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The last time old media sat on a story before an election Missouri got Eric Greitens (r).
Just a reminder
12 Friday Oct 2018
Posted in media criticism, meta
Category Archives: meta
Is anything happening today?
27 Thursday Sep 2018
Posted in media criticism, meta
Just asking. I haven’t turned on my TV machine yet.
Advice for a slow news day…
21 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted in meta, social media
Tags
campaign finance, Donald Trump, felony, impeachment, meta, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, social media, Twitter
Michael Bersin @MBersin
If you have any news that you need to dump, about now would be perfect timing.
5:44 PM – 21 Aug 2018
Previously:
We should have all invested in popcorn futures… (August 21, 2018)
And we shall know them by their whiny, poorly written, rhetorically deficient, bullshit press releases
13 Monday Aug 2018
Tags
abortion, anti-choice, making it right, missouri, Missouri Democratic Party, platform, pro-choice, Stephen Webber
The Missouri Democratic Party State Committee upset a fringe anti-choice group this past weekend.
To recap, an anti-choice amendment was inserted into the party platform at the committee’s meeting early in July. From a member of the platform committee:
“…I served on the MO Dem platform cmte for several months. We drafted a pretty good platform…”
“…still disgusted with the MO Dem Party’s platform fail. Missouri needs more prolife Dems like we *need* another earthquake. We don’t. Dems who do not support access to abortion and the conservative voters they will allegedly attract are the shiny object that distracts from building a platform that appeals to the thousands of voters who stay home because Republicans are regressive bigoted fiends and Democrats are obsessed with appealing to moderately regressive bigoted anti-women fiends…”
There was also an uproar from the base (majority) of party members who contacted their state committee representatives. This past weekend the Missouri Democratic Party State Committee met to reconsider the motion (uh, that’s a parliamentary procedure – used to fix mistakes), with more members of the committee attending the meeting. They reconsidered the motion to approve the anti-choice amendment, removed it, apparently without dissent, and proceeded to approve the original party platform presented by the platform committee.
The representatives on the Missouri Democratic Party State Committee realized they got played and they fixed it. Democrats do that, they fix things.
Missouri Democratic Party Chair Stephen Webber – at campaign headquarters in Columbia, Missouri – August 7, 2018
And, of course, this upset a hack at “Democrats for Life”?:
Missouri Party Chairman Closes Door on Pro-Life Democrats – Eliminates Inclusive “Big Tent” Language Approved By Platform Committee
on 12 August 2018 Posted in Press Releases.There is an important election coming up that will determine the balance of the U.S. Senate and the future of the U.S. Supreme Court. The election could also determine whether or not there will be impeachment efforts to rid the White House of Donald Trump. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is in a very close battle, and all Democrats would like to see her continue her tenure in the U.S. Senate.
Missouri Party Chairman Stephen Webber thinks that the best way to support Senator McCaskill and other Democrats in Missouri is to create an unnecessary battle over abortion.
A few weeks ago, there was a meeting to amend the Missouri Democratic Party platform. A vote took place, and the amendment was accepted. The Missouri Democratic Party then said that they welcome Whole Life Democrats in the party. The “conscience language” to include pro-life Democrats did not dilute the abortion-rights plank in the Democratic Party platform.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that the acceptance, along with the compromise language, lasted. Party Chairman Webber held a meeting this morning to strip the inclusive language from the platform because nothing says “We we want your vote” more than overturning a fair process of debate and approval. It is very unusual to remove language unilaterally after a platform has been ratified. It makes you wonder about the kind of pressure supposedly “progressive” groups exerted and why. They know that this removal will cause chaos.
They doth protest too much.
Now, just read that headline for accuracy.
Oh, it’s all just so rich:
“There is an important election coming up that will determine the balance of the U.S. Senate and the future of the U.S. Supreme Court…”
The writer of the press release at “Democrats for Life” actually wrote that. They also wrote this:
Democratic Senators Use Religion to Discredit Pro-Life Judicial Nominee
September 8, 2017
STATEMENT OF KRISTEN DAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF DEMOCRATS FOR LIFE OF AMERICA
Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) expresses its disappointment with Democratic senators and interest groups who are attacking federal court of appeals nominee Amy Barrett for her personal religious views on the dignity of human life at all stages….
