Biden Administration misc. activities

[Nodack]

The GOP now going after the military for being too woke.


Pentagon punches back against GOP culture wars
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5601 ... lture-wars
Republicans across the country have turned critical race theory into a rallying cry, applying the label to all manner of racial and diversity teachings. Several state legislatures have passed laws purporting to ban it from being taught in K-12 schools even though there is little to no evidence it is part of any grade school curriculum.

Critical race theory dates back to the 1970s and, in broad terms, focuses on the intersection of race and law and how U.S. laws and institutions were built to maintain advantages for white Americans.

The GOP campaign against critical race theory recently extended to the military, from sending letters to pressing witnesses on claims that troops are being indoctrinated.


Later in the hearing, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley if he wanted to comment on the issue. Milley did not hold back.

“I want to understand white rage, and I'm white,” Milley said.

“What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that?” Milley continued, referencing the Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters of former President Trump.

“I've read Mao Zedong. I've read Karl Marx. I've read Lenin," he added. "That doesn't make me a communist. So what is wrong with understanding, having some situational understanding about the country for which we are here to defend?"

Milley also said he found it “personally offensive” that the military is being labeled “woke” for studying a range of perspectives.

After the hearing, conservatives lashed out at Milley.

“With Generals like this it’s no wonder we’ve fought considerably more wars than we’ve won,” Gaetz tweeted.

[Indy]

The GOP now going after the military for being too woke.


Pentagon punches back against GOP culture wars
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5601 ... lture-wars
Republicans across the country have turned critical race theory into a rallying cry, applying the label to all manner of racial and diversity teachings. Several state legislatures have passed laws purporting to ban it from being taught in K-12 schools even though there is little to no evidence it is part of any grade school curriculum.

Critical race theory dates back to the 1970s and, in broad terms, focuses on the intersection of race and law and how U.S. laws and institutions were built to maintain advantages for white Americans.

The GOP campaign against critical race theory recently extended to the military, from sending letters to pressing witnesses on claims that troops are being indoctrinated.


Later in the hearing, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley if he wanted to comment on the issue. Milley did not hold back.

“I want to understand white rage, and I'm white,” Milley said.

“What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that?” Milley continued, referencing the Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters of former President Trump.

“I've read Mao Zedong. I've read Karl Marx. I've read Lenin," he added. "That doesn't make me a communist. So what is wrong with understanding, having some situational understanding about the country for which we are here to defend?"

Milley also said he found it “personally offensive” that the military is being labeled “woke” for studying a range of perspectives.

After the hearing, conservatives lashed out at Milley.

“With Generals like this it’s no wonder we’ve fought considerably more wars than we’ve won,” Gaetz tweeted.

Interesting use of the first-person plural pronoun there, Matty.

[Mori Chu]

So is Gaetz going to be arrested and indicted for the underage sex crimes stuff or what?

As for infrastructure, the GOP strategy is to run the clock out and obstruct. Right now they're playing the Dems for saps, pretending to want to agree to a bipartisan deal so they can eat up all the time in the legislative session. Then at the last minute they all make up some flimsy pretext to vote no (which they were always going to do all along), and the Dems get nothing done. Then try to retake the House in 2022, then overturn 2024 election result, then authoritarianism.

[Nodack]

I did watch Racheal Maddow the other day. She said the Dems and Republicans had an agreement on a small infrastructure package. The Dems also want to do a much larger infrastructure package separate from that package on their own using that reconciliation thing that Republicans want no part of. She said the two packages must go together and Republicans refuse. I admit I am not sure what they are talking about. I get the reconciliation thing where they can ignore Republicans and pass two things without their approval. What I don’t get is why the two must go together somehow.

[Indy]

I did watch Racheal Maddow the other day. She said the Dems and Republicans had an agreement on a small infrastructure package. The Dems also want to do a much larger infrastructure package separate from that package on their own using that reconciliation thing that Republicans want no part of. She said the two packages must go together and Republicans refuse. I admit I am not sure what they are talking about. I get the reconciliation thing where they can ignore Republicans and pass two things without their approval. What I don’t get is why the two must go together somehow.

they don't *have* to. Biden said he wouldn't sign one without the other, but walked back that statement a little later.

