The Many Faces of US Politics...

[sid waddell]

Mad the way the "small government" loons turned to be big fans of secret police, it's almost as if the whole "small government" nonsense was always nothing more than a self conscious fraud!

[screenexile]

https://twitter.com/andy_resist_/status/1285280976751325184?s=21

LAW AND ORDER!!!

[whitey]

https://twitter.com/andy_resist_/status/1285280976751325184?s=21

LAW AND ORDER!!!

Maybe you should have posted this where it belongs,  on the "Many Faces of Serbian Politics" Thread

[Gmac]

https://twitter.com/andy_resist_/status/1285280976751325184?s=21

LAW AND ORDER!!!

Maybe you should have posted this where it belongs,  on the "Many Faces of Serbian Politics" Thread

he thinks all police are like the ruc that's the real problem with most boys on here .

[Eamonnca1]

The people rioting and setting fire to Federal buildings are overwhelmingly white not black, so I'm curious as to how and by whom they were oppressed

They are standing with those that are oppressed. Surely that is obvious even to you?

They have also no doubt been looking on at the police actions early in this saga with horror. Police shooting rubber bullets at the press, at folks in wheelchairs, at peaceful demonstrators. They've seen the police blatantly attempt to intimidate and injure senior citizens.

At this point, the protests are about more than just BLM - they are also against the militarisation of US policing.

you are right that the protests are about something else at this stage but not what you think
The protests are about trump and if he is re-elected and they are letting the country know get ready for 4 more years of anarchy if he is elected again .

Now you're catching on, old boy!

rioting from behind the keyboard old chum.

Did you type that on a keyboard?

[Eamonnca1]

Mad the way the "small government" loons turned to be big fans of secret police, it's almost as if the whole "small government" nonsense was always nothing more than a self conscious fraud!

The conservative doctrine is as follows:

"We are a nation of laws" (but only for immigrants. Mask mandates and gun control are laws that should be ignored.)
"Deficits are bad" (But only when Democrats are in office. When Repubs are in office, we get to spend like drunken sailors while cutting the divil out of taxes)
"Big government is bad!" (except when it comes to spending on weapons, armed police, prisons, and all the other instruments of death and oppression in which case money is no problem)
"Government has no right to infringe on our freedom as individuals!" (Unless "we" means women who need to terminate pregnancies)

[Gmac]

The people rioting and setting fire to Federal buildings are overwhelmingly white not black, so I'm curious as to how and by whom they were oppressed

They are standing with those that are oppressed. Surely that is obvious even to you?

They have also no doubt been looking on at the police actions early in this saga with horror. Police shooting rubber bullets at the press, at folks in wheelchairs, at peaceful demonstrators. They've seen the police blatantly attempt to intimidate and injure senior citizens.

At this point, the protests are about more than just BLM - they are also against the militarisation of US policing.

you are right that the protests are about something else at this stage but not what you think
The protests are about trump and if he is re-elected and they are letting the country know get ready for 4 more years of anarchy if he is elected again .

Now you're catching on, old boy!

rioting from behind the keyboard old chum.

Did you type that on a keyboard?

yes but I'm not threatening anarchy .

[Eamonnca1]

The only one responsible for all this anarchy is Trump and you know it.

[Eamonnca1]

More Rethuglican criminality:

Ohio House Speaker Arrested In Connection With $60 Million Bribery Scheme

FBI agents arrested Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on Tuesday morning at his rural farm. Householder was taken into custody in connection with a $60 million bribery scheme allegedly involving state officials and associates.

Four others were also arrested: former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, Householder adviser Jeffrey Longstreth and lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes.

The charges are linked to a controversial law passed last year that bailed out two nuclear power plants in the state while gutting subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The federal complaint describes a years-long bribery campaign to build support for Householder's bid to become House speaker and then pass the nuclear bailout law with his help. Householder won the speakership in January 2019, and the bailout passed in July 2019. It went into effect in October.

Householder, a Republican, represents a district east of Columbus. He first began serving in the Ohio House in 1997 and was speaker from 2001 to 2004, when he stepped down because of term limits. He then worked as Perry County auditor before returning to the House in 2017.

Householder, Longstreth, Clark, Borges and Cespedes were each charged with "conspiracy to participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of an enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity." The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The criminal complaint also charges Generation Now, which it describes as "a 501(c)(4) entity secretly controlled by Householder."

Federal prosecutors say that between March 2017 and March 2020, entities related to an unnamed company — but that would appear to be nuclear power company FirstEnergy Solutions — paid approximately $60 million to Householder's Generation Now.

