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Post by morecowbell on Jan 30, 2024 2:05:37 GMT
Trump and the Republicans depend on instilling fear in people. Frequently, the fear isn't even based on reality. Or it's based on white Christian nationalism - dehumanizing immigrants by calling them terrorists or vermin, talk of them poisoning the blood of our country, an immigrant invasion etc. Falsely claiming there's an open border, immigrants can vote, blaming the drug crisis on immigrants, undocumented immigrants are receiving federal aid, immigrants are stealing jobs and responsible for crime. robertreich.substack.com/p/trump-republican-nativism-is-basedwww.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/opinion/trump-maga-fear.htmlRepublican political strategy depends largely on frightening voters who are personally doing relatively well, not just according to official statistics but also by their own accounts, by telling them that terrible things are happening to other people.
But the world — especially MAGAworld — isn’t rational. And it’s a longstanding observation that Americans tend to say that national crime is rising even when it’s falling, and even when they concede that it’s falling where they live.
Again, these misperceptions are strongly associated with partisanship, with a startling willingness of Republicans to believe things that aren’t true.
What does this say about the future of America? It can’t be good. A large segment of our body politic has in effect joined a cult of personality whose beliefs are nearly impervious to reality.Knowing you guys like to push this theory, I long ago lost track on the times I almost commented on all the "you" or Democrats were fear mongering. Especially lately. |
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samantha25
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,183 
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Post by samantha25 on Jan 30, 2024 2:36:10 GMT
I like this #nomorecrackpots. Regrettably, I think there's a good possibility Trump will pick Stefanik as his running mate. no way. She's not his type. |
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 3:37:01 GMT
Leave it to Texas….
Aaron Rupar…
”This is a genuine constitutional crisis on 2 fronts. Abbott is refusing to acknowledge SCOTUS's ruling, thereby undermining the judiciary. He’s also refusing to recognize Biden's authority by saying Texas, not the federal govt, controls a federal border."
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Post by morecowbell on Jan 30, 2024 4:40:08 GMT
Leave it to Texas…. Aaron Rupar… ”This is a genuine constitutional crisis on 2 fronts. Abbott is refusing to acknowledge SCOTUS's ruling, thereby undermining the judiciary. He’s also refusing to recognize Biden's authority by saying Texas, not the federal govt, controls a federal border." The Supreme Court said Biden could take down the barrier. The did NOT say that Texas couldn't put it back up. Rasmussen Reports @rasmussen_Poll · 12h "Do you support or oppose Texas taking action to prevent illegal immigration?" Support- DEM: 52% IND: 66% GOP: 89% All Voters: 69% Rasmussen Reports @rasmussen_Poll Follow Border Battle: Texans Should Stand Their Ground, Most Voters Say In a dispute over the U.S.-Mexico border that made it to the Supreme Court, most voters side with Texas against President Joe Biden’s administration. 25 states Stand with Texas to secure the border. |
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 5:06:55 GMT
That has got to be one of the best most accurate description I have see for dumpster don. 😂
Acyn…
”EJC: He's nothing. He is like a walrus, snorting”
A response…
”That sound you're hearing right now is soo many people working on making a meme of this description. LMFAO”
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 6:51:01 GMT
Leave it to Texas…. Aaron Rupar… ”This is a genuine constitutional crisis on 2 fronts. Abbott is refusing to acknowledge SCOTUS's ruling, thereby undermining the judiciary. He’s also refusing to recognize Biden's authority by saying Texas, not the federal govt, controls a federal border." The Supreme Court said Biden could take down the barrier. The did NOT say that Texas couldn't put it back up. Rasmussen Reports @rasmussen_Poll · 12h "Do you support or oppose Texas taking action to prevent illegal immigration?" Support- DEM: 52% IND: 66% GOP: 89% All Voters: 69% Rasmussen Reports @rasmussen_Poll Follow Border Battle: Texans Should Stand Their Ground, Most Voters Say In a dispute over the U.S.-Mexico border that made it to the Supreme Court, most voters side with Texas against President Joe Biden’s administration. 25 states Stand with Texas to secure the border. I see there are 4 Ukrainian pilots training in F-16 jets in Arizona. Arizona is close to Texas so maybe that shit Abbott put up would make a good training target for the F-16s to take out with their missiles and guns. |
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 7:25:43 GMT
linkBusiness Insider… ”Trump is fighting back after a court monitor report that suggested he evaded taxes”A letter from Donald Trump's court monitor in his fraud trial suggests he lied about a $48 million loan. Lawyers for Trump responded on Monday, calling it a "demonstrable falsehood." The team also provided a memo from the Trump Org's legal department stating that the loan was paid off.
