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

[Immortan Khan]

What do you expect them to do

Have a pair of balls.

[San Lumen]

What do you expect them to do

Have a pair of balls.

By doing what? They have a majority of one in the Senate.

[The Black Forrest]

What do you expect them to do

Have a pair of balls.

What if they are female?

[Kowani]

Conservatives sue to prevent Denver from hosting the All-Star game after it was moved out of Georgia in response to their voter suppression law

A conservative business group is suing Major League Baseball over its decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game to Denver, alleging the league conspired with the players’ union to intimidate the state government of Georgia over a new voting law and to harm Georgia businesses.

The Job Creators Network filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court Monday, asking for Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to pay $100 million to make up for lost business revenues in Georgia. It also seeks $1 billion in punitive damages for their “unprecedented cruelty and hostility” toward Georgia.


“MLB robbed the small businesses of Atlanta — many of them minority-owned — of $100 million,” Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz said in a news release. “We want the game back where it belongs.” The organization supports small businesses, including in Colorado and Georgia, and was started in part by the retired cofounder of Home Depot, which is based in Atlanta.

[Atheris]

Have a pair of balls.

What if they are female?

Wow, so you're transphobic?

[Immortan Khan]

Have a pair of balls.

By doing what? They have a majority of one in the Senate.

That doesn't mean they can't fire the parliamentarian.

[The Black Forrest]

Conservatives sue to prevent Denver from hosting the All-Star game after it was moved out of Georgia in response to their voter suppression law

A conservative business group is suing Major League Baseball over its decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game to Denver, alleging the league conspired with the players’ union to intimidate the state government of Georgia over a new voting law and to harm Georgia businesses.

The Job Creators Network filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court Monday, asking for Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to pay $100 million to make up for lost business revenues in Georgia. It also seeks $1 billion in punitive damages for their “unprecedented cruelty and hostility” toward Georgia.


“MLB robbed the small businesses of Atlanta — many of them minority-owned — of $100 million,” Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz said in a news release. “We want the game back where it belongs.” The organization supports small businesses, including in Colorado and Georgia, and was started in part by the retired cofounder of Home Depot, which is based in Atlanta.

Wait. I am confused. Which group is all about businesses right to privacy, etc?

You have to give them credit. Hey I did something stupid and I deserve to be rewarded for it!!!!!

[The Black Forrest]

By doing what? They have a majority of one in the Senate.

That doesn't mean they can't fire the parliamentarian.

I wonder how much the parliamentarian actually does get involved?

[Kowani]

That doesn't mean they can't fire the parliamentarian.

I wonder how much the parliamentarian actually does get involved?

in this case, whenever we need a convenient reason to fuck over the common people that won't result in an electoral backlash
like so many other things

First it was that we didn’t hold either house so we couldn’t obstruct, then investigations or impeachment would backfire, then they wouldn’t listen to subpoenas so why bother, then we needed to focus on the election, or had to show voters we could get things done, then we needed to move on, or focus on the pandemic, or we needed impeachment to be brief and narrow so not to be “confusing,” or didn’t want to seem partisan, or the filibuster, or it’s Manchin or Sinema, or our voters are different from their voters, or malapportionment, and now it's the omnipotent rules goblin

[Cannot think of a name]

Conservatives sue to prevent Denver from hosting the All-Star game after it was moved out of Georgia in response to their voter suppression law

A conservative business group is suing Major League Baseball over its decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game to Denver, alleging the league conspired with the players’ union to intimidate the state government of Georgia over a new voting law and to harm Georgia businesses.

The Job Creators Network filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court Monday, asking for Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to pay $100 million to make up for lost business revenues in Georgia. It also seeks $1 billion in punitive damages for their “unprecedented cruelty and hostility” toward Georgia.


“MLB robbed the small businesses of Atlanta — many of them minority-owned — of $100 million,” Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz said in a news release. “We want the game back where it belongs.” The organization supports small businesses, including in Colorado and Georgia, and was started in part by the retired cofounder of Home Depot, which is based in Atlanta.

The Job Creators Network confounded by the guy whose company monster mashed small businesses supports small businesses. It’s like Godzilla running a support network for Japanese buildings.

