A mockery was made of the national anthem all right.
But it wasn’t by the San Francisco 49ers.
Vice President Mike Pence turned the anthem into a prop Sunday, co-opting it for a stunt that served no other purpose than to sow division, further enrage the administration’s conservative base and try to cow NFL owners. That it likely deflected attention from yet more neo-Nazi protests in Charlottesville was all the better.
Please, though, tell me again how it’s the players who are so disrespectful.
Pence was so incensed by the sight of several 49ers kneeling during the anthem at Lucas Oil Stadium that he left immediately afterward. Not so incensed that he wasn’t right there with a carefully crafted statement to let the world know of his outrage, however.
for the guy who wrote in and said he thought varvel was actually criticising RFRA in all those cartoons
Editorial cartoon from April 2015. RFRA is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that Pence was rightly pilloried for in Indiana. But just look at this poor li’l apple-cheeked bigot trying to take a humble shot past the mean, dark, looming nonprofits and gays!!
"I don’t remember what happen that night, I did have a minor accident but it wasn’t because of my wife it was because I was driving drunk.”
He said:
“I recall no such incident. I do recall going up on a curb but it had nothing to do with my reaction to Lisa. I think it had to do with the liquid refreshment we had with our dinner more than anything else.”
I have done extensive research to try and find out why anyone would support these things. And why someone would go as far as to spend millions of dollars so people don’t go jail for beating their pet dogs, and the closest answers I have gotten from interviews is that Forrest Lucas seems obsessed with the idea, "That a man has a god given right to do with, what he pleases to his property.”
remember like a year ago when everybody was laughing at clinton’s campaign logo? remember how it was the worst thing you’d ever seen? look at this shit
In Tuesday’s VP debate, after Tim Kaine brought up Trump’s Mexican comments, Pence seemed openly annoyed and called it “that Mexican thing.” In response, Latinos used the hashtag to dispel stereotypes about undocumented immigrants. Even better, someone snatched up ThatMexicanThing.com and is redirecting it.
Do you think Trump will be subject to prosecution for his many crimes after he leaves office?
If Trump loses reelection in 2020 (not a sure thing of course), expect him to resign the day before the new president is inaugurated, and Pence to give him a full pardon (along with pardons for Manafort, Stone and Flynn).
Republicans, pundits and more than a few Democrats will welcome this: time to move on etc. The country will be too swept up in the excitement of the new administration to care. The new administration itself will be glad to be rid of the distraction.
And Trump’s lifetime of getting away with shit will be complete. Soon we’ll see his name on schools, roads, airports. Brace yourself.
Wouldn’t it be great if the committee investigating Russian influence on the campaign could offer Roger Stone immunity from prosecution if he testifies to everything he knows? Including naming names: Bannon, Sessions, Manafort, Christie, Pence, Assange, Kislyak, Putin, Trump …
Stone is such a douchebag he’d have zero qualms about turning on his “friends” to get out of hot water. Anyway Ollie North proved that it can help you avoid conviction by a real court. The only downside is Stone wouldn’t get his richly deserved deserts, but I’m willing to pay the price.
Carter Page too, while we’re at it, though it wouldn’t be as mich fun.
Mike Pence attended Hamilton and the cast had something to say to him: “We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us.” (x)
This story popped up as a notification on my phone and I literally went -V
This is awesome and all, but I’m more shocked that Pence would attend the musical in the first place- what with it’s liberal lyrics and diverse cast. But then again, this IS a member of the Trump administration we’re talking about. How clueless they are about everything really baffles me.
(Reuters - Munich) American Vice-President Mike Pence laid a wreath at the memorial for the Dachau concentration camp as he toured Europe to solicit support for recognizing the unfair deal the world had imposed on the United States following the Cold War, leaning heavily on American leadership and economics to sustain the post-Cold War peace.
Taking questions, Pence was asked about the use of the term Holocaust yet not making reference to Jews, to which Pence offered an expansion of previous statements by the administration.
“The president has made his position clear,” said the vice-president, “The Jews are not the only victims of the Holocaust. There were Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics… the Holocaust affected many other faiths and creeds, and Hitler’s persecution of Christians is well-established fact. As NAZI Party Secretary Martin Bohrmann said, 'National Socialism and Christianity are irreconcilable.’”