Amy Barrett was also one of the right wingnuts who was reportedly on Donald Trump’s (r) short list for the current U.S. Supreme Court vacancy. The press release writer for “Democrats for Life” is definitely not worried about the U.S. Supreme Court the way the vast majority of Democrats are worried about the U.S. Supreme Court.
“…Missouri Party Chairman Stephen Webber thinks that the best way to support Senator McCaskill and other Democrats in Missouri is to create an unnecessary battle over abortion…” It’s called projection. Look it up.
The platform committee did not approve the language. A single anti-choice member of the Missouri Democratic Party State committee pushed an amendment to the party platform prepared by a platform committee using language appropriated from a lunatic fringe anti-choice group. We don’t know if the individual who pushed the amendment disclosed where that language came from when it was presented to the Missouri Democratic Party State Committee. We’re asking now. Was that disclosed at the time of the early July vote?
The Missouri Democratic Party State Committee did vote for the amendment in July (it wasn’t unanimous, that’s for sure) and it was very controversial. Everyone heard from everyone else the instant the word got out about the circumstances.
“…It makes you wonder about the kind of pressure supposedly ‘progressive’ groups exerted and why…”
Oh, that’s rich. It’s called holding those who are supposed to represent you accountable. The why is easy. Because their authored amendment, like their press release, is just so much bullshit.
Nothing says “we want your vote” more to the vast majority of Democrats in Missouri than when the Missouri Democratic Party State Committee realized they were played and had the awareness and gumption to quickly fix it. The Missouri Democratic Party State Committee voted on August 11th to restore the original language of the platform committee (overturning the anti-choice amendment) in approving the platform – with 61 of 68 members voting yes, two abstentions. That’s who “closed the door” on anti-choice fanatics.
And, just in case it slips anyone’s mind:
“…And, by the way, there already is an inclusive stance on abortion. It’s called ‘pro choice.'”
Previously:
The elephant in the room (July 3, 2018)
Against abortion? Don’t have one. (July 6, 2018)
Getting played (July 8, 2018)
And they fixed it (August 11, 2018)
Why here? Why now?
01 Sunday Jul 2018
We just love this photo. Apparently a lot of other people do, too.
The badass on the right. #resist
Over the past ten days or so we’ve covered a variety of events. A town hall on gun violence in Kansas City, Kansas which included students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, and several demonstrations against Donald Trump’s (r) policy of separating immigrant children from their parents and placing them in concentration camps – in downtown Overland Park, Kansas; downtown and on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri; and in Columbia, Missouri. In the meantime the right wingnut controlled U.S. Supreme Court upheld the latest iteration of Donald Trump’s (r) Muslim travel ban.
On Friday evening we covered a demonstration near the entrance of the Plaza in Kansas City organized by a coalition of Muslim community groups and allies. About 150 people showed up – modest, yet still effective by Kansas City standards. There was the usual Kansas City Police presence.
About an hour into the demonstration a lone Trump supporter, by his flag, showed up. And then later still, a half dozen or so other right wingnuts showed up in matching t-shirts, bearing matching flags and signs, who strutted past the Muslim demonstration.
Checking it out.
A minister engages.
Walking through.
It’s quite simple, really, if you single out a religious minority you’re a bigot. That’s it.
His editor would cut the first line and the fourth line, then call it truth in advertising.
Uh, about that lack of civility…
Diversity fail.
They have Congress, the have the executive branch, and they have the Supreme Court. What makes them so aggrieved that they’d show up to a modest and harmless demonstration like this? That they’re so insecure that they demand absolute fealty to their supreme leader?
Fist bump.
That’s just like Barack and Michelle Obama! Oh, wait….
Sartorial splendor.
Wait, is that guy wearing American flag underpants out in public? Go figure.
Why here? Why now? Why this demonstration and not the others? What was the difference?
