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Author Topic:   Who is the biggest clown among your state & local political jokers?
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


(1)
Message 1 of 21 (810119)
05-23-2017 6:39 PM


I am used to endless crap, boy am I. Not a whole lot shocks me, honestly.
But Republican mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis left me begging for mercy.
On AM station 970, we were pooped on the heads, courtesy of Assemblywoman Malliotakis, with these words :
quote:
He is spending money, and yet we're not seeing the results
....
He's putting hundreds of millions of dollars into the public-school system
It was an attack on Mayor de Blasio, but first a little background.
Republicans were, for years, planning on attacking the Mayor over crime (weak on crime stuff ) but the record low murder rates just keep breaking new records month after month. Year after year. Republicans are reduced to bitching over his closure of Rikers Island, even though it will save over $1 billion plus have powerful private sector uses worth much more.
They are reduced to attacking his historic tackling of much neglected problems in adequately funding vital public school problems.
While the Republicans are making lots of noise about their own ideas, such as siphoning public funds toward charter schools, Mayor de Blasio made history.
It turns out that about 20% of public school were so underfunded that they never ever had the bare basics, specifically air-conditioning.
2017 is a historic year for not just New York, but imo, the nation at large.
The Mayor funded the schools to have air-conditioning so now there really is a step towards making education for 100% of students an actual priority for once.
I wish this was a national priority, but we are one major step toward the goal of making genuine investments in the future we all collectively share. But there are many steps to go.
This Republican clown should run in Mississippi.
If she insists on running here, then I say we, the people, vote her down to defeat so decisively that she gets the message that this is a new day in America and the same old economically ruinous crap out of the past she brings gets returned to the sender.
So, dear EVCers , anything shock you on the homefront?

  
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 7 of 21 (810572)
05-30-2017 10:14 PM


I never thought highly of Waters ( except briefly in the mid 1990s ).
She said she would make a big thing about taking on the CIA, back when it was disclosed that the agency made money sending drugs into the black community.
Then she dropped it.
It is a taboo subject, though an Elizabeth Drew book, covering the 1996 race ( and three congressional districts ) even mentioned that the CIA admitted it had a presence in Mena Arkansas.
Barry Seal of the San Jose Mercury wrote a 20,000 word report and a book, but Waters was silent.
She was silent when he committed "suicide" by shooting himself dozens of times in the back of his head, too.

Replies to this message:
 Message 8 by NoNukes, posted 05-31-2017 1:27 AM LamarkNewAge has replied

  
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 9 of 21 (810606)
05-31-2017 3:29 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by NoNukes
05-31-2017 1:27 AM


Re: I never thought highly of Waters ( except briefly in the mid 1990s ).
I meant to type Gary Webb. (not Bary Seal )
The journalist who wrote the 20,000 word series for the San Jose Mercury.
Oops.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 8 by NoNukes, posted 05-31-2017 1:27 AM NoNukes has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 10 by NoNukes, posted 05-31-2017 2:20 PM LamarkNewAge has replied

  
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 12 of 21 (810694)
05-31-2017 8:13 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by Rrhain
05-31-2017 2:49 PM


Issa
Issa is the one who came up with the recall idea, in early 2003, right after the highly unpopular Governor Davis narrowly beat a right wing Republican ( Republicans were having a fit during the 2002 race - feeling stupid as hell for not having a better and more moderate candidate in 2002)
The Republicans were able to run Davis' recall successfully in September 2003, winning 55% to 45% against remain.
They also got the governorship from 2003 ( Arnold Schwarzenegger won the same night Davis was removed ) to 2011.
The GOP Issa brainchild seemed like a good idea for the right wing, but in hindsight it appears to have helped Democratic chances longer term.
Californian and it's problems ( largely shared with the nation, but partly due to idiosyncrasies at the state level ) during the decade weren't able to be successfully blamed on the Democrats, as the Republicans were generally considered good at doing otherwise.
An instructive example of winning short term but loosing longer term. A Republican specialty of the last 25 plus years in California.

This message is a reply to:
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LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 13 of 21 (810696)
05-31-2017 8:19 PM
Reply to: Message 10 by NoNukes
05-31-2017 2:20 PM


I am amazed at how many people NOW know of Gary Webb
I love known about him for over 10 years ( 15 I think ), but there was just a movie about him I think.
I find people telling me about him and not just in New York.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 10 by NoNukes, posted 05-31-2017 2:20 PM NoNukes has seen this message but not replied

  
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 14 of 21 (810698)
05-31-2017 8:44 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by Rrhain
05-31-2017 2:49 PM


