Mayor Ted Wheeler presser

Laughable......... this guy has stood by & watched Portland get destroyed, but now that someone has been killed he "denounces" the violence. He's "asking" people to refrain from violent acts. He says we should all hold hands & sing "Kumbaya". He says he's working with local officials to resolve the issues. He says he has a 19-pt. plan for reform, as the police chief stands there & explains to the press that they have finite resources & can't be everywhere at once. Wheeler is trying to shift the blame every time a question gets asked. This is the what you get under lib rule......congrats, Portlanders. This is the dung you elected to watch your city burn.

 You, Mr. Wheeler, are a moron.

Kate Brown is equally responsible. I just wrote something about her in another thread. I signed an impeachment petition months ago but now i'm thinking about collecting signatures myself.

Odd.  One can simple change the name from Wheeler to trump and it would make even more sense.

Except for the 183,597 innocent lives lost on trump's watch

(and counting toward 317,000 by December, and possibly 350,000 y the time Biden takes office)

modern record UNemployment and UNDERemployment,

modern record DEFICIT and crippling National Debt,

Not the subject of this thread.

 What's happening up here is a friggin shame. This used to be a cool part of the country.

Brown and Wheeler probably thought the riots would fade away after a short time and they could get away with doing nothing. Their wait it out response only emboldened these guys and now they are fuked. Months of riots and violence is on these officials alone and no one else.

Has anyone noticed the majority of these violent mofos are white?  I know people like to be partisan about who belongs to what but these guys are sheer anarchist with zero political affiliation in my opinion.  They don't give a crap about BLM or police brutality, they just want to fvck shit up.

It's the first of the month. Time for all of the Dems to run along and go fetch their government assistance. I don't see any of them protesting that.

I'm willing to bet "Dems" hold far more wealth in this country and there are a fair share of "Repubs?" ...in this country that are on government assistance. You know things have gotten quite ridiculous when grown men can't be bothered to type out the words "democrat" and "republican" 

Well you got me Stu. I am guilty of abbreviation. That's a much lesser offense than some of the Democrats on this site. 

As far as which party holds more wealth that indeterminable fact has nothing to do with lazy non productive segments of the population making a living on government assistance a lifestyle choice. 

I did see that many of the arrested rioters have been discovered to be collecting UNEMPLOYMENT benefits which has spurned a new Federal Bill called the "Peaceful Protests Act". These losers sleep all day and riot all night and have no interest in being a productive member of society by holding jobs and paying taxes to support our great nation. It's about time that they get their umbilical cord cut off of the government's nipple. 

This bill arrived on August 28th thanks to Jim Banks (R-Ind.). The bill will immediately end unemployment assistance to "protestors" that engage in violence or destruction of property. 

This is a step forward in putting a stop to this nonsensical violence and property destruction. I believe everyone on this site will support this new bill. Finally something we can all agree on.

The abbreviation thing seemed more directed specifically at you than it actually was but was very in line with what caused me to respond. You guys, on both sides, go back and forth, endlessly, "The Demorats are this..." or  "The Trumptards are that..." and make arguments based not on politics but based on stereotypical, and often blatantly incorrect, characterizations. Very little in the form of actual politics gets discussed in the political forum. So when I see statements like, "Time for all the Dems to go fetch their government assistance." I have to call it out. It's not because I take offense. I'm not a democrat and have never been on any form of public assistance. I call it out because it's bullshit. You take a segment of the democratic population and super-impose that over the entire party. You ignore all the wealth held, all the tax dollars contributed, by democrats and reduce the entire party to one fringe segment of society. Not too mention ignoring all of the Trump republicans out there on public assistance.

I feel just as insulted when people, many on this site, push the narrative that all Trump supporters are uneducated, racist, rednecks. That it's impossible for anyone to back Trump solely based on politics and platform  I swear, sometimes I think some of you exist in boxes. Hives. That you haven't encountered people from different walks of life with different belief systems. It causes you to believe others fit neatly in boxes as well. The world, and definitely this country, isn't like that.

Umbilical cord cut off from the governments nipple? Your analogies don't even make sense.

Syntax aside, this is a great bill. I also would like to see a bill where anyone on unemployment must perform community service. Make them clean shit up. 

Great post.  I'm not a Trump fan in the slightest but whenever I hear someone make generalizations about his supporters I correct them and tell them that form of rhetoric will insure we are forever at each other's throats.  Deep down, if you dissected the common folks, we deal with the same shit on the daily basis but we allow ourselves to be divided by some of these career politicians who wouldn't know their asshole from a hole in the wall.

I give people the benefit of the doubt usually.  People really need to stop the partisan bickering because it does absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.

It was a joke Stu but I think you got the point. The bill would be a great accomplishment if it passes. We simply can not have people on the street committing acts of violence while collecting unemployment. Community service for all on unemployment would be another positive reform. There is no reason for this segment of the population to sleep all day and reek havoc and destruction all night while being supported by the government they are "protesting". 

Mate, just an fyi.  I was on unemployment recently due to a covid related layoff/furlough.  I spent most of my days looking for gainful employment.  If I had to do community service, I probably wouldn't be able to grind effectively to land my current gig.  You need to stop looking at everything through a vacuum and talk to some people who are actually unemployed.  Being unemployed is the worst feeling in the world.  I was sitting around my house 3-4 months going stir crazy.  I couldn't leave the house because of the quarantine.  It felt worst like jail.

I hope you found employment somewhere, my heart goes out to those that covid has hurt financially during this quarantine. I also see what gambleholic is saying. I don't have an answer for people that riot and are getting unemployment but Stu had a great point about cleaning stuff up. How do we stop unemployed rioters from getting benefits without penalizing people actually looking for work?

I found a really sweet job to be honest.  Probably the best one I've ever had.  I just think there are always going to be opportunists who will gain the system.  I think a majority of people are trying to find employment.  That feeling of helplessness that you can't even pay your bills really brings the anxiety to the forefront.  You watch your savings dwindle and just wonder what you can do.  People tend to past judgement on things they know nothing about.  I wish unemployment benefits were stronger.  That boost didn't even cover my previously salary by a long shot but people were quick to point out that people were making too much money from unemployment.  I literally found my current gig right as the boost expired so I am really a fortunate in that regard.

This new proposed bill takes away benefits ONLY if a person is convicted of riot violence.

(excerpted for brevity and higlight)

It's "political bigotry" and it 'aint pretty.

Yes, it's common to both sides, but NOT necessarily EQUAL to both sides.
I've witnessed far more "political bigotry" from the right than the left,
and it is at least "partly inherent" in the traditional identifiers.
trump's lies and demonizing of everything and everyone who refuses
to bow before him and stroke his ego, is another cause.

When you read these dictionary definitions keep this in mind: our world
is constantly changing, evolving...and much more rapid the past 50 years.

Conservatives:

* a person who is averse to change  and holds traditional values
* tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions
* a person favoring free enterprise,  private ownership,  and socially traditional ideas.
     Often contrasted with liberal.

Liberals:

* willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one's own;
       open to new ideas.
* a supporter of a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights,
       civil liberties,  democracy,  and free enterprise

About "political bigotry":
https://fee.org/articles/the-most-pervasive-bigotry-isnt-what-you-think/
https://impiousdigest.com/political-bigotry-is-still-bigotry-period/