June 27 Open Thread: Youth Will Be Served

Filed in National by on June 27, 2018

Many people are taking the primary victory by Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over a 20-year incumbent as a positive sign for more liberal policies, but Michael Tomasky sees her as part of the same demographic current that helped conservative Democrat Conor Lamb win in western Pennsylvania: Democrats are going younger. It’s an interesting take, highlighted by his take on Nancy Pelosi’s cringe-worthy lecture to Maxine Waters:

Pelosi seized an opportunity earlier in the week to demonstrate just how shockingly out of touch she is in how she rebuked Maxine Waters for her controversial remarks about the Sarah Huckabee Sanders restaurant matter. …[I]t wasn’t crazy for Pelosi to decide to put a little space between herself and Waters.

But get the language of Pelosi’s tweet: “In the crucial months ahead, we must strive to make America beautiful again. Trump’s daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable. As we go forward, we must conduct elections in a way that achieves unity from sea to shining sea.”

What? Make America beautiful again? From sea to shining sea? What is this, the Children’s Television Workshop? We’re in a death match here—a struggle for the soul of the country. We’re in a crisis. And that is Pelosi’s response?

Another sign of changing demographics: An Oklahoma referendum on medical marijuana passed with nearly 57% of the vote, despite opposition from law enforcement, religious leaders and the business community. But then, Oklahoma state government isn’t in thrall to its state police force.

Best election news of the night came from Staten Island, where even the resident knuckle-draggers rejected the candidacy of ex-Marine, ex-FBI and ex-con Michael Grimm, who did time in the big house for his corruption and still doesn’t understand that people think he’s a steaming turd.

The Pittsburgh police shooting took a surprising turn: The officer who gunned down a fleeing 17-year-old has been charged with criminal homicide. The most shocking part of this story to me was that the officer had been sworn in as a police officer 90 minutes before he killed the boy. Isn’t hard to figure out why he wanted to join the force, is it?

There’s nothing I hate worse than stupidity, which is why I have for many years now despised Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade, surely the dumbest man with a regular TV news gig. Here’s a clip of him interviewing a Democrat who wants to abolish ICE while turning over its duties to real police forces. He keeps trying to bait the guy, and instead ends up babbling pieties that would sound pathetic coming from a 12-year-old.

Normally I would dismiss an article arguing in favor of Trump’s handling of North Korea, but Patrick Lawrence is an experienced mainstream journalist who spent most of his career in Asia, which makes his opinion worth a read. His premise: Even if you hate Trump, he’s right to seize the opportunity to engage with Kim. He bases this on a belief that Kim wants to modernize his regime, which I’m sure he does, but North Korea also has a history of talking peace when convenient. I think he’s being startlingly naive to trust the “modernization” instincts of a leader who could best modernize the country by ending his family’s totalitarian rule. There’s no way to square that circle, Patrick, so I believe this is a ploy by a leader whose nuclear testing facility just collapsed. He has everything to gain and nothing to lose by playing this game right now. As to his complaint that Western media just wants to perpetuate hawkishness, which is true, he offers no compelling evidence that this stance isn’t prudent. He’s just pissed off that the pundits don’t agree with his brilliant analysis.

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  1. Alby says:

    Jesus, the wahmbulance crews are busy this morning.

    Trump tweeted out a junior-high plea to Harley-Davidson that included the line, “I’ve done so much for you, and then this.” The only adults who sound like that are wife-beaters. And according to Ivana, Trump is one.

    Trump is not the only non-adult in the GOP. Feckless fraud Marco Rubio says the reason Republicans who disagree with Trump won’t say so publicly is that they don’t want to appear to be siding with the media. Poor wittle Marco!

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rubio-gop-republicans-trump-criticize-media

  2. RE Vanella says:

    Urges Good Will By Jews For Nazis
    _________________________

    Prof. Cadbury of the Society of Friends says it will gain more than will hate.
    _________________________

    “By hating Hitler and trying to fight back the Jews are only increasing the severity of his policies against them. If Jews throughout the world try to instill into the minds of Hitler and his supporters recognition of the ideals for which the race stands, and if Jews appeal to the German sense of justice and the German national conscience, I am sure the problem will be solved more effectively and earlier than otherwise.”

