Political Randomness

[Zarathud]

Someone is confusing having a line of credit with using that line of credit to pay the bills. Trump surrounds himself with bad businessmen.

[Victoria Raverna]

The rich people still need more tax cut?

https://itep.org/whopays-7th-edition/

Key Findings:
The vast majority of state and local tax systems are regressive, or upside-down. This requires a much greater share of income from low- and middle-income families than from wealthy families. The absence of a graduated personal income tax in many states and a heavy reliance on consumption taxes contribute to this effect.

The lower one’s income, the higher one’s overall effective state and local tax rate. On average, the lowest-income 20 percent of taxpayers face a state and local tax rate nearly 60 percent higher than the top 1 percent of households. The nationwide average effective state and local tax rate paid by residents to their home states is 11.3 percent for the lowest-income 20 percent of individuals and families, 10.5 percent for the middle 20 percent, and 7.2 percent for the top 1 percent.

In 41 states, high-income families are taxed at lower rates than everyone else. Our analysis sorts taxpayers into seven income groups and finds that in most states the top group, representing the top 1 percent of earners, pays a lower rate than any other group. Similarly, 42 states tax the top 1 percent at a lower rate than the bottom 20 percent, while 46 states tax the top 1 percent less than the middle 60 percent of earners.

In 34 states, low-income families are taxed at higher rates than everyone else despite having the least ability to pay. Six states plus D.C., on the other hand, tax low-income families at lower rates. Nationally, comparatively high tax rates on low-income families remain the norm, despite recent steps to lower taxes for this group by bolstering refundable tax credits. Only six states and the District of Columbia now reserve their lowest overall tax rates for low-income families. Those states are Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont.

[Pyperkub]

Yup. This is the goal, to be bigger than governments without the defense spending

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/1401 ... ries-isds/

[Isgrimnur]

Fake Joe Biden robocall tells New Hampshire Democrats not to vote on Tuesday

"Although the voice in the robocall sounds like the voice of President Biden, this message appears to be artificially generated based on initial indications," the attorney generals office said in a statement. "These messages appear to be an unlawful attempt to disrupt the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election and to suppress New Hampshire voters. New Hampshire voters should disregard the content of this message entirely."

The investigation comes after a prominent New Hampshire Democrat, whose personal cell phone number showed up on the caller ID of those receiving the call, filed a complaint.

“What a bunch of malarkey,” the robocall phone message begins, echoing a favorite term Biden has uttered before.

The message says that “it’s important that you save your vote for the November election.”

“Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again. Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday,” it says.

The message concludes with a phone number belonging to Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair who is now running a super PAC supporting the campaign to urge New Hampshire Democrats to write in Biden’s name in the primary.

[Isgrimnur]

Justices decline to intervene in Michigan redistricting dispute

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in a battle over race and redistricting in Michigan. In a brief unsigned order, the justices denied a request by the state’s independent redistricting commission to put on hold a lower court’s ruling that requires it to redraw state legislative maps for the Detroit area because the original maps relied too heavily on race.

There were no recorded dissents from the court’s ruling.

The dispute came to the Supreme Court after the state’s independent redistricting commission – a mix of randomly selected Democrats, Republicans, and independents – submitted a new redistricting plan that reduced the number of majority-Black state legislative districts in the Detroit area. The region went from two majority-Black senate districts under the old plan to none, and from 10 majority-Black House districts to six.

[Smoove_B]

Once again, OHIO:

On New Year's Day, the city of Columbus, Ohio, did what the federal government has not been able to: ban the sale of menthol cigarettes.

Three weeks later, the state Legislature voted to reinstate menthol and other flavored tobacco products — and strip all its cities of their ability to regulate what type of tobacco is sold or enforce who is old enough to buy it.

Feeling it:

"I am very concerned when politicians start deciding what they think is best for the health of the population," said Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health commissioner for Columbus Public Health. "We know that tobacco products are harmful."

[Smoove_B]

I thought we had a thread discussing this, so my apologizes for posting it here:

The Oregon Supreme Court said Thursday that 10 Republican state senators who staged a record-long walkout last year to stall bills on abortion, transgender health care and gun rights cannot run for reelection.

The decision upholds the secretary of state’s decision to disqualify the senators from the ballot under a voter-approved measure aimed at stopping such boycotts. Measure 113, passed by voters in 2022, amended the state constitution to bar lawmakers from reelection if they have more than 10 unexcused absences.