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 7:33:57 GMT
ABC7 News….
”Andrew Yang says Dean Phillips is best hope for beating Donald Trump ahead of San Francisco visit abc7ne.ws/3ueISPb”
These people are delusional…..
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 30, 2024 7:38:18 GMT
Stop talking Yang!
Dean Phillips, no labels, third party, major contributor Harlan Crow puller of Clearance Thomas strings!!
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smginaz Suzy
Pearl Clutcher
Je suis desole.
Posts: 2,606
Jun 26, 2014 17:27:30 GMT
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Post by smginaz Suzy on Jan 30, 2024 8:32:59 GMT
Conservatives keep talking about what a terrible job President Biden is doing at the border, but they have a short memory. Things were not so great under Trump's administration, either. They were working much better under Trump than under Biden. December’s illegal crossing numbers are nearly identical to the total number of illegal crossings that were arrested at the U.S. southern border for the entire 2017 fiscal year, when federal officials apprehended 303,916 illegal immigrants. Biden Shatters Record With Historic Number Of Illegal Alien Encounters In December “Today’s historical border numbers confirm what we already know. The Biden Admin is not using existing authority to secure the border. This continues to be a crisis by design, it’s overwhelming Border Patrol, and overrunning American communities.” -Former Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf He's doing it on purpose! You're quoting CHAD WOLF as a credible source? Yikes. |
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Post by morecowbell on Jan 30, 2024 9:05:17 GMT
They were working much better under Trump than under Biden. December’s illegal crossing numbers are nearly identical to the total number of illegal crossings that were arrested at the U.S. southern border for the entire 2017 fiscal year, when federal officials apprehended 303,916 illegal immigrants. Biden Shatters Record With Historic Number Of Illegal Alien Encounters In December “Today’s historical border numbers confirm what we already know. The Biden Admin is not using existing authority to secure the border. This continues to be a crisis by design, it’s overwhelming Border Patrol, and overrunning American communities.” -Former Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf He's doing it on purpose! You're quoting CHAD WOLF as a credible source? Yikes. Not sure of the issue with him, but with or without Chad Wolf... The same authority Biden used to reverse almost every Trump policy at the border - including terminating the national emergency declaration at the border upon taking office - can be used to make significant changes. Biden posses the authority to MASSIVELY decrease the flow of illegal crossings over the border and refuses to do it. Why?Not only that, he went to the court to prevent Texas from doing it. Why?With FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are warning that terrorists are currently a "heightened threat" including at the southern border, WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border?With at least 19 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist, and millions of gotaways... WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border? As soon as possible. |
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 30, 2024 11:37:40 GMT
The better question to ask - If the border is in such a crisis, why do the Republicans want to wait at least a year to solve it? Republicans don’t want to actually solve anything at the border, they just want to campaign on the issue and use proposed cruelty measures to stir up their base. No, President Biden alone can’t solve immigration. Securing the border requires congressional reform and funding. In the past, even Mike Johnson and Trump have admitted that. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-29-2024But the U.S., which has provided key support for NATO and Ukraine, is suddenly faltering as extremist Republicans in the House are refusing to pass a supplemental measure to provide more funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and to secure the southern border of the U.S.
Blinken again urged Congress to pass the funding.
“Without it, simply put, everything that Ukrainians achieved and that we’ve helped them achieve will be in jeopardy,” Blinken said. “And…we’re going to be sending a strong and wrong message to all of our adversaries that we are not serious about the defense of freedom, the defense of democracy. And it will simply reinforce for Vladimir Putin that he can somehow outlast Ukraine and outlast us.”