“But isn’t the popular use of the term, Holocaust, usually used in reference to the genocide of the Jews?” asked Glen Thrush of the New York Times.
“Typical mainstream journalism,” replied Pence, shaking his head, “The term comes from the Greek, not the Jewish language, and its first usage in the post-medieval era was by Leitch Ritchie in reference to the genocide of Christians in France, possibly as a sacrifice to mollify Islamic Terrorists who had recently attacked Tours in Southern France.” He went on to stare at Thrush, who, at a loss for words, sat back down.
[TNFN Note: The Battle of Tours occurred more than 1000 years before Leitch Ritchie was born.]
“There were, of course, some non-Christian victims of Hitler, as some men suspected of crimes against nature were, in fact, merely political opponents,” the vice-president added.
“Wasn’t the LGBT community victimized as well?” asked Jeff Gannon.
“No,” said Pence, “If that was the case, they would have been liberated with the camps. Instead, they were moved to other prisons. Hitler didn’t treat the LGBT community any worse than anyone else.”
No more questions were taken and Pence headed to his next tour stop, described on the itinerary distributed by White House Chief Advisor Steve Bannon, as the Warsaw low-income housing projects built by the Germans during WWII to provide shelter to over 400,000 Jews.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled White House Chief Advisor’s name as ‘Steve Bunyon’.
Joe Biden is not going to magically fix this country.
I don’t think anyone actually believes he will, but speaking only for myself, I don’t believe for a second that a Biden presidency will return us to pre-Trump, or that our pre-Trump status quo was somehow idyllic or ideal. It wasn’t. Otherwise we wouldn’t have ended up with Trump or lawmakers who support him.
THAT SAID.
I look at a Biden presidency like a choice between a sinking ship and a lifeboat.
The sinking ship is obviously a bad choice that’s only going to get worse. Stay aboard, and options start dwindling real fast.
The lifeboat isn’t what anyone would call ideal either. You’re still cold. You’re still quite possibly wet. You’re not out of the proverbial woods, and a whole lot is going to have to happen before anyone’s sleeping comfortably in their beds.
But you have OPTIONS. You have a SHOT at getting back to shore.
The sinking ship is headed for the bottom of the ocean regardless of what you have to say about it.
Electing Biden isn’t going to magically put us all back into our metaphorical warm beds and make the shipwreck a distant memory. But it is the one and only viable alternative we have to certain disaster.
I don’t agree with a lot of Biden’s policies, past or present. I’m not a fan. But the alternative is a candidate who has demonstrated he has no regard for the law, the truth, traditions, customs, foreign relations, or even basic decorum. He surrounds himself with sycophants, vilifies anyone who doesn’t toe the line, and has no compunction about contorting government departments to service his purposes or behaving as if the Attorney General is his personal attorney.
No, Biden will not restore us to the previous status quo. No, Biden will not usher in a new era of something better. We as citizens are in for a long and arduous period of marching in the streets, demonstrating tirelessly, and holding elected officials’ feet to the fire. Yes, there will be a collective sigh of relief on January 20th, and I suspect there will be a lot of people just taking that day for some long overdue self-care, but then on January 21st, the pressure is back on.
Because the fact of the matter is we’re never going to get progress by asking nicely for it. We’ve tried, it didn’t work, and now we’re going to have to fight HARD for long overdue change (including changes that will make third party candidates viable in the future in ways they are NOT right now). And yes, it will still be an uphill battle post-Trump.
But if Trump remains in power, that battle is going to be a lot harder, because we’ll be fighting against a president who not only disregards law and custom, he has nothing to lose because he doesn’t have to worry about being reelected and Congress has demonstrated it won’t hold him accountable.
There are two choices in this election. Yes, it sucks – both that the system is currently set up to only allow for two viable candidates, and who those candidates are – but that’s going to be our reality until the electoral college and other problems are dealt with. They won’t be dealt with between now and November.
In November 2020, we have a choice between a sinking ship and a lifeboat, and as someone who has studied authoritarian regimes for years, I cannot overstate how significant the difference is between Biden and Trump:
Biden means an ongoing and exhausting fight for change.
