Tankies. You hang out on twitter long enough and you learn some “new” vocab words from the previous century. Much like “Nazi” (used to be), it’s a conversation ender.
Well, the way I see the curve, as you head to the extreme right or left, you also creep up the authoritarian axis. 
Me personally, I’m more in the Nordic-style social democracy camp.
Oh, same here. I suppose you can perhaps disagree on the implementation of those issues (i.e. what are the best ways to protect human rights), but the actual issues themselves are non-negotiable.
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I’m leaning Communist in the "state control of key industries, state-regulated default competitors in private industries, and nationalized education.
No private prisons. No large scale private farms. Private pharmaceuticals can exist, but have to compete with nationalized pharmaceuticals. Private hospitals and schools are heavily regulated, and have guaranteed nationalized competitors in all geographies.
Luxury housing in key dense urban areas (e.g., Manhattan)? Nationalized. Profits feed back into the city coffers. Anything that remains private is heavily regulated.
Both a minimum wage and a maximum wage. A maximum net worth.
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Soooo Japan? There is a reason some have joked that Japan is the only truly successful communist country. Also why if shit goes south I’m heading there to teach English. Not glamorous and the pay isn’t great but there will be a roof over my head and food in my stomach and if I get sick I won’t go bankrupt.
So I dunno what’s going on, but Twitter’s reporting that Lindsey Graham Cracker looks “Unhappy”, McYurddle the Turtle looks “stunned”, and Grassley and Flake are nowhere to be found, for a vote that was supposed to happen half an hour ago.
The story I’ve got from CBS and MSNBC is:
-Flake and Democrats in some backroom deal that delayed the vote
-GOP super salty about that
-Flake comes back in and says “We should wait up to a week for an FBI investigation to happen.”
-Flake votes with the rest of the GOP to move to the floor vote.
The net is that Flake is apparently posturing, saying he will vote “no” on the floor unless there’s a hearing. McConnell is not interested in delaying.
So now we see if Flake is in fact McCain 2.0, or if he actually has spine.
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Flake has no back, will flake. He want’s to look like the republican who’s anti trump but is in fact mostly bluffing.
Just setting up someone to appeal to the “see both parties have good and bad” types.
Flake is retiring. He doesn’t care about looking like much of anything to anyone which is why every interview with him about trump has been “Hey, fuck that guy,” for the past year.
I’m aware he’s retiring, but what I mean is he agrees with Trump and them on most things. Sure he can say ‘fuck that guy’ in interviews, but when rubber meets the road, they agree on most things. He may wish he was more polite or some such but, when it comes to tax cuts and social issues. They’re on the same side.
My read on him, is that, like most ‘normal’ republicans, flake doesn’t like these allegations against judge rapist (I keep calling him that partly because it’s true and partly because I can’t be asked to learn to spell his name), but, he thinks it’ll be worth having him on the bench for all the other things that they basically agree on, like taxes and deregulation and yadda yadda usual republican talking points.
Apparently McConnel will go to Trump and the White House to ask for the FBI investigation.
If Trump says no…We will see if Flake has a backbone.
What the fuck… Oliver Twist voice “Please sir, I want an investigation if you please.”
Took long enough.
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Uhhhh…
What makes me inclined to take Flake fairly seriously is Chris Coons involvement. I’ve met Senator Coons, he’s a newer Senator so he doesn’t have the “Good friend across the aisle”-History that Senator Carper has.
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Dun dun DUNNNNNNNNN…
"The texts between Berchem and Karen Yarasavage, both friends of Kavanaugh, suggest that the nominee was personally talking with former classmates about Ramirez’s story in advance of the New Yorker article that made her allegation public…
The texts also demonstrate that Kavanaugh and Ramirez were more socially connected than previously understood and that Ramirez was uncomfortable around Kavanaugh when they saw each other at a wedding 10 years after they graduated."
More evidence…
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Remember, the president can’t pardon state crimes…
I wonder what the statute of limitations is for tax crimes in New York State… Nuts, it looks like it’s only about 5 years according to this law firm:
Still, I guess there must still be some enforcement ability (civil, perhaps) if the criminal statue of limitations has expired and the tax department is looking into it.
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Kavanaugh protesters in DC are being arrested.