Stoltenberg agreed. “It would be a tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins, but it will also make the world more dangerous and us, all of us, more insecure. It will embolden other authoritarian leaders—not only Putin…but also North Korea, Iran, and China—to use force. Today it’s Ukraine; tomorrow it could be Taiwan. So therefore it is in our interests to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation.”
Biden appears to have ramped up aid to Ukraine slowly to keep Putin from being able to claim he was at war with the U.S. and to keep him from mounting a full-blown response to such a threat, but as David Frum put it in The Atlantic, Biden “overestimated the time available to keep aid flowing to Ukraine because he underestimated the servility of House Republicans to Trump’s anti-Ukraine animus.” Frum explained: “[T]he background political reality is that Donald Trump is an enemy of Ukraine and an admirer of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. As Trump has neared renomination, his party—especially in the House of Representatives—has surrendered to his pro-Putin pressure.”
Back in early November, then a brand new House speaker, Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Senate Republicans that he supported aid to Ukraine but would not deliver it without money for security on the southern border of the U.S. Such a measure was crucial to U.S. security, he and other Republicans insisted, and they hyped the dangers of current immigration policy.
A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators went to work to hammer out such a measure, but once it got close to completion, Trump stepped in to stop the deal, intending to run on fears of immigration in 2024. Republicans are falling into line behind Trump, putting the border deal, as well as more funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, at risk.
Meanwhile, the extremist Republicans are in the awkward position of insisting that the United States is in terrible danger from a border crisis but that they don’t want to solve that crisis for almost a year, waiting until 2025 when they expect Trump to be in office. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 30, 2024 17:21:51 GMT
TFG follows, praises Putin. As do Rand Paul, Daines, R Johnson and the others that think a good place to visit is Russia on the fourth of July!¡. Daines even tried to lie about it! So of course, they vote with their great leader!!
BTW: the talk of caravans coming from Mexico were only important for the Republicans to talk about leading up to elections and quickly dropped after!!
And Chad Wolff was/is a follower of and presently in the presence of TFG.
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 17:39:17 GMT
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 17:41:41 GMT
You're quoting CHAD WOLF as a credible source? Yikes. Not sure of the issue with him, but with or without Chad Wolf... The same authority Biden used to reverse almost every Trump policy at the border - including terminating the national emergency declaration at the border upon taking office - can be used to make significant changes. Biden posses the authority to MASSIVELY decrease the flow of illegal crossings over the border and refuses to do it. Why?Not only that, he went to the court to prevent Texas from doing it. Why?With FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are warning that terrorists are currently a "heightened threat" including at the southern border, WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border?With at least 19 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist, and millions of gotaways... WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border? As soon as possible. Careful, you are beginning to sound like this person. ”OAN host says it makes sense for Biden to have Taylor Swift date Travis Kelce in a massive deep state psy op, because sports in general starting at the youth level is also used to brainwash kids when they should be focused on Jesus instead.” |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 30, 2024 17:44:11 GMT
Isn't she a peach, NOT!
Oh wait, is she including Swift in this mess of hers..
I think Swift is very much her own intelligent person!!
U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) served up wild accusations against President Joe Biden and his administration on Monday during a House Republicans' press conference on the border. After making demands of the Biden Administration to send an ultra-conservative bill that includes funding and stringent policies for the U.S. border, and funding to support fighting in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, Republicans are now rejecting what they requested after decrees from Donald Trump.
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 17:48:17 GMT
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 30, 2024 17:49:40 GMT
Some aspects of sports are maybe questionable... But who do we know who takes his Habba to see FAKE pro wrestling matches with all their glitz and glitter...?? |
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 17:51:34 GMT
Well it is true that dumpster don has been indicted more times than elected. 😂
Acyn….