[Nodack]

Why was it so important that they wanted to so bad?

[Indy]

Because the "smaller" package is just for roads/bridges/hard infrastructure and it isn't paid for by the wealthy and doesn't roll back any of the trillions in tax cuts that Trump gave millionaires and billionaires. It actually taxes you and I more by raising the taxes on gas to cover the costs. And it isn't even enough to make a dent in the awful infrastructure across this country--and most of it was already on the books to be spent.

[Nodack]

I get why we need them both. I get that the first one is paid through a gas tax and endorsed by Republicans and the second one rolls back Trump tax breaks for the wealthy etc that isn’t endorsed by Republicans.

I don’t get why they have to be passed together. I know they have been saving the reconciliation thing that allows the Dems to do two big pieces of legislation without any Republicans voting for it and that’s the one Dems want to put everything they want into.

[Indy]

Because the first one doesn’t do any of the things Dems ran on, and won't change anything in this country.

[In2ition]

[Mori Chu]

I agree that the Dems shouldn't use the word "free" to describe their bill. It's fully paid for and does not increase the national debt, which is what they mean when they say "free," though I dislike that phrasing.

I assume that you are also upset, then, about the trillions of dollars of tax cuts for the wealthy that Trump made as President that -did- add to the national debt?

[In2ition]

I think it's silly to think that $3.5 trillion will be entirely paid by tax increases on corporations that they won't pass that on to the consumers to make up for those losses in the bottom line. And, perhaps you're right, the tax cuts didn't help either to the national debt.

[Mori Chu]

I definitely agree with you that all of those $3.5 trillion have to be paid for by taxpayers ultimately. And that is $3.5 trillion that won't be going to some other thing, whether it's another important government program, or just back into taxpayers' pockets. It is an enlargement of government, for sure, and one that not everybody would want. Calling it "free" is very dismissive of the real costs of the bill and who will eventually have to pay those costs. It's a case where some Dems seem to assume that everybody thinks the way they do, that everybody wants these programs and funds, so they figure it's fine to be a little disingenuous with the wording. I think they underestimate how much some Americans worry about rampant spending and the huge national debt.

I also think it's a bit silly that things like climate change fixes or child care funding are stuffed into an "infrastructure" bill. Then they say that it makes sense there because child care is "human infrastructure." Yeah, right. Pretty ridiculous. Ultimately I am not super outraged to have these big omnibus bills because our congress is so dysfunctional that this is the only way you can pass any legislation. But that's a different problem. I would much rather have a functioning congress that could vote frequently on smaller bills and pass them. (I support completely abolishing the filibuster, or barring that, changing it to a talking filibuster where 41+ senators must be physically present and one must be speaking for a filibuster to continue.)

Ultimately I think both major parties have pretty dreadful economic policy these days. The Dems spend too much, and the Republicans cut taxes (on the rich) too much without paying for it. Both parties are happy to let the debt and deficit keep growing because making cuts and raising taxes are unpopular. And the bill just keeps growing.

[Nodack]

I agree. Neither party has done anything to address the deficit other than complaining about it or blaming the other side. In my limited view of the world our debt is like our personal credit cards. We maxed out our credit cards and only pay the minimum payment 100% of the time. That’s just dumb. Like Mori said, neither side wants to raise taxes because that’s like saying “Don’t vote for me”. Trump said he would zero our debt by the time he left office. I doubt even his most loyal supporters believed that load of horse crap.

Abolishing the filibuster would help both sides pass their stuff when they get control. Right now the Dems have the Presidency and a tiny sliver of a majority in both houses. Abolishing the filibuster would allow them to pass a lot of stuff. The midterms are coming up and there is more than a good chance Republicans could win back a few seats and regain a majority in one or both houses. It is a gamble for the Dems. Then again the time is now just like Obamacare. If the Dems don’t get their big infrastructure deal passed now they may have to wait a long time before the planets line up again. The Republicans will never pass any infrastructure bill or health care bill. They will only pass tax break bills, military spending bills or maybe write a law that bans all abortions.

Get depressed thinking about all of this. I think one of our biggest problems is we really have no real leadership. Trump made honesty, morals and ethics traits to avoid in life and passed that onto his followers as rules to live by. Thank goodness Biden isn’t Trump. Then again he’s really old and obviously losing a step or three.