    -Henry Cadbury

    The New York Times, June 15th 1934

  3. RE Vanella says:

    Fuck civility. Get in the streets. Harass and embarrass fascists everywhere all the time.

  4. Alby says:

    But don’t take video. That doesn’t help as much as you might think. I suppose they don’t teach McLuhan anymore, but the villains in those videos aren’t the people you think they are. Video is a cool medium.

  5. truth80 says:

    Meanwhile the Delaware Young Democrats are like a defunct organization in this state.

  6. Homesteader says:

    Justice Kennedy just announced his retirement from the Supreme Court. Get ready for 6-3 rulings…

  7. Alby says:

    Young Democrats? Real Democrats don’t join political clubs when they’re young, Republicans do. Real Democrats demonstrate.

  8. truth80 says:

    They do join clubs If they want to win they learn how to organize campaigns, raise money, get endorsements etc. If not they end up like Kerri with a facebook page and an agenda.

  9. Alby says:

    You can learn all that on a campaign, or by working with activist groups. That’s where I want my candidates cutting their teeth. The last thing I want is party-trained anybody. If candidates can’t learn and think for themselves, I want no part of them. We have enough phonies as it is.

    Your method produces the Kathy McGuinesses of the party.

    Check the name of the blog again. It’s Delaware Liberal, not Delaware Democrat.

  10. RE Vanella says:

    Network Delaware
    Delaware United
    UD DSA

  11. mouse says:

    Sick of the God damn Democrats and their 80 year old leaders who run with the flag of protecting the rights of sexual deviants then they hose the middle/working classes
    by siding with the robber barons

  12. Liz Allen says:

    Mouse dont knock all years old leaders. Those that won last night like the 28yr old woman who took down the corporate owned democrat in NY, was a Bernie campaign mgr. Ben Jealous won his primary for Guv of Maryland against his opponent.
    Just as the alt right took out their establishment leaders(?) in 2016, current corporate dems are being rebuffed , as citizens ignore the party choices and voted for their needs, against the corporate ownedleaderhip in the national party.. For the last 20 yrs. democrats have operated on the low/down, while supporting the same ole criminal corporate owned leadership.

    The man who must be taken down is ole Mitch. He is soley reponsible for Gorsuch. Roberts may be the only one wondering about his place in history books. Kennedy is in a class of his own. He voted for affirmative action, Roe vs. Wade ruled to give Gitmo detainees due process….but no due process for babies, children, mothers, and others running for their lives to seek asylum. He was/is part of the alt right corporate owned Supreme Court, giving all branches of govt over to corporate cult party. Do you actually believe the establishment dems have a clue what to do now? Hell no, if we get out of this with any rights at all, the solution will come from the progressive side of the party. It means tossing out the corporate democrats in EVERY state. We all know who they are. Take em out, so our kids can live in a democracy, not a plutocratic dictatorship.

  13. Alby says:

    Amen, sister Liz. Testify.

  14. Liz Allen says:

    Thank you Bro. We gotta testify, we gotta call the sob’s out, everywhere, every minute with facts. I appreciate your comment, Truce?

  15. Liz Allen says:

    Young Democrats just like old democrats. Probably 35 to 40 yrs ago, I was a young dem. With John Flagherty and others you would know from back in the day, we got nowhere with them. Vietnam was raging, millions in the streets women were fighting for our right to decide for ourselves on birth control,
    collective bargaining”, social programs etc et.
    Those little wussies said, “Del Young dems should not be involved in national issues, we need to deal only with Delaware dem politics…thats how stupid they were, led by one of the Friels. It’s why we progressives even back then, tried to educate them…and failed. Why, because the old dems were coaching them NOT to follow or listen to us.

  16. truth80 says:

    Criminal corporate leadership? lol wowwww

  17. Alby says:

    T80: Keep on laughing. They’ll need some levity down at the gallows.

  18. RE Vanella says:

    Prepare the guillotine!

    (Let’s not kid ourselves. truth80 is fucking petrified. Writing is on the wall, anonymous friend.)