American Politics Thread V: We're Just Biden Our Time ...

[Sincluda]

Two, freedom of speach is inherently good. It's a line that we cant cross. Everyone should have it, even idiots who get paid by the fraking industry.

(Ben Shaprio, Prager U being the idiots in question)

The thing is, normally these idiots can ramble without a hitch because they're precisely that: idiots. Most people won't listen to them. But now we're in a position where lots of people are listening to them, and letting things work out naturally isn't as easy. That said, I don't think that restricting free speech is good, but labeling misinformation is something that is absolutely necessary.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Two, freedom of speach is inherently good. It's a line that we cant cross. Everyone should have it, even idiots who get paid by the fraking industry.

(Ben Shaprio, Prager U being the idiots in question)

The thing is, normally these idiots can ramble without a hitch because they're precisely that: idiots. Most people won't listen to them. But now we're in a position where lots of people are listening to them, and letting things work out naturally isn't as easy. That said, I don't think that restricting free speech is good, but labeling misinformation is something that is absolutely necessary.

Exactly.

I would never want to suppress anyones free speach, no matter how insanely stupid the speach in question is. But there needs to be an impartial system free of political bias that checks someones post and flags it as to be
deprioritized from entering someones feed.

We need to publicly and privately flag any and all extremist political posts and misinformation.

Anti vax, anti mask, global warming denial, flat earth, ect are stuff that needs to be contained as factuly wrong.

[Exalted Inquellian State]

Prager.U has a lot of debates in the comment section, trust me. Will also kinda debates college students and adults in their 20s, and he's about the same age as them.

I can't imagine the debates in the comment section of Prager U videos being anything more then parroting every word Dennis or whatever speaker they dragged on said.

Also those debates are mostly either for sjw geting owned videos or for ben shaprio gets owned videos.

Some of them do try to do their own research. There's also a few socialists who go into the comment section, usually arguing in the replies of right wing comments or in the replies to their own comment if it's a small community post. There's about 6 to 12 people who usually show up and argue against each other.

[San Lumen]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... p-unhinged

The Republican who leads the Maricopa County, Ariz., elections department slammed former President Trump on Saturday, calling his comments on its 2020 election audit “unhinged.”

“Wow. This is unhinged. I’m literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now. We can’t indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country. This is as readily falsifiable as 2+2=5. If we don’t call this out…” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer wrote on Twitter.

[North Washington Republic]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/553745-maricopa-county-republican-official-calls-trump-unhinged

The Republican who leads the Maricopa County, Ariz., elections department slammed former President Trump on Saturday, calling his comments on its 2020 election audit “unhinged.”

“Wow. This is unhinged. I’m literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now. We can’t indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country. This is as readily falsifiable as 2+2=5. If we don’t call this out…” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer wrote on Twitter.

Well, he is out of a job. The Republican Party of AZ is lead by a bat shit crazy woman that buys into and promotes the big lie 110%.

[San Lumen]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/553745-maricopa-county-republican-official-calls-trump-unhinged

The Republican who leads the Maricopa County, Ariz., elections department slammed former President Trump on Saturday, calling his comments on its 2020 election audit “unhinged.”

“Wow. This is unhinged. I’m literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now. We can’t indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country. This is as readily falsifiable as 2+2=5. If we don’t call this out…” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer wrote on Twitter.

Well, he is out of a job. The Republican Party of AZ is lead by a bat shit crazy woman that buys into and promotes the big lie 110%.

Going forward its very possible the state will only get bluer if Maricopa County continues its leftward trend. Statewide offices are unwinnable without it as is a majority in the state legislature given its massive population.

[Odreria]

Well, he is out of a job. The Republican Party of AZ is lead by a bat shit crazy woman that buys into and promotes the big lie 110%.

Going forward its very possible the state will only get bluer if Maricopa County continues its leftward trend. Statewide offices are unwinnable without it as is a majority in the state legislature given its massive population.

imo the more percentage of people that vote Democrat, the more democrats will get elected.

