US Politics Mega-thread - Page 5592

On October 15 2016 23:37 Dan HH wrote:
Have fun on the day after the election, America

The Charlotte Observer’s editorial board has endorsed Republican Pat McCrory in every one of his bids for office since 1991. That includes twice for City Council, seven times for mayor and twice for governor. That streak comes to an end today.

McCrory’s term as North Carolina governor is the ultimate illustration of the Peter Principle: that people are promoted based on their past performance and not the abilities needed for the new role and thus rise to the level of their incompetence. McCrory has certainly done that.

Fortunately, voters have a superior option in Democrat Roy Cooper. A Morehead Scholar at UNC, a former Senate majority leader and a four-term attorney general, Cooper has the experience, the intelligence and the policy stances needed to return the state to its stature as a progressive leader in the South.

That stature has been lost under McCrory. While the state’s and nation’s attention has rightfully been focused on HB2 since spring, McCrory’s lack of leadership and wrong-headed policies have been on display since his first year in Raleigh.

Here are four reasons we recommend a vote for Roy Cooper and against Pat McCrory:

1. HB2.

After the 2014 mid-term elections, we wrote an editorial suggesting to McCrory things he should do to win re-election in 2016. “Stay away from lightning-rod social issues. They’re a political loser in a purple state, and a distraction from those ‘very complex problems’ you hope to solve.”

Governor, meet lightning rod. McCrory rushed to sign House Bill 2 on March 23, hours after the House and Senate rammed it through. North Carolina’s reputation has been melting ever since. McCrory adamantly defends the discriminatory measure and dismisses the NCAA, the ACC, scores of business executives and others who have condemned the legislation. It was a hateful and self-defeating bill, and it will be McCrory’s legacy.

Cooper opposes HB2 and says he would work to repeal it.

2. McCrory’s other policies.

McCrory has signed enough bad legislation to fill a library, and his administration has enacted one misguided policy after another. He supported new restrictions on abortion after promising he wouldn’t. He signed what many experts have called the nation’s most restrictive voting laws. He has been soft on his former employer, Duke Energy, after a catastrophic coal ash spill. He has been tepid in raising teacher pay, while cutting teacher assistants and other education spending. He refused to accept billions of dollars from the federal government to provide health insurance to the poor.

Under McCrory, North Carolina was the only state to cut off long-term federal unemployment benefits, the first in the Southeast and maybe the nation to decline federal money to study streams and wetlands and the only one to cut WIC benefits during the federal government shutdown.

McCrory’s Department of Health and Human Services was a disaster under McCrory’s secretary, Aldona Wos. McCrory sat silently as the legislature tried to take over Charlotte’s airport. He has cut taxes for the wealthy and raised them on many in the middle class.

Cooper supports the other side of every one of these issues.

3. We need a check on the legislature.

McCrory has been spineless before Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speakers Thom Tillis and Tim Moore. Cooper would offer more resistance and, if Democrats pick up a handful of House seats, would use his veto to stop the legislature’s most egregious ideas.

4. Cooper’s integrity, education and experience.

McCrory had no state government experience and it has shown. Cooper was a leader in the legislature and then served 16 years as attorney general. He knows the state and its history, and understands its government from different perspectives. He would not have the learning curve McCrory continues to climb.

Cooper has a clear vision of what he wants to accomplish, built largely on investing in public education and creating a well-trained workforce that will feed a growing economy and strengthen the middle class.

McCrory had a notable career in public service. But he has climbed the ladder beyond his abilities. It is time for him to come home.

Three men face domestic terrorism charges for allegedly plotting to bomb an apartment complex occupied by Somali immigrants in southwest Kansas, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.

The men had talked about filling four vehicles with explosives and parking them at the four corners of the apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, to create a large explosion, the DOJ said in a news release.

About 120 Somali immigrants live in the complex, CNN affiliate KWCH reported, and acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said one of the apartment units served as a mosque.

The trio, members of a militia group that called itself The Crusaders, wanted to “wake people up,” the DOJ said. They were stockpiling weapons and planned to release a manifesto after the explosion, Beall said at a news conference.