[San Lumen]

By doing what? They have a majority of one in the Senate.

That doesn't mean they can't fire the parliamentarian.

Or they could just overrule them. No one elected this person.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Have a pair of balls.

What if they are female?

Have ovaries.

[Kowani]

Florida gets sued by the Tech Industry over social media law

Trade groups representing Facebook, Twitter, and other major websites have sued Florida to block a state law that makes it illegal for social media companies to ban politicians. The industry groups say the law violates the First Amendment—and legal experts have said the same, as we've previously written.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law on May 24, slamming what he called the "censorship" of conservatives on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook. The law, scheduled to take effect on July 1, gives Floridians the right to sue Big Tech companies over content-moderation decisions and prohibits the companies from "deplatforming" political candidates and journalistic enterprises. The law imposes fines of up to $250,000 per day on social media companies that ban candidates for elected office.

The lawsuit against Florida was filed by Netchoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA). Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Google, and eBay are members of both groups.

The law "restrict[s] the First Amendment rights of a targeted selection of online businesses by having the State of Florida dictate how those businesses must exercise their editorial judgment over the content hosted on their privately owned websites," the trade groups' lawsuit said. The complaint was filed on May 27 in US District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

The lawsuit asks for preliminary and permanent injunctions preventing Florida from enforcing the law.

Florida's law "infringes on the rights to freedom of speech, equal protection, and due process protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution," exceeds the state's authority under the Constitution's Commerce Clause, and is preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the lawsuit said. The law infringes the First Amendment "by compelling [websites] to host—and punishing them for taking virtually any action to remove or make less prominent—even highly objectionable or illegal content, no matter how much that content may conflict with their terms or policies," the complaint said.

The suit continued: These unprecedented restrictions are a blatant attack on a wide range of content-moderation choices that these private companies have to make on a daily basis to protect their services, users, advertisers, and the public at large from a variety of harmful, offensive, or unlawful material: pornography, terrorist incitement, false propaganda created and spread by hostile foreign governments, calls for genocide or race-based violence, disinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines, fraudulent schemes, egregious violations of personal privacy, counterfeit goods and other violations of intellectual property rights, bullying and harassment, conspiracy theories denying the Holocaust or 9/11, and dangerous computer viruses. Meanwhile, the Act prohibits only these disfavored companies from deciding how to arrange or prioritize content—core editorial functions protected by the First Amendment—based on its relevance and interest to their users. And the Act goes so far as to bar those companies from adding their own commentary to certain content that they host on their privately owned services—even labeling such commentary as "censorship" and subjecting the services to liability simply for "post[ing] an addendum to any content or material posted by a user.

The complaint also points to the Florida law's odd exemption carved out for Disney and any other company that happens to own a theme park. The law "further violates the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause by (i) targeting only larger digital services and social media companies, while (ii) irrationally exempting Disney and Universal Studios (owned by Comcast Corporation) from its scope, simply because they own well-attended 'theme parks' in Florida," the complaint said.

It continued: No legitimate government interest could be advanced by such an exemption, nor was any such interest identified. Rather, as one of the law's sponsors remarked, the exemption was added with the undisguised objective of ensuring that certain companies with big economic footprints in Florida—like Disney—are not "caught up in this." The decision to exempt those major companies confirms that the law's true objective is to control the private speech of politically disfavored companies who have online platforms, but not to control the speech of similarly situated but politically favored companies with power and influence in the State of Florida.

they really carved a mickey-mouse shaped hole in their law and hoped no one would notice

[The Black Forrest]

Florida gets sued by the Tech Industry over social media law

Trade groups representing Facebook, Twitter, and other major websites have sued Florida to block a state law that makes it illegal for social media companies to ban politicians. The industry groups say the law violates the First Amendment—and legal experts have said the same, as we've previously written.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law on May 24, slamming what he called the "censorship" of conservatives on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook. The law, scheduled to take effect on July 1, gives Floridians the right to sue Big Tech companies over content-moderation decisions and prohibits the companies from "deplatforming" political candidates and journalistic enterprises. The law imposes fines of up to $250,000 per day on social media companies that ban candidates for elected office.

