#Congress Criticism

[townpostin]

Bangladeshi Infiltration Taking Over Jharkhand: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Central Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan criticizes Jharkhand government, accuses it of harboring Bangladeshi infiltrators. Central Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan lashed out at the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand, accusing it of turning the state into a haven for Bangladeshi infiltrators. JAMSHEDPUR – Speaking at an event in Bokaro, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed…

[computerjagat]

Guarantee Of Loot: बीजेपी अध्यक्ष नड्डा बोले- कांग्रेस केवल लूट की गारंटी दे सकती है

भारतीय जनता पार्टी (भाजपा) के अध्यक्ष जे पी नड्डा ने सोमवार को दावा किया कि विपक्षी दल केवल ‘लूट की गारंटी’ दे सकता है. उन्होंने कांग्रेस पर आरोप लगाया कि वह भ्रष्टाचार के जरिए धन एकत्र करने की खातिर कर्नाटक को ‘एटीएम’ में बदल रही है ताकि अपने चुनाव प्रचार के पैसे जुटा सके. नड्डा ने कर्नाटक में विभिन्न जांच एजेंसी की छापेमारी में कुछ ठेकेदारों के पास से 100 करोड़ रुपये से अधिक राशि कथित रूप से…

[bloghrexach]

💥 … basically, this means that ANY criticism/comment/opinion about/against Israel … will be considered ANTISEMITIC!! — well, how does that work for you?

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act by a margin of 320-91 on Wednesday.

The bill, H.R.6090, would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism when considering whether Jews had been discriminated against under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

“The working definition of antisemitism, also called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition, is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads:

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." — WIKIPEDIA!! … 💥

@hrexach …

[theweeklyshowwithjonstewart]

Support For Abortion Rights

"Over 80% of Americans don't want any government involvement at all in pregnancy. They do not want abortion to be regulated by the law at all." This week's guest Jessica Valenti on finding hope during a time of relentless attacks on abortion rights.

The Attack on Reproductive Rights & Dangers of Forced Pregnancy

Jon Stewart is joined by NYU law professor and host of Crooked Media’s Strict Scrutiny podcast, Melissa Murray and founder of Abortion, Every Day, Jessica Valenti to discuss the onslaught of attacks on reproductive rights and pose the question: Who is responsible for the death of a person forced to carry a pregnancy to term?

Abortion: Mission Impossible

The media may have you believe that the recent Supreme Court decision on Mifepristone was a win for reproductive rights. In reality, it merely upheld the current status quo – a drastic departure from the standard once set by Roe. And an onslaught of challenges, aimed at making abortion impossible, if not illegal, are on the horizon. Joining us to explore this regression we have Melissa Murray, NYU Law Professor and Co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, and Jessica Valenti, founder of http://AbortionEveryDay.com and author of the forthcoming book, Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win. Together, they discuss how our distorted democracy brought us to this moment, unpack the backward slide of abortion rights in America, and offer tips on what we can do to counter this trend.

[thedarksideofmymoonhasmatches]

The congress ~ 2013

Ari Folman

[mobliterated]

I implore you all to not get all of your political news from this website and other social media only

[critical-skeptic]

Their Mental Acuity? Questionable at Best

It's not just that Mitch McConnell had an episode that could have been an outtake from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Hell, he's got the jittery, confused demeanor down pat. And it's not that Feinstein and Trump have become symbols of a generation lost in its own dementia, though that would make a fascinating psycho-political study in itself. What's so damn alarming is that these individuals are put in positions of immeasurable power, wielding influence over the masses, despite the clear signs that their cognitive abilities have departed, leaving behind only delusional hubris and incomprehensible jargon.

Take, for instance, the recent episode with McConnell. His face twitching like a glitching NPC in a poorly designed video game and his subsequent confusion were nothing short of terrifying. It's a symptom of something much larger: a system that's malfunctioning and in desperate need of an upgrade.

Trump/Biden 2024: A Nightmare Sequel

We've been here before. The Trump/Biden shitshow is like a terrible sequel to a movie that nobody asked for. Trump, the unhinged madman who's turned American politics into his personal circus, and Biden, stumbling his way through speeches as if he's trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics. This isn't a race to the top; it's a slow, agonizing crawl to see who can keep their dentures in the longest.

Age Doesn't Always Mean Wisdom

No, I'm not being ageist. Fuck that. What I'm saying is that wisdom doesn't always come with age. Sometimes, age brings senility, rigidity, and a refusal to adapt. We shouldn't hand the keys to the future to individuals who can barely remember where they put their glasses.

The veneration of age as wisdom has gone too far. It's time to look at the cold, hard facts. Statistically, we've got more than a few in Congress who are off their fucking rockers. It's not cute; it's not endearing. It's a danger to the very fabric of our society.

