Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[Alan Klein]

I'd say trespassing may be off the table as one of the charges against the rioters at the capitol.  Capitol Police were photographed taking selfies with some of the "rioters" and there are movies of some police opening the doors to let them in.  The people may have been directed to Pelosi's office.  People are asking how they knew where to go?   At trial, the defense attorney will just show these movies and the trespass charges will be thrown out.  Of course, legitimate charges against vandalism, assault, etc. still are valid.  But the idea of sedition is a non-starter.

2 Capitol Police officers suspended and at least 10 more under investigation for alleged roles in riot
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/11/politics/capitol-police-officers-suspended-tim-ryan/index.html

[kers]

Now that the election is over, even Democrat Governor of NY Cuomo said we have to open the economy and that we can't wait until the vaccine takes effect.  The fact is NY is broke, the country is broke, and many people are broke.  Asking people to ignore feeding their families is just a holier than thou viewpoint.  Are you working?  Is your income continuing?

A while back you spoke of 800.000 unemployed; but already this month there will be a total of 400.000 casualties in the US because of covid.
Not so long ago the US started a war in Afghanistan because of a terroristic attack that took 3000 people their life.
- at this moment 2000-4000 die everyday of covid. New versions turn up that spread even faster.
In the UK and in my country we continu the lockdown because the hospitals are at maximum capacity.
People get some money from the state for rent, food and to keep up the structures of our economy.

[MattBurt]

A while back you spoke of 800.000 unemployed; but already this month there will be a total of 400.000 casualties in the US because of covid.
Not so long ago the US started a war in Afghanistan because of a terroristic attack that took 3000 people their life.
- at this moment 2000-4000 die everyday of covid. New versions turn up that spread even faster.
In the UK and in my country we continu the lockdown because the hospitals are at maximum capacity.
People get some money from the state for rent, food and to keep up the structures of our economy.

That's the broken part here. Republicans don't like giving money to people even if we are trying to keep them from going out to work to contain a disease. This is because "they will like the handouts better than working and won't return to work".
Then they can reject sensible public health orders because we are "Asking people to ignore feeding their families".

[Alan Klein]

That's the broken part here. Republicans don't like giving money to people even if we are trying to keep them from going out to work to contain a disease. This is because "they will like the handouts better than working and won't return to work".
Then they can reject sensible public health orders because we are "Asking people to ignore feeding their families".

This is not me saying this. This is the Democrat governor of NY saying it, not Republicans.  NY State is broke.  They have $15 billion dollars less in revenue than they need.  We can't bail out everyone and everything.  We have to get back to work or there won't be anything left to go back to.  As it is, many restaurants, small mom and pop stores, and other service industries will never recover.  The point I'm making is that Democrats are calling for re-openings.  You're just behind the times.  The election is over.  You can change your mind if you wish.

[Alan Klein]

A while back you spoke of 800.000 unemployed; but already this month there will be a total of 400.000 casualties in the US because of covid.
Not so long ago the US started a war in Afghanistan because of a terroristic attack that took 3000 people their life.
- at this moment 2000-4000 die everyday of covid. New versions turn up that spread even faster.
In the UK and in my country we continu the lockdown because the hospitals are at maximum capacity.
People get some money from the state for rent, food and to keep up the structures of our economy.

I believe your unemployment rate is better than in the US. Plus, we're shut down too.  Restaurants aren't open except for outdoor or delivery service for the most part.  The Democrat governor of NY knows he can't pay for his state's expenses.  It's similar in most states.  The congress may spend more to help them.  But we've already printed about $4-5 trillion dollars.  That's a lot of film. 

[jeremyrh]

This is not me saying this. This is the Democrat governor of NY saying it, not Republicans.  NY State is broke.  They have $15 billion dollars less in revenue than they need.  We can't bail out everyone and everything.  We have to get back to work or there won't be anything left to go back to.  As it is, many restaurants, small mom and pop stores, and other service industries will never recover.  The point I'm making is that Democrats are calling for re-openings.  You're just behind the times.  The election is over.  You can change your mind if you wish.

