Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Lenonis]

Yes Tabitha, you should have protected your fucking family. I sincerely hope this haunts her. For the rest of her fucking life.

I hope she uses this painful life lesson to be a loud and vocal advocate for vaccination to everyone she can. The only way we're going to break through the rest of the people who refuse the vaccine are either if 1) they get sick themselves and thus have antibodies or 2) someone they know personally is affected.

Otherwise we're never going to get through this.

[Captain N]

Texas -- We started this pandemic asking you to let your grandparents die for the sake of the economy. Now we're asking you to kill your children.

[Breccia]

It should not fucking take the death of a close family member for people to do what they should have done months ago.

And yet...sigh...this isn't the first story either of us have posted on this, is it?

[PhaelixWW]

Trump now knows how much work it is, and we know how much Trump hates work. For decades his work ethic was "yell at people to do his job, and then refuse to pay them". He knows from his single term he can't do that.

But arguably, the thing he hates the most is being shown to be a loser.

I think the best possible thing would be for Trump to not run again in 2024 and for him to continually blame a "rigged" system for his 2020 loss, so that he can pretend that he's not a loser. The more he screams to his base that the elections are rigged, the less they're likely to vote... for anybody.

[Fugus]

Probably why they banned abortions. They need to replenish the population in any way possible.

But those babies will be born to people they disliked and brought up in ideological stances that contradicts them. So they will end up fighting them too.

Unless they are trying to do like what they do with prisons where they count towards the census but blocked from voting.

[Breccia]

I think the best possible thing would be for Trump to not run again in 2024 and for him to continually blame a "rigged" system for his 2020 loss, so that he can pretend that he's not a loser.

Well, he's doing that now, so, that's promising.

[beanman12345]

Not sure where to post this, figured since she's in the trump idiot white power caucus brigade I'd post it here.

So they've redistricted Colorado with a non-partisan committee, and bad news for dumb bitch Boebert cause she's now in a very progressive district. So she has 2 choices. Choice 1 is to not run again. Choice 2 is move 1/2 way across the state to try to hold onto her seat, which, doesn't look like she'd have a good chance at keeping, cause her constituents don't really like her. So on the one hand, YAY dumb bitch Boebert likely a 1 term congresswoman, on the other hand, she'll likely get replaced by some jackass from Texas, or wherever.

https://www.rawstory.com/lauren-boebert-2654901960/

[Omega10]

Like Beanman12345, not so sure where to post this. Since a recent headline talks about Trump "probably" running in 2024, well Kemp is doing what he has to do to make sure that Trump takes Georgia.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...UPl?li=BBnbfcL

Title: Georgia GOP called "shameless" for trying to use new voting law to oust local election officials

Excerpts:

Georgia Republicans are already trying to use their controversial new election law to drive out local election officials in the state's largest and most Democratic county.

Gov. Brian Kemp earlier this year signed SB 202, a law that not only restricts ballot access but allows state officials to temporarily take over county election boards. This has raised concerns about potential Republican election subversion after the party lost the presidential race and both U.S. Senate elections in the state amid record voter turnout. Republican lawmakers wasted no time using the law to target election officials in Fulton County, which includes most of of the city of Atlanta and has a population of more than a million people, about 44% of them Black. President Biden won 72.6% of the vote in Fulton County, outperforming Hillary Clinton's 2016 total by 83,000 votes. The county has been the a primary target of former President Donald Trump's false election claims and multiple lawsuits filed by his supporters, although there has been no evidence of fraud or misconduct.

Republicans representing the county in the state legislature called for a performance review of the country's election board in July, which Scott Hogan, the head of the state Democratic Party, decried as a "shameless Republican power grab designed to suppress voters and inject partisan politics into our elections."

The rest of the article, which is pretty long, details what is going on in a pretty depressing account. Just like the Texas abortion bill is considered to be a blueprint for other states, these activities seem to be meant as the test bed for controlling local elections.

If elections were fair, both Texas and Georgia would be blue. Florida would have a different governor and they would have dealt with the virus in a reasonably way. But elections are not, and it looks like it's about to get much worse.

