Quo Vadis GOP?

[Barrister]

I have very little doubt that the replacement to Mitch McConnell will be worse.

I mean - McConnell has pushed for the border deal.  He has pushed to keep financing the government, and to fund Ukraine.

No, he didn't vote to impeach Trump after Jan 6, but at least he denounced him.  There's a reason Trump hates McConnell.

It's not like they're going to re-animate the corpse of John McCain to make as GOP Senate leader.  Anyone I can think of in the Senate is going to be noticeable worse than McConnell.

[crazy canuck]

I have very little doubt that the replacement to Mitch McConnell will be worse.

Well, certainly no better.

[Valmy]

The Republican Party is only going to get worse for the foreseeable future.

I remember rejoicing when the old corrupt Republicans were being swept away by the Tea Party types around 2010-2012 era. LOL

I would love to have those pieces of shit back now.

[viper37]

The GOP being as thorough as they always are

They are grilling Pfizer CEO about a 50$ donation to a Canadian medically assisted death group.  Asking the important questions, as always.

Freedom isn't free, remember.

[Tonitrus]

There is no real "grilling" here...it is just a political publicity stunt (and with our fine campaign contribution rules...probably doubling as a shake down).

And even the Congressional committee "grillings" are just another form of grand-standing/publicity-stunting...they never really want answers, they just want to hear, and have cameras record, them talking to themselves.

[The Minsky Moment]

it was part of a company program matching employee charitable donations, and the company matched an employee's $50 contribution.

This is what Congress is spending its time on.  What a clown show.

[Syt]

Tennessee Republicans leading the charge against *checks notes* chemtrails.

https://eu.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2024/03/20/tennessee-senate-passes-bill-banning-chemtrails-what-to-know/73027586007/

Tennessee Senate passes bill based on 'chemtrails' conspiracy theory: What to know

The Tennessee Senate has passed a bill targeting "chemtrails."

SB 2691/HB 2063, sponsored by Rep. Monty Fritts, R-Kingston, and Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, passed in the Senate on Monday. The bill has yet to advance in the House.

The bill claims it is "documented the federal government or other entities acting on the federal government's behalf or at the federal government's request may conduct geoengineering experiments by intentionally dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere, and those activities may occur within the State of Tennessee," according to the bill.

The legislation would ban the practice in Tennessee.

"The intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited," the bill reads.

The bill is scheduled to go to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.

Here is what to know about chemtrails.

What are chemtrails? What is the conspiracy theory behind them?
The chemtrail theory is the belief that the government is secretly adding toxic chemicals to the atmosphere from aircrafts, similar to contrails. According to a research group at Harvard University which focuses on climate science and technology, the reasoning behind the theory involves sterilization, reduction of life expectancy, mind control, and weather control.

The research group has debunked the theory, saying that there is no credible evidence for the existence of chemtrails.

"Study of solar geoengineering is in the very early stages and the topic is (rightly) a very controversial area of climate policy because if it ever were tested at large scales or implemented it could involve physical risks and would raise a range of serious socio-political and ethical issues," said the Harvard research group. "We are confident that there is no currently active program to actually test or implement albedo modification outdoors."

According to Harvard, if there truly was a large-scale program which involved aircrafts introducing hazardous chemicals, there would first need to be an operating system to manufacture, load and disperse materials. Additionally, if such a system existed, it would require the work and cooperation of thousands of people which would make it difficult to maintain a secret.

It would be fairly simple for a single individual to reveal the existence of the program using leaked documents, photographs or hardware, said Harvard.

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. The claim that there is a large-scale secret program to spray materials from aircraft is extraordinary. Yet all the evidence we have seen to date has been very weak," said Harvard. "The most common claim is simply that aircraft contrails look 'different', without any comparative analysis."

"This [is] as convincing as saying that alien beings walk among in disguise as people because some people act very strangely.," they added.

Are contrails used for geoengineering?
No.

Contrails, the white streaks of water vapor left in the sky from planes, are not used for geoengineering. The contrails are simply water clouds resulting from jet exhaust, said Alan Robock, a climate science professor at Rutgers University who studies geoengineering, in a statement to USA TODAY.

Furthermore, contrails would be a poor choice for climate intervention, said Dave Fahey, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chemical sciences laboratory.

"Contrails are short-lived cloud effects – less than a few days," Fahey told USA TODAY. "They would be a very inefficient method."