NY state is broke because it can’t print money and the federal government doesn’t bail it out..it could if you wanted - there’s no shortage of money for bombing Afghanistan - but you choose not to, democrat and republican alike.

[jeremyrh]

Now that the election is over, even Democrat Governor of NY Cuomo said we have to open the economy and that we can't wait until the vaccine takes effect.  The fact is NY is broke, the country is broke, and many people are broke.  Asking people to ignore feeding their families is just a holier than thou viewpoint.  Are you working?  Is your income continuing?

I wasn’t aware that eating brisket was Joe’s job?  Nice work if you can get it!!

[TechTalk]

Today the FBI and Department of Justice held a press conference to discuss the ongoing investigation and charges stemming from the violent domestic terrorist assault on the Capitol. They are assigning specific task forces to various areas of criminal activity; two of those mentioned are a task force focused on "sedition and conspiracy" and another task force dedicated to attacks on the media.

Currently, there have been 70 people already charged with an additional 100 cases opened. They expect that number to grow "geometrically" into hundreds of cases. They also wanted to clear up misconceptions regarding the types of charges that have so far been filed. They are filing low level initial charges via misdemeanor criminal complaints in order to get people into custody as quickly as possible and will then build cases on individuals for more serious felony charges before grand juries.

Here is a link to a portion the press conference which starts at the discussion of the sedition and conspiracy task force...

https://youtu.be/DOJ Sedition and Conspiracy Strike Force

And a link to a news article which discusses this also...

Feds consider sedition and conspiracy charges in probe of pro-Trump Capitol riot

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/12/capitol-riots-trump-mob-members-could-face-sedition-charges.html

Federal authorities said Tuesday they expect to soon charge hundreds of people in connection with the Capitol riot.

Officials added that they have directed a task force to gather evidence for prosecutions for sedition and conspiracy.

“We are looking at significant felony cases tied to sedition and conspiracy,” said Michael Sherwin, acting United States attorney for the District of Columbia.

Sherwin said more than 70 people so far have been arrested in connection with the riot last Wednesday by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump, with another 100 or so criminal cases opened.

A number of those cases have involved relatively minor charges, but Sherwin said he expected charges to be upgraded for some people.

[JoeKitchen]

Perhaps you did. And perhaps you passed it on to others.  But who cares, it's all about you.

If you're trying to make me feel bad for doing normal activities such as leaving my house, doing photo-shoots, bringing in income, etc., you're going to be working at that for a real long time. 

[TechTalk]

NY State is broke.  They have $15 billion dollars less in revenue than they need.

Maybe New York could ask California for a loan. California ended 2020 with a $15 billion surplus in revenue.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-08/California Sees Upbeat Budget Cushioned by $15 Billion Surplus

[PeterAit]

Let's see, which state has the highest surge?  CA!  Which state has the strictest lockdown?  CA!

Which state is doing the best?  FL!  Which state has the least strict lockdown?  FL! 

Four falsehoods in about 30 words. Trump should have hired you.
 

[JoeKitchen]

Four falsehoods in about 30 words. Trump should have hired you.

We can always rely on you Peter, the de facto conspiracy theorist of LL, to give good commentary. 

[jeremyrh]

If you're trying to make me feel bad for doing normal activities such as leaving my house, doing photo-shoots, bringing in income, etc., you're going to be working at that for a real long time.

I wouldn’t dream of it. I am well aware that you’re much too important to be bothered about some trivial pandemic. That’s for the little people to worry about.

[PeterAit]

We can always rely on you Peter, the de facto conspiracy theorist of LL, to give good commentary.

Five now. A few more words.

[TechTalk]

The Democrat governor of CA, Newsom, is doing such a bad job, there's a discussion about recalling him.  (firing him)

California Republicans can push a recall petition if they like. Ever since Jerry Brown turned around the state's finances from endless deficits to surpluses, California has been an increasingly and overwhelmingly Democratic state. Long term debt obligations are still a problem, but the state no longer faces annual deficits. He even paid off all of the $15 billion emergency bond that Schwarzenegger put through to plug the deficit during his term.

https://lao.ca.gov/reports/California Fiscal Health Index Chart 1995-2020

Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger is criticizing Trump and other Republicans at the same time.  So is Arnold getting ready for another run as California Republican governor? 

I kind of doubt that he would want to do that again. He took over a bad state deficit situation and made it much worse from 2004 to 2010.

One problem California had was a requirement for a 2/3 super majority to pass either a budget or a tax increase of any kind and was running with annual budget deficits. Prior to Jerry Brown taking office in 2011, Democrats lacked a super majority and Republicans in the legislature would block any tax increase proposals. The state was starved of enough tax revenue to cover even basic functions. Schwarzenegger's spending cuts through furloughs of state workers; closing state parks; borrowing $15 billion thru a bond issue; calling state legislators girlie men; numerous other budget cuts—none of it prevented the state from reaching a historic financial crises. The state was in a huge financial mess when he left office with a 23% approval rating.

Brown was elected on a radical platform—he told voters the truth. Some business journals labeled it the Brown scared straight plan. He leveled with voters about what would have to be cut to balance the budget and the revenues that would be required to put the state on a sound financial footing. He got voters to pass a ballot proposition that raised taxes on high income earners; restructured the state budget with a realignment of priorities; paid down debt; restored the states credit rating; and banked surpluses in revenue to cover future emergencies or recessions. He won re-election with a 20% margin and voters have increased the Democratic majority in the state assembly since then. They now have a 75% super majority in the state assembly. Despite the pandemic, the state ended 2020 with a healthy surplus.

Despite your previous assertion that California is broke—it isn't. I think Arnold is happy with his retirement from elected political office now.

[Chris Kern]

I'm not certain whether this qualifies as "political," but so as not to risk offense (a.k.a. offence) to our esteemed moderator, I'm posting it here.

The enhanced security restrictions announced by the mayor of Washington, D.C., in advance of the inauguration start kicking in tomorrow, and I had something that required my presence downtown so I drove in this morning.

On the way back home, I decided to check out the Capitol Building, somehow managed to find a parking space, and snapped a few pix.  See attached (as well as these and scroll left).

They had already blocked off quite a few streets, something that usually doesn't happen until a day or two before the inauguration.  I saw a few soldiers—no doubt D.C. National Guard troops—standing inside the security fence, but mostly just Metropolitan and Capitol Police.

[Alan Klein]

Maybe New York could ask California for a loan. California ended 2020 with a $15 billion surplus in revenue.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-08/California Sees Upbeat Budget Cushioned by $15 Billion Surplus

California has the highest state income tax of all 50 states. Somewhere around 13 percent.  I visited San Diego and LA on vacation with my wife last year.   Small homes are one to two million each.  I don't know how people can afford to live there.  Half the revenue the state gets is fron rich people who are leaving the state in droves.   Even Elon Musk is leaving taking one of his Tesla plants with him to tax free Texas.  It's a beautiful state but unaffordable unless you can get a job for at least 200k.

[Alan Klein]

...

Despite your previous assertion that California is broke—it isn't. I think Arnold is happy with his retirement from elected political office now.

Wasn't it Arnold who said,  "I'll be back. "

[BernardLanguillier]

Wasn't it Arnold who said,  "I'll be back. "

Speaking of Arnold...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_P-0I6sAck

Note the ability to speak 7 minutes with well constructed phrases, carefully weighted words and a messaging that just resonates.

Anyone still thinking that Trump isn't a danger for democracy should think again. And this isn't 1 week old. He has been a danger all along.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Petrus]

I visited San Diego and LA on vacation with my wife last year.   Small homes are one to two million each.  I don't know how people can afford to live there.

I checked the prices in Santa Paula where I went to High School, 2-4 bedroom homes go for 300-600k$. Not all Californians need to live in SD or LA.

My income tax from press photographer pension is 28%, and I pay it happily: free healthcare (well, not totally free, had to pay $300 from my own pocket for each artificial hip joint), free schooling all the way through college, police officers with 3 year training and no police violence, practically free day care, automatic pension systems, correct tax returns done automatically by the tax authority AI system for about 70% of workers, best Covid-19 response of any country in the world, etc etc.

"Socialism" seems to work! (Except that we do not call it that).