I would say that Trump has a real shot at being President in 2024.

And oh, the title is wrong. It should be "Georgia GOP called very politically astute for trying to use new voting law to oust local officials".


Edit: Other states are already mirroring the Texas abortion bill.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-cre...002620820.html

Title: Texas created a blueprint for abortion restrictions. Republican-controlled states may follow suit.

Excerpts:

GOP officials in at least seven states, including Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina and South Dakota, have suggested they may review or amend their states' laws to mirror Texas's legislation, which effectively bans abortions after six weeks. Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Ohio and more are expected to follow, after a year abortion activists have deemed "the worst legislative year ever for U.S. abortion rights."

"It's something we're already working on," Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson told local news station WFLA-TV when asked about copying the Texas law, which empowers private citizens to report and sue providers who offer the procedure after six weeks.

[Benggaul]

Trump Ally State Rep. Anthony Sabatini Filing Bill to Audit 2020 Election in Florida

Not content with trying to sniff out (Democrat) election fraud elections that Trump lost, Trump allies are now trying to find (Democrat) election fraud in areas Trump won, apparently.

Sabatini told Newsweek that the bill will be filed in the coming weeks. "Post-election audits should be normal procedure. Transparency and accountability ensures voter confidence," he said.

Except by "voter confidence" he means "creating a false narrative around fraud to frighten people into allowing stricter voting legislation".

They are, however, conveniently still ignoring the instance of fraud by GOP voters discovered in the past year.

[postman1782]

Trump Ally State Rep. Anthony Sabatini Filing Bill to Audit 2020 Election in Florida

Not content with trying to sniff out (Democrat) election fraud elections that Trump lost, Trump allies are now trying to find (Democrat) election fraud in areas Trump won, apparently.

Except by "voter confidence" he means "creating a false narrative around fraud to frighten people into allowing stricter voting legislation".

They are, however, conveniently still ignoring the instance of fraud by GOP voters discovered in the past year.

You know what would be funny? Is if they find enough actual fraud from Republicans to turn the state blue.

[Benggaul]

You know what would be funny? Is if they find enough actual fraud from Republicans to turn the state blue.

Please, that would get buried so deep they'd hit molten nickel.

[postman1782]

Please, that would get buried so deep they'd hit molten nickel.

They would never bother to do an audit ever again.

[Breccia]

Except by "voter confidence" he means "creating a false narrative around fraud to frighten people into allowing stricter voting legislation".

Yes.

The only evidence of anything remotely like large-scale voter fraud is "Trump said so".

[Benggaul]

Looks like DeathSantis isn't the only Trumper governor suffering in the polls due to their mishandling of the pandemic.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Approval Plummets as 52 Percent Believe State Is on Wrong Track

New polling conducted in August by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin found that just 41 percent of state residents approve of Abbott's job performance. Meanwhile, half (50 percent) said they disapprove of the Republican governor's leadership.

The poll also showed that a record high number of Texans believe the state is headed in the wrong direction. Only 35 percent of respondents said the state was headed in the right direction, but more than half (52 percent) said they believe Texas is on the wrong track. That's the highest negative response level since the regular poll was launched in 2009.

To be fair, this wasn't solely off the back of COVID and I'm sure the recent abortion legislation (among other issues) may have had a hand in it, but given their 7-day average of deaths has climbed exponentially the past few weeks I'm certain it had an impact.

[Breccia]

Looks like there are other death counts to worry about. The Miami-Dade school district has already lost 15 staff members.

"Wait, I thought they were one of the school districts with a mask mandate."

They did. But they're still in Florida, so, there's that. It's still one of the deathiest states and breaking its own death records daily.

If I'm reading this right, some of the Florida districts with mandates are, yes, allowing the "unless you just don't want to" clause, in line with DeSantis' as-yet-not-formally-overturned executive order plus his proven threats to withhold money from schools who refuse to expose their students to risk.

According to the NYTimes, Florida's death count went up 335 yesterday, as per usual shoved into the back by time travel. But even if you take their word for it, Florida's death count has retroactively broken all records set in August of 2020, for over a week.

