Trump's war on non-white-male people expands

 

Some good news and a caveat

 

As it become progressively clear that the majority don't want Trump's insane policies and programs, Trump and Republicans will aim for more and worse obstacles to voting.

In Iowa, no less

 

Get fucked, Chuck!

A room full of frustrated Iowans urged Sen. Chuck Grassley to stand up to President Donald Trump and push back against the executive branch during a Tuesday town hall.

  CNN

He won't.

In a tiny southeast Iowa city council chambers that couldn’t fit everyone who turned out, Grassley mostly listened to complaints about Trump and concerns about the sweeping overhaul of the federal government taking place since he returned to office.

[...]

One person asked the senator point blank: “Are you proud of Trump?”

“There’s no president I’ve agreed with 100% of the time,” he replied. The tight and measured response drew groans from the crowd, where most of the seats were occupied.

[...]

Asked about Trump’s tariffs, Grassley acknowledged the potential for pain to Iowa farmers, especially grain producers. He touted his bill that would limit tariff powers of presidents going forward.

“When you put something negative, like a tariff, on some country, they seem to retaliate against agriculture,” he said.

It's a mystery why.

Grassley dismissed concerns about the SAVE Act, a bill to crackdown on voter registration that recently passed the House, noting that the legislation had little chance of making it through the Senate, where Republicans don’t have the 60 votes needed to end debate.

[...]

The more structured approach, however, didn’t alter the tenor of the event. All but one question asked was critical of the administration.

One person who attended Tuesday to thank Grassley began his remarks by saying, “I’m a rarity here: I’m a happy Republican.”

What was the question?

Jesus Tapdancing Christ

 

MAGA

Pathetic

They loved her and touted her for years as the most accurate pollster on the planet until Trump's ridiculous suit against her for being wrong.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Out of Iowa

If you MUST look at polls...

One thing Sarah doesn't mention about old white women in Iowa is that they KNOW what life was like for women before Roe and Dobbs.

UPDATE 11:45 am:

UPDATE 11/05/2024:

Dear lord, make it stop

Oops.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Perfectly tone deaf

Another day, another school shooting

Multiple people were injured during a shooting at Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday morning.

[...]

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press the suspected shooter was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

[...]

Thursday marked the first day back to school since the winter break for students at the school, which is located around 40 miles northwest of Des Moines.

  Yahoo

Here's your 202 voter fraud

And it's yet another GOP case.

Why is it that every time we read about actual voter fraud, it involves Republicans?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Nikki Haley in Iowa

There's so much ridiculousness about Nikki Haley, but what I want to point out here is the fact that she put on cowboy boots to talk to people in Iowa.  LOL.

That's Iowa's governor sitting with her.  Haley must have checked with the governor about what to wear.

Tucked in T-shirts, big belts, jeans, and cowboy boots.  Check. Got 'em.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Moments in great campaigning

Oh, how wonderful!  He's promising to put millions of people out of work!  Actually, it's probably a winning proposition among Republican voters.

And that's not all they like about him...

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 11:02 am:  Oh, for pete's sake.  

Why doesn't this surprise me?

Uh-oh

How rude.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

MAGA!

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Next GOP women's rights target: Contraception

Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office said it has suspended payment for emergency contraception for sexual assault victims while they are reviewing state policy.

"While not required by Iowa law, the victim compensation fund has previously paid for Plan B and abortions. As a part of her top-down, bottom-up audit of victim assistance, Attorney General Bird is carefully evaluating whether this is an appropriate use of public funds. Until that review is complete, payment of these pending claims will be delayed," said Alyssa Brouillet, Bird's press secretary, in a statement.

[...]

Emergency contraception, also known as the morning-after-pill or by the brand name Plan B, is medication that can be taken up to five days after intercourse to prevent pregnancy. It is different than medication used to induce abortions.

[...]

Bird, a Republican, took office in January after ousting Tom Miller, a Democrat who held the office for nearly 40 years, in last November's election.

She has publicly taken a strong anti-abortion stance, and is defending the state's attempt to reinstate its so-called "fetal heartbeat" law, which bans abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy, when it goes before the Iowa Supreme Court for oral arguments next week.