[North Washington Republic]

Going forward its very possible the state will only get bluer if Maricopa County continues its leftward trend. Statewide offices are unwinnable without it as is a majority in the state legislature given its massive population.

imo the more percentage of people that vote Democrat, the more democrats will get elected.

You don’t say?

[San Lumen]

Going forward its very possible the state will only get bluer if Maricopa County continues its leftward trend. Statewide offices are unwinnable without it as is a majority in the state legislature given its massive population.

imo the more percentage of people that vote Democrat, the more democrats will get elected.

What a incredible concept. I had no idea that's how it worked.

[North Washington Republic]

Well, he is out of a job. The Republican Party of AZ is lead by a bat shit crazy woman that buys into and promotes the big lie 110%.

Going forward its very possible the state will only get bluer if Maricopa County continues its leftward trend. Statewide offices are unwinnable without it as is a majority in the state legislature given its massive population.

GOP politicians either are batshit crazy or they’re scared shitless of their batshit crazy base.

[Kowani]

Water crisis in the west goes from bad to worse

The water crisis along the California-Oregon border went from dire to catastrophic this week as federal regulators shut off irrigation water to farmers from a critical reservoir and said they would not send extra water to dying salmon downstream or to a half-dozen wildlife refuges that harbor millions of migrating birds each year.

In what is shaping up to be the worst water crisis in generations, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it will not release water this season into the main canal that feeds the bulk of the massive Klamath Reclamation Project, marking a first for the 114-year-old irrigation system. The agency announced last month that hundreds of irrigators would get dramatically less water than usual, but a worsening drought picture means water will be completely shut off instead.

The entire region is in extreme or exceptional drought, according to federal monitoring reports, and Oregon’s Klamath County is experiencing its driest year in 127 years. “This year’s drought conditions are bringing unprecedented hardship to the communities of the Klamath Basin,” said Reclamation Deputy Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton, calling the decision one of “historic consequence.” “Reclamation is dedicated to working with our water users, tribes and partners to get through this difficult year and developing long-term solutions for the basin.”

The canal, a major component of the federally operated Klamath Reclamation Project, funnels Klamath River water from the Upper Klamath Lake just north of the Oregon-California border to more than 130,000 acres (52,600 hectares), where generations of ranchers and farmers have grown hay, alfalfa and potatoes and grazed cattle. Only one irrigation district within the 200,000-acre (80,940-hectare) project will receive any water from the Klamath River system this growing season, and it will have a severely limited supply, the Klamath Water Users Association said in a statement. Some other farmers rely on water from a different river, and they will also have a limited supply.

“This just couldn’t be worse,” said Klamath Irrigation District president Ty Kliewer. “The impacts to our family farms and these rural communities will be off the scale.”

At the same time, the agency said it would not release any so-called “flushing flows” from the same dam on the Upper Klamath Lake to bolster water levels downstream in the lower Klamath River. The river is key to the survival of coho salmon, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In better water years the pulses of water help keep the river cool and turbulent — conditions that help the fragile species. The fish are central to the diet and culture of the Yurok Tribe, California’s largest federally recognized tribe. The tribe said this week that low flows from drought and from previous mismanagement of the river by the federal agency was causing a die-off of juvenile salmon from a bacterial disease that flourishes when water levels are low. Yurok fish biologists who have been testing the baby salmon in the lower Klamath River are finding that 70% of the fish are already dead in the traps used to collect them and 97% are infected by the bacteria known as C. shasta.

“Right now, the Klamath River is full of dead and dying fish on the Yurok Reservation,” said Frankie Myers, vice chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “This disease will kill most of the baby salmon in the Klamath, which will impact fish runs for many years to come. For salmon people, a juvenile fish kill is an absolute worst-case scenario.”

Irrigators, meanwhile, reacted with disbelief as the news of a water shut-off in the canals spread. A newsletter published by the Klamath Water Users Association, which represents many of the region’s farmers, blared the headline, “Worst Day in the History of the Klamath Project.” Farmers reported already seeing dust storms that obscured vision for 100 yards (91 meters), and they worried about their wells running dry.