”McGovern: They say we just need president who falls the law. I hope they're not implying a rapist who was just ordered by a jury to pay $83 million for defaming his victim, I hope they're not saying that he follows the law. He’s been indicted more times than elected
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 30, 2024 18:10:57 GMT
A bit of not such good news Rep Cori Bush may have gotten herself into a mess. Details are not forthcoming, just overall statements.. Others spent like $1000. She spent far more, involving her boyfriend at the time, now DH... The Justice Department is investigating Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) for possible misuse of funds surrounding her personal security.Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman released the news Tuesday, citing six sources familiar with the investigation. Thus far, the DOJ has subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records about the funds being spent, Sherman reported. The allegations date back to 2021 when Bush was accused of hypocrisy after making defund the police demands while spending nearly $70,000 on private security in the wake of the Jan. 6 attacks. “You would rather me die? Is that what you want to see? You want to see me die? You know, because that could be the alternative,” she responded. www.rawstory.com/cori-bush-justice-department-investigation/ |
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 18:26:30 GMT
Has a point….
Acyn…
”Goldman: On the one hand you hear that Secretary Mayorkas should not have changed the policies of the Trump Administration, but if he is changing the policies of the Trump Administration, that means it's a policy decision, not a violation of the law.”
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 18:53:00 GMT
Gavin Newsom…
”California veterans have given everything for our freedom.
Proposition 1 is for them.
Prop 1 will provide $1 billion to serve veterans experiencing homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse issues.
Vote YES on Prop 1 this March.”
Will do!
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Post by onelasttime on Jan 30, 2024 19:51:16 GMT
Biden-Harris HQ
”Reid: Republicans love to latch on to President Biden and Democrats' successful policies and take credit for things they didn't do, while tying themselves into pretzels to do nothing for the American people for the sake of Donald Trump”
Ain’t that the truth….
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 30, 2024 20:22:01 GMT
Cory Bush has issued a statement concerning the investigations. The US House has cleared her of any wrong doing, Sept 2023. Is is fully cooperating with all agencies involved. The DOJ and FEC.
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Post by morecowbell on Jan 30, 2024 20:51:43 GMT
The better question to ask - If the border is in such a crisis, why do the Republicans want to wait at least a year to solve it? Republicans don’t want to actually solve anything at the border, they just want to campaign on the issue and use proposed cruelty measures to stir up their base. No, President Biden alone can’t solve immigration. Securing the border requires congressional reform and funding. In the past, even Mike Johnson and Trump have admitted that. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-29-2024But the U.S., which has provided key support for NATO and Ukraine, is suddenly faltering as extremist Republicans in the House are refusing to pass a supplemental measure to provide more funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and to secure the southern border of the U.S.
Blinken again urged Congress to pass the funding.
“Without it, simply put, everything that Ukrainians achieved and that we’ve helped them achieve will be in jeopardy,” Blinken said. “And…we’re going to be sending a strong and wrong message to all of our adversaries that we are not serious about the defense of freedom, the defense of democracy. And it will simply reinforce for Vladimir Putin that he can somehow outlast Ukraine and outlast us.”
Stoltenberg agreed. “It would be a tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins, but it will also make the world more dangerous and us, all of us, more insecure. It will embolden other authoritarian leaders—not only Putin…but also North Korea, Iran, and China—to use force. Today it’s Ukraine; tomorrow it could be Taiwan. So therefore it is in our interests to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation.”
Biden appears to have ramped up aid to Ukraine slowly to keep Putin from being able to claim he was at war with the U.S. and to keep him from mounting a full-blown response to such a threat, but as David Frum put it in The Atlantic, Biden “overestimated the time available to keep aid flowing to Ukraine because he underestimated the servility of House Republicans to Trump’s anti-Ukraine animus.” Frum explained: “[T]he background political reality is that Donald Trump is an enemy of Ukraine and an admirer of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. As Trump has neared renomination, his party—especially in the House of Representatives—has surrendered to his pro-Putin pressure.”
Back in early November, then a brand new House speaker, Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Senate Republicans that he supported aid to Ukraine but would not deliver it without money for security on the southern border of the U.S. Such a measure was crucial to U.S. security, he and other Republicans insisted, and they hyped the dangers of current immigration policy.
A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators went to work to hammer out such a measure, but once it got close to completion, Trump stepped in to stop the deal, intending to run on fears of immigration in 2024. Republicans are falling into line behind Trump, putting the border deal, as well as more funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, at risk.