“These charges are based on eight months of investigation by the FBI that is alleged to have taken the investigators deep into a hidden culture of hatred and violence,” acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said. “Many Kansans may find it as startling as I do that such things could happen here.”

Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright, both 49, of Liberal, Kansas, and Patrick Eugene Stein, 47, of Wright, Kansas, were charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.

A confidential source attended meetings of The Crusaders and told the FBI about the men’s plans, the DOJ said.

Stein met with an undercover FBI employee Oct. 12 and test-fired automatic weapons, the DOJ said. Stein took the source to the apartment building the men allegedly planned to bomb and said he would provide ammonium nitrate for the bomb and contribute $200 to $300 for other materials, the DOJ said.

Stein also mentioned that Allen had been arrested in a domestic violence case, causing Stein to worry Allen’s girlfriend would talk to police about their plans, the DOJ said.

The men could be sentenced to life in prison, the DOJ said.

Garden City, a town of about 27,000 people, and Finney County have attracted immigrants for years because they can find work in the meatpacking factories, CNN reported in 2009.

Between 2007 and 2008, Finney County became majority-minority, the U.S. Census Bureau said.

Preliminary data from the Council on American-Islamic Relations indicates that 2016 is on track to be the second-worst year on record when it comes to mosque attacks in the United States. This year is barely trailing the record set last year: 78 mosques were attacked in 2015.

On October 16 2016 00:09 Plansix wrote:
https://twitter.com/MSignorile/status/787294653724913665

https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/786661838930968576

https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/787288089756598278

Still relevant a year later to this day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FPrJxTvgdQ

Trevor can predict the future.

On October 16 2016 00:09 Plansix wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FPrJxTvgdQ

Trevor can predict the future.

On October 16 2016 00:22 GoTuNk! wrote:


Oh a mean tweet from 1 person, surely that represents the Trump campaign. Yo do realize how many left win media outlets have called for Trump assasination during the last election cycle? Is that Hillary's position?

Or how many people during BLM protests CHANTED for murdering cops? By your logic that means BLM encourages killing law enforcement agents, and thus is a domestic terrorist group. Or your logic does not apply here?

On October 16 2016 00:22 Biff The Understudy wrote:

Oh my God I missed that... This is amazing.

On October 16 2016 00:28 Plansix wrote:

It is an amazing skit, but also accurate. After all, how often do we hear about election results being challenged in Africa.

On October 16 2016 00:30 Biff The Understudy wrote:

You should watch that, it's quite amazing too:

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/10/12/cooper-conway-clinton-lawsuits-guilt-cnn-intv.cnn

On October 16 2016 00:32 LegalLord wrote:

To be good they require people to be charitable towards others and their knowledge and opinions which may come from a different perspective. However, FP discussions tend to have people who are about as uncharitable as you can get. This thread has been a good example of that.

On October 16 2016 00:22 GoTuNk! wrote:


Oh a mean tweet from 1 person, surely that represents the Trump campaign. Yo do realize how many left win media outlets have called for Trump assasination during the last election cycle? Is that Hillary's position?

Or how many people during BLM protests CHANTED for murdering cops? By your logic that means BLM encourages killing law enforcement agents, and thus is a domestic terrorist group. Or your logic does not apply here?

She doesn't want to arm Al'quaeda and other extremists. Let's get some facts in here.

On October 16 2016 00:01 zlefin wrote:
It's more that your claims seem unfounded by the evidence you've presented; and the notion that US would actively and directly support al-qaeda comes off as rather absurd, and more likely the result of people pushing biased narratives.

On October 16 2016 00:32 LegalLord wrote:

To be good they require people to be charitable towards others and their knowledge and opinions which may come from a different perspective. However, FP discussions tend to have people who are about as uncharitable as you can get. This thread has been a good example of that.

On October 16 2016 00:51 LegalLord wrote:

Well it can be both. Sometimes people are talking out of their ass, sometimes you just think they are and go full aggressive mode on them when it wasn't warranted.