53 minutes ago, Khan said:

It's happening to the Norwegians, too?  WTF, Planet Earth!?

 

Nah, we've been used to it for a long time (all our politicians are rubbish, AFAIC). Our wages aren't half bad though, and we don't risk becoming homeless if we get seriously ill. 😉

 

Man who set himself on fire near White House has died, police say. https://t.co/Po3ZSvaY9A

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) May 30, 2019

I am so worried that that terrible trend will continue.

How crazy is that story about the navy hiding the ship named after McCain because Trump couldn't handle it?

 

12 minutes ago, Juliajms said:

How crazy is that story about the navy hiding the ship named after McCain because Trump couldn't handle it?

 

 

Crazy? Perhaps.

Surprising? Not at all, considering the way Trump behaves.

Sigh. Apparently Julian Castro has decided to do a Fox News town hall. This primary has been a master class in being disappointed by people I supported.

I truly do not understand the logic of Democratic candidates appearing on FNTH's.  What do they hope to gain there?  Are they STILL operating under the assumption that they can sway those people, or that the network's key demographic is comprised of citizens who have legitimate concerns about the direction of this country and need to be heard?  (Many DO have legitimate concerns, but the more reasonably minded ones -- meaning, of course, the ones who aren't blaming it all on Hillary or black or brown folks -- aren't necessarily tuning into FNC, lol).

Edited May 31, 20196 yr by Khan

I can understand why he would do it. He's polling very low and needs the exposure to Democrats that might tune in to Fox just to see a Democratic candidate.

29 minutes ago, Khan said:

I truly do not understand the logic of Democratic candidates appearing on FNTH's.  What do they hope to gain there?  Are they STILL operating under the assumption that they can sway those people, or that the network's key demographic is comprised of citizens who have legitimate concerns about the direction of this country and need to be heard?  (Many DO have legitimate concerns, but the more reasonably minded ones -- meaning, of course, the ones who aren't blaming it all on Hillary or black or brown folks -- aren't necessarily tuning into FNC, lol).

 

At this point I blame The West Wing. A whole generation of liberals have grown up thinking that Republicans are just one grand sweeping speech away from being turned from the dark side. The most frustrating thing for me about the current state of progressivism is the fixation on symbolic victories even at the expense of real world progress. These people are helping Fox's bottom line at the expense of the people whose votes they need. I was very grateful to see Sam Bee call it what it is: stupid. It's a stupid thing to do. Nobody who has done a town hall is polling any better.

6 minutes ago, marceline said:

A whole generation of liberals have grown up thinking that Republicans are just one grand sweeping speech away from being turned from the dark side.

 

Yep.  Exactly.  Liberals are King Arthur, and Republicans are Mordred.  And we all know what happened to King Arthur and Mordred, don't we?

19 minutes ago, marceline said:

 

At this point I blame The West Wing. A whole generation of liberals have grown up thinking that Republicans are just one grand sweeping speech away from being turned from the dark side. The most frustrating thing for me about the current state of progressivism is the fixation on symbolic victories even at the expense of real world progress. These people are helping Fox's bottom line at the expense of the people whose votes they need. I was very grateful to see Sam Bee call it what it is: stupid. It's a stupid thing to do. Nobody who has done a town hall is polling any better.

I watched a clip of Elizabeth Warren on The View yesterday and she could not have made it more clear as to why she wasn't going on. And this idea that "you won't go on because you hate us" applied to anyone is nonsense. Warren has done more townhalls ALL OVER THE COUNTRY(she just did one in West Virginia) than any other candidate.

 

Maybe it is due to polling for those trying to jumpstart their campaigns again. Warren rejuvenated hers by branding herself as the "I have a plan for that" candidate. Castro is disappointing. He could be the immigration candidate. He's the only one right now that has a comprehensive immigration plan that by the way, is fair and reasonable.

The voicemail Flynn's lawyer received upon dropping out of the Joint Defense Agreement, just filed. pic.twitter.com/t7ZfLa3iPy

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) May 31, 2019

Amidst all of the horrific news on the national stage, here in Illinois things are moving forward with a democratic governor and a supermajority in our legislature with our own record number of women elected in the house and senate here.

 

I was not a supporter of Pritzker, but he has kept his campaign promises to date and we are on the long path to fiscal solvency. The general assembly passed the following items with the spring session ending this weekend.

- A fair tax referendum which will put a question on the ballot in 2020 to change our constitution to remove our state flat income tax for a progressive income tax(tiered like 30 plus other states)

- Recreational marijuana legalization

- The Reproductive Heath Act which is the most progressive abortion rights bill in the nation(this was pushed aside until all of the draconian bills started getting passed across the country. That action caused lawmakers to bring it forward again)

- A BUDGET. Illinois went 2 years without a budget with our last governor further damaging the credit rating for the state with his unwillingness to compromise. It's good to see movement on this.

- The Medicaid omnibus bill which will streamline the process for Medicaid coverage, to ensure no lapses in coverage, and to make sure Medicaid patients are granted equal access to services

- The Keeping families together act which prevents local law enforcement from becoming deputized agents of ICE.

- The minimum wage increase was already passed and signed earlier in the year.

 

The General Assembly has voted to remain in session until June 2nd to finalize the budget and to address additional legislation on gun reform, including fixing the firearm owner id process to ensure that those whose gun licenses are revoked, have local law enforcement ensure they turn over weapons they own(this is the law but to date no proactive action is taken and gun owners are relied upon to turn in their weapons upon revocation). The shooter in Aurora Illinois that shot and killed several people some months back still had guns after having his license in Illinois revoked. Also sports gambling, the approval of 6 more casinos,  and a gas tax increase to address bridge and further road repairs across the state, are on the table 

Edited June 1, 20196 yr by JaneAusten

So for @marceline and @khan who both said the US was already a laughing stock, here is how Sky News is advertising Trump's visit to the UK.

 

 

Guess who's back?

Watch full coverage of President Trump's state visit to the UK from Monday on @SkyNews. #TrumpVisit

You can find us on Sky channel 501 or live here https://t.co/mFrfbZgLZW pic.twitter.com/zV1V7R7QBc

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 31, 2019

Edited June 1, 20196 yr by JaneAusten

22 hours ago, marceline said:

 

At this point I blame The West Wing. A whole generation of liberals have grown up thinking that Republicans are just one grand sweeping speech away from being turned from the dark side. The most frustrating thing for me about the current state of progressivism is the fixation on symbolic victories even at the expense of real world progress. These people are helping Fox's bottom line at the expense of the people whose votes they need. I was very grateful to see Sam Bee call it what it is: stupid. It's a stupid thing to do. Nobody who has done a town hall is polling any better.

 

I think it's also a consequence of too many people running. They are scrambling for places to go. It just gives the impression they stand for nothing.