30 thoughts on “News/Politics 11-11-23

  1. “I just got off the phone with a relative of Gregory Yetman, the target of an FBI manhunt following an armed raid related to charges for January 6. Will have much more on what happened shortly.

    In the meantime…

    I am SICK of hearing the ways in which this regime is destroying the lives of decent Americans who love this country so the pettiest man ever to be president, Joe Biden, can retaliate against his detractors.

    I am sick of hearing the pain in people’s voices when their loved one is described as a “terrorist,” especially people who have served this country and never been in trouble with the law.

    I am sick of seeing reporters and commentators cheer this–adding to the suffering of people they don’t know or like because they supported Donald Trump.

    I am sick of watching the lowlifes at DOJ and FBI brag about these cases day after day on social media.

    I am sick of watching cruel judges working with sadistic line prosecutors rip apart families simply because they can.

    I am sick of the silence of Republicans especially those running for president who boast about taking on the tough fights while doing nothing.

    I am sick of the empty promises by Congressional Republicans who refuse to do whatever necessary to end this. Instead, 70 House members voted to build Chris Wray a shiny new headquarters he will probably name after Robert Mueller.

    And I am sick of my fellow countrymen who not only endorse this but want more of it”

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  2. Re: last night’s discussion – Upon re-reading my comment, I can see how it could sound as if I were saying that abortion should be legal. To clarify, no, that is not what I intended to say. My point was supposed to be that instead of putting all of our eggs in the legal basket, pushing for no-abortion-at-all laws which are highly unpopular, we should be satisfied with whatever progress we can make in that realm. But what is even more important is to reach people’s “hearts and minds”.

    We cannot push our will or what we see as God’s will on others who disagree (again, that is not to say that we shouldn’t try for the best), but we can keep lines of communication open and try to get across the message of why abortion is wrong, and what help there is available to women in a crisis pregnancy.

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  3. Here’s a piece that explains how diverse pro-lifers are.

    “Two Misconceptions About Abortion
    1. White folks are the most ‘pro-life’ 2. ‘Pro-life’ folks are economic conservatives”

    “Views of abortion certainly track with things like political partisanship but it’s not a perfect correlation,” he writes. “The political landscape of the United States is just a lot muddier than that. The Nationscape Survey is huge—over 477,000 respondents. It poses a number of statements about abortion. One of the narratives that one hears often in the abortion debate is that pro-life folks only care about babies until the moment they are born. The implication here is that these folks are conservative Republicans who don’t support policies that make life a bit easier for folks at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum. Well, is that really true? I divided the sample into those who favored a proposal to never permit abortion and those who favored a proposal to always permit abortion. I calculated how they feel about a whole host of issues that run the gamut from fiscal to foreign policy. The narrative really falls apart in this analysis.” Among those who would totally ban abortion, “67 percent favor debt free college. 77 percent favor paid maternity leave. 67 percent favor raising the minimum wage to $15/hour. The share of Americans who are pro-life and want a smaller social safety net just isn’t that big. The idea that there’s just tens of millions of Americans who want a woman to have a baby then don’t support the government making it easier to raise that child finds no support in this data. Lots of pro-life Republicans do want to raise the minimum wage and offer some type of paid maternity leave. That narrative hasn’t really caught on in the larger discourse.”

    https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/abortion-as-a-wedge-issue

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  4. Been awhile — somehow my last year of teaching has left me tired and busy. Probably because I can see the finish line. Yes I’m retiring in June on a full pension at the age of 56

    I was curious how the recent elections were received by Republican pro life types so I checked in. Both pro-life and pro-choice argue that the “other” side won’t compromise and so they they both dig in. However, most surveys and polls have consistently shown the majority want a compromise — essentially a limit at about 18-25 weeks.

    As long as Republicans are all in, they will face electoral defeat. Abortion rights seems to motivate young women to the polls. The Democrats only win when their supporters are motivated. This also raises the question of how accurate the polls will be. Polls are based on the voting behaviour of the previous voting cycle; since the Dodd decision is later, pollsters may miss the change in the voter demographic.

