Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)

@Dustcan  
Because the concrete it was set in hadn’t cured yet.
 
Dems landslide lose congressional race in Texas
 
This was supposed to be the start of Texas “turning blue”. That idea just took a big hit.

Rand Paul tried to pull a fast one during the impeachment trial.
 
All questions that the senators want to ask has to be written down and given to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, to be read aloud. Rand Paul submitted a question that included the believed identity of the whistleblower that started all this, basically trying to push that conspiracy theory into the official record. Chief Justice Roberts rejected the question immediately.

@Dustcan  
A good metaphor for Trump’s infrastructure

 
This time it’s an odd two-fer.
 
Trump tweets video of Bolton talking about relations with Ukraine. Ostensibly done while trying to undermine his credibility. Basically, ‘Bolton’s words can’t be trusted, so listen to what Bolton has to say!’
 
More to the point however, and credit where it’s due this had to be pointed out to me, but Bolton in that tweeted interview says that Ukraine has been corruption free since forever. Trump’s entire defense is that ‘It’s okay that he overreached his authority because he was fighting Ukraine corruption’…which Bolton said didn’t exist.

@lonewolf  
Still though, it’s kinda funny! Years of waiting and this is what we get! Trump’s presidency has been one giant hilarious shit show!

@Dustcan  
Between this and the turbines, Trump and wind just do not get along, do they?

@Background Human
 
I mean, have you seen what wind does to his toupee?
 
Edit: So apparently the Senate trial will have finally vote to see whether they’ll allow witnesses Friday. If they vote no then they’ll more or less soon after hold the final vote on whether Trump is guilty. Basically tomorrow might be the final day.

There were almost 600 farm bankruptcies in the US in 2019 despite Trump’s billion dollar bailouts. That’s the highest number of bankruptcies since 2011 during the great recession. 2018 saw a little over 500, the 2nd or 3rd highest amount since 2011.
 
And those are just the ones filed under chapter 12. Hundreds more were either foreclosed on, sold, or simply abandoned.
 
Trump has done more damage to US farming than any Obama era regulation could have.

@Zincy  
So this is what winning looks like.

@igotnopicks
 
On top of that, the US economy only grew by 2.3%, once again far short of Trumps “3 to 5%” turbo-charge he yammered about. The yield curve inverted again, less extremely than last time, most fueled by the lower than expected growth.
 
And you know, months ago I said that the Fed and Trump were burning through our ammo to respond to global crises that destabilize trade. You know what can really fuck up global trade? A massive pandemic occurring during a trade war, and at the same time that 15% of the GDP of an entire nation bloc is about to separate.
 
Grim, very grim.

@Zincy  
Ironically, the impact of said pandemic on the Chinese economy will probably be more devastating than Trump’s tariff war could ever have been.

@Dustcan  
Can someone maybe explain on what grounds the idea of not allowing witnesses is being entertained?

@Latecomer  
The public reason is “It’ll take a long time”.
 
Yes, that’s retarded. The real reason is they don’t want people to hear what witnesses would say under oath. If potential witnesses say something while not under oath, GOP members and pundits will claim it’s just talk because they’re not under oath.
 
GOP are spineless cowards that love America and hate Americans.

@The Smiling Pony  
Erm. can’t you say that about any trial? Without witnesses, on what basis are they supposed to pass judgement?

@Latecomer
 
One excuse being peddled by Lamar Alexander was ‘since the Impeachment was not done in a bipartisan manner, I feel no need to support this Impeachment process.’
 
Yes. Republicans are using their own obstinance to justify more obstinance.

The Trump admin is now taking to gutting SSI by implementing rules that will make it harder for those with disabilities that flare “unpredictably” to get on SSI to begin with.
 
There is also talk of gutting medicaid and medicare, and putting tighter restrictions on who can apply for both.
 
The GOP’s contempt for the disabled, the poor, and the old (ironically) is pretty awful.

A possibly drunk but definitely mentally failing Trump warns that Democrats want to kill cows…before moving on to people.
 
Ignoring the flagrant idiocy of the second half of his comments…I have to wonder where this famously steak loving dotard thinks his ribeyes come from.

So, how much worse off are we in terms of the political stability now compared to the end of last January?
 
I apologize for the language in advance because HOLY FUCKING SHIT.
 
This looks like it’s gonna be a repeat of 2016 in terms of bipartisan civility going down the shit-hole.

@Dustcan  

Probably the same magical place all that “clean” coal comes from.

@Dustcan
 
He really has just lost his cotton pickin mind ain’t he?

Only 20 minutes until the UK leaves the European Union

The UK has officially left the EU now.

Senate has voted 51-49 to block witnesses.
 
We truly are witnessing the death of American democracy right before our eyes.

@Zincy  
I’m on SSI. And on some Medicare too already. This is pretty fucked up.

@Dustcan
 
There are always other ways to reign in a tyrant.