Last year’s boycott lasted six weeks — the longest in state history — and paralyzed the legislative session, stalling hundreds of bills.

Five lawmakers sued over the secretary of state’s decision — Sens. Tim Knopp, Daniel Bonham, Suzanne Weber, Dennis Linthicum and Lynn Findley. They were among the 10 GOP senators who racked up more than 10 absences.

[El Guapo]

Progress!

[Isgrimnur]

MyPillow Guy Launches MyStore, the Amazon From Hell

Over the past few days, Lindell has been on a media tour (mostly on extremist podcasts and his own video platforms) to promote a new eCommerce website called MyStore. Lindell calls it a “mini-Amazon” for “patriots” where “entrepreneurs” can sell their goods without being “copied by China.”

There’s no word on how selling through MyStore will prevent “China” from copying you, aside from the fact that fewer people will see the website in the first place. Lindell did tell Newsweek that MyStore is only intended for American-made products, and his team has already caught sellers “trying to sneak in” Chinese wares.

In an interview with convicted criminal Steve Bannon, Lindell said MyStore is home to “every kind of product you can imagine.” The website features all the patriot favorites, including the Amazing Temporary Tooth tooth replacement kit, “made in America” socks, a painting of a lion next to Jesus Christ, and a 32 ounce meat sticks and summer sausage variety pack.

There are the Lindell classics too, including MyCoffee (with a free go-anywhere MyPillow if you sign up for a subscription), MyStore branded vitamins, MySlipper leather protectant spray, and, of course, the famous MyPillows themselves. If you act fast, you can even scoop up the limited edition 20th Anniversary MyPillow for just $27.98. The website doesn’t include any information about what separates the 20th Anniversary MyPillow from the regular MyPillow.

[Alefroth]

Indiana leading the way in teacher surveillance.

https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/education-liberty/

[Holman]

Indiana leading the way in teacher surveillance.

https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/education-liberty/

So that's a portal where "concerned" citizens can upload materials for the AG to review?

It sure would be a shame if it were flooded with millions and millions of serious-seeming but ultimately time-wasting complaints. That seems like something a few tricksy programmers could arrange to make happen. What a mess THAT would be...

[Jaymann]

Indiana leading the way in teacher surveillance.

https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/education-liberty/

So that's a portal where "concerned" citizens can upload materials for the AG to review?

It sure would be a shame if it were flooded with millions and millions of serious-seeming but ultimately time-wasting complaints. That seems like something a few tricksy programmers could arrange to make happen. What a mess THAT would be...

Truth Social would provide a substantial supply of complaint material.

[Alefroth]

Indiana leading the way in teacher surveillance.

https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/education-liberty/

So that's a portal where "concerned" citizens can upload materials for the AG to review?

It sure would be a shame if it were flooded with millions and millions of serious-seeming but ultimately time-wasting complaints. That seems like something a few tricksy programmers could arrange to make happen. What a mess THAT would be...

Bluesky has got it covered.

[Daehawk]

Our R state just passed a revised school voucher program that takes tax payer money and gives it to private schools. Theres a big hoo haa now. The Dems want the school commissioner to resign as she never taught or have a teach license and doesn't even live in the state.

[Pyperkub]

Our R state just passed a revised school voucher program that takes tax payer money and gives it to private schools. Theres a big hoo haa now. The Dems want the school commissioner to resign as she never taught or have a teach license and doesn't even live in the state.

I'm assuming this is private "christian" schools/religious schools for religious indoctrination too...

[Isgrimnur]

House files 39-page voucher amendment overhauling key areas of Tennessee education

The new, 39-page House amendment to HB1183/SB503 is vastly different than a 17-page Senate version and [Gov. Bill] Lee's seven-page bill that more narrowly deals with school choice. A first committee hearing on the bill is scheduled for Tuesday in the House K-12 Subcommittee, and the Senate Education Committee is set to take up the bill on Wednesday afternoon.

Lee’s $141.5 million proposal would offer taxpayer-funded grants to 20,000 students to attend private schools of their choice without any annual TCAP testing or other state-monitored accountability measures for participating students. Eligibility for the voucher program would expand to all students eligible to attend a public school, regardless of income, in 2025.
...
Governor’s proposal (filed in both House and Senate)
No testing requirements – parent satisfaction is measure of success.