    The other issue is the abortion rights voter – its not all Democrats. Many are libertarian Republicans. Decades of anti-govt rhetoric by Republicans can’t be turned off when some Republicans want gov’t involvement.

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  5. Well that’s weird i can only post anonymously

    Kizzie — I wonder how they defined “pro-life” in those surveys. Most people would self identify as pro life but not have the same position as most anti-abortion activists. Pro-life as a term is quite varied and therefore their positions are quite varied. Its possible to hold a pro-life position and still hold a pro-choice — ie I wold not get an abortion but I don’t trust the gov’t to make that decision for me.

    Not to mention, most polls for decades have noticed Americans favour universal health care, free tuition, a living wage etc., Its a question of who they trust to deliver this that becomes problematic.

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  6. That’s strange I can only post anonymously HRW

    Kizzie – it would be interesting to see how the pollsters defined pro life – if iwas self identified many people would identify as pro life that would not be considered pro life by the pro life movement. That is, they would not personally have an abortion but they also oppose the gov’t’s attempt to regulate abortion. In this way one could be pro life and pro choice at the same time.

    For decades, Americans when surveyed will favour health care, living wage, maternity leave, etc., but only if the question was asked separate from political questions. Americans consider these policies as good ideas but are suspicious of those who want to enact these policies.

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  7. That’s strange I can only post anonymously HRW

    Kizzie – it would be interesting to see how the pollsters defined pro life – if iwas self identified many people would identify as pro life that would not be considered pro life by the pro life movement. That is, they would not personally have an abortion but they also oppose the gov’t’s attempt to regulate abortion. In this way one could be pro life and pro choice at the same time.

    For decades, Americans when surveyed will favour health care, living wage, maternity leave, etc., but only if the question was asked separate from political questions. Americans consider these policies as good ideas but are suspicious of those who want to enact these policies.

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  8. Here’s a piece I stumbled upon today in my daily reading. The author points out that it took almost 50 years for Roe to be overturned, and we should take the long-view in how we deal with the state laws, mentioning “incremental victories”. These are the headings, for the main points.

    “1. We must reaffirm our commitment to the cause of unborn life. …

    2. We must recognize the importance of persuasion. …

    3. We must go beyond the legal arguments against abortion and help shape America’s moral imagination. …

    4. We must continue and extend our work with crisis pregnancies. …

    5. We must take the long view when it comes to building a culture of life and enacting protections into law. …”

    https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/pro-life-next-50-years/

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  9. Lest we forget, the presumed re-matchup between Biden and Trump in ’24 is one that makes most voters groan and say, “Really?”

    _____________________

    https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4295627-trump-biden-haley-2024-swing-state-poll/

    The Hill:

    Haley tops GOP candidates against Biden in swing state match-ups: Poll

    ~ GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley outperforms former President Trump in head-to-head match-ups with President Biden in key swing states in 2024, according to a poll released Sunday.

    The latest New York Times/Siena College poll surveyed registered voters in key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

    Trump beats Biden in all but one state — Wisconsin, while Haley, the former South Carolina governor, beats Biden in all six states. She leads by a wider margin than Trump in four of the six.

    In Arizona, Haley is up 7 points on Biden, while Trump is up 5 points. In Michigan, Haley has a 10-point edge, compared to 5 for Trump. In Pennsylvania, Haley takes it by 10 points and Trump by 4 points. In Wisconsin, Haley has a 13-point lead, and Trump trails Biden by 2 points.

    The poll found Trump maintains a larger lead in Georgia and Nevada. In Georgia, Trump leads Biden by 6 points, and Haley leads Biden by 3 points. In Nevada, Trump is up 11 points, and Haley is up 6 points.

    The numbers could feed the growing enthusiasm behind Haley’s campaign, which has seen a boost in recent polls as other campaigns have struggled to get off the ground. … ~

    _____________________

    -dj

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  10. Kizzie @4:57, thanks, and yes, I read that piece as well.

    Perspective. And understanding how our nation is set up to work (and sometimes it doesn’t work so well, but still … )

    An authoritarian approach simply is misguided.

