The Goat Pen

Enter IB in three... two... one....

Lindsay Graham sexually harassed a woman?

Sean Hannity doesn’t own any guns?

Clarence Thomas is a secret gangsta rapper?

Saint wrote:Unless Coulter shows her pussy, she's a man as far as I'm concerned.

probably not even circumcised

bluetick wrote:I've voted for several repubs in my lifetime and I'll have to live with that. But I'll be goddamned if I ever do it again.

Come down off that high horse, you Kennedy lover.

Toemeesleather wrote:

bluetick wrote:I've voted for several repubs in my lifetime and I'll have to live with that. But I'll be goddamned if I ever do it again.

Come down off that high horse, you Kennedy lover.

toe, you have an IQ higher than room temperature. How do you feel about the GOP trying to sell you this bs tax plan? You KNOW FOR A FACT that it's welfare for the rich and corporations and not a middle class tax cut. The bold faced lies have to gall you, right? You're smarter than they give you credit for. It's gotta make you mad...admit it.

It's going nowhere.

More grabbing T & A, less legislative BS.

The RINO/Deep State/Establishment/Never Trump Republican caucus in the Senate has successfully blocked Trump's legislative agenda at every turn so far. But I have a suspicion that this tax reform bill will get passed (which is sad since it is one of Trump's two legislative goals that I am not crazy about. The other is his infrastructure plan, which is even worse, but I digress...)

This bill will probably benefit the wealthy far more than the middle class, as is the case with most GOP tax plans. That is precisely why the RINO/Deep State/Establishment/Never Trump Republican caucus will probably pass it. What the Chamber of Commerce wants, the Chamber of Commerce gets.

"The RINO/Deep State/Establishment/Never Trump Republican caucus in the Senate has successfully blocked Trump's legislative agenda at every turn so far."

Further evidence that the republican party is imploding...

You are not entirely wrong.

The Dem’s are more cohesive right now, for sure. The Queen of Corruption took over the whole party and used it to deny Bernie his fair shot at the White House. Bernie knew it but played the submissive anyway and campaigned for the person who punked him. In return, the Maven of Sleaze included Bernie the Submissive in her list of people she blamed for her loss..

And despite all that, Donna Brazile is the ONLY Democrat to violate the oath of omerta and cry foul. That’s impressive demonstration of party loyalty and unity, even if it is in a mafia sort of way.

Saint wrote:Looks like net neutrality is about to be dismantled. Been nice knowing y'all

That's the thing about the "left" today. Even when they win something that actually matters, it will come up again a few years later and go the other way. But when Obama, a supposed lefty, had a completely friendly Congress, did he undo any of the radical right wing shit that's been going on since Reagan? Negative. Couldn't even push through a public option. It's like a game of tug-of-war where one side isn't really trying. Maybe has something to do with the Dems getting as much if not more corporate money than the GOP these days.

That's the thing. It was like that, with the GOP pushing a little harder for corporate interests while the Dems faked it. i think you're seeing a whole different level of paving the way to corporate rule in this country with Trump leading the way. And I don't think it's going to be good for the majority of Americans, no matter what their politics are. It's a bald-faced grab for power and money that could change life dramatically for most of us and it will happen right in front of us without most of us realizing it. I really hope I'm wrong but Trump has brought some next-level shit into play and that's why a lot of the traditional GOP leaders are pissed at him. They preferred, to use an old joke, to walk down the hill and fuck all the sheep they wanted while Trump is intent on running down the hill and fucking 3 or 4 as fast as he can. There's no long game for him, other than making sure he's set up in perpetuity even if the Dems come along in 4 years and overturn all his mess.

In any event, I'm all for some stabby-stabby Helter Skelter shit now, starting with the Mnuchins.

It's a bald-faced grab for power and money that could change life dramatically for most of us and it will happen right in front of us without most of us realizing it.

Got some bad news for you, sunshine. The coup de' tat is already over. The game is finished and the losing team has long since trotted off the field. The fascists are in power. They own everything and are buying up key judge seats as we speak. Taking over Boards of Governors and firing University Presidents and such. We probably shouldn't have let a few hundred folks take half the country's wealth. The small incremental changes started under Nixon then rapidly accelerated under Reagan. Then we were happily distracted in the 90's when they deregulated everything and tore away the safety net. Was it this bad in the first robber baron era? I'm not a historian so not sure.

With few exceptions, most of US history has been the robber baron era

And yet here we sit, in comfortable houses or offices, communicating freely and without fear of reprisal for our opinions. I think these guys have figured out that at least a minimally contented populace is in their best interests...

Good article about the racist underpinnings of the current nationalist movement that Trump is leading. Spoiler - economic anxiety is not why Trump is president.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... on/546356/

Adam Serwer's twitter feed pretty much tells me everything I need to know as to why I'd ignore him when it comes to his "unbiased and open mind" regarding racism

You could read the essay and see for yourself.

Cletus wrote:You could read the essay and see for yourself.

I did read it, and then I asked myself - why would this guy be motivated to write this.