[postman1782]

Unvaccinated teachers are in for a rough year.

Especially when you have stupid parents trying to citizens arrest, aka Kidnap teachers and principals.

[Breccia]

Unvaccinated teachers are in for a rough year.

If they are unvaccinated on the grounds that they just don't want to, they're a discredit to their profession and shame on them.

But I assume you're talking about those who cannot for medical or religious reasons, and in such cases my heart goes out to them. I hope as many as possible find alternate options, such as teaching online or fleeing Florida.

[unfilteredJW]

If they are unvaccinated on the grounds that they just don't want to, they're a discredit to their profession and shame on them.

But I assume you're talking about those who cannot for medical or religious reasons, and in such cases my heart goes out to them. I hope as many as possible find alternate options, such as teaching online or fleeing Florida.

Don’t lump the religious in with those that have a valid reason to not be vaccinated.

[Breccia]

Don’t lump the religious in with those that have a valid reason to not be vaccinated.

I mean, it's America, I'm kind of supposed to. That said, I can't think of any faiths that explicitly prohibit such. I don't even think Jehovah's Witnesses or the Amish have holy writ banning them. Maybe there would be a bigger problem if vaccines were made from pig's blood, but they're not.

- - - Updated - - -

Portlan is ready to ban visitors from Texas.

"Whoa, is COVID that bad?"

No. I mean, yes, yes it is that bad and Abbott's making it worse on purpose. The ban is based on the abortion ruling.

The ban will be in effect until the state of Texas withdraws its unconstitutional ban on abortion or until it is overturned in court. City legal counsel is currently evaluating the legal aspects of this proposed resolution. The Portland City Council stands unified in its belief that all people should have the right to choose if and when they carry a pregnancy and that the decisions they make are complex, difficult, and unique to their circumstances.

We stand with Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Stephen Breyer, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who fought to block this attack on the reproductive rights, freedom, and autonomy of people across the country.

We urge other leaders and elected bodies around the nation to join us in condemning the actions of the Texas state government.

- - - Updated - - -

The Governor of Kentucky has called the state's situation "dire" because it is.

"Why doesn't he order a mask mandate?"

He can't. Kentucky law prohibits this. He took one up to the Supreme Court but lost.

Therefore, he's calling an emergency legislative session and asking the Kentucky House/Senate/Hodown/Whatever they have to vote on the issue.

If I had the ability to do it right now, we would have a masking order when you are in public and indoors. We know that’s a proven way to slow the spread of the virus and ultimately help our health care capacity.

[Endus]

I mean, it's America, I'm kind of supposed to. That said, I can't think of any faiths that explicitly prohibit such. I don't even think Jehovah's Witnesses or the Amish have holy writ banning them. Maybe there would be a bigger problem if vaccines were made from pig's blood, but they're not.

It's like if a Jehovah's Witness wants to become a surgeon.

They're free to deny blood transfusions that they might need, for their own treatment, but they're obligated to set aside their religious views and not enforce them on their patients; any doctor doing so should be drummed out of the profession and denied a license to practice, because they're putting patients at risk for no defensible reason. And no, "religion" isn't a reason. If your religion opposes such things, and you can't be a part of it, the onus was on you to not put yourself in the position of being a part of it in the first place.

I have no problem with people's religious principles, as long as they're held to themselves and themselves alone. "I can't do that because of my religion" is fine. "You can't do that because of my religion" is religious authoritarianism and an attack on everyone else's freedom of religion.

And that includes teachers putting students at risk without just cause. And "I'm an ignorant simpleton" is not cause.

Medical excuses for not getting a vaccine, sure. Justified. Religious excuses, in roles like teaching or medical care? If it's going to negatively impact the public you work with, they should not be permitted as an excuse.

That last being important because it needs to be compared to things like "wearing a hijab", which hurts no one and should be allowed as an exception to any dress/uniform codes where there isn't something like a gas mask fitting or the like which won't work with the garb (hijabs would, so far as I know, but beards can be a problem, though there are full-head helmets you can get which work fine with beards, so there ARE workarounds).