe and rare has not been the public discourse for at least a decade. It may be what the public wants but it is not what the public gets. 

I don't know how much public pushback there will be since the issue goes down to the state. It will depend on what each state does. 

The opposition to the morning after pill is not a real movement. Only the deepest of a social conservative is against the pill and they are minorities in the GOP. 

70+ % do not want Roe (or Casey, for that matter, but most don’t know that one) overturned. It’s overreach by the far right. This one is great for Dems in the suburbs. For once, it’s the GOP snatching defeat from the hands of victory instead of we hapless Democrats. Thank God, we don’t need a pithy slogan to run on this. 

Did I mention it’s great for fundraising?
 

[spenser1058]

Depending on whether the final ruling echoes that of Justice Alito’s draft, this also has the potential to affect other rulings like marriage equality.

It’s worth noting that on May 1, issues like these also finally led to a split in my denomination, the United Methodist Church. The conservatives have taken their marbles over to a new sect, the Global Methodist Church, which ironically aligns these folks more closely with the church in Africa than with founder John Wesley’s background  in the Anglican tradition.

I’m pleased to report that downtown’s First Methodist Church will remain a beacon of diversity in Orlando’s core.

What seems to be true both in the direction SCOTUS seems to be heading and in decisions made by one of the larger mainline  denominations is that issues which have sat in a precarious balance for some time are going to be decided one way or another. It’s up to all of us as citizens and congregants to work tirelessly as these changes come. Sitting on the sidelines as so many have done for so long is no longer an effective strategy in this era. We can no longer be “the good people who do nothing” as Dr. King used to inveigh.

[spenser1058]

Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine (who makes Bernie look like a conservative and is one of the major reasons Gwen Graham is not governor and saving us from The Evil Reign of DeStupid) wants former Disney CEO Bob Iger (he leans center left on social issues and center right on economics) to run for president in 2024.

Oprah’s ready to sign up and I kind of like the idea.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/guest-commentary/os-op-disney-bob-iger-philip-levine-20220517-73zvkua6onfv7bb2s7rkeelhua-story.html

From The Sentinel 

*sends @orange87  and @HankStrong a pair of mouse ears with ‘Bob 2024’ on them…*

An interesting sidebar of this is what made Mayor Levine wake up today and say “I want Iger to run!”

Who set this trial balloon for launch?

If it’s legit, does it suggest Florida is the place to launch? The MSM essentially picked up the GOP talking points on RCID (which of course is about a lot more politically than who controls Disney’s infrastructure in the state) and gave much less coverage to the large pro-Disney contingent. 

Put it this way: remember just how spectacularly the Southern Baptist boycott failed the last time the Repubs were launching culture war bombs.
 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by spenser1058

[orange87]

It's nice to see people in the GOP standing up to Trump. If a Republican wins the Pennsylvania Senate seat vacated by Pat Toomey, I hope it's Kathy Barnette.

GOP Senate Candidate Kathy Barnette Takes Jab at "Less Electable" Trump

Article: https://www.thedailybeast.com/kathy-barnette-gop-senate-candidate-in-pennsylvania-takes-jab-at-less-electable-trump?fbclid=IwAR1IsT2MVpyYyCIYWTARlguWvhMd1dnfe7MJF3YXi0w2_JCpyWN0QGzBdvY

Edited May 17, 2022 by orange87

[spenser1058]

9 minutes ago, orange87 said:

It's nice to see people in the GOP standing up to Trump. If a Republican wins the Pennsylvania Senate seat vacated by Pat Toomey, I hope it's Kathy Barnette.

GOP Senate Candidate Kathy Barnette Takes Jab at "Less Electable" Trump

Article: https://www.thedailybeast.com/kathy-barnette-gop-senate-candidate-in-pennsylvania-takes-jab-at-less-electable-trump?fbclid=IwAR1IsT2MVpyYyCIYWTARlguWvhMd1dnfe7MJF3YXi0w2_JCpyWN0QGzBdvY

It will be nice if the Trump candidate goes down, but all the GQP candidates up there make me askeered.

Edited May 17, 2022 by spenser1058

[prahaboheme]

Kathy Barnette is radical and unelectable therefore, I hope she sweeps this primary. 
That’ll make it a lot easier for the Democrats to maintain this seat.

[spenser1058]

A mixed bag in last night’s primaries but thank God Madison Cawthorn will wheel back under the rock he slithered out from two years ago. According to the Washington Post, women and college-educated voters broke decisively with Cawthorn, leading to his defeat. It’ll soon be safe to go to Asheville again!

Edited May 18, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

A bit more good news from PA about the Governor’s race:

”Republicans are concerned about their chances in the open Pennsylvania gubernatorial race after far-right state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) won the party’s nomination. We’re moving that race from Toss-up to Leans Democratic.”

From Sabato’s Crystal Ball (a part of the UVa  Center For Politics, it’s one of the more neutral election predictors and among the most accurate). Let’s hear it for the Keystone State!

[spenser1058]

President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up manufacture of baby formula and use Defense Dept planes to fly in formula from other countries as required.

All of this is an excellent response to the crisis but I kept imagining legions of babies in Army onesies with their binkies and blankies crawling in formation to Fort Ord or someplace…

[spenser1058]

Karma is a wonderful thing. It turns out Trump’s attempt to cheat the 2020 Census disadvantaged more red than blue states.

Had The Orange One not fiddled with Florida, for example, we likely would have picked up another seat in Congress as originally predicted.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/20/how-trumps-census-plot-might-have-cost-red-states/

From The Washington Post 

 

[orange87]

On 5/18/2022 at 7:18 AM, spenser1058 said:

A mixed bag in last night’s primaries but thank God Madison Cawthorn will wheel back under the rock he slithered out from two years ago. According to the Washington Post, women and college-educated voters broke decisively with Cawthorn, leading to his defeat. It’ll soon be safe to go to Asheville again!

Cawthorn was the guy I REALLY wanted to lose. He acts so infantile and dumb, which must be why Trump endorsed him.

[spenser1058]

Kudos to WaPo columnist Max Boot, who, after running through the list of right-wingers who’ve been Putin fanboys along the way (starting with The Donald), gets to Sen. Paul:

‘In April, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) excused the Russian attack by saying that the Kremlin invades only countries that “were part of Russia.” (Should Alaskans be worried?)’

Heck, wasn’t the west coast of the US explored by Russians as well (several SFO landmarks note this)? According to the Paul doctrine, should he claim our Pacific Coast as well? 

[spenser1058]

Interesting poll, we’re going to have to see if it’s an outlier. Nevertheless, the Harvard/Harris poll had VP Kamala Harris sliding by Gov. Ron DeSantis (she still polls behind The Orange Guy).

Given a sizable chunk of the Democratic Party (including me) aren’t thrilled by Kamala, this is fascinating if accurate. Stay tuned:

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/527669-kamala-harris-edges-out-ron-desantis-in-another-2024-poll/

From Florida Politics