Open Thread – Page 631 – Politics Plus

On the Edge–12/8/2015

Posted by TomCat at 9:42 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 082015

Once again, this is today’s only article, as I have much to do to prepare for tomorrow’s trip home. Color me in rush mode. Expect only a brief Personal Update tomorrow.

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: The billionaire Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States has sparked deep disappointment among his supporters, many of whom had hoped he was planning to ban a sizable number of other religions.

In conversations with likely Trump voters across the country, reactions ranged from disenchantment to a sharp sense of betrayal as supporters tried to make sense of his decision to ban members of only one faith.

“I heard him on TV talking about banning Muslims and I was kind of like, ‘Is that it?’ ” said Carol Foyler, a Trump supporter from South Florida. “I mean, banning Muslims is a good start, but I thought a smart businessman like him would be a lot more thorough.”

Harland Dorrinson, a Trump supporter from San Antonio, Texas, agreed. “Saying you’re only going to ban Muslims when there are so many other religious groups to ban just feels like politics as usual,” he said. “I’ll give him a chance to explain himself on this one, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel burned.”

Andy has it spot-on. Republicans would ban all beliefs, except Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christianity, with their gospel of hate, greed and violence.

From NY Times: President Obama’s address to the nation Sunday was intended to reassure anxious Americans that the United States will defeat the Islamic State, known as ISIS or ISIL, “by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless, and by drawing upon every aspect of American power.” But success, he noted, “won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values, or giving into fear. That’s what groups like ISIL are hoping for.”

If that’s true, ISIS must have been cheered by the presidential field, most of whom did their best to talk tough and stoke fear without advancing any workable ideas.

Donald Trump, a bigot without foreign policy experience, showed that there is nothing he won’t say or support to sow hatred. On Monday he outrageously proposed barring all Muslims from entering the country. There is no precedent for denying immigration based on religion, experts say, and any such test would surely be used as an excuse to attack Muslim Americans.

Ted Cruz, Twitter warrior, pledged after Mr. Obama’s speech to “direct the Department of Defense to destroy ISIS.” He played soldier all weekend in Iowa, spouting “We will carpet bomb them into oblivion,” to a tea-party crowd in Cedar Rapids, adding “I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out,” whatever that means.

Marco Rubio took to Fox News [Faux Noise delinked] to remind Americans that they are, or should be, “really scared and worried.” He also said that “people are scared not just because of these attacks but because of a growing sense that we have a president that’s completely overwhelmed by them,” as if he alone had his finger on the pulse of America…

That’s what I would expect from the Clown Car.

From Blue Oregon: Merkley calls it: The Worst Idea from a Presidential Candidate. Ever.

That’s my Senator. Oregon leads the way.

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Squatch’s Open Thread 07/12/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 11:39 pm Open Thread, Politics

Dec 072015

I am exceptionally late today as I didn't get home until 8:30 pm. My student's eldest son has significant problems, not the least of which I believe is depression. I spent over 3 hours talking with him and then more time talking with his mother. She is going to try to get a doctor's appointment tomorrow to which I will go as well. Please pray or keep the family in your prayers. I am just about finished October's report and November's is partially complete. I had hoped that they would be finished today but circumstances precluded that. We had wind and heavy rain warnings on the weekend and again for tonight. Let's hope there are no power interrupts like there were on the weekend . . . 43,000 homes without power at the height of the storm, some still without power this evening.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:52 (average 4:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

The Atlantic — Coccidioidomycosis, also known as cocci, or valley fever, is a fungal disease endemic to the soils of the Southwest, in places like Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. In California, it’s rampant across the Central Valley, an area just slightly smaller than West Virginia that grows about a third of the country’s produce. About 30 percent of all valley fever cases nationwide occur in the Central Valley each year.

Valley fever has perplexed doctors and patients alike for more than a century. Symptoms range from mild fatigue to incapacitating, flesh-eating infections, and despite decades of research, advances in treatment and pushes to develop a vaccine have been painfully slow. There’s virtually no way to guard against inhaling the spores that cause valley fever, as most masks can’t filter out the microscopic dust particles that carry the spores through the air and into the lungs. …

… rates of valley fever are rising nationwide. Between 1998 and 2011, documented cases across the country increased steadily by about 15 percent annually, from just 2,000 infections in 1998 to more than 22,000 in 2011. In areas where the fungus is widespread, like Kern County, it’s statistically more probable to develop valley fever than hepatitis or chickenpox.