The lawsuit against Florida was filed by Netchoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA). Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Google, and eBay are members of both groups.

The law "restrict[s] the First Amendment rights of a targeted selection of online businesses by having the State of Florida dictate how those businesses must exercise their editorial judgment over the content hosted on their privately owned websites," the trade groups' lawsuit said. The complaint was filed on May 27 in US District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

The lawsuit asks for preliminary and permanent injunctions preventing Florida from enforcing the law.

Florida's law "infringes on the rights to freedom of speech, equal protection, and due process protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution," exceeds the state's authority under the Constitution's Commerce Clause, and is preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the lawsuit said. The law infringes the First Amendment "by compelling [websites] to host—and punishing them for taking virtually any action to remove or make less prominent—even highly objectionable or illegal content, no matter how much that content may conflict with their terms or policies," the complaint said.

The suit continued: These unprecedented restrictions are a blatant attack on a wide range of content-moderation choices that these private companies have to make on a daily basis to protect their services, users, advertisers, and the public at large from a variety of harmful, offensive, or unlawful material: pornography, terrorist incitement, false propaganda created and spread by hostile foreign governments, calls for genocide or race-based violence, disinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines, fraudulent schemes, egregious violations of personal privacy, counterfeit goods and other violations of intellectual property rights, bullying and harassment, conspiracy theories denying the Holocaust or 9/11, and dangerous computer viruses. Meanwhile, the Act prohibits only these disfavored companies from deciding how to arrange or prioritize content—core editorial functions protected by the First Amendment—based on its relevance and interest to their users. And the Act goes so far as to bar those companies from adding their own commentary to certain content that they host on their privately owned services—even labeling such commentary as "censorship" and subjecting the services to liability simply for "post[ing] an addendum to any content or material posted by a user.

The complaint also points to the Florida law's odd exemption carved out for Disney and any other company that happens to own a theme park. The law "further violates the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause by (i) targeting only larger digital services and social media companies, while (ii) irrationally exempting Disney and Universal Studios (owned by Comcast Corporation) from its scope, simply because they own well-attended 'theme parks' in Florida," the complaint said.

It continued: No legitimate government interest could be advanced by such an exemption, nor was any such interest identified. Rather, as one of the law's sponsors remarked, the exemption was added with the undisguised objective of ensuring that certain companies with big economic footprints in Florida—like Disney—are not "caught up in this." The decision to exempt those major companies confirms that the law's true objective is to control the private speech of politically disfavored companies who have online platforms, but not to control the speech of similarly situated but politically favored companies with power and influence in the State of Florida.

they really carved a mickey-mouse shaped hole in their law and hoped no one would notice

;

That’s funny.

Goes to show you he is not that smart.

Then again will this go into the deep state trope?

[Myrensis]

"I hear all the folks on TV saying, 'Why doesn't Biden get this done?' Well, because Biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends [...] Democracy itself is in peril, here at home and around the world.: American Democracy is about to show if it can save itself.

This quote came from Biden on Memorial Day, which shows he's starting to show his irritation with the likes of Manchin of Sinema. Whether he can do- which honestly he can't unless Democrats retain the House and expand their majorities- But American Democracy is under assault, especially since we have Trump Supporters, Subordinates, and Qanon backers parroting coup talking points and continuing their "insurrection".

Manchin at least has the excuse that he's hanging on by a thread in a deep red state by name recognition alone.

Arizona on the other hand elected 2 new Democratic Senators and voted for the Democratic President, leading to the GOP going full looney toons and pushing voter suppression and conspiracy theories designed to oust her no matter what the voters say, yet Sinema still insists that they can be reasoned with and no legislation to protect and expand voting rights should be passed without their (never going to happen under any circumstances) support because...reasons?

[Borderlands of Rojava]

"I hear all the folks on TV saying, 'Why doesn't Biden get this done?' Well, because Biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends [...] Democracy itself is in peril, here at home and around the world.: American Democracy is about to show if it can save itself.