One more thing about Issa.
He actually belongs to a caucus in Congress that exists for the purpose of our nation owning up to the dishonorable dealings with the various Native American tribes, especially in the area of treaties.
So he isn't a particularly bad character really.
His district used to be safe Republican, but somehow Hillary Clinton won it last time.
She won the Dana Rohrabacher seat too ( I am rooting for Rohrabacher to win because he has always been one to genuinely want peace in the Middle East and - after the Cold War - with Russia ).
I still can't believe she won the John Culbertson seat in Houston since the Republicans never won the Presidential elections in that district by less than 18 points in the last 20 years.
Dallas, Houston, and San Diego are changing areas I suppose. ( Republicans always overextended themselves in Dallas honesty, but they created a 2nd Democratic district there, in 2012, partly to keep the Jeff Sessions seat from becoming more competitive in the future, and also to reflect the reality that there was too much gerrymander-induced stretching in a Democratic leaning area. Dallas County has had a 60% Democratic performance, but Republicans had like 9 out of 10 seats touching the area from 2004 to 2012, and the Sessions district''s 53% to 46% McCain win in 2008 was the only one between 2000 and 2016 in the Dallas area that was even remotely close )
Anyway, the Issa seat is a type of seat that makes up a major type (perhaps nearly half of the 20 or so ) of seat that Hillary won but a Republican represents in the Congress.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 11 by Rrhain, posted 05-31-2017 2:49 PM Rrhain has not replied

  
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 15 of 21 (810703)
05-31-2017 9:42 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by Rrhain
05-31-2017 2:49 PM


I just thought of one more crazy thing. Just 1 more.
( OK , a few more )
The Republicans idea to do redistricting , any time they felt like, as opposed to just after the final census numbers came in early 2001, was real crazy. But they decided, in 2003, that the time was right (in Texas ) to try such a thing. Redraw the (then ) 32 congressional districts in time for the 2004 elections.
The unprecedented redrawing of the district lines was actually constitutional. It just was never attempted before, out of a standard of decency (but there was no constitutional standard ). (Republicans in Georgia did the same thing in the 2005 to 2006 period ).
Democratic state legislators actually fled Texas ( yes the state and not just Austin ) so that the Texas Law enforcement officers (of arms ) couldn't capture them, and return them to the floor of the State Senate and House of Delegates to enable a required majority of legislators present for votes to take place.
That was crazy.
The irony in it all is that the Supreme Court was already sick and tired of ILLEGAL partisan motivated district lines being drawn, but the Court never could figure out how to come up with a suitable standard replacement for the typical practice.
Those who defended the standard practice made arguments that partisan voting patterns can change overnight, so the districts shouldn't be seen as particularly favorable to a specific party - though presently they always seemed to be.
The Supreme Court has been irritated for a long time over the partisan redistricting ( and it was a major reason for chipping away at parts of the Voting Rights Act ) , but couldn't find a practical solution, thus the courts stay away from the complicated issue. One argument defenders of the gerrymandering say is that Hispanics could flip the districts from GOP leaning towards the Democrats IF THEY TURN OUT IN HIGHER NUMBERS.
I remember the late Scalia making the point, over 10 years ago, that eligible Hispanics in Texas turn out 18% less than whites, wwhile the national average is 30% less.
Texas districts seem to be changing as the logic implies.
A NorthCarolina district scheme in place since 2012 has gotten court attention.
Might make it to the SupremeCourt.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 11 by Rrhain, posted 05-31-2017 2:49 PM Rrhain has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 16 by New Cat's Eye, posted 05-31-2017 10:25 PM LamarkNewAge has replied
 Message 17 by NoNukes, posted 05-31-2017 10:49 PM LamarkNewAge has replied

  
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 18 of 21 (810718)
06-01-2017 1:51 AM
Reply to: Message 16 by New Cat's Eye
05-31-2017 10:25 PM


Re: I just thought of one more crazy thing. Just 1 more.
I put TEXAS 2003 REDISTRICTING DEMOCRATS FLED STATE into the Google engine and all 10 hits registered.
I haven't read the hits yet, but I seem to remember Rick Perry threatening to send the Texas Guard after the delinquent Democrats. I was afraid to say that since my memory is foggy. I still don't know.
It looks like one Wikipedia article is TEXAS ELEVEN.
Also.
Alabama just took steps to change a 1901 law that has led to 20% of black people in the state to be disqualified from voting. The legislation had bald words about preventing a negro voting majority, if I am understanding Wednesday New York Times correctly. The quotes in the NYT opinion piece are so shocking that I find it hard to believe it could actually be part of legislative language.
Three times over the percentage of disqualified whites is the nearly 20% of disqualified black voters in Alabama.
Unreal that the century plus year old policy is still constitutional.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 16 by New Cat's Eye, posted 05-31-2017 10:25 PM New Cat's Eye has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 20 by NoNukes, posted 06-02-2017 1:38 PM LamarkNewAge has replied

  
LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 19 of 21 (810720)
06-01-2017 1:56 AM
Reply to: Message 17 by NoNukes
05-31-2017 10:49 PM


Re: I just thought of one more crazy thing. Just 1 more.
I wonder if the decision was just a punt back to North Carolina to make minor changes, or if there will actually be instructions that demand a strict set of standards. I highly doubt the latter.

This message is a reply to:
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LamarkNewAge
Member (Idle past 738 days)
Posts: 2236
Joined: 12-22-2015


Message 21 of 21 (810954)
06-03-2017 10:33 AM
Reply to: Message 20 by NoNukes
06-02-2017 1:38 PM


Re: I just thought of one more crazy thing. Just 1 more.
I got his joke, but since he quoted my text, I decided to blather on.
BTW, the 1901 Alabama policy came via a constitutional convention, and the Supreme Court struck it down in 1985 ( but the 1901 policy essentially practically remained intact due to the ability to tweek the details a bit.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 20 by NoNukes, posted 06-02-2017 1:38 PM NoNukes has not replied

  
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