Meanwhile, the extremist Republicans are in the awkward position of insisting that the United States is in terrible danger from a border crisis but that they don’t want to solve that crisis for almost a year, waiting until 2025 when they expect Trump to be in office.No, it isn't the better question to ask. The questions I asked are the exact right questions. Here they are again: The same authority Biden used to reverse almost every Trump policy at the border - including terminating the national emergency declaration at the border upon taking office - can be used to make significant changes. Right now. Biden posses the authority to MASSIVELY decrease the flow of illegal crossings over the border and refuses to do it. Why?Not only that, he went to the court to prevent Texas from doing it. Why?With FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are warning that terrorists are currently a "heightened threat" including at the southern border, WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border?With at least 19 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist, and millions of gotaways... WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border? As soon as possible. The answer to your question is: they don't want to wait a year solve it. They want Biden to do his damn job. Now. |
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Post by morecowbell on Jan 30, 2024 20:58:29 GMT
Not sure of the issue with him, but with or without Chad Wolf... The same authority Biden used to reverse almost every Trump policy at the border - including terminating the national emergency declaration at the border upon taking office - can be used to make significant changes. Biden posses the authority to MASSIVELY decrease the flow of illegal crossings over the border and refuses to do it. Why?Not only that, he went to the court to prevent Texas from doing it. Why?With FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are warning that terrorists are currently a "heightened threat" including at the southern border, WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border?With at least 19 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist, and millions of gotaways... WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border? As soon as possible. Careful, you are beginning to sound like this person. ”OAN host says it makes sense for Biden to have Taylor Swift date Travis Kelce in a massive deep state psy op, because sports in general starting at the youth level is also used to brainwash kids when they should be focused on Jesus instead.” No, I'm not sounding like a conspiracy theorist. Not even close. I posted ONLY facts. Now, you're going to pretend that facts are a conspiracy theory? That's one hell of a leap to make in order to avoid facing facts that don't support your narrative. Here's what I said: "The same authority Biden used to reverse almost every Trump policy at the border - including terminating the national emergency declaration at the border upon taking office - can be used to make significant changes. Biden posses the authority to MASSIVELY decrease the flow of illegal crossings over the border and refuses to do it. Why?Not only that, he went to the court to prevent Texas from doing it. Why?With FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are warning that terrorists are currently a "heightened threat" including at the southern border, WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border?With at least 19 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist, and millions of gotaways... WHY would you NOT do everything in your power to secure the border? As soon as possible."Now onelasttime, show us where the conspiracy theory is. |
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 30, 2024 21:07:51 GMT
Wonder how Republicans feel about continuing to fund Trump's legal expenses? Will he pay E Jean Carroll or the NY fraud case from campaign funds? 10% of donations are re-directed to his legal funds. If he's as wealthy as he claims, why does he need Republican donors and super PACs to pay his legal fees? PACs paid $50 million in legal expenses for Trump in 2023 www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/us/politics/trump-legal-fees.htmlTrump’s PACs Spent Roughly $50 Million on Legal Expenses in 2023
The former president is facing four criminal indictments and potential trials that could drive his legal bills even higher as he seeks to lock up the Republican presidential nomination.
Donald J. Trump piled up legal expenses in 2023 as he was indicted four times, spending approximately $50 million in donor money on legal bills and investigation-related expenses last year, according to two people briefed on the figure.
It is a staggering sum. His lone remaining rival in the 2024 Republican primary, Nikki Haley, raised roughly the same amount of money across all her committees in the last year as Mr. Trump’s political accounts spent paying the bills stemming from his various legal defenses, including lawyers for witnesses.
Mr. Trump has been directing 10 percent of donations raised online to Save America, meaning 10 cents of every dollar he has received from supporters is going to a PAC that chiefly funds his lawyers.
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 30, 2024 21:15:10 GMT
I kind of love that MAGAs are losing their minds over Taylor Swift. Some of the conspiracies they've invented are completely crazy. Sorry for the profanity but Jo's tweet is funny. www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/us/politics/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-trump.htmlTaylor Swift. And she is driving the movement behind Donald Trump bonkers.
The fulminations surrounding the world’s biggest pop icon — and girlfriend of Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ star tight end — reached the stratosphere after Kansas City made it to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years, and the first time since Ms. Swift joined the team’s entourage.