Although The Atlantic article is from 08 August 2014, the video is from the current Mother Jones, and both are important when discussing the effects of climate change. For example, California is suffering through a prolonged drought. As a result, the soil is very dry, some becoming "dusty" which is where the Coccidioides fungus lives and gets blown about by the winds. The CDC has more information about the disease. Click through for the rest of the article.

Middle East Eye — In a July Haaretz article commemorating the first anniversary of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, which killed more than 2,250 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in 51 days, journalist Khaled Diab quotes Palestinian psychologist Hasan Zeyada of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme: “Gaza has endured multiple losses – what we call multi-traumatic losses. People in other places usually endure a single loss: the loss of a home, or a family member, or a job. Many Gazans have lost them all.”

And while Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is often the focus of discussions of the psychological repercussions of conflict, Diab summarises the observation by various experts that “talk of post- or pre-trauma is futile, since trauma is constant and ongoing”.

In addition to attending professionally to the victims of this Israeli-induced brand of eternal trauma, Dr. Zeyada is personally well acquainted with the phenomenon. Last August, the New York Times reported on his “challenging new patient: himself”. Six of the psychologist’s close family members, including his mother, had just been wiped out by an Israeli airstrike.

Operation Protective Edge came to an end on 26 August 2014. But the diagnosis of collective psychological suffering in the Palestinian coastal enclave is open-ended, and serves to compound the more tangible suffering that attends the regular Israeli release of large quantities of ordnance in the direction of human bodies.

This article, although written almost 6 months ago, remains just as germane today given the on going hostilities between Israel and Gaza. The video from The Nation is a followup to the killing of four boys from the Bakr family on the beach by Israeli bombardment back in August 2014. If you don't remember the bombing on the beach, perhaps this will help you. The raw emotion is palpable. These young lives are changed forever, and not for the better.

Talking Points Memo — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump threatened Monday that he may not attend CNN's next debate unless the network forks over $5 million, which the real estate mogul said would go to charity.

Trump pulled the stunt once before, demanding that CNN donate the proceeds from its September Republican presidential debate to a charity. The network didn't publicly comment on the request and Trump ultimately participated in the debate.

It is about time that someone called Trump on his bloviating narcissism. Are you up to it CNN? Who runs your business anyway?

My Universe —

On the Edge–12/7/2015

Posted by TomCat at 9:22 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 072015

Because I expect a very busy day today, preparing to return home on Wednesday, this is my only article today.

Religious Ecstasy:

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Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Moments after its conclusion on Sunday night, President Obama’s speech about combating ISIS came under heavy criticism from people with zero better ideas.

The President’s proposals, ranging from coalition air strikes against ISIS to beefing up intelligence about potential terrorists, were blasted for being “nothing new,” with the harshest criticism coming from people with nothing new.

“I was incredibly frustrated hearing the President say he would destroy ISIS,” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told CNN. “ISIS needs to be obliterated.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz shared Christie’s scathing assessment of Obama’s speech. “The President seems to think that ISIS will go away just by us bombing them,” Cruz said. “If I am President, I will bomb them so hard that will feel like they have been triple-bombed.”

Andy is reporting straight news again. 😉

From YouTube:

Click here for a transcript of Obama’s speech. Your thoughts?

From NY Times: The international climate change negotiations entering their second and final week encompass a vast and complicated array of political, economic and legal questions. But at bottom, the talks boil down to two issues: trust and money.

In this global forum, no one questions the established science that greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels are warming the planet — or that both developed and developing economies must all eventually lower their greenhouse emissions to stave off a future that could wreak havoc on the world’s safety and economic stability.

In a major breakthrough, 184 governments have already submitted plans detailing how they will cut their domestic emissions after 2020.

Those pledges are expected to make up the core of a new accord, which could be signed next weekend. The agreement is also expected to require countries to return to the table at least once every 10 years with even more stringent emissions reduction pledges.

But can those governments be trusted to do what they say they will do?

Republicans are committing sedition to make the international community believe that the US cannot be trusted to keep our word.

Cartoon:

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64 years later, the Republican Party is repeating the attack.

On the Edge–12/6/2015

Posted by TomCat at 10:16 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 062015

I’m already in rush mode, so I’ll be brief. Today is a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos meditate with the Chargers, but I can’t watch it. Crying face The network is showing the Chiefs and Raiders instead.

Short Takes:

From Bernie Sanders: Say You Support Commonsense Solutions to Make Our Country Safer From Gun Violence

1. We can expand background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. This is an idea that over 80% of Americans agree with, even a majority of gun owners.

2. & 3. We can renew the assault weapons ban and end the sale of high capacity magazines — military-style tools created for the purpose of killing people as efficiently as possible.