[Daehawk]

This country is starting to feel like ancient Rome to me. Going to fail and fall from the rot within not out. But we've only lasted around 250 compared to Rome's.

[LordMortis]

It's Musk news day and I thought we had finally hit a point where I didn't have to hear about his influence every single day. They can't say enough about him in the background today. Meeting with TFG, having his real AI stripes revealed, trying to bend the political structure to his will in Austin after he's moved there... It's been a busy coupla' days or it's a very slow news day so they are looking at their cash cow and this stuff is happening every day.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4 ... county-da/

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is calling on residents in Travis County, Texas — the home of the city of Austin — to head to the ballot box for Tuesday’s Democratic primary to push out the county’s current district attorney.

Reposting a message from defense attorney Jeremy Sylestine, who is challenging incumbent Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza (D), Musk wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, “Sorry to bother everyone with this note, as it applies to people in the greater Austin area, but please go to the polls and vote for a new District Attorney!”

Musk has ties to the Austin area, which is where Tesla’s headquarters is located.

Earlier this year, a Delaware judge tossed out Musk’s record-breaking Tesla compensation package worth up to $55.8 billion, ruling it was negotiated unfairly since Musk controlled the board that authorized it.

The ruling was a significant hit for Musk, who is now attempting to move several of his companies out of Delaware. The billionaire moved his spacecraft and satellite communications company Space X’s state of incorporation to Texas last month.

[Max Peck]

[Daehawk]

I avoid hearing or seeing Mush just like i do the orange turd. I instantly hit the button to mute or move on.

[Skinypupy]

Wildly disappointed in Katie Porter's "It was rigged!" claims after losing the CA primary to Adam Schiff. She seemed like someone with a very bright future, but this temper tantrum certainly put the kibosh on that very quickly. It's always amazing just how quickly one can completely lose all the goodwill they have built up over a career. Doubly so when it's something stupid like this. Just congratulate Schiff and move on.

The silver lining is that she is being soundly rebuked by EVERYONE over her comments. No one is buying into it and amplifying her nonsense as proof of some grand conspiracy.

[El Guapo]

[El Guapo]

Hey, from the end videos afterwards I learned that I shared a politically conservative humor video! #Bipartisanship

[Isgrimnur]

Texas mom ‘relieved’ to resolve case of helping son flee to Mexico after fatal DWI crash

The attorney for a North Texas mom who was charged with helping her son flee to Mexico after violating the terms of his probation in a fatal DWI crash says she is “relieved” to finally resolve the eight-year long case. Tonya Couch pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted hindering apprehension or prosecution of a known felon on Nov. 6 in a Tarrant County criminal district court, according to court documents.
...
As part of a plea agreement, Tonya was ordered to serve 180 days in the Tarrant County Jail. She was given credit for time served and released, according to documents.

[Kraken]

Hey, from the end videos afterwards I learned that I shared a politically conservative humor video! #Bipartisanship

Old people are just funny, let's face it.

[Kraken]

With young people leading the way, the US drops out of the top 20 happiest countries.

Each year, it’s no surprise that Finland tops the annual World Happiness Report. And this year was no different, marking the country’s seventh consecutive year doing so — though some Finns have bristled at the title.

But the 2024 report, released on Wednesday, had a note of alarm that was less about who was at the top of the rankings and more about who wasn’t: Americans — particularly those under 30 — have become drastically less happy in recent years.

The report, compiled annually by a consortium of groups including the United Nations and Gallup, was the latest data point in what some researchers have described as a crisis among America’s youth.

For the first time since the first World Happiness Report was published in 2012, the United States fell out of the Top 20 and dropped to 23rd, pushed down by cratering attitudes of Americans under 30.

Americans have long been an unhappy bunch. They have never ranked in the Top 10 of the World Happiness Report, which is based on how respondents in different countries rate their own happiness.

But this was the first time that the consortium separated results by age, finding disparities in the views of younger and older Americans. Among the 143 countries surveyed, the United States ranked 10th for people 60 and older, but 62nd for people under 30. The happiest young people are in Lithuania, while the unhappiest are in Afghanistan.

The happiest nations are, as one would expect, mostly small, well-off, and socialist. Speculation about why the whippersnappers here are so grumbly follows.

