#krystal ball

[celebritiesinthepose]

Krystal Ball

[houseofbrat]

In Philadelphia, PENNSYLVANIA.

So...are we to assume Kamala is intent on picking PA Governor Josh Shapiro? Seems like it by announcing it in Philadelphia. I don't know why else she would announce not in someone's home state.

But picking Shapiro just proves how bad Kamala's political thinking and instincts are.

And also her timing.

— Student protests and Gaza. No issue has divided the Democratic coalition like the war in the Middle East. Shapiro’s strong support for Israel is arguably in line with other top Dems, but critics cite his reluctance to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and in particular his strong stance against pro-Palestinian student demonstrators, using his platform to urge Penn to shut down its protest encampment and even seeming to compare pro-Palestinian activists to “white supremacists” in interviews. But Shapiro has also spoken out against Palestinian civilian casualties, and his supporters say activists’ focus on the one VP finalist who is Jewish smacks of antisemitism. — Handling of sexual harassment. The Shapiro administration last year agreed to pay $295,000 to a former female aide who accused a long-time political associate of the governor — Mike Vereb, his legislative secretary, a cabinet post — of making unwanted sexual advances and frequent lewd talk. Female lawmakers in both parties have criticized the administration — which cites a non-disclosure agreement for not talking about the case — for an alleged lack of transparency. The Democratic candidate for state treasurer — political outsider Erin McClelland — sent shock waves through the veepstakes when she tweeted that she wanted a VP “who doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug.”

This is a hopeful moment for the whole left-liberal coalition. The vibes, for once, are good. Almost every leftist I know is excited about Harris and thinks Trump is beatable. With a newly united party behind her, there are only so many ways Harris can screw it up, but one seems all too plausible: She could select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate. On paper, it’s understandable why Shapiro is among the leading candidates reportedly being vetted by Harris. Like nearly all of the veep contenders, he’s a white male governor with a centrist reputation. At 51, he’s even younger than Harris and a fresh face, having only held his current job for 18 months. He has already shown himself to be a more than capable administrator, generating a lot of good publicity for repairing a damaged section of Interstate 95 within two weeks. Most importantly, Pennsylvania is the most valuable swing state in play, worth 19 electoral votes, and Shapiro is very popular there. Unfortunately, Shapiro also stands out among the current field of potential running mates as being egregiously bad on Palestine. It’s not just that he, like many Democrats, is an outspoken supporter of Israel—though he certainly is, having championed Israel’s war against Hamas consistently and without any apparent concern for Palestinian civilians. Shapiro has, moreover, done far more than most Democrats to attack pro-Palestine antiwar demonstrators, in ways that call into question his basic commitment to First Amendment rights. In his previous role as Pennsylvania attorney general, Shapiro championed the state’s constitutionally dubious anti-BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) law against Ben & Jerry’s after the ice cream maker refused to license its product for sale in Israeli settlements. “BDS is rooted in antisemitism,” Shapiro wrote in a statement in 2021, as he condemned a company named for its two Jewish American founders. “The stated goal of this amorphous movement is the removal of Jewish citizens from the region and I strongly oppose their efforts.”

[...] CNN’s John King has already flagged that antisemitism might make the selection of a Jewish vice presidential candidate risky; likewise, calls from the left to oppose Shapiro risk being branded as antisemitic. Shapiro is not, however, the only Jew who has been suggested as a possible running mate for Harris. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has also garnered attention, and he has taken a very different approach to this issue. Asked by the Illinois state politics site Capitol Fax whether he agreed with Jewish organizations calling for the resignation of Northwestern University’s president over a pro-Palestine encampment, Pritzker replied, “I support the Jewish organizations. I’m not about calling for people to step down.” He also drew a distinction between antiwar, pro-Palestinian demonstrators and “some bad actors” engaged in antisemitism, and affirmed the need to protect free speech along with student safety. Most other candidates floated for the V.P. spot have also taken a far less provocative approach to student protests than Shapiro (one partial exception is Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who endorsed some GOP smears of campus protesters in an interview, though he hasn’t shown Shapiro’s same level of fixation). North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper actually drew criticism for making no public statement about an encampment at the University of North Carolina. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said that encampments at the University of Wisconsin were “in good faith,” even as he acknowledged they would eventually need to end. Neither Kentucky’s Andy Beshear nor Minnesota’s Tim Walz made any public statements about similar demonstrations in their states. [...]