About 30 protesters showed up Thursday at the head gates of the main dam to protest the shut-off and ask the irrigation district to defy federal orders and divert the water. The Herald and News reported that they were with a group called People’s Rights, a far-right organization founded by anti-government activist Ammon Bundy. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, have declared drought emergencies in the region, and the Bureau of Reclamation has set aside $15 million in immediate aid for irrigators. Another $10 million will be available for drought assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ben DuVal, president of the Klamath Water Users Association, urged his members to remain peaceful and not let the water crisis “be hijacked for other causes.”

[San Lumen]

Going forward its very possible the state will only get bluer if Maricopa County continues its leftward trend. Statewide offices are unwinnable without it as is a majority in the state legislature given its massive population.

GOP politicians either are batshit crazy or they’re scared shitless of their batshit crazy base.

Not going matter if Maricopa County keeps getting bluer.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

I can't imagine the debates in the comment section of Prager U videos being anything more then parroting every word Dennis or whatever speaker they dragged on said.

Also those debates are mostly either for sjw geting owned videos or for ben shaprio gets owned videos.

Some of them do try to do their own research. There's also a few socialists who go into the comment section, usually arguing in the replies of right wing comments or in the replies to their own comment if it's a small community post. There's about 6 to 12 people who usually show up and argue against each other.

Some of them maybe, but knowing youtube comments most of them are just nonsensical garbage.

[San Lumen]

Some of them do try to do their own research. There's also a few socialists who go into the comment section, usually arguing in the replies of right wing comments or in the replies to their own comment if it's a small community post. There's about 6 to 12 people who usually show up and argue against each other.

Some of them maybe, but knowing youtube comments most of them are just nonsensical garbage.

If online comments meant anything predicting the outcome of elections would be much easier.

[Kowani]

Mississippi man gets life sentence for marijuana possession

In a sign that the failed war on drugs is still going strong, a Black man serving life in prison stemming from a marijuana conviction in Mississippi had his sentence upheld this week. The Mississippi Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied Russell Allen’s appeal in part because he is a “habitual offender,” a classification that eliminates any judicial discretion and guarantees harsher sentences for people who have previously been convicted multiple times — even if the most recent offense is nonviolent.

Similar to the notorious, so-called “three strikes” laws sprinkled around the country, “habitual offender” laws have been widely criticized by people working toward criminal justice reform.

In Allen’s case, the 38-year-old was found guilty in 2019 for being in possession of more than 30 grams of marijuana. That was after he had previously been separately convicted of two home burglary charges and unlawful possession of a firearm, spending more than a decade behind bars in total.

One of the judges who dissented in the ruling is a Black woman who wrote in her opinion that the decision to uphold Allen’s life sentence undermines the true duty of the court.

“The purpose of the criminal justice system is to punish those who break the law, deter them from making similar mistakes, and give them the opportunity to become productive members of society,” Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks wrote in her dissenting opinion. “The fact that judges are not routinely given the ability to exercise discretion in sentencing all habitual offenders is completely at odds with this goal.”

The Mississippi Clarion-Ledger reported last year that there were 86 “habitual offenders” serving life without parole because of convictions for nonviolent crimes, like Allen.

Those types of convictions, critics, say, lead to the criminal justice system being backlogged with cases and a prison system that continues to experience overcrowding with no end in sight.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has expressed similar sentiments in the past about “habitual offender” laws in other states.

“America is the world’s largest incarcerator, but our addiction to incarceration is doing little to make Americans safer,” Rachel Myers wrote for the ACLU 10 years ago with nearly prophetic words that still resonate today. “Especially in the face of economic crisis, our government should invest in alternatives to incarceration and make prisons options of last — not first — resort.”

[San Lumen]

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... ume--63491


Metro-North Penn Station access project to resume


The Metro-North Railroad Penn Station Access Project, which had been on hold because of the pandemic and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) funding uncertainty, has resumed.

