The Rational Independent

https://www.businessinsider.com/sinema-manchin-clarence-thomas-vacations-harlan-crow-megadonor-republican-2023-4?utm_source=reddit.com Today we have a lightweight follow-up article to the brewing controversy over Justice Thomas’s lavish vacations. Now we find that the same donor gave money to troublesome Democrat Senators. Shocking! Weak tea journalism in my opinion. Happy Friday everyone! Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow In a 4,000 word article, ProPublica goes into excruciating detail discussing the many luxurious gifts and experiences given to Justice Thomas over the last few decades from a Republican ‘mega donor’. While it appears Justice Thomas has not violated any disclosure laws (as there appears to be no laws on the books requiring disclosure from Supreme Court Justices who receive gifts) it does feel pretty unsavory to not be more open about the gifts you’ve received and the potential corruption / conflicts of interest that such behavior often breeds. Not a straightforward topic, we discuss it and compare this article to the one regarding the recent election of Judge Janet to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/us/politics/wisconsin-supreme-court-protasiewicz.html The New York Times published a jubilant article regarding yesterday’s election for a vacant seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The winner was the candidate who campaigned as a clearly partisan political actor. The likely fallout from such a victory will be some short term policy wins for the Democrats (how you celebrate murdering more babies is beyond me) and a continual homogenization of the political process. The virtue of having the judiciary as a co-equal 3rd branch of government is to provide a steadying hand at the tiller, relatively immune to the vagaries of the electoral mob. No judge is completely impartial, that goes against human nature, but as an ideal it’s not a terrible thing to aspire towards. Here the Democrats have shown that’s not how you win seats on the bench. Oh, and spending millions of dollars of out-of-state money on a state contest probably didn’t hurt either. Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.commondreams.org/news/tennessee-gop-fascists-expel-democrats When a pet political cause for Republicans leads to the disruption of a legislative session for Congress, that is called a ‘insurrection’. When a pet political cause for Democrats leads to disruption of a legislative session for the Tennessee House, that is called a ‘protest’. Regardless of your personal political stripe, I’d hope you agree that it’s not useful to disrupt the normal order of business