This quote came from Biden on Memorial Day, which shows he's starting to show his irritation with the likes of Manchin of Sinema. Whether he can do- which honestly he can't unless Democrats retain the House and expand their majorities- But American Democracy is under assault, especially since we have Trump Supporters, Subordinates, and Qanon backers parroting coup talking points and continuing their "insurrection".

Manchin at least has the excuse that he's hanging on by a thread in a deep red state by name recognition alone.

Arizona on the other hand elected 2 new Democratic Senators and voted for the Democratic President, leading to the GOP going full looney toons and pushing voter suppression and conspiracy theories designed to oust her no matter what the voters say, yet Sinema still insists that they can be reasoned with and no legislation to protect and expand voting rights should be passed without their (never going to happen under any circumstances) support because...reasons?

The dems need to stop being so nice. Trump isn't nice nor is the GOP, so there's no reason for all this bullshit talk about compromise and unity.

[Kowani]

The education crackdown comes to Kentucky!

Amid a national groundswell against critical race theory in schools, a Kentucky lawmaker has prefiled a bill to limit conversations around systemic racism in classrooms.

Bill Request 60, prefiled Tuesday by Rep. Joseph Fischer (R), would prohibit public K-12 schools from using curriculum or supplemental learning materials that would teach students that one race or sex is "inherently superior."

Teachers could not use materials "promoting division between, or resentment of" different groups, including different socioeconomic classes and racial identities.

Schools would not be able to teach that an individual is "inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously" due to their race or sex, the bill says. Teachers would not be allowed to say the country is "fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist." They also would not be allowed to promote or advocate for a "violent overthrow of the United States government," the bill adds. Fischer's bill request does not specifically ban critical race theory — an academic framework used to examine how systems and institutions may perpetuate racial disparities.

A press release shared Wednesday, though, mentions critical race theory throughout and says the bill aims to ban the concept from classrooms.

“Critical race theory is not based on facts or evidence but rather serves as a dangerous diversion from education priorities that are actually proven to eliminate disparities,” Fischer said in the release.

“It is a powerful tool for those who seek to divide us into categories and destroy the very institutions that have seen generations of Americans of all races and backgrounds build successful futures.” Fischer said he filed the bill after Highlands High School, a predominantly white and wealthy school in his district, sought to add a course called "Social Equity" that would focus on a range of social justice issues.

Highlands' school decision-making council approved the course in December, but ultimately said it would not offer it next year due to scheduling issues, its student newspaper reported. A citizen would be able to file a complaint with the Attorney General if they think a teacher discusses any of the barred topics, the bill says. If the Attorney General finds a violation, and the violation continues, schools would lose $5,000 in state funding per day. [...]Fischer's bill also has a section banning any student in a public postsecondary institution from being required to "engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling."

oh hey my sig is relevant again

[Senkaku]

Have a pair of balls.

By doing what? They have a majority of one in the Senate.

Literal coup attempts are now inside the Overton Window, I’m pretty sure Senate proceduralism is a surmountable obstacle

[San Lumen]

By doing what? They have a majority of one in the Senate.

Literal coup attempts are now inside the Overton Window, I’m pretty sure Senate proceduralism is a surmountable obstacle

What do you want them to do? They can't force people to vote a certain way.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

The education crackdown comes to Kentucky!

Amid a national groundswell against critical race theory in schools, a Kentucky lawmaker has prefiled a bill to limit conversations around systemic racism in classrooms.

Bill Request 60, prefiled Tuesday by Rep. Joseph Fischer (R), would prohibit public K-12 schools from using curriculum or supplemental learning materials that would teach students that one race or sex is "inherently superior."

Teachers could not use materials "promoting division between, or resentment of" different groups, including different socioeconomic classes and racial identities.

Schools would not be able to teach that an individual is "inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously" due to their race or sex, the bill says. Teachers would not be allowed to say the country is "fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist." They also would not be allowed to promote or advocate for a "violent overthrow of the United States government," the bill adds. Fischer's bill request does not specifically ban critical race theory — an academic framework used to examine how systems and institutions may perpetuate racial disparities.

A press release shared Wednesday, though, mentions critical race theory throughout and says the bill aims to ban the concept from classrooms.