Conclusion: Time for a Change

It's about time we stopped coddling these senior statesmen like they're adorable, bumbling grandparents. They're not. They're at the helm of a nation, steering it towards oblivion with a lack of understanding of modern problems and an obliviousness to the technological intricacies of our world. The balance of power has tilted drastically, and we can no longer afford to be enslaved by traditionalist and boomer influence. The future demands a more diverse, more acute, more adaptable generation at the helm.

So here's a message to the geriatric politicians: retire, rest, write a memoir. But for fuck's sake, stop running the country into the ground.

[quasi-normalcy]

It's actually really frightening to see officially sanctioned genocide denial rise up in Western countries in real time. Like, I remember 20 years ago hearing about how it was illegal in Turkey to point out that the Armenian Genocide happened, and how I thought that that was fucking evil and oppressive. Now here we are, with a campaign in Gaza that experts have called 'a textbook case of genocide', for which the UN Human Rights counsel has determined there are "reasonable grounds" to call it genocide, and the US Congress is trying to make it illegal to criticize Israel. We have Hollywood agencies refusing to represent anyone who points out that a genocide is currently taking place. And it's just the same shit from a fresh asshole as we got from the Turkish government over what happened in Armenia in the 1920s, like "Oh yes, there were killings, but...calling it genocide? Ohhhh, you must be very hateful to our poor little nation to think that our people are capable of that 😢 😭!" Fuck off.

[imliterallybeggingyou]

Elephant in the room time! I’d like to give a summary for everyone here.

I think we have all been waiting for someone to dig up something about Tim Walz, and what they found is a DUI from 1995.

Tim Walz was still a teacher at the time. He was with his friends, watching college football. He chose to drive home, and was pulled over for going 96mph in a 55. He was charged and fined.

Directly afterwards, he tried to resign from his teaching job out of guilt for his actions. He felt terrible, he felt disappointed in himself, and thought he didn’t have the right to teach or be a coach because of it. The principal pushed back immediately, asking him to stay. The principal refused to let him resign.

11 years later he became a member of Congress. 30 years later, he still hasn’t touched alcohol.

His drink of choice is Diet Mountain Dew.

Trump supporters are seemingly oblivious to the hypocrisy of their criticism of Walz. It has been 30 years since Walz was charged with his only misdemeanor. In May of this year, Trump was convicted of 34 felonies.

[townpostin]

Congress Silence on Violence Against Bangladesh Hindus in Dangerous: Rajeev Ranjan Singh

Rajiv Ranjan Singh criticizes Congress leaders for failing to condemn the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. BJP leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh has called for immediate action to stop the deadly attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, urging Congress leaders to speak out on the issue. JAMSHEDPUR – BJP leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh has expressed deep concern over the ongoing violence against Hindus in…

[little-vimpress]

.....

[boreal-sea]

Who is Kamala Harris?

These are all from her Wikipedia page. I have picked the top 5 for each of these sections. Maybe you think other things are more important, these are just the things that stood out to me:

Highlights as District Attorney of San Francisco:

was tough on gun crime: created a gun crime unit, set 90-day minimum sentences, raised bail for gun-related crimes, and prosecuted all assault weapon possession cases as felonies.

created a hate crimes unit specifically focused on LGBTQ hate crimes against children and teens in school.

was (and is) against the death penalty; during her time as DA did not cave to pressure in several cases to seek the death penalty.

helped create the San Francisco Reentry Division, aimed at helping prisoners reintegrate after their sentences are through; the program became a national model.

refused to enforce prop 8, which was at the time California's ban on gay marriage.

Highlights as Attorney General of California

introduced the Homeowner Bill of Rights and fought against banks, mortgage companies, and credit card companies.

fought for financial reimbursement for public employee and teacher pensions.

fought for environmental protections and secured settlements and indictments against several oil companies for oil spills.

conducted a review of implicit bias in policing and the use of deadly force and introduced implicit bias training.

declared a law that California law enforcement had to collect and report police violence.

Highlights as a California Senator:

condemned Trump's Muslim ban.

opposed Trump's appointments of Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions, his nomination of Neil Gorsuch, and voted against confirming Kavanaugh.

tried to make lynching a federal hate crime.

urged the Trump administration to investigate the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China.

voted to convict Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Highlights as Vice president:

as President of the Senate, cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate that ensured the passing of the American Rescue Act.

has cast more tie-breaking votes than any other Vice president in US history - she is responsible for many of the achievements of the Biden administration actually passing the Senate.

created task forces on corruption and human trafficking.

created a women's empowerment program.

has criticized Israel's actions during the current conflict in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.

[reasonsforhope]

Kamala Harris just announced that her vice president will be Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Based on the coverage so far I'm really reassured by this decision.

The Washington Post did an obviously great job of making a prepared article for each option, considering how long an article they had up 7 minutes after the announcement.