I found out why. Its horseshit by a guy who can't go 10 minutes without see something racist in the world. Just read his twitter account

The motivation is clear. He wants to understand the people and the reasoning that led to Trump. It's not a pretty picture but it's the truth. He's painting a very unflattering picture of you so I can see why you'd think it's horseshit.

he doesn't want to understand - he wants to promote his view to an audience to push his agenda of diminishing Trump and his supporters.

He'd be perfectly fine with never electing another white American president unless they have an agenda of promoting African Americans and African American issues above all others. I didn't get that from his article, I got that from researching him as a man, and it sheds light onto why he'd write that story.

You're quick to jump on board against a nationalist agenda because someone has the audacity to include white Americans in that idea. Trump wasn't elected on a vision of exclusion for American citizens. His vision of nationalism was color blind - bringing more manufacturing jobs back - who benefits from that? There are more minorities in blue collar jobs than white. Stopping illegal immigration? who benefits from the hiring of more American citizens to fill entry level jobs? But Trump has the nerve to talk about the number of murders in Chicago or Baltimore and put the blame where it rests - in the black community and that is something African Americans cannot tolerate. A white politician placing blame on the African American community. The cardinal sin of race relations - casting the black community in anything that is a bad light instead of talking it up in positive superlatives.

This guy writes an article where the first 7 paragraphs are about David Duke, then he quotes Walker Percy, whose first writing of note in the 1950's is about segregation in the South and is now being quoted about how David Duke isn't a new thing. Walker Percy died in 1990 and was most noted for writing fiction stories. A great author, I'm sure, a man who has a vision about the political landscape of 2012? Nostradamus would be jealous.

Its also a cheap shot how he interjects the Daily Stormer - a neo nazi website - into the article by saying the people that support Trump wouldn't know of it yet they are racists anyways because....blah blah blah. It serves no purpose whatsoever in the story other than his attempt to interject neo nazi's into the readers mind.

This is journalism as I've come to know it today. I see or hear it all the time. On NPR the reporter creates a premise about how damaging Trump's immigration policy is and then he/she brings on a expert speaker who just happens to be latino born in the United States who is a representative in California. The only thing that would be surprising about that interview is if the man came out in favor of the policies.That isn't unbiased journalism, that isn't informing me about a topic - its pushing their agenda. I knew 30 seconds into the story where NPR would be going with a story like that, just as I know 3 sentences where a man is referencing David Duke. At least try to nuance it, try to shade it as neutral and try to educate me on a topic from a point of view I haven't considered. And while we're at it, lets reference "Pam" who didn't want her last name to appear who he met in Pennsylvania, who is going to provide a quote that dovetails nicely into the theme of the story. Now Pam suddenly speaks for everyone, not only at that rally or whatever it was, but also the state of Pennsylvania because there is no way that Pennsylvania could have voted for Trump unless it was filled with racists. And if they aren't racists, they project that onto Trump to justify voting for him. He confirms that with the fill in the blank person who doesn't view themselves as racists. He's got all the bases covered. Virulent racists for Trump, casual racists for Trump, non-racists who are too dumb to know they are voting for a racist.

Anyone who dedicates the first 7 paragraphs of a story to David Duke to frame that America is racist for supporting Trump is putting in overtime in trying to define their agenda.

This is what passes for journalism today. Show me the stories where Serwer was writing about Trump - a man of notoriety for decades -as being a racist before he was elected President, before he switched over from democratic leanings to Republicans, then I'll read what he has to say. Reporters aren't delivering news, they believe they have an obligation to push their beliefs, and with little money for research and investigation, we see more and more of this passing for quality work. Its one thing to do it on a message board or blog - that context of free expression without consequence or responsibility is accepted, hell, its expected, but a national publication, a paid professional? At that point it becomes propaganda.

Instead, I'll see this for what it is, another butthurt liberal who is angry that America rejected further extending the Obama administration and it using his platform to paint a picture of divisiveness where an eager audience is willing to see it as gospel and rolling their eyes in disbelief for those who reject it because "they just don't get it, or they refuse to admit it" like the rest of us.

hence , its horseshit

if Serwer really wanted to write an honest article, he'd write about how white America elected a black president and that presidents policies failed them or worse - ignored them for 8 years. A man who was elected to bring this country together racially created its biggest divide in 30 years and gave way to a flawed man and inexperienced politician who ran on a platform of nationalism - which his supporters see as a vision of unity for its citizens. He'd write about how odd it is that a person voting for nationalism - and the inclusion of promoting all Americans regardless of color is cast in the same lot as neo nazi's and white sumpremacists simply because they both supported the same candidate. He'd write about how being a Trump supporter is about being either/or when it comes to addressing the racist elements that support him. Then he'd write about the outrage in the liberal community toward these people for being unapologetic for their vote and their support of that vision even in the midst of Trump failing to deliver on his promises - which may or may not be true in the eyes of his voters, and whether that outrage is justified or just anger.

But you won't get that kind of story because it doesn't push the agenda of bringing Trump down. We won't see an honest story about what racism really means in this country today - at least not from an liberal writer for the Atlantic who feels the need to start off with a Trump story by referencing David Duke.