“Critical race theory is not based on facts or evidence but rather serves as a dangerous diversion from education priorities that are actually proven to eliminate disparities,” Fischer said in the release.

“It is a powerful tool for those who seek to divide us into categories and destroy the very institutions that have seen generations of Americans of all races and backgrounds build successful futures.” Fischer said he filed the bill after Highlands High School, a predominantly white and wealthy school in his district, sought to add a course called "Social Equity" that would focus on a range of social justice issues.

Highlands' school decision-making council approved the course in December, but ultimately said it would not offer it next year due to scheduling issues, its student newspaper reported. A citizen would be able to file a complaint with the Attorney General if they think a teacher discusses any of the barred topics, the bill says. If the Attorney General finds a violation, and the violation continues, schools would lose $5,000 in state funding per day. [...]Fischer's bill also has a section banning any student in a public postsecondary institution from being required to "engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling."

oh hey my sig is relevant again

Funny how this is the GOP projecting once again. They're claiming critical race theory promotes racial supremacy and totally not this guy: https://youtu.be/7kWupiJKpgo

[Kowani]

CA Assembly Banking and Finance Committee approves BankCal, a bill to offer free banking services to Californians

Bill passes the Assembly (42-19)

[North Washington Republic]

The education crackdown comes to Kentucky!

Amid a national groundswell against critical race theory in schools, a Kentucky lawmaker has prefiled a bill to limit conversations around systemic racism in classrooms.

Bill Request 60, prefiled Tuesday by Rep. Joseph Fischer (R), would prohibit public K-12 schools from using curriculum or supplemental learning materials that would teach students that one race or sex is "inherently superior."

Teachers could not use materials "promoting division between, or resentment of" different groups, including different socioeconomic classes and racial identities.

Schools would not be able to teach that an individual is "inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously" due to their race or sex, the bill says. Teachers would not be allowed to say the country is "fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist." They also would not be allowed to promote or advocate for a "violent overthrow of the United States government," the bill adds. Fischer's bill request does not specifically ban critical race theory — an academic framework used to examine how systems and institutions may perpetuate racial disparities.

A press release shared Wednesday, though, mentions critical race theory throughout and says the bill aims to ban the concept from classrooms.

“Critical race theory is not based on facts or evidence but rather serves as a dangerous diversion from education priorities that are actually proven to eliminate disparities,” Fischer said in the release.

“It is a powerful tool for those who seek to divide us into categories and destroy the very institutions that have seen generations of Americans of all races and backgrounds build successful futures.” Fischer said he filed the bill after Highlands High School, a predominantly white and wealthy school in his district, sought to add a course called "Social Equity" that would focus on a range of social justice issues.

Highlands' school decision-making council approved the course in December, but ultimately said it would not offer it next year due to scheduling issues, its student newspaper reported. A citizen would be able to file a complaint with the Attorney General if they think a teacher discusses any of the barred topics, the bill says. If the Attorney General finds a violation, and the violation continues, schools would lose $5,000 in state funding per day. [...]Fischer's bill also has a section banning any student in a public postsecondary institution from being required to "engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling."

oh hey my sig is relevant again

Funny how this is the GOP projecting once again. They're claiming critical race theory promotes racial supremacy and totally not this guy: https://youtu.be/7kWupiJKpgo

The GOP thinks that critical race theory is basically “Kill whitey”.

[San Lumen]

Funny how this is the GOP projecting once again. They're claiming critical race theory promotes racial supremacy and totally not this guy: https://youtu.be/7kWupiJKpgo

The GOP thinks that critical race theory is basically “Kill whitey”.

If this is what they want to run on next year it could very well backfire on them.

[North Washington Republic]

The GOP thinks that critical race theory is basically “Kill whitey”.

If this is what they want to run on next year it could very well backfire on them.

it will get them votes from non-college educated white people, and that is who they’re banking on.

[San Lumen]

If this is what they want to run on next year it could very well backfire on them.

it will get them votes from non-college educated white people, and that is who they’re banking on.

That won't help if it drives away other groups and they turn out to vote against them.