"Make no mistake, this is Larry Householder's 501 (c)(4)," U.S. Attorney David DeVillers told reporters on Tuesday. The money from the scheme was spent to the detriment of other political candidates and the people of Ohio, DeVillers said.

Members of Householder's enterprise used those payments for their own personal benefit and to gain support for Householder's bid to become speaker, prosecutors say.

"In the Spring and Fall of 2018, the Enterprise spent millions in Company A money to support House candidates involved in primary and general elections whom the Enterprise believed both would vote for Householder as Speaker and, ultimately, would follow his lead as Speaker and vote for bailout legislation for Company A," the complaint states.

In exchange for payments, prosecutors say, Householder and his associates helped pass House Bill 6, then worked to ensure it went into effect by defeating a ballot initiative.

The plan worked. The complaint says Householder-backed candidates that benefited from money from Generation Now helped to elect Householder as the Speaker. House Bill 6 was introduced three months into his term – legislation worth $1.3 billion to Company A.

Regular payments to Householder's secret company from Company A began in March 2017, a couple months after he took a trip on Company A's private jet, according to the federal complaint. But the payments got much bigger after the legislation was introduced: In May 2019, while the bill was pending before lawmakers, Company A allegedly wired $8 million to Generation Now.

Householder and his associates used some of the money on mailers and advertising to support the legislation, and some of it for their own benefit, prosecutors say.

The bill was passed by a vote of 51-38. After the bill was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine, a campaign began to organize a ballot initiative to overturn the law. Company A-controlled accounts responded by wiring $38 million to Householder's company between July and October 2019.

In total, Company A allegedly paid the Householder enterprise $60 million over a three-year period, in exchange for the billion-dollar-bailout.

Prosecutors say the payments were "akin to bags of cash – unlike campaign or PAC contributions, they were not regulated, not reported, not subject to public scrutiny—and the Enterprise freely spent the bribe payments to further the Enterprise's political interests and to enrich themselves."

Prosecutors say that while there are no charges yet against Company A, the investigation is ongoing. Preliminary hearings are set for early August.

At a Tuesday court hearing, the defendants were ordered to surrender any firearms and to remain within the Southern District of Ohio. They are barred from communicating with anyone who may become a witness in the trial, including the other men charged Tuesday. Those with passports were ordered to surrender them.

Householder has faced scrutiny before. In 2004, there were reports of his engaging in alleged corrupt activity, though he was never charged.

Gov. Mike DeWine called for Householder's resignation after the charges were announced on Tuesday afternoon.

"I am deeply concerned about the allegations of wrongdoing issued today by the U.S. Attorney's Office," DeWine tweeted. "Because of the nature of these charges, it will be impossible for Speaker Householder to effectively lead the Ohio House of Representatives; therefore, I am calling on Speaker Householder to resign immediately. This is a sad day for Ohio."

Last year's nuclear bailout law tacked on a charge to residents' power bills, sending $150 million a year to the nuclear power plants. They are owned by the company Energy Harbor, which was previously known as FirstEnergy Solutions.

The law also included a subsidy for two coal plants.

NPR member station WOSU reported that FirstEnergy contributed more than $150,000 to Ohio House Republicans in the run-up to the 2018 election — including over $25,000 in donations to Householder's campaign.

"According to the state lobbyist database, Energy Harbor is the only client listed for Cespedes," WOSU reported. "Borges also worked as a lobbyist for FirstEnergy Solutions, while Longstreth is connected to Generation Now, which campaigned against the bailout referendum."

Rethuglicans are going to find it hard to run on a platform of "law and order" when so many of them keep ending up behind bars.

[sid waddell]

https://twitter.com/andy_resist_/status/1285280976751325184?s=21

LAW AND ORDER!!!

Maybe you should have posted this where it belongs,  on the "Many Faces of Serbian Politics" Thread

he thinks all police are like the ruc that's the real problem with most boys on here .

Bit unfair on the RUC for you to compare them to American police.

[sid waddell]

Rethuglicans are going to find it hard to run on a platform of "law and order" when so many of them keep ending up behind bars.

Nah, like all fascists they've always been self-conscious grifters.

[Captain Obvious]

Trump said tonight he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well...

[whitey]

Trump said tonight he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well...

Lol-what do you expect him to say ?

"I hope she dies from Covid or I hope she commits suicide like Epstein"

[johnnycool]

Trump said tonight he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well...

Lol-what do you expect him to say ?

"I hope she dies from Covid or I hope she commits suicide like Epstein"

No, he could have said that he hopes justice is done like most normal people.

[HiMucker]

Trump said tonight he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well...

Lol-what do you expect him to say ?

"I hope she dies from Covid or I hope she commits suicide like Epstein"

More mental gymnastics from the "Im not a Trump supporter"