1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

In the House, people will be making notes on who votes yes as it may make for an effective strategy to vote some of them out in 2018.

 

I don't think it will, but apparently the members of the so-called moderate "Tuesday Group" are lashing out at their sellout leader and saying he will cost them Congress.

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/03/macarthur-obamacare-house-republicans-237951?lo=ap_b1

The EO Trump is signing today basically says that the IRS can decide whether or not to go after churches who advocate from the pulpit. IOW, nothing changes. The anti-LGBT stuff was just another head fake. I think this is the fourth time they've leaked that the "hate the gays" EO was coming and it never does. It's just a way to make Donnie's rubes feel like he's accomplishing something.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-religious-liberties-executive-order-to-give-irs-discretion-on-enforcement/

 

In other news, MSNBC's answer to Kim and Kanye have announced their engagement.

 

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/331877-morning-joe-co-hosts-joe-scarborough-and-mika-brzezinski-are-engaged

Edited May 4, 20178 yr by marceline

That's an insult to Kim and Kanye...

 

I didn't even know they were a couple. 

 

I'm still wary about the EOs but I agree they are mostly bait.

 

I notice the media is going wild about the Susan Rice story again. 

ALERT: If you get your benefits at work, Trumpcare bill being voted on today snuck in something to allow them to be gutted & capped. pic.twitter.com/xCWLqR1gBZ

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) May 4, 2017

16 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

That's an insult to Kim and Kanye.

 

I was JUST going to say the same thing, lol.

 

You know, it's funny.  People are CLEARLY upset with Obama for reasons that have everything to do with skin pigmentation; and yet, from what I've been told (and, I think, have mentioned here before), your racial or ethnic identity is defined by your mother.  So, technically, Obama isn't REALLY our first Black president, because his mother was White, which makes him the same.

 

I mean, you'd think some on the right would mention that as a way to de-legitimize him and his legacy, even at the risk of having others laugh that assertion right out of the proverbial courtroom of public opinion, but I guess not.

Edited May 4, 20178 yr by Khan

29 minutes ago, Khan said:

 

I was JUST going to say the same thing, lol.

 

You know, it's funny.  People are CLEARLY upset with Obama for reasons that have everything to do with skin pigmentation; and yet, from what I've been told (and, I think, have mentioned here before), your racial or ethnic identity is defined by your mother.  So, technically, Obama isn't REALLY our first Black president, because his mother was White, which makes him the same.

 

I mean, you'd think some on the right would mention that as a way to de-legitimize him and his legacy, even at the risk of having others laugh that assertion right out of the proverbial courtroom of public opinion, but I guess not.

 

If you ever saw that PBS documentary on the history behind D.W. Griffith's Birth of A Nation, including the fight of a Boston based Black man who fought (unsuccessfully) to prevent the movie from being screened in Boston (a documentary I highly recommend, if you can find it), you know that Obama's mixed heritage makes him more of a target for venom in their eyes.

 

According to the novel the movie was based on The Clansman, white supremacists have particular ire for 'mixed' Black men who they regard as every bit as cunning as a White man but have the beastly tendencies of a Black man (according to white supremacist logic).

 

This is why white supremacists and their cohort often regarded Obama as untrustworthy and dishonest (e.g. the hidden Muslim identity) and were constantly of the belief that he was going to take their guns away (no matter how often he said that he would not) and then redistribute all the wealth and give it to 'the Blacks' (we know that was never going to happen).

 

 

Edited May 4, 20178 yr by DramatistDreamer

20 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I notice the media is going wild about the Susan Rice story again. 

The media is being idiotic if they want to be complicit in using Susan Rice as a ruse to overshadow the impending testimony of Sally Yates. Imagine Lindsay Graham thinking grilling Susan Rice is more important than getting to the bottom of TrumPutin's activities. Imagine Lindsay Graham obsessed with that instead of doing something about his leader who praises murderous dictators.

10 minutes ago, Khan said:

You know, it's funny.  People are CLEARLY upset with Obama for reasons that have everything to do with skin pigmentation; and yet, from what I've been told (and, I think, have mentioned here before), your racial or ethnic identity is defined by your mother.  So, technically, Obama isn't REALLY our first Black president, because his mother was White, which makes him the same.

I've only heard about Judaism being matrilineal.