4. Since 2004, over 2,000 people on the FBI’s terrorist watch list have legally purchased guns in the United States. Let’s close the “terror gap” and make sure known foreign and domestic terrorists are included on prohibited purchaser lists.

5. We can close loopholes in our laws that allow perpetrators of stalking and dating violence to buy guns. In the United States, the intended targets of a majority of our mass shootings are intimate partners or family members, and over 60% of victims are women and children. Indeed, a woman is five times more likely to die in a domestic violence incident when a gun is present.

6. We should close the loophole that allows prohibited purchasers to buy a gun without a completed background check after a three-day waiting period expires. Earlier this year, Dylann Roof shot and killed nine of our fellow Americans while they prayed in a historic church, simply because of the color of their skin. This act of terror was possible because of loopholes in our background check laws. Congress should act to ensure the standard for ALL gun purchases is a completed background check. No check — no sale.

7. It’s time to pass federal gun trafficking laws. I support Kirsten Gillibrand’s Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015, which would “make gun trafficking a federal crime and provide tools to law enforcement to get illegal guns off the streets and away from criminal networks and street gangs.”

8. It’s time to strengthen penalties for straw purchasers who buy guns from licensed dealers on behalf of a prohibited purchaser.

9. We must authorize resources for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study and research the causes and effects of gun violence in the United States of America.

10. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 21,000 firearm suicides every year in the United States. It’s time we expand and improve our mental health capabilities in this country so that people who need care can get care when they need it, regardless of their level of income.

Please join me, and click through to sign! Bernie is spot on!!

From TPM: The head of Oklahoma’s prison system, who presided over two botched lethal injections and a third that was called off because the wrong drug was delivered, announced his resignation Friday amid an investigation into what went wrong with the executions.

Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton said in a news release that he will resign effective Jan. 31, but will begin taking accrued leave on Dec. 25. He said he has accepted a position in Arizona to be closer to family.

While this murdering Republican may be incompetent, his resignation does not solve the problem. End state sponsored murder.

From Think Progress: Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. urged more students to carry guns on Friday, arguing that if the victims of Wednesday’s attack in San Bernardino, California were armed, they would have been able to protect themselves from the attackers.

“I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed them,” he said during the school’s convocation, before teasing the students about his own gun.

That’s the Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christian solution: Assume that Muslims are terrorists and murder them. Kill a Muslim for Republican Supply-side Jesus (the opposite of the real Jesus).

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Squatch’s Open Thread 06/12/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 2:14 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 062015

It has been a relatively busy day with 2 meetings at the church and set up for tomorrow's worship. Tomorrow afternoon late, I will be heading up to visit my mother, which means I'll undoubtedly be very tired. This coming week is already full of appointments as is the following week. Sigh . . .

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:38 (average 4:59). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

The Nation — With Utah’s ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution on this day in 1933, the prohibition on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States ended. Long after most on the left had given up on the idea of Prohibition as a remotely liberatory policy, The Nation, under the ownership and editorship of lifelong teetotaler Oswald Garrison Villard (whose mother had warned him in his childhood never to touch strong drink) stuck by the idea, …

prohibition_cc_img

Orange County, California, sheriffs dumping out illegally made alcohol during a 1932 bust.(Orange County Archive)

Well the temperance movement failed to get the country on its side. But think of all the tax revenues that would have been foregone. Dump prohibition and get tax revenues from sales, or keep prohibition, have bootleggers selling liquor, the government spending money to enforce prohibition, and receiving no tax revenue. Nothing is ever quite that simple but . . . I wonder if a similar system could work with marijuana, medicinal or recreational?

Mother Jones — HOW MUCH DOES gun violence cost our country? It's a question we've been looking into at Mother Jones ever since the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, left 58 wounded and 12 dead. How much care would the survivors and the victims' families need? What would be the effects on the broader community, and how far out would those costs ripple? As we've continued to investigate gun violence, one of our more startling discoveries is that nobody really knows.

Each year more than 11,000 people are murdered with a firearm, and more than 20,000 others commit suicide using one. Hundreds of children die annually in gun homicides, and each week seems to bring news of another toddler accidentally shooting himself or a sibling with an unsecured gun. And perhaps most disturbingly, even as violent crime overall has declined steadily in recent years, rates of gun injury and death are climbing (up 11 and 4 percent since 2011) and mass shootings have been on the rise.

Click through for the rest of the story. Attempts to study gun related violence have been blocked by the NRA and gun activists through lobbying lawmakers. It is time for that to end, but how? It certainly won't happen with Republicans dominating the Congress. And Democrats are not immune to NRA lobbying either.

