CaptainTruth
CaptainTruth's JournalI support Joe Biden & Democrats!!!
And I'm going to do everything I can to deliver good Democratic messaging & help elect as many Democrats as possible!
I just felt like I needed to day that.
Who's with me?
With one simple sentence, Congress could (mostly) end the "independent state legislature doctrine"
Interesting article in Election Law Blog by Derek Muller, with a proposal I had not seen before.
With one simple sentence, Congress could (mostly) end the “independent state legislature doctrine”
The Elections Clause provides, “The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.”
Here, the (hypothetical) Symmetrical Elections Act of 2022:
Except where otherwise inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States or with Federal law, the times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be the same as for the most numerous branch of the state legislature, including the times, places, and manner set forth in the Constitution, laws, and regulations of the state, as authoritatively interpreted by the courts of the state
Much more at link
[link:https://electionlawblog.org/?p=128090|]
Uvalde police dept page on Facebook.
Do with it what thou will.
[link:https://www.facebook.com/uvaldepd|]
If Roe can be overturned, so can Heller. A message for MAGAts...
Heller was the SCOTUS decision that established an individual right to own a gun.
From Wikipedia:
District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, unconnected with service in a militia, for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home, and that the District of Columbia's handgun ban and requirement that lawfully owned rifles and shotguns be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" violated this guarantee.
Roe v Wade was decided in 1973. District of Columbia v Heller was decided in 2008, much more recent & thus, according to Alito's reasoning anyway, not "deeply rooted in this nation's history."
This is just a point I've made to right-wing gun humpers who are cheering the impending fall of Roe, & it tends to stop them in their tracks, so I figured I'd share it.
Also, most MAGAts don't believe the GOP is trying to destroy American democracy, so this next point isn't always useful, but there are situations where you can make the point that if the Radical Right (which is what I call them now) succeed in eliminating true democracy & suppressing votes to the point that they're basically installing themselves as rulers, do you really think they will tolerate an armed public?
One party wants to take away your rights, the other wants to defend your rights.
It's a simple straightforward message that can be supported with examples like a woman's right (& freedom) to choose, the right (& freedom) to vote in the manner you choose (in person, by mail, using a drop box), the right (& freedom) to marry the person you love (regardless of your gender) etc
Note that these things are all rights & freedoms that apply to all Americans, & Republicans want to take them away. Democrats are defending them.
If you want to defend your American rights & freedoms, vote for Democrats.
Just some thoughts on messaging ideas... Gotta get back to work...
Some of my thoughts on Democratic messaging & Twitter...
Recently I’ve seen a variety of comments here on DU about Dem messaging, & in other recent threads, recent developments at Twitter.
I want to highlight a couple items that stood out to me:
1) The point was made that Dem messaging isn’t the problem, media is the problem, because the media doesn’t deliver Dem messaging to the people who really need to hear it most.
-and-
2) Some folks have said things like “If Elon Musk buys Twitter & it fills with right-wing propaganda, I will delete my Twitter account.” Some folks already have.
Do my DU friends see the problem here?
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Musk’s purchase of Twitter increases the amount of right-wing propaganda & lies on Twitter (i.e. the number of accounts repeating right-wing/Reich-wing messaging). Folks, that means you are being handed the opportunity to personally “deliver Dem messaging to the people who really need to hear it most”.
For every one of their GOP messages, you can respond with a Democratic message. For every one of their lies, you can respond with truth.
If you believe “the media doesn’t deliver Dem messaging to the people who really need to hear it most” (& I agree they don’t) then YOU (& ME) should deliver it, directly to them, right in front of their eyeballs on Twitter or whatever social media program they appear on.
In my humble opinion, saying “I quit” & running away, without challenging their propaganda is inviting failure & disaster.
Again, just my humble opinion, & it is not my intention to offend any of my friends here.
Thank you for listening.
UK drawing up plans to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine - The Times
April 6 (Reuters) - Britain is drawing up plans to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine, according to The Times.
Options under consideration in the Ministry of Defence include sending a protected patrol vehicle, such as the Mastiff, or a vehicle like the Jackal, which can be used as a reconnaissance or long-range patrol vehicle, the report said.
The vehicles would be stripped of sensitive equipment and British troops would be sent to a country neigbouring Ukraine to carry out training, The Times reported, citing a defence source.
Further support, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, would be announced by Britain in the coming days, the report said.
More at link.
[link:https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-drawing-up-plans-send-armoured-vehicles-ukraine-the-times-2022-04-06/|]
Matt and the no good, very bad 'woke' military: A picture story
Hilarious take by Task and Purpose on the confrontation between Matt Gaetz & Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin today.
Matt and the no good, very bad ‘woke’ military: A picture story.
Matt likes to go to hearings about the military, but nobody likes to listen. Oh darn.
Matt is a big important Congress man. Sometimes he attends hearings. But Matt doesn’t like to listen.
On Tuesday, Congress held a budget hearing for the military. Yay military! But Matt wasn’t happy.
Matt is really mad about “wokeness” in the military. Being woke is bad because Matt likes naps.
More hilarity at the link.
[link:https://taskandpurpose.com/mandatory-fun/matt-gaetz-woke-military-picture-story/|]
Russian forces withdrawn from the Kyiv axis are highly unlikely to be effectively deployed elsewhere
Interesting perspective from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
From their April 4 assessment:
"Degraded Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine continued to withdraw to Russia and are unlikely to be effective elsewhere, despite ongoing Russian efforts to redeploy them to eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces are conducting operations to clear Russians left behind in the withdrawal, and Russian forces are unlikely to hold any cohesive defensive positions. The Ukrainian military reported that elements of Russian VDV (Airborne) units withdrawn from northern Kyiv flew to Belgorod, Russia, on April 4. These units are understrength, missing equipment, and likely highly demoralized. Russian servicemen from the Kyiv axis ordered to renter combat operations may desert or refuse orders, which has occurred in several Russian units throughout the war—including several units that had not yet entered combat."
Much more detailed analysis of the current situation at the link.
About the ISW:
Our Mission
The Institute for the Study of War advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives. ISW is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization.
[link:https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-4|]
A Private Company Has Evacuated 6,500 People From Ukraine
Global Guardian is now evacuating Ukrainians who work for Western companies and their families.
President Joe Biden repeatedly made clear that he would not send American troops to evacuate people stuck in Ukraine at risk of sparking a “world war.”
That doesn’t mean evacuations aren’t happening. But they’ll cost you.
Global Guardian, a private security firm, has evacuated more than 6,500 people from Ukraine over the past month, according to Dale Buckner, a former Green Beret who owns the firm. Buckner said Global Guardian completed 12 missions on Sunday and another nine on Monday. He said evacuations may be hitting their peak as the Russian invasion of Ukraine extends to its third week.
[link:https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022/03/private-company-has-evacuated-6500-people-ukraine/363225/|]
Anyone who doesn't trust Defense One as a source, please just don't click on the link, please don't attack & insult me for posting it, thank you.
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Member since: Sun May 25, 2014, 11:27 AMNumber of posts: 6,591