    -dj

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  11. Some issues have to be taken slow and steady in a free republic.

    Also, this observation following the last debate is from conservative journalist/commentator Kimberley Strassel:

    ~ As important—at least politically—is the question of tone, and how exactly Republicans escape the extremist label. “As much as I’m pro-life, I don’t judge anyone for being pro-choice and I don’t want them to judge me for being pro-life,” Ms. Haley said, calling on the country to “find consensus.” Few Republican candidates these days are willing to broadcast moderation in the culture wars, but few are winning on militantly pro-life platforms. Now there’s something to think about. ~

    -dj

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  12. No, I could not compromise at twenty five weeks, the age my first set of twin grandchildren were born. As I sit here listening to her giggle and laugh and chatter in the other room, i can’t think ending her life at birth would have been a good thing.

    mumsee

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  13. Well this is weird. It looks like the quote I used in my 12:58pm post was from a different piece. I think the quote was from a piece that then linked to the piece I shared. But the quote was from the writer of that one.

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  14. I said this after the first debate – Haley is the right candidate. I don’t agree with her ideas but in terms of politics she’s the winning candidate. Trump motivates Democrats to vote for his opponents whereas Haley attracts other voters and doesn’t motivate Democrats.

    The polls are interesting — Biden has fallen a bit; trying to figure out if the “he’s senile” messaging is working, or his foreign policy is upsetting some. The problem with “he’s senile” messaging, is that it equally applies to Trump who is mangling sentences worse than usual. The party who nominates a fresh younger face will win. Klobuchar vs Haley would be interesting

    The polls also indicate the Republicans should be competitive and even equal but the results differ. Polls should adjust the demographic they survey as younger people especially women are voting more than expected.

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  15. And AJ;

    Yetman is charged with assaulting police – there’s video of him pepper spraying police on Jan 6th. Julie Kelly needs to acknowledge some basic facts before expressing her opinion. A riot now and then to express political opposition is probably a healthy outlet but to whine about the consequences is more than a bit naive.

    hrw

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  16. Mumsee,

    In the US the age of fetal viability is thought to be between 22-24 weeks which would be a compromise most people would agree on.

    Canada has no legal or criminal restrictions on abortion but does have health and physician regulations. In effect, this means abortion occurs before 24 weeks. Thus you don’t need the heavy hand of the gov’t to get involved. Abortion rates in the US are about 20 per 1000. In Canada 12 per 1000 and most EU countries are in the single digits. Legal and criminal penalties don’t lower abortion rates. Birth control, maternity leave, free health care, subsidised child care, gov’t support for single mothers, etc also have some influence.

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  17. I don’t think it should be legal just because he can’t live on his own. By that standard, my six month old grand twins would be fair game, as would my four year old grandson and my twenty two year old. And there are people who think they should be. Hitler comes to mind.

    mumsee

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Tim Scott just announced (on Trey Gowdy’s program tonight) that he’s suspending his campaign. Gowdy was stunned — I really liked Scott, but felt he wasn’t quite ready for all of this. And it’s also probably a wise move at the right time, the field needs to get smaller if someone else can get a shot at the nomination.

    Still, 😦

    -dj

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Or maybe the country wasn’t quite ready for a Tim Scott, an honorable man of character. Refreshing.

    And he’s still a senator, not up for re-election until 2025.

    So he’ll be around a while, which is good for America.

    -dj

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  20. HRW,

    He used a canister he picked up off the ground which police had already used on him and others.

    “In videos from Jan. 6, the man identified as Yetman can be seen picking up a large canister of pepper spray from the ground and spraying it toward Capitol police and protesters. Photos of that man were posted on the FBI’s wanted list for the insurrection, and he was labeled as suspect #278 AFO. AFO stands for “Assault on a Federal Officer.””

    https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/crime/2023/11/10/nj-fbi-manhunt-jan-6-suspect-gregory-yetman/71529144007/

    Police shouldn’t introduce tools to the game they don’t want used against them in retaliation for their unnecessary use of them.

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