The Hill — While the measure is complicated and largely unknown to the American public; if it passes into law it will significantly increase the influence of wealthy donors on elected officials.

Under the current law, political parties are limited to spending $48,000 in coordination with candidates running for House seats, and varying amounts based on population for Senate candidates.

But if McConnell gets his way, the parties would be allowed to spend as much as they please in coordination with the candidates.

The upshot, says the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center’s policy director Meredith McGehee, is that donors would have “much closer proximity” to the lawmakers they want to influence.

McConnell is at it again! He's trying to make it even more unbalanced. This time, he has a fight on his hands, but not just from the left.

Trendingninjas.com — Famous NRA member and rocker Ted Nugent has said that Donald Trump deserves a Medal of Freedom. He writes for the conservative site World News Daily and frequently expresses his extreme views. In one column he wrote:
"Donald Trump is running strong in the early polls because Americans are fed up with the political status quo, especially from left-leaning GOP Fedzillacrats who want to feed us cow dung while telling us it's a cheeseburger."
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In another Nugent said, "[Trump] should be given the Medal of Freedom for speaking his mind in such a bold, honest, and straightforward manner."

OK, you're thinking "Has she lost her marbles posting this?". But I saw the headline "Celebrities Who Support Donald Trump" and I just had to look. When I saw the first one of 13, Ted Nugent, I started laughing. The laughter continued even through the lies. But one thing to note, there were no women amongst the so called celebrity personages. Any wonder?

My Universe — Who hasn't experienced this type of situation before? I think dad handled it well.

On the Edge–12/5/2015

Posted by TomCat at 9:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 052015

Yesterday the hospital pulled a fast one on me. Although they have told me that they will mot discharge me until my bed arrives later this month, my insurance decided that I can rent a bed, while waiting for my bed to arrive, so they are discharging me next week. I’m feeling a bit freaked, because there is so much I don’t know how to do. I’m not confident that I’m ready. I may be intermittent over the next few days, as I attend to the details. I’ll keep you posted.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: A Missouri state representative has pre-filed a bill that would make it as difficult to buy a gun as it is to get an abortion. According to St. Louis Magazine, Democratic State Rep. Stacey Newman’s bill would “require anyone buying a gun to follow the restrictions required of women seeking abortions, including a 72-hour waiting period.”

Newman is a longtime advocate for common-sense gun laws, and also a pro-choice activist, which makes her a fish out of water in the predominantly right-wing-Republican Missouri legislature, where she is regularly subjected to jeers, sneers and outright insults. Still, she has courageously drafted House Bill 1397.

Kudos to Stacey Newman! Click through for the details of her bill.

From NY Times: Only hours after news broke that a suspect in a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., had a Muslim name, the well-practiced organizations that represent American Muslims to the broader public kicked into action, as they routinely do after each terrorist attack attributed to Muslim extremists.

They issued news releases condemning the attacks as inhuman and un-Islamic, posted expressions of grief on Facebook and held news conferences in which Muslim leaders stood flanked by American flags alongside clergy of other faiths and law enforcement officials.

“Groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda,” Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said at a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, “are trying to divide our society and to terrorize us. Our message to them is we will not be terrorized and we will not be intimidated,” either by the terrorists or, he said, “by hatemongers who exploit the fear and hysteria that results from incidents like this.”

But the message is apparently not getting through. Muslims and leaders of mosques across the United States say they are experiencing a wave of death threats, assaults and vandalism unlike anything they have experienced since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Authentic Muslims are not responsible for the terrorist acts of extremists , who twist Islam to suit their own hateful agendas, in the same way that authentic Christians are not responsible for the terrorist acts of Republicans, who twist Christianity to suit their own hateful agendas.

From Alternet: Cops Turn Off Body Cams Before Killing Man, Witnesses Watch Them Plant Gun and Drugs

Witnesses say they watched in disbelief as cops killed a man, then planted a gun and drugs ‘within arms reach’ of his lifeless body.

Click through. Another day, another murder committed by Republican racist police.

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Squatch’s Open Thread 05/12/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 2:28 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 052015

Well, Friday is done and Saturday is upon us. Teaching went well today. When I am there, I usually get called to explain other things like letters and today it was a report card for the 8 year old girl. Even though she was born in Canada, she has difficulty with English because she speaks Juba at home with her mother. But she is making good progress and I am really proud of her! On top of that, I learned another Farsi expression . . . ché ha bas . . . which means what's up? Of course this is a phonetic spelling using the English alphabet. Learning new stuff keeps a person young.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:57 (average 5:17). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

The Nation — I hate to pick on Carly Fiorina, since she’s dropping in GOP presidential polls, but she’s the most avid purveyor of falsehoods in the 2016 Republican field next to Donald Trump. She spewed some whoppers Thursday on MSNBC’sMorning Joe. They’re worth examining because they show the way GOP cynics, most of whom know better, are exploiting anti-government hysteria on the right as they close their ears to overwhelming public demand for tougher gun laws.