((Okay technically it's not an official announcement yet it's "according to three people familiar with the pick, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that is not yet public." But listen. I am 99% sure this is a weather balloon. (Meaning: a deliberate leak to gauge reaction.) Because the sheer weakness or incompetence on the part of the Harris campaign that it would take for three people to all confirm that within a few hours hours of each other and the planned announcement it is massive.))

-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024

Honestly this decision, from everything I've read and can tell, looks like it's brilliant politics.

Important Context: The vice president(ial candidates)'s job in an election is not to be similar to the president. The vice president's job on the ballot is very, very much specifically to be different from the president. Why? So they can cover each others' weaknesses. Especially regionally.

(Sidenote: I feel a bit ridiculous saying this. But genuinely if you want to get a stronger understanding of how US elections really work. Go watch seasons 6 and 7 of The West Wing. Genuinely, a lot of politicians have said - especially back in its day - that that was the most accurate depiction of an election they'd ever seen. Also specifically features an entire arc about a contested Democratic primary convention, so also very good if you're interested in understanding weird nominating convention shenanigans.)

From the article:

"Harris’s choice for a running mate was among the most closely watched decisions of her fledgling campaign, as she sought to bolster the ticket’s prospects for victory in November and rapidly find someone who could be a governing partner. In picking Walz, she has selected a seasoned politician with executive governing experience and signaled the importance of Midwestern battleground states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.

Walz’s foray into politics came later in life: He spent more than two decades as a public school teacher and football coach, and as a member of the Army National Guard, before running for Congress in his 40s. In 2006, he defeated a Republican to win Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District--a rural, conservative area--and won reelection five times before leaving Congress to run for governor.

Walz was first elected governor in 2018 and handily won reelection in 2022. Though little-known outside his state, Walz emerged publicly as one of the earliest names mentioned as a possible running mate for Harris, and in the ensuing days he made the rounds on television as an outspoken surrogate for the vice president...

“These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room. … They are bad on foreign policy, they are bad on the environment, they certainly have no health care plan, and they keep talking about the middle-class,” Walz told MSNBC in July. “As I said, a robber baron real estate guy and a venture capitalist trying to tell us they understand who we are? They don’t know who we are.”

Walz also has faced criticism from Republicans that his policies as governor were too liberal, including legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, protecting abortion rights, expanding LGBTQ protections, implementing tuition-free college for low-income Minnesotans and providing free breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren in the state.

But many of those initiatives are broadly popular. Walz also signed an executive order removing the college-degree requirement for 75 percent of Minnesota’s state jobs, a move that garnered bipartisan support and that several other states have also adopted.

“What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies, so they can go learn, and women are making their own health-care decisions,” Walz said sarcastically in a July 28 interview with CNN when questioned whether such policies would be fodder for conservative attacks, later adding: “If that’s where they want to label me, I’m more than happy to take the [liberal] label.”

Walz also spoke at a kickoff event in St. Paul for a Democratic canvassing effort, casting Trump as a “bully.”

“Don’t lift these guys up like they’re some kind of heroes. Everybody in this room knows--I know it as a teacher--a bully has no self-confidence. A bully has no strength. They have nothing,” Walz said at the event, sporting a camouflage hunting hat and T-shirt.

Walz has explained that he felt some Democrats’ practice of calling Trump an existential threat to democracy was giving him too much credit, which prompted his decision to denounce the GOP nominee instead as being “weird.”

“I do believe all those things are a real possibility, but it gives him way too much power," Walz said on CNN’s “State of the Union” regarding the Democrats’ rhetoric. “Listen to the guy. He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter, shocking sharks, and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind.”

If Walz is elected vice president, under state law, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) would assume the governorship for the rest of his term. Minnesota Senate president Bobby Joe Champion, a Democrat, would become lieutenant governor."

-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024

--

This guy. Sounds like. fucking Moderate swing-state/rural/Midwestern/southern/"heartland"/working class white voter catnip. He sounds like he's also a very smart politician and strong campaigner. And he's apparently genuinely a good guy with a good record, too.

He sounds like he's going to do a really good job of appealing to voters in several of the big deal swing states without being from any of them specifically. Which means it doesn't feel like pandering to one of the states involved (and thereby spurning the others), which is also great.

(Also he was the one who started "weird" @ conservatives and I think we should take that seriously as a very good political instinct/move. Judging in large part by how it has so clearly hit an actual nerve with conservatives like so little else. Also hugely relevant: that post going around about how part of why conservatives are so upset about "weird" is because in the Midwest, "weird" specifically also implies anti-social or harmful behavior.)

Officially feeling more optimistic about Trump not winning in November

[hislop3]

Rural Hospital Program: Extra Cash for Emergency and Outpatient Services Stuck in Neutral

In 2021, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Within the Act, a new Medicare provider was created – the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH). The final rule is available here: Rural Emergency Hospital Final Rule REHs were created to improve and increase, access to emergency services and ideally, expanded outpatient services in rural areas. Starting in January 2023, Critical…