  Iowa

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Immigration could answer the call

Republicans have found a new hill to die on: rolling back child labor laws. It’s all part of a larger plan to crush worker protections, and it’s especially repugnant that children are a part of this scheme.

In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders just signed a bill that will allow children as young as 14 to work without getting a work permit from the state. Before this, anyone under 16 had to apply for a work permit with the state’s Division of Labor.

[...]

[T]his law, and similar ones across the country, are the brainchild of a conservative think tank in Florida. The “Foundation for Government Accountability” has a website explaining that teens under 16 are a “critical source of labor” and complaining that “millions of adults would rather stay home than work.”

[...]

A similar bill is going through the Iowa legislature right now. Iowa currently has a lengthy list of jobs teenagers aged 14-17 aren’t allowed to do because they are dangerous, but the law proposes that the state create a sort of apprenticeship program so teens could do dangerous jobs such as mining, meatpacking, or ones where they are exposed to radioactive substances.The bill also contains a provision that would limit civil liability for those businesses if a teen worker is hurt or killed on the job. The bill has passed out of committees in both chambers of the state legislature.

Minnesota Republicans are also pushing a child labor bill that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work construction jobs. However, the state currently has a Democratic trifecta, so it is unlikely to get anywhere. In Ohio, there’s a proposal to allow teens as young as 14 to work until 9 pm on school nights.

[...]

[C]hild labor violations have been increasing since 2015.

[...]

[A] Department of Labor investigation [...] found Packers Sanitation, one of the country’s biggest food safety sanitation companies, employed 102 children ages 13-17 in 13 meatpacking plants across eight states, including three in Minnesota. These teens were using what the Department called “caustic chemicals” to clean dangerous meat processing equipment, including sharp saws.

[...]

While these bills are focused on child labor, they’re part of a larger push by Republicans to roll back worker protections generally.

[...]

The Trump administration went on a deregulation spree, gutting workplace protections in high-risk jobs like mining and meatpacking. The administration also tried to get rid of a child labor rule that prevented 16- and 17-year-olds working in nursing homes from operating power-driven patient lifts.

[...]

Conservatives pushing these child labor bills say they are necessary because companies are having trouble finding workers in a tight labor market. Rather than making jobs safer or better-paid, they’ve decided to exploit children. 

  Aaron Rupar substack

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

MAGA!

As child labor law violations have been on the rise in the US, some state legislators are pushing for changes at state and federal levels to roll back protections in what some see as a threat to return child labor to the country.

[...]

Child labor law violations have increased in the US, with a 37% increase in fiscal year 2022, including 688 children working in hazardous conditions, with the number likely much higher as the recorded violations stem from what was found during labor inspections.

[...]

The laws aim to expand permissible work hours, broaden the types of jobs young workers are permitted to do, and shield employers from liability for injuries, illnesses or workplace fatalities involving very young workers.

  Guardian

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Another day, another American mass shooting

A gunman is at large after he allegedly shot and killed three people at a Circle K convenience store and gas station in Yakima, Washington, early Tuesday, authorities said.

[...]

Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Jarid Haddock of Yakima County.

He allegedly fled in a car believed to be a gray or silver Chrysler 200, the chief said.

  Yahoo

American exceptionalism.

UPDATE 02:53 pm:  Make that "other" American mass shootings...

Seven people have been killed in an agricultural region of northern California, authorities said on Monday, the latest shootings to rattle the state in recent days.

Two fatal shootings took place at a mushroom farm and a trucking firm on the outskirts of Half Moon Bay, a coastal community about 30 miles south of San Francisco, officials said.

Deputies responding to a call found four people dead and a fifth victim wounded at the first location in Half Moon Bay, then found three more dead at the second location nearby, Sheriff Christina Corpus told a news conference on Monday evening.

Police have arrested a suspect, named as 67-year-old Zhao Chunli, in connection with the shooting.

  Guardian

Des Moines resident Preston Walls, 18, has been charged with two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder and criminal gang participation following a fatal shooting that occurred Monday afternoon.

Police say Gionni Dameron, 18, and Rashad Carr, 16, were killed. Both were from Des Moines. An adult who was also shot and seriously injured has been identified as William Holmes, known as Will Keeps, the founder and CEO of Starts Right Here, the alternative education program where the incident occurred.

  Iowa Public Radio

Big Brother is alive and well in Iowa

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.