Isn't it truly amazing how the Republican presidential hopefuls are whipping up anti-government sentiments in their base while seeking to lead that same government. And the base either does not see this, is wilfully ignorant, or just doesn't care as long as the black man in the White House is gone. And her arguments hold no water. Fiorina is such an airhead.

CBC — Governor General David Johnston called Canada's response to the refugee crisis a defining moment for the country earlier this week as he met with aid agencies and political, business and community leaders to discuss how to better coordinate the work of resettling 25,000 Syrians by February.

"This is a defining moment for Canada, a defining moment for all of us,'' he told the forum. "It's even more than that. It's an opportunity to reimagine how we take care of the most marginalized and vulnerable among us."

But does that sentiment extend beyond the imperatives of a current crisis?

A good question for all nations that have indigenous peoples. GG David Johnston's statement "It's an opportunity to reimagine how we take care of the most marginalized and vulnerable among us.", should be enough of a catalyst for Canadians to embrace the plight of our First Nations peoples, as well as the Syrian refugees that are coming. I hope we don't have to wait until 2017 to see the federal government's plan of addressing First Nations' issues. We, as a society have to drop our stereotypical approach and attitude, rather seeing all people as equal partners in society.

Huffington Post — As global population soars, healthcare is reaching a crisis point: developing countries struggle with a lack of access while countries like the U.S. struggle to manage an inefficient system that spends billions on unnecessary care. After a life-changing trip to Haiti, one doctor teamed up with a small bioengineering company with a mission to empower patients.

With a title like "Canadian Doctor's Device Could Save Americans Billions", I was intrigued as to what this could be. So that I don't give away anything, and as someone with multiple health issues, SIGN ME UP!!!!! NOW!!!!! Click through to the 12 minute video. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Mother Jones — [Missouri] State Rep. Stacey Newman, a Democrat, prefiled a bill this week for the next legislative session that, if passed, would subject potential gun buyers to the same rigmarole of restrictions—a 72-hour waiting period, an explanatory video, a doctor meeting, a facility tour, reviews of photographs, and more—that are already imposed on or have been proposed for Missouri women seeking abortions.

In my opinion, this seems very reasonable, especially given the recent spate of mass shootings. Are Republicans trying to say that the life of a zygote is more precious than the lives of 20 grade one children, or eight African American church members, or seventeen adults with families to support and love? When we drive a vehicle, we must have training, a license, insurance etc. Why not when buying a gun which can be equally deadly? Of course, this is just too much common sense for any Republican.

My Universe —

On the Edge–12/4/2015

Posted by TomCat at 11:39 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 042015

Yesterday was relatively easy. PT (Becky) had me see Wow many times I can stand from a sitting position, with no rest in between. She stopped me at eight, but I could have continued. She also had me practice stand-pivot transfers, rotating toward George, the more difficult direction. I did not see OT (Courtney).

Short Takes:

From Media Matters: Right-wing radio host Alex Jones is suggesting that a mass shooting that claimed at least 14 lives in San Bernardino, California “appears to be geared to elicit widespread public outrage.” Jones pushed the conspiracy theory only a few hours after an interview with GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, where the candidate praised Jones’ “amazing” reputation.

Jones and his website frequently promote far right-wing conspiracy theories arguing that high-profile mass shootings and other tragic events are staged by the government. He has claimed that both the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting and Aurora, Colorado, movie theater mass shooting were “staged.”

The Hairball and Jones are a perfect diabolical match.

From Daily Kos: This execution took place earlier today (Wednesday, Dec 2nd) in the Bayview District of San Francisco.

Another day, another murder by police.

From NY Times: While the nation suffered through the shock of another bloody massacre, on Thursday every Senate Republican except Mark Kirk of Illinois voted against legislation to prevent people on the F.B.I.’s consolidated terrorist watchlist from purchasing guns or explosives.

The measure has been introduced repeatedly since 2007. The Government Accountability Office has documented that over years of congressional blockage, hundreds of suspected terrorists on the watchlist bought guns.

Republicans are fighting to preserve gun manufacturers’ profits derived from sales to terrorists.

Cartoon:

A day of wailing and gnashing of teeth for today’s Republicans.

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