Has solar geoengineering ever been implemented?
No.

Solar geoengineering is an area of study meant to combat rising global temperatures by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth.

"The idea is that dispersing aerosols – tiny particles – at high altitude would reflect a small fraction of incoming sunlight back to space and cool the planet, offsetting some global warming," Joshua Horton, a geoengineering research director at Harvard University, said in an email to USA TODAY.

This has not yet been developed, though, Horton and Robock said.

"The technology does not exist," Robock said. "There is no mechanism to get sulfur gases into the stratosphere. People have created designs for such airplanes, but they have not been built."

Robock said solar geoengineering would most likely cause bright yellow and red sunrises and sunsets, not white streaks.

"It would not look at all like contrails," he said.

[Valmy]

If the government was secretly putting toxic chemicals into the atmosphere using this stupid method, how would a state law do anything at all to stop them?

[The Brain]

If the government was secretly putting toxic chemicals into the atmosphere using this stupid method, how would a state law do anything at all to stop them?

Guns.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

If the government was secretly putting toxic chemicals into the atmosphere using this stupid method, how would a state law do anything at all to stop them?

Guns.

walls?

[grumbler]

If the government was secretly putting toxic chemicals into the atmosphere using this stupid method, how would a state law do anything at all to stop them?

Guns.

walls?

And make Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia pay for them!

[Syt]

If the government was secretly putting toxic chemicals into the atmosphere using this stupid method, how would a state law do anything at all to stop them?

Guns.

walls?

Guns wall?

[Razgovory]

Candace Owens was booked from the Daily Wire for Antisemitism. 

Prominent right-wing commentator Candace Owens has left the Daily Wire, the website founded by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, after months of promoting antisemitic ideas.

In a statement posted to social media Friday morning, Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing said the company and the pundit "have ended their relationship."

"The rumors are true — I am finally free," Owens said in her own post.

The details of Owens's exit weren't immediately clear, but it follows increased tension over antisemitic rhetoric that pitted Owens against Shapiro, who is Jewish, and the rest of the site's more mainline conservative figures.

The Daily Wire didn't respond to a request for further comment. Owens couldn't be reached for an immediate comment.
In a Thursday appearance on "The Breakfast Club" radio show, Owens acknowledged her strained relationship with Shapiro but claimed that "Ben doesn't have the power to fire me."

Owens's split with the Daily Wire represents the latest example of a high-profile conservative figure contending with the expectations of a more staid employer. Last year, Fox News fired star host Tucker Carlson for reasons that were never made public but which came after he promoted conspiracy theories and disparaged Ukrainian leaders.

A telegenic presence and pugnacious social media warrior, Owens, 34, first rose to prominence on the right for her commentary skeptical of women who had been harassed during the 2014 "GamerGate" controversy that consumed the video game world. An unabashed booster and defender of Donald Trump, she launched a campaign in 2018 known as "Blexit" to try to encourage Black voters to leave the Democratic Party.

In 2020, she joined the Daily Wire — a Nashville-based conservative entertainment conglomerate with a massive following and ambitions to become a conservative alternative to Hollywood — and immediately became one of its leading pundits.

Her profile grew when rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, praised the way she "thinks," both appearing at a 2022 fashion show wearing matching "White Lives Matter" shirts. But Ye had already moved into his new role as an erratic provocateur, recently making antisemitic comments — if occasionally apologizing — and speaking admiringly about Adolf Hitler.

Meanwhile, Owens began to use her Daily Wire platform to promote antisemitism — claiming this month on her show that "secret Jewish gangs" terrorize Hollywood — and recently favorited a tweet repeating a lie about Jews drinking Christians' blood.

She has also clashed publicly with the avowedly pro-Israel Shapiro by criticizing the nation in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.

"I think she's been absolutely disgraceful," Shapiro said in a recording posted on X in November. "I think that her faux-sophistication on these particular issues has been ridiculous."

Owens shot back on X that "you cannot serve both God and money," in what appeared to be a jab at her employer.

Still, the November feud appeared to have been settled, with Boreing releasing a statement saying Owens's "job is secured."

Congrats to Minsky for IDing her as antisemite years back when before she actually said anything antisemitic.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Antisemitism is extremely common in the black community as a baseline, and is probably nearly 100% when we're talking black Republicans.

[The Minsky Moment]

They never learn. Christian blood, despite its significant nutritional values, is not kosher.