The project includes four new ADA-accessible Metro-North stations in the East Bronx, bridge rehabilitations, more than 19 miles of new and rehabilitated track, the reconfiguration of Metro-North's New Rochelle Yard, new and reconfigured interlockings, and the modernization of signaling, power and communication infrastructure.

[Kowani]

Montsanto continues to lose in court

"The reckoning for Roundup rolls on."

So said George Kimbrell, legal director of the Center for Food Safety, on Friday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco affirmed a lower court ruling against Monsanto (since acquired by Bayer) which found the chemical giant responsible for the cancer suffered by users of its signature herbicide Roundup.

The 9th Circuit rejected an appeal by Bayer in Hardeman vs. Monsanto, in which Edwin Hardeman accused the company of failing to disclose the dangers glyphosate poses to human health. Hardeman was awarded $80 million in the case, which was later reduced to $25 million. Hardeman was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2015 after two decades of using Roundup as an herbicide on his 56-acre property. His case was one of several high-profile lawsuits against Monsanto over its use of glyphosate. The company agreed to pay $10.9 billion to a total of about 125,000 people last year, all of whom alleged the use of Roundup was to blame for their cancer diagnoses.

The Environmental Protection Agency backed Bayer in its latest appeal in Hardeman's case, in which the company claimed the jury verdict should be nullified because states don't have the authority to deviate from federal regulations for herbicides.

The three-judge panel ruled that California's failure-to-warn law was consistent with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

"FIFRA did not impliedly preempt Hardeman's state failure-to-warn claims," the court said.

Bayer also claimed that the World Health Organization's classification of glyphosate as a carcinogen should not have been entered into the court record as evidence. The judges ruled that "that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting" the evidence.

The Center for Food Safety, which filed an amicus brief in support of Hardeman last year, called the ruling a major victory "for all those who care about protecting human health and the environment and holding corporations accountable for the harm they cause."

Kimbrell said the group was "gratified that the Ninth Circuit unanimously rejected Monsanto's arguments that Mr. Hardeman and thousands of others harmed by their products are prohibited by federal law from suing to redress their injuries. The Court also properly upheld the reliance on the World Health Organization's classification of glyphosate as a probable carcinogen."

Despite international experts' warnings about glyphosate and decisions by policymakers in Austria, Germany, and other countries to phase out or ban the chemical, the EPA still claims that glyphosate is "unlikely to be a human carcinogen."

"Center for Food Safety is currently challenging the federal approval of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as unlawful for a number of reasons—including cancer risks to farmers and farmworkers from exposure," said Kimbrell. "Today's appeals court ruling is another reminder the Biden administration should act and revoke the registration of glyphosate immediately."

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Mississippi man gets life sentence for marijuana possession

In a sign that the failed war on drugs is still going strong, a Black man serving life in prison stemming from a marijuana conviction in Mississippi had his sentence upheld this week. The Mississippi Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied Russell Allen’s appeal in part because he is a “habitual offender,” a classification that eliminates any judicial discretion and guarantees harsher sentences for people who have previously been convicted multiple times — even if the most recent offense is nonviolent.

Similar to the notorious, so-called “three strikes” laws sprinkled around the country, “habitual offender” laws have been widely criticized by people working toward criminal justice reform.

In Allen’s case, the 38-year-old was found guilty in 2019 for being in possession of more than 30 grams of marijuana. That was after he had previously been separately convicted of two home burglary charges and unlawful possession of a firearm, spending more than a decade behind bars in total.

One of the judges who dissented in the ruling is a Black woman who wrote in her opinion that the decision to uphold Allen’s life sentence undermines the true duty of the court.

“The purpose of the criminal justice system is to punish those who break the law, deter them from making similar mistakes, and give them the opportunity to become productive members of society,” Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks wrote in her dissenting opinion. “The fact that judges are not routinely given the ability to exercise discretion in sentencing all habitual offenders is completely at odds with this goal.”

