Open Thread - Politics Plus

wunnerful. The government of the crooked, and for the crooked shall not parish.

I'm not in the least interested in relationship matters. Others might be.

Hi, Wm.

Boing!!!
a link?

Anyway, true stats or not, I think a lot of us are imprinted with sports people's shenanigans in out brains, and while know congressional types are not pure, may be surprised by this.
Obviously, time element re who did what when is missing.. sports or congress.

Rather interesting, I must say. Can you link for us?

Here's the link by politifact: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/sep/24/facebook-posts/nba-nfl-congress-spousal-abuse-fraud-bad-checks-ba/

Oops! It appears the statistics listed in the meme are suspect, if not a fabrication. I've just found the following link:

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/04/an-unlawful-congress/

I'm rushed; so, I haven't read every word. But I've read enough. I should have checked the meme out before I decided to post it.

I had assumed all the statistics were true since there are more than a few politicians whose moral standards are not exactly high.

My apologies to all concerned!

Thanks for self-correcting. That makes an apology quite easy to accept. And we all screw up sometimes.

News from Michigan, their oh-so-spiffy governor, Rick Snyder, and the poisoned citizens of Flint.

National Guard now activated. FEMA called in (because, you know, government makes things worse). And, super spifferific news - Flint citizens are still getting bills for the water that will poison them if they drink it. Or wash food in it.
http://on.freep.com/1njSe3U
Snyder, you incredible bastard.

I apparently missed you didn't want to hear about food or relationships. What the **** else is there?

But I'll try to obey.

Yikes.

"What the **** else is there?"

Groucho Marx

Ok, then.

Snyder should not only resign, he should be arrested. Lead poisoning has long lasting health effects and I would hope that a class action suit is brought against Snyder and his administration. Some have done so already. The water is back hooked onto Detroit and the savings that were intended will cost Snyder twice as much now. Being a cheapskate can become expensive!

Of course, Flint has a 40% poverty rate and 52 % of its residents are black. Numerous concerns by pediatricians were tossed aside. Would this have happened in a predominately white and affluent town? Certainly not!

Yes. And it's critically important to note that this change (to save money) was made under an Emergency Manager - a form of governance which totally rejects democratic principles and goes directly to totalitarianism.

I missed that, skimmed lightly, for which I apologize.

This makes me wonder about out mechanisms re public health, the U.S. or states.

From Pew Global Polling...
http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/06/23/1-americas-global-image/

If one were to line up quotes from the GOP candidates, you wouldn't find even the slightest nod to such statistics. The portrayal is something like the opposite (Trump is the worst of this bad lot).

But that's the way conservatives now play the game. And if you could manage to have them actually face this stat and admit to other nations' positive regard for the US presently under this administration, their response would change to, "Who cares what European or Canadian socialist nations think". Just recall how Rumsfeld, when confronted with broad European disagreement with Bush war policy, began referring to "Old Europe" and "New Europe".

But that's how modern conservatism rolls: Never admit you were wrong. Reject honest reflection and discussion and, instead, turn to louder volume shouting and insult. Concentrate on presentation of an image and forego actual, workable policy. Obstruct, always obstruct.

I've argued elsewhere that modern conservatism and its media voices and now the GOP itself are best understood as being very much like an online troll. That's really what Limbaugh and Coulter are, isn't it? But it is now what the GOP itself has become.

eclectablog has been covering this story very well, Osso http://www.eclectablog.com/

Interesting article. Trump's message that he'll make America great again is humorous to the extent that so many Americans believe him. Unemployment is down again to 5% (considered full employment by some economists) while the rest of the world's economy languishes. Why is it that the media doesn't correct the rhetoric Trump pushes onto the American people? Does Trump own them too?

Greg Sargent (Plumline blog at Washington Post) has a good piece on Cruz today http://wapo.st/1KevF5Q
Over the last half dozen years, Greg and I have become friends and we had a brief email discussion this morning on Cruz. The guy is playing this game very intelligently and with unusual savvy. Greg, like many others who are a lot smarter than me, are hoping for a Cruz candidacy because they think he'll get crushed. I'm not as confident as they are and worry they might be underestimating him. It's one of those instances where I'm hoping my brain is not functioning well.

No, not at all. Trump is unusually gifted at understanding how modern media functions and he plays them like an accordion (to use an old but appropriate cliche).

They carry so much Trump (compared to others) because it is very easy to quote him in simplistic terms (that's Trump's language) and they love to cover him because of the dramatic presentation he always can be depended upon to make. He sells copy and provokes clicks - the two economic positives for
modern press.

And why don't they correct him? Sometimes they do. Usually not. But that's the mode of much political coverage - quote what is said and never ever suggest there is an asymmetry between left and right.