I basically have zero faith in our leaders and the American people in choosing it’s leaders. Our system is flawed in many ways but, held up for the most part for a long time. Technology has brought us closer together and further apart at the same time. Civilizations are always struggling with how to deal with the latest new advances that change the dynamics of life. Walking, carts, horses, steam cars, gas cars, electric cars, airplanes, jets, space travel,, ???. Fists, stones, hammer, knife, bow and arrows, guns, bombs, tanks, air planes, bombers, nuclear bombs, hypersonic weapons, space laser weapons, ???. Grunting, talking, pigeon couriers, telegraph, phones, television, wireless phones, internet, worldwide social media, ???.

How we deal with all these advances isn’t easy and some aren’t interested in new technology. They like the way things are. Some don’t thing we are moving fast enough. The social media thing has opened up a whole pandora’s box for good or bad. We can find old friends and connect or we can find like minded individuals and share our thoughts on subjects like art, music, yoga, politics, hacking, guns, bomb making, pedophilia, militias, civil war and other subjects people find interesting. Do these places need to be monitored? Is that against our rights? Do people online need to be policed for what they write? We have mods here who do that. They have mods at FOX News that do that. I have been banned for the second time there. “The Hill” has comments and will ban or time you out for a day or two. I have been timed out there a few times. I posted Trumps grab their pussy conversation and was timed out for excessive language. I changed the spelling of all his bad words the next time and that was ok. Pussy = puzzy, Fuck = fu-k, etc. I’m sure it was an algorithm that saw my words listed on their do not allow list. The point is private sites can and do moderate what is said. Facebook is technically politics neutral. They and every other social media platform banned Trump for lying. They have that right and they exercised that right and I am grateful to them.

[In2ition]

I definitely agree with you that all of those $3.5 trillion have to be paid for by taxpayers ultimately. And that is $3.5 trillion that won't be going to some other thing, whether it's another important government program, or just back into taxpayers' pockets. It is an enlargement of government, for sure, and one that not everybody would want. Calling it "free" is very dismissive of the real costs of the bill and who will eventually have to pay those costs. It's a case where some Dems seem to assume that everybody thinks the way they do, that everybody wants these programs and funds, so they figure it's fine to be a little disingenuous with the wording. I think they underestimate how much some Americans worry about rampant spending and the huge national debt.

I also think it's a bit silly that things like climate change fixes or child care funding are stuffed into an "infrastructure" bill. Then they say that it makes sense there because child care is "human infrastructure." Yeah, right. Pretty ridiculous. Ultimately I am not super outraged to have these big omnibus bills because our congress is so dysfunctional that this is the only way you can pass any legislation. But that's a different problem. I would much rather have a functioning congress that could vote frequently on smaller bills and pass them. (I support completely abolishing the filibuster, or barring that, changing it to a talking filibuster where 41+ senators must be physically present and one must be speaking for a filibuster to continue.)

Ultimately I think both major parties have pretty dreadful economic policy these days. The Dems spend too much, and the Republicans cut taxes (on the rich) too much without paying for it. Both parties are happy to let the debt and deficit keep growing because making cuts and raising taxes are unpopular. And the bill just keeps growing.

With exception of abolishing the filibuster, I think you're spot on and reasonable. I just think there needs to be some type of rules or options to keep insane things from being rammed through, by either party.

[Indy]

Getting rid of the electoral college and unbalanced representation in the Senate would do that. But those need constitutional amendments.

Also, the 2 party system is awful.

[Indy]

I agree. Neither party has done anything to address the deficit other than complaining about it or blaming the other side.

That just isn't true.

[In2ition]

How is this legal?

[Indy]

You don't think it is legal for people to hire their family to work for them? I don't remember you raising that questions the last several years...

[In2ition]

She got paid for doing nothing, and not even showing up.
How is that legal? How is that not just another form of money laundering? Just like the greatest and most inspiring artist of our generation getting $500,000 per painting. Just like all the other shady af stuff that's put into bills and "given as foreign aid" that you and I know is total and complete BS.

I don't give a flying f who did it. If you want to find an article where someone did that before and/or continues to do it and post it here, please do.