Oh, wait…
Previously:
No, we cannot (June 29, 2018)
Children understand (June 29, 2018)
As we are all (June 29, 2018)
Be the badass on the right (June 29, 2018)
KC Rally for Muslims, Immigrants, & Refugees – Kansas City – June 29, 2018 (June 30, 2018)
Public Service Announcement
31 Thursday May 2018
Posted in meta
Tags
…Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality. It works much better than you may think. Anyone is susceptible to gaslighting, and it is a common technique of abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders. It is done slowly, so the victim doesn’t realize how much they’ve been brainwashed…
That is all. Carry on.
What’s next?
15 Tuesday May 2018
Tags
Eric Greitens, General Assembly, governor, impeachment, investigation, missouri, Missouri House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight
This morning in west central Missouri:
We’ll see. We’re off to Jefferson city this morning.
Previously:
Felony invasion of privacy case against Eric Greitens (r) dropped (May 14, 2018)
“So far, so good…” (May 14, 2018)
Our life on the “D List”
30 Monday Apr 2018
Posted in meta, Missouri General Assembly, Missouri Governor, Missouri House, social media
Tags
D List, Eric Greitens, governor, impeachment, investigation, meta, missouri, Missouri House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight, Missouri Times, Show Me Progress, social media, Twitter
Today:
Tony Messenger @tonymess
The revelation about the $50,000 paid to Al Watkins by @scottfaughn is a much bigger deal (and an unfortunate one) for the reporters working for him @MissouriTimes than it is a game-changer in #GreitensIndictment cases.
4:55 PM – 30 Apr 2018
And, twenty-one minutes later:
Michael Bersin @MBersin
For the record – Show Me Progress https://showmeprogress.com/ does not have $50,000.00 nor do we know anyone with a spare $50,000.00 who would ask us to deliver any checks. Last we looked we had a little over $50.00 in our account. And we intend to keep that. We have bills to pay.
[….]
5:16 PM – 30 Apr 2018
It’s been over ten years. We’re still waiting for our millions from George Soros.
Previously:
Oh, my. (January 11, 2018)
Oh, my – part 2 (January 11, 2018)
Oh, my – part 3 (January 11, 2018)
אַ שאַנדע פֿאַר די גוים and *IOKIYAR (January 11, 2018)
Oh, my – part 4 (January 11, 2018)
Oh, my – part 5 (January 11, 2018)
Oh, my – part 6 (January 12, 2018)
Sen. Denny Hoskins (r): not exactly a ringing endorsement (January 12, 2018)
Gov. Eric Greitens (r): piping (January 16, 2018)
Oh, my – part 7 (January 16, 2018)
Waiting… (January 19, 2018)
Oh, my – part 8 (January 29, 2018)
The unanswered question (February 8, 2018)
RSMo § 565.252 (February 22, 2018)
Well, you were the one who used a blindfold and tape. (February 22, 2018)
Well, he was the one who used a blindfold and tape. (February 23, 2018)
A few words of advice (February 26, 2018)
Eric Greitens (r) and the House – pass the popcorn (March 6, 2018)
Oh, my – part 9 (March 6, 2018)
“That’s not how you spell bare.” (March 7, 2018)
It’s their world, the rest of us only get to live in it (April 8, 2018)
The popcorn is ready (April 10, 2018)
The Report (April 11, 2018)
Call it what it is (April 11, 2018)
Go away, asshole. (April 12, 2018)
Sen. Denny Hoskins (r-21): impeach Greitens (April 13, 2018)
Getting ironical about Greitens (April 13, 2018)
Standing ovation (April 14, 2018)
Quid pro quo (April 16, 2018)
It’s a fine mess he’s gotten himself into… (April 17, 2018)
Really, just go away… (April 17, 2018)
HR 6783: Impeachment (April 18, 2018)
Unhinged (April 19, 2018)
Really unhinged (April 19, 2019)
Seriously, just go away already… (April 20, 2018)
He doth protest too much, methinks… (April 20, 2018)
No, Chuck Raasch, nobody’s giving Eric Greitens’ scandals short shrift (April 22, 2018)
Does somebody want to tell them? (April 25, 2018)
אַ שאַנדע פֿאַר די גוים and *IOKIYAR
11 Thursday Jan 2018
Posted in meta, Missouri Governor
Tags
Yiddish. Hebrew alphabet (read right to left). Germanic language. “A shanda far die Goyim”. An embarrassment/shame in front of the whole (non-Jewish) world. This from an admonition for Jews, from their Jewish community, that one had an obligation to act in a manner to avoid criticism from non-Jews (“the rest of the world”) because an individual’s failings or actions would be unfairly attributed to all Jews. “You’re an embarrassment that reflects poorly on the rest of us” and we’ll suffer the consequences because of your stupidity.