The conspiracy theories coming out of the Make America Great Again contingent were already legion: that Ms. Swift is a secret agent of the Pentagon; that she is bolstering her fan base in preparation for her endorsement of President Biden’s re-election; or that she and Mr. Kelce are a contrived couple, assembled to boost the N.F.L. or Covid vaccines or Democrats or whatever
The pro-Trump broadcaster Mike Crispi led off on Sunday by claiming that the National Football League is “rigged” in order to spread “Democrat propaganda”: “Calling it now: KC wins, goes to Super Bowl, Swift comes out at the halftime show and ‘endorses’ Joe Biden with Kelce at midfield.”
Then Swift-bashing reached Fox News in mid-January. The host Jesse Watters suggested the superstar was a Defense Department asset engaging in psychological warfare. He tied Ms. Swift’s political voice with her boyfriend’s Pfizer endorsement to the remarkable success of her Eras tour, which bolstered local economies and landed her on the cover of Time.
“Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this?” Mr. Watters wondered on air. “Well, around four years ago, the Pentagon psychological operations unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a NATO meeting.”
But her appearance on the field with Mr. Kelce in Baltimore after the Chiefs beat the Ravens on Sunday, complete with a kiss and a hug, appears to have sent conservatives into a fit of apoplexy that may only grow in the run-up to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas Feb. 11.
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 30, 2024 21:26:34 GMT
Interesting theory on Republicans blowing up the immigration deal www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/30/republicans-immigration-deal-johnson-clueless/House Republicans in recent weeks have blown up an immigration deal negotiated by their own party in the Senate and urged President Biden to adopt border measures that courts have found illegal. A cynic might say this is all theater — that Republicans (led by former president Donald Trump) want to keep immigration problems going through the election.
But did anyone consider a simpler explanation: that Republicans have no clue how our immigration system works.
Republican lawmakers have been holding up aid for Ukraine and Israel for months while seeking concessions on unrelated immigration measures. Yet after Democrats finally cried uncle, House Republicans said oh, just kidding. They don’t want this deal after all!
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and others now claim Biden doesn’t need new legislation to crack down on the border. Instead, they allege Biden can use his existing authority to reduce immigration by reviving all the executive actions that Trump had put into place.
There are a few problems with this claim. First, Biden has already issued more than 500 immigration-related executive actions, more than Trump announced over four years, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Biden has arguably exhausted the extent of his presidential authority, and so far his measures haven’t stemmed the tide of border crossings.
Second, if Biden hasn’t revived Trump’s specific policies — as Republicans urge him to do — that’s largely because so many Trump policies were found to be illegal.
Of the 35 major Trump-era immigration agency actions that faced legal challenges, 33 (94 percent) did not survive litigation — that is, either the court ruled against the relevant agency, or the agency withdrew the action after being sued. These numbers are from the New York University Institute for Policy Integrity’s regulatory challenge database.
Even when Republican-appointed judges presided over such cases, Trump immigration actions were unsuccessful 90 percent of the time.
In other words, the policies that House Republicans claim Biden can adopt “with the stroke of a pen” are outside his pen’s reach — unless Congress passes the bipartisan legislation that these Republicans refuse to consider.
Maybe Johnson and his GOP colleagues claim Biden can do things without lawmakers’ help because they want Biden to look feckless. Maybe they grew so accustomed to Trump’s lawlessness that they figure Biden should be willing to cross a line now and then, too.
But again, there’s a reasonably strong case that the problem here is incompetence.
After all, this week House Republicans unveiled articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his alleged failures on immigration. Unfortunately, these articles complain about measures taken by a completely different government agency — the State Department — which Mayorkas does not control.
Oops. Who can tell these Cabinet secretaries apart, anyway?
In Republicans’ defense, our immigration system is confusing. Lots of people don’t get it. Still, one would hope that politicians paid to understand these things — and who have made immigration a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign — might try a bit harder. |
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Post by aj2hall on Jan 30, 2024 21:31:30 GMT
Excellent question. Part of the answer might be that in court, 33 out of 35 of Trump's executive actions were found illegal, even though some of those cases were heard by Republican judges.
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