 

Race is not definitive enough imo. It can't be about skin color because there is no plausible reason that any Indian darker than I am (and there are plenty of those) should not considered black, but instead is Asian. Also the idea that intelligence, athleticism, etc., stem from melanin is absurd. The belief that twins from the same two parents can each be considered of different races based on their skin tone, should be enough to make people stop and think about how silly racial classifications are.

 

American politics thrives on racism so what ever would America do without it?

 

2 minutes ago, Wales2004 said:

Race is not definitive enough imo. It can't be about skin color because there is no plausible reason that any Indian darker than I am (and there are plenty of those) should not considered black, but instead is Asian. Also the idea that intelligence, athleticism, etc., stem from melanin is absurd. The belief that twins from the same two parents can each be considered of different races based on their skin tone, should be enough to make people stop and think about how silly racial classifications are.

 

American politics thrives on racism so what ever would America do without it?

 

 

When I was in London in the 90s, some South Asians still referred to themselves as Black, although that was changing.

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Even though this could suck for me, I'm kind of glad.  People with jobs and money tend to have more power than poor people, so let this bill mess with everyone's insurance, so they (we) have to wake up already.

Edited May 4, 20178 yr by Juliajms

27 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

When I was in London in the 90s, some South Asians still referred to themselves as Black, although that was changing.

I do know that several years ago someone with that background headed one of the black police organizations. I don't know whether the guy considered himself black or close enough or whether it was a case of non-white police officers having the same types of grievances regarding discriminatory practices.

 

The idea that there are black people who "pass" for white should also shoot down the color factor and how some people are used in print and tv ads because they appear to be "racially ambiguous." 

 

But you can see how once upon a time some people passed for white because they found it necessary for survival. Nowadays, people would probably pass for black if they found it trendy.

 

I will say that the English seem like that pyromaniac who starts a fire and then blends into the crowd as though he's just another bystander. You see how much trouble they've historically caused and then they wash their hands off it and pretend to be ultra civilized.

Just now, Juliajms said:

Even though this could suck for me, I'm kind of glad.  People with jobs and money tend to have more power than poor people, so let this bill mess with everyone's insurance, so they (we) have to wake up already.

I look forward to the CBO score. Their little victory dance (if they pull this off) will come back to bite them later and the fact that they didn't heed the warning of not passing something that cannot get through the senate.

2 hours ago, marceline said:

The EO Trump is signing today basically says that the IRS can decide whether or not to go after churches who advocate from the pulpit. IOW, nothing changes. The anti-LGBT stuff was just another head fake. I think this is the fourth time they've leaked that the "hate the gays" EO was coming and it never does. It's just a way to make Donnie's rubes feel like he's accomplishing something.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-religious-liberties-executive-order-to-give-irs-discretion-on-enforcement/

 

In other news, MSNBC's answer to Kim and Kanye have announced their engagement.

 

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/331877-morning-joe-co-hosts-joe-scarborough-and-mika-brzezinski-are-engaged

My litmus test on these EO's is whether the ACLU takes action. They already said yesterday on both EO' that they were prepared to challenge them. If they don't IMO you know it's all smoke and mirrors. The press is so dumb they are playing right into Trump's hands.

 

On another topic, I had to laugh. Reading a tweet from Matt Fuller who said that in the White House, Trump fears voters will blame him for the healthcare bill and not the other legislators. He also made very little reference of the new bill at his brownshit half full rally in Harrisburg on Saturday. Even he knows its a turd but thinks he wouldn't be held culpable if he put his signature on it. Clueless.+

 

UPDATE:

JUST IN: The ACLU says it will sue over Trump’s religious exemption executive order. pic.twitter.com/uFYGCqgcjN

— Dominic Holden (@dominicholden) May 4, 2017

Edited May 4, 20178 yr by JaneAusten

I imagine that one part in particular is a sop to the groups who melted down over the Congressional budget not taking away Planned Parenthood funds. They must have been horrified to realize even now they couldn't make that dream come true.

The Orangeface-in-Chief is not even in Washington D.C., he's in NYC where he hopes to physically (if nothing else) distance himself from this clusterf*ck.

Beer being rolled into the Capitol — & @LACaldwellDC reports that Republicans will also head to White House for a congratulatory celebration https://t.co/cAC3r5eVdJ

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 4, 2017

^ I detest these people more than I ever thought possible.

 

One thing I'll say about Elizabeth Warren is she makes a good attack dog.  Not sure I want her to run in 2020, but I like her where she is right now.