Trump means losing the freedom to fight for anything.
@thehippesthop is proud to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States.
We believe that what America needs most is a compassionate and comprehensive leader who not only knows how to get the job done, but also cares to listen to those who have long felt voiceless. Joe Biden has a strong track record of keeping his word and welcoming opinions that differ from his own. He and Sen. Harris will confront systemic racism and work tirelessly to unite the American people.
We’re ridin’ with Biden because he is a leader who is not afraid to assert that BLACK AND BROWN LIVES MATTER and will work to advance the economic mobility of minority groups and close the racial wealth and income gaps that plague black and brown communities. Joe Biden’s plan to assist minority groups centers around economic and educational reform, not incarceration and division.
A Biden/Harris administration will be ready to take on COVID-19 from day one by actually listening to science, ensuring public health decisions are informed by public health professionals, and restoring trust, transparency, common purpose, and accountability in our government.
@thehippesthop encourages YOU to make your voice heard. Send a message to Washington that will resonate for generations. We must leave no doubts on election day. Remember, the president just confirmed the sixth conservative judge who will serve on the Supreme Court. If we leave any doubt in this election, the president will turn to his 6-3 majority conservative Supreme Court to serve as the tiebreaker. We MUST vote.
Q: But, but, won’t Joe Biden raise my taxes?
A: Do you make over $400,000 a year? If so, yes! If not, no! Don’t listen to the celebrities who are trying to protect their own coin.
Q: Hmm. But Joe Biden is a career politician who hasn’t done anything!
A: First off, Joe Biden has never been president of the United States. He has never had the supreme power that the current president flaunts on a daily basis. Joe Biden has dedicated his live to public service, an accomplishment that business man, President Trump, often ridicules. Who would you trust more to care about your well being: a cutthroat businessman whose slogan is “You’re fired,” or a small town gentleman who chose a life of public service?
Q: I don’t like either candidate, so I’m not voting…
A: You have rights that allow you to make this choice on your own. However, these same rights are being put into question by the current administration. How many times has the current president pissed you off with his antics? His homophobic, misogynistic, and racist rhetoric? Remember, in regard to women, he said he likes to “grab them by the p____”? Or when he called Mexicans rapists and drug dealers? Or when he called white supremacists, “very fine people”? Or more recently, when he blatantly refused to denounce white supremacy? Can you imagine your children hearing this from the president of the United States? We must stand up to bullies and for American values.
Q: Isn’t Joe Biden a socialist?
A: Joe Biden is NOT a socialist. He is a Democrat. His platform on health care, energy and other issues aligns with moderate Democrats, not socialists. The current president is using this as a fear tactic to scare undecided voters away from voting on a Biden ticket. Do not let fear tactics prevent you from accessing the truth. Remember, this is the same guy who calls any news that he doesn’t like, “fake news.”
Have other questions or concerns? Message us and we’ll do our best to respond publicly.
Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday backed a controversial method for passing Obamacare repeal that could dramatically change the way the Senate operates, if successful, but which faces long odds, even among Republicans.
The proposal – which has also drawn support from Sen. Ted Cruz – purports to ease passage of a more expansive Obamacare replacement bill by foregoing traditional Senate rules and seating Vice President Mike Pence as Senate chair for the vote.
Paul argued that with Pence as chair, he would be empowered to make decisions about what can be passed through budget reconciliation, a procedural distinction that has a simple majority-vote-threshold. That would allow Republicans to bypass the larger, 60-vote requirement that would otherwise be required to repeal and replace key components of the Affordable Care Act – a major roadblock.
Paul – who opposes the current GOP health care bill moving through the House – said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that leadership “is afraid of the Senate parliamentarian. But we’ve read the rules, and it looks to us like the vice president can sit in the chair, and the vice president can decide for the Senate what is reconcilable.”
He explained, “the rules, the budget rules that everyone touts and are so arcane, they say the chair rules, and not the parliamentarian. The chair rules. The vice president has the prerogative of sitting in the chair, and if they want this done, the vice president should come to the Senate.”
Paul’s proposal comes as Republicans are under growing pressure to pass an Obamacare repeal bill – but divisions within the party, a slim Senate majority, and legislative procedure have complicated those efforts.