The Mississippi Clarion-Ledger reported last year that there were 86 “habitual offenders” serving life without parole because of convictions for nonviolent crimes, like Allen.

Those types of convictions, critics, say, lead to the criminal justice system being backlogged with cases and a prison system that continues to experience overcrowding with no end in sight.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has expressed similar sentiments in the past about “habitual offender” laws in other states.

“America is the world’s largest incarcerator, but our addiction to incarceration is doing little to make Americans safer,” Rachel Myers wrote for the ACLU 10 years ago with nearly prophetic words that still resonate today. “Especially in the face of economic crisis, our government should invest in alternatives to incarceration and make prisons options of last — not first — resort.”

Really? Life in jail for 30 grams of weed is dumb.

Yes, he did do other crimes but home burglary is an entirely diffrent thing then haveing 30 grams of weed.


This "habitual offenders" system is dumb as it fails to give context to what this crime is compared to his older crimes.

He did his time for burglary. And now those mistakes come back after he allready did his time beacuse of 30 grams of weed?

[The Black Forrest]

I feel like I'm one of the few people who remembers the phrase "Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing."

Well guess what? Free speech is a good thing, and in some ways we have too much of it. Which can only lead to one logical conclusion...

I do admit to wondering if Free speech is a good thing after listening to a trumpet explain things…..

[Greater Miami Shores]

The thing is, normally these idiots can ramble without a hitch because they're precisely that: idiots. Most people won't listen to them. But now we're in a position where lots of people are listening to them, and letting things work out naturally isn't as easy. That said, I don't think that restricting free speech is good, but labeling misinformation is something that is absolutely necessary.

Exactly.

I would never want to suppress anyones free speach, no matter how insanely stupid the speach in question is. But there needs to be an impartial system free of political bias that checks someones post and flags it as to be
deprioritized from entering someones feed.

We need to publicly and privately flag any and all extremist political posts and misinformation.

Anti vax, anti mask, global warming denial, flat earth, ect are stuff that needs to be contained as factuly wrong.

Derpy the problem with your suggestions is, leftist views are their Facts, right wingers views are their Facts, libertarians views are their Facts, socialists views are their Facts, Communists views are their Facts, the Persons who Fact Check are leftists, are right wingers and of all the other ideologies, they all have their own Political views, These are Real Facts, I Rest My Case.

[Australian rePublic]

Say what you want about Trump, but he's done more for peace in the Middle East than any Democrat has. And Obama didn't deserve any damned Nobel Peace Prize

[Greater Miami Shores]

Say what you want about Trump, but he's done more for peace in the Middle East than any Democrat has. And Obama didn't deserve any damned Nobel Peace Prize

I Strongy agree, Republican President Trump is the strongest American President supporter of Israel and the Jewish People since Republican President Ronald Reagan, President Trump even has Jewish Grandchildren in his Family, President Trump deserves The Nobel Peace Prize.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Say what you want about Trump, but he's done more for peace in the Middle East than any Democrat has. And Obama didn't deserve any damned Nobel Peace Prize

I Strongy agree, Republican President Trump even has Jewish Grandchildren in his Family, President Trump deserves The Nobel Peace Prize.

Who cares if his grandkids are Jewish? Sure didn't stop him from pandering to antisemites for votes.

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

Say what you want about Trump, but he's done more for peace in the Middle East than any Democrat has. And Obama didn't deserve any damned Nobel Peace Prize

What is it you think he did for peace in the Middle East?

[Greater Miami Shores]

I Strongy agree, Republican President Trump even has Jewish Grandchildren in his Family, President Trump deserves The Nobel Peace Prize.

Who cares if his grandkids are Jewish? Sure didn't stop him from pandering to antisemites for votes.

Rojava you of all Persons a Proud Socialist know the Democrats do everything the Republicans do like Pandering, you are strongly against Republicans and President Trump, and you are strongly against the Democrats and Biden when you strongly disagree with them, but you strongly criticize them as well.