Still, his particular hostility toward pro-Palestine activists threatens to blunt the enthusiasm among young progressive voters that Harris has managed to generate in the past few days. It could also undermine the Democratic ticket in Michigan, where Arab American activists have cheered the news of Biden’s withdrawal and are adopting a wait-and-see posture toward Harris. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, the lone Palestinian American in Congress, is currently holding off on endorsing Harris but has expressed interest in engaging with her on ending the war in Gaza. Beyond Arab and Muslim Americans, Harris will need to mobilize thousands of young people across the country not only to vote for her but to knock doors, phone bank, and do all the other kinds of grassroots volunteering that translates into a successful presidential campaign. Younger Americans disproportionately sympathize with Palestinians, which is one reason Biden’s approval numbers have suffered badly over the past year. As long as U.S.-made bombs keep falling on Gaza, this issue won’t go away—protests will haunt the Democratic convention in Chicago next month and the beginning of the fall term on college campuses in September, and the anniversary of the attacks on October 7 will fall 29 days before Election Day.

And what happened recently? Oh, Israel decided to assassinate someone on Iranian territory, pretty close to the new Iranian president.

And we can all tell that a bigger war is coming in the Middle East because the airlines are starting to cancel flights.

So... when is the next attack going to happen? Wouldn't surprise me if it happens next week after Kamala announces her VP pick.

That would be just her luck.

Because let's not forget that Israel is trying to drag the US military directly into this. They can't fight Hezbollah on their own.

[unburdened-by-what-has-been]

Vance is having a very normal day

[kaydub80]

No, Krystal, you grow up. You don't have any sense of urgency and it shows.

[femmmie]

This normally serious news show went so hard with the costumes lmao I love them so much

[fspgrad]

Krystal Ball's CONTROVERSIAL Remarks

[rivage-seulm]

The Mainstream Media Finally Discovers Noam Chomsky: For All the Wrong Reasons

For years, many progressives have complained that the mainstream media (MSM) have ignored perhaps the most insightful political commentator in the western world. I’m referring to Noam Chomsky who in a rare moment of recognition was identified (nearly 45 years ago!) by Time Magazine as “arguably the most important intellectual alive today.” Despite the unaccustomed mainstream kudo, the iconic…

[krystaline]

i lose one life every time i search resources of my chosen fc only to find gif icons ;-;

[psychadelicninja]

I’ve mainly been sketching and making new ideas for future pieces, but I did make a new character.

[houseofbrat]

Well, well, well...

The debate that needed to happen, happened.

Can't pretend we all don't know now.

EXCEPT for this guy:

It was literally a debate that changed history, but the 44th POTUS is doing this:

Straight up gaslighting from Barack Obama about the situation that he caused.

Everyone else has known for a LOOOOONG time.

Here are some tweets from the land of sanity:

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And if you think Kamala is going to save you, well, most people don't think she could win a presidential election.

Can't wait until SCOTUS enters the fray with their last day of their current term ending tomorrow...

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"There are decades where nothing happens, and then there are weeks where decades happen." ~ Vladimir Lenin

[shy-romantic-black-guy]

Watch "F*ck The Media | Krystal Kyle & Friends Podcast" on YouTube

The corporate media will always cover sensationalist stories rather than the ones that actually matter to the people.

[00land24]

While obviously the modern orange jumpsuits is my favorite prison fashion, I do get an nostalgic cute fun feeling of seeing the old black and white striped outfits as seen in Looney Tunes/Tiny Toon cartoons of the past, before prison orange was commonly used in cartoons.

Commission drawn by https://www.instagram.com/muricielaga/

[unitedfrontvarietyhour]

As the unholy trinity that I am (a cis, heterosexual, white man), idk how you ladies put up with us.

[hinata-chan-utaitelover]

I've been looking through Krystal LaPorte's Twitter and watching old HuniCast's with her and Chris. The tweets she made about him after he passed made me cry. She's so sweet, and I know she loved him deeply and vice versa. I hope she can continue with happiness in the future. She just seems so upset in each tweet about him, and it just makes me cry. I hate that this happened....but I hope every day she can remember him with joy and happiness knowing she'll see him again.