“There’s an assumption that if you’re American, you’re wealthy and you’re high tech and you’re successful; you should be happy,” he said. “There’s a lot of data that shows that the greater your expectations, the less you’re happy.”

The expectations for young people like Ms. Song, the novelist, said have shifted.

“We have less to look forward to,” she said. “Because in the future, there’s going to be climate change that will affect the way we live. I think there’s less of a clear-cut trajectory for our life paths, because for so long, it was so easy just to know that you could go get married and have your 2.5 kids, and then pay for your house. But now that path is a lot more closed.”

There is a silver lining, though, for the report released on Wednesday, Dr. Helliwell said.

“A, this angst is very local and, B, it’s very recent, which means, C, it’s not fundamental and going to last forever,” he said. “If it has been created that quickly, it could be removed that quickly.”

[Jaymann]

I'd be plenty happy if the Orange Agent would just go away.

[Max Peck]

Abusing both context and the noble ellipsis for comedic purposes gives us...

“We have less to look forward to,” she said. “Because in the future, there’s going to be climate change that will affect the way we live.”
...
“A, this angst is very local and, B, it’s very recent, which means, C, it’s not fundamental and going to last forever,” he said. “If it has been created that quickly, it could be removed that quickly.”

A: Disagree
B: Agree
C: Disagree

Regardless of whether that selective quote is valid "If it has been created that quickly, it could be removed that quickly." is putting a tremendous amount of pressure on could to save the day for happiness.

[Holman]

A guillotine works very swiftly, therefore healing the damage it causes should also be very swift.

[Unagi]

Yeah. It’s not unlike fire damage or a just about any serious wound.

What a fart chain of logic

[El Guapo]

It's not getting a lot of attention that I can see, but yesterday a federal judge in Western District of Texas issued a completely bonkers opinion dismissing indictments on pump and dump scam artists, essentially ruling that pump and dump scams are legal because the people lying about the stock are not the same people selling the stock to the victims. I assume (hope) that it's going to be overturned on appeal because it's completely insane, but in the meantime if you want to commit securities fraud I'd recommend moving to western Texas.

I also assume we're going to get more surprises like this as the GOP continues to prioritize ideology and youth over intelligence and competence.

[LawBeefaroni]

essentially ruling that pump and dump scams are legal because the people lying about the stock are not the same people selling the stock to the victims.

This doesn't make sense. The dump part is where the stocks are sold to victims. Maybe the pumpers aren't selling the stock but whoever is paying them is. The dump is the crime and they had to pump, directly or indirectly, to get there. Leave it to prosecutors to prove the connection, don't rule it legal across the board because sometimes they can't.

[El Guapo]

essentially ruling that pump and dump scams are legal because the people lying about the stock are not the same people selling the stock to the victims.

This doesn't make sense. The dump part is where the stocks are sold to victims. Maybe the pumpers aren't selling the stock but whoever is paying them is. The dump is the crime and they had to pump, directly or indirectly, to get there. Leave it to prosecutors to prove the connection, don't rule it legal across the board because sometimes they can't.

That is correct - it does not make sense.

[Holman]

Joe Lieberman has died at 82 due to complications from a fall.

I do wonder what this means for his "No Labels" project.

[Jaymann]

Joe Lieberman has died at 82 due to complications from a fall.

I do wonder what this means for his "No Labels" project.

It is probably safe to assume he did NOT fall out a window.

[El Guapo]

Joe Lieberman has died at 82 due to complications from a fall.

I do wonder what this means for his "No Labels" project.

Probably very little, I would guess. No Labels loses him as a supporter and organizer, which I imagine wouldn't help, but unfortunately there are others to keep it moving. The most optimistic take is that someone involved with them who has cold feet could use this as a graceful excuse to exit stage left.

[Skinypupy]

These abject morons are exhausting.

[LordMortis]

This guy?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Maddock

He's an example of where my state has been heading progressively in the last decade and why moving probably won't help my cause. Still, there's hope, right? Irrespective of gerrymandering there is still a majority for the moment that don't accept what these guys are selling...

[LawBeefaroni]

2024 in a nutshell. Xtwitter is gonna be a complete morass. And it doesn't matter if a tweet is completely wrong. It will accomplish its objective either way.

[Carpet_pissr]

Joe Lieberman has died at 82 due to complications from a fall.

I do wonder what this means for his "No Labels" project.

It is probably safe to assume he did NOT fall out a window.