ABG - always be grifting
The handcuffing of California Senator Alex Padilla during a Kristi Noem press conference was chilling four months ago so I read last weekâs NY Times interview with Padilla with some interest to understand his perspective. I had not realized that JD Vance subsequently referred to him disrespectfully as âJoseâ Padilla. Extract from the interview:
** We also saw Vice President JD Vance, when referring to you and that incident, use the wrong name. He called you âJose Padilla.â How did you understand that misnaming? Sadly, not surprised because this is how petty this administration is. And I knew what he was trying to do. To call a Latino man Jose flippantly, thatâs their way of trying to ridicule us. For Vice President Vance in particular, letâs remember who Jesusâ parents were. They were Jose and Maria. Joseph and Mary. Look, I know a lot of Joses. A lot of Joses are hard workers. So if thatâs what youâre going to call me, then Iâm going to wear it as a point of pride.
But back to the press conference and what happened. It was clear to me that if thatâs how this administration would respond to a senator with a question, imagine not just how they could treat so many other people, but how they are treating so many other people when the cameras are not on. This should be a wake-up call.**
Sounds similar to the Tom Clancy novel Clear and Present Danger.
I think we might need a South America thread at this point because Trump is basically pissing off the entire continent with his antics (and making them move closer to China).
Income inequality has always been a feature of the US economy but is becoming much more pronounced. It hasnât plunged the economy into a recession yet but the lower classes are struggling.
This was bound to happen sooner or later.
Huh, who could have possibly seen this coming?
Apparently the whole world is heading this way:
Whenever I see a kid playing a game on a phone instead of, say, watching the soccer match right in front of them, I sigh and think another one is gone.
Parents enable them.
Yeah, back in our day we used to bring a book to read during the soccer. match.
Holds it
Holds it
HOLDS IT!!!
I guess weâll find out how many pardons one Trump supporter can get.
RN
I personally think watching a soccer match is incredibly boring. but playing on a phone is also bad soâŚ
Yeah, soccer matches are the original brain rot. Phones are the same thing but brighter and more beepy.
well I wouldnât go that far but I still think theyâre boring, sue me
I have been reading many articles about Zohran Mamdani recently as he is very much in the cross-hairs of Republicans, especially.
The excerpt below was chilling. It appears âWestern valuesâ must include threatening people with a bullet to the head if you disagree with them.
âMr. Mamdaniâs office has received a string of death threats since he began campaigning. I listened to a voice mail message left at his office. A man with a deep voice said, âYou should go back to fucking Uganda before I shoot you in the fucking head. Your whole family, too. You pieces of shit Muslims donât belong here. Youâre not compatible with our Western values.ââ