* it’s okay if you’re a republican. An on-line political meme. If a Democrat fails ethically or morally there will be consequences. They will lose their position. They must resign. There will be a political reckoning. If the roles are reversed and a republican fails in the same manner, for some republicans, after a short period of hand wringing and some pearl clutching, all is forgiven, it’s no big deal.
It will be very interesting to witness the resolution of these cultural constants.
Eric Greitens (r) [2016 file photo].
The public story is, as of this writing, still under twenty-four hours old. The story broke late last night that Missouri’s governor, Eric Greitens (r), who happens to be Jewish, engaged in an affair. There are elements of this story that continue to swirl about. I expect there will be more – only because that is the nature of our cultural and political environment.
There are reports that well before the November 2016 election individual(s) within the Missouri Democratic Party was/were contacted by the husband of the other party. We don’t know the entire story of how many individuals or exactly all of the who within the Missouri Democratic Party and Chris Koster’s (D) gubernatorial campaign knew at the time. We might never know the answer to that. The reports indicate that those individual(s), out of deference to the husband and/or concern for the children of the other family and perhaps other, more practical concerns, decided to not use the information. That is an ethical and moral choice.
And then, we consider the “what if”. If they story of Eric Greitens’ (r) hypocrisy had come out in September 2016 would he still have won the election for governor? If not, would Governor Chris Koster (D) have signed the same bills and cut the same essential social support programs in the state? I think not. The consequences of Eric Greitens (r) assuming his office had significant consequences for more than the handful of individuals in those two families. That, by definition, is what happens when we elect an individual to a powerful public office.
Election have consequences. Throw the anvil.
Sadly, perhaps the only people who are somewhat thankful right now are the Missouri Farm Bureau, the Missouri Corn Growers Association, the Missouri Soybean Association, and organized labor.
Previously:
Oh, my. (January 11, 2018)
Oh, my – part 2 (January 11, 2018)
Oh, my – part 3 (January 11, 2018)
Good riddance to 2017. Don’t think 2018 is going to be any better.
31 Sunday Dec 2017
All the badness of 2017 started in 2016. And way before then.
Then Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) had a thing or two to say to the republican majority in the Missouri House on the first day of the 2017 legislative session. They got upset.
Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) waiting to address the Missouri House at the opening of the legislative session – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017.
Secretary of State Jason Kander (D): [….] I know I’m not who you came to hear and I know that none of this was what you wanted to hear. But I am your Secretary of State for a bit little longer, and as a result I feel a responsibility to tell you that even though you have the power to take away the right to vote from the citizens of Missouri, you that shouldn’t.
And that if you choose to follow the example of Wisconsin or North Carolina, well then, I guess we’ll see you in court. [….]
On the day of the inauguration of the current administration around 2,000 people showed up at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City for a rally and protest march.
There should have been more.
Anti-Trump march in Kansas City – January 20, 2017.
On the next day for the Women’s March 10,000 people showed up in Washington Square Park in Kansas City to protest the new administration.
There should have been more.
Women’s March – Kansas City – Washington Square Park – January 21, 2017.
Less than ten days into the new administration 1,000 people showed up at the International Terminal at Kansas City International Airport to protest Trump’s first Muslim ban.
There should have been more.
Trump Muslim ban protest at Kansas City International Airport – January 29, 2017.
Anti-Trump March in Kansas City – March 4, 2017.
The belief in and hope for “bipartisanship” and “compromise” with people in control in our current political environment who neither believe in nor hope for bipartisanship is as useful in modern American politics as signing a petition.
There are some people who will never vote for any Democratic party candidate. Ever. Accept that. Act accordingly. Don’t waste your time or energy.
Pro-Trump rally and march in the rain in Jefferson City – March 25, 2017.
Interestingly, in our current political environment not one republican member of Congress representing Missouri has seen fit to hold open (and accessible) public town halls for their constituents. Do you ever wonder why? There are no consequences for them. And we let them get away with it.
Yet, in 2017 Senator Claire McCaskill (D) held fifty open public town halls across the state in areas that Donald Trump carried in the 2016 election. People in the City of St. Louis and in Kansas City will be waiting for their turn in 2018.
Call you Senators and Representative. Visit their offices. Tell them what you think. Often. Demand their accountability in open public town halls.
At a Senator Claire McCaskill (D) town hall– Parkville, Missouri – April 13, 2017.
March for Science – Kansas City – April 22, 2017.
Climate March – Kansas City – April 29, 2017.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) before speaking to the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus – Kansas City – May 6, 2017.
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r), in the 4th Congressional District, has glued herself to Donald Trump and his agenda. Сделать Америку великой Снова.
There is a challenger, but she, too, like previous challengers will be grossly underfunded in the race against an entrenched incumbent funded and beholden to special interests.
Find something constructive to do for the Democratic Party challenger. Then do it. Then repeat.
A pro tip – in October 2018 don’t complain to anyone who’ll listen that the Democratic Party candidate doesn’t have enough yard signs out. Empty lots don’t vote.
Renee Hoagenson (D) – at an open public campaign town hall in Warrensburg – June 13, 2017.
If you want to accomplish any good in 2018 don’t waste your time and energy preaching to the choir on social media or signing petitions no one reads.
1) Make sure you’re registered to vote. 2) Be certain you have the required ID to vote. 3) Make sure everyone you know and all the potential voters you help to register to vote have the required ID to vote. Provisional ballots aren’t worth shit. Solve ID problems before the fact. 4) On Election Day in 2018 drag your sorry ass to your polling place and vote. Then drag the sorry asses of your friends and the people you registered to vote to their polling places so that they do actually vote.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s (r) voter photo ID tour – Warrensburg – June 16, 2017.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) – town hall in Lee’s Summit – June 17, 2017.
“Rule #4: Be outraged. [….] it is essential to maintain one’s capacity for shock. This will lead people to call you unreasonable [….] It is no fun to be the only hysterical person in the room. Prepare yourself.”
– Autocracy: Rules for Survival – Masha Gessen
Planned Parenthood #PinkOut demonstration in Kansas City – June 21, 2017.
Elections always have consequences. Ask Supreme Court Justice Merrick Garland about that when you get the chance. Ask the 1% about that, too. Ask any public school classroom teacher.
Senator Claire McCaskill (D) – town hall in Versailles, Missouri – July 5, 2017.
March to Give Keystone XL the Boot – Lincoln, Nebraska – August 6, 2017.
Don’t waste your time trying to engage fascists or Nazis in “constructive” dialogue. They’re fascist and Nazis for a reason, not because of “economic anxiety”.
“Rule #5: Don’t make compromises. [….] In an autocracy, politics as the art of the possible is in fact utterly amoral. [….]”
– Autocracy: Rules for Survival – Masha Gessen
Kansas City for Charlottesville, Virginia – August 12, 2017.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) – Labor Day rally and march – Kansas City – September 4, 2017.
In support of DACA – Kansas City – September 5, 2017.
“Rule #2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. [….] …history has seen many catastrophes, and most of them unfolded over time. That time included periods of relative calm. [….]”
– Autocracy: Rules for Survival – Masha Gessen
None of this is normal. Act accordingly. Given the last two years I’m not holding my breath.
Previously:
The Political Year in Pictures – 2017 – part 1 (December 28, 2017)
The Political Year in Pictures – 2017 – part 2 (December 28, 2017)
Our top ten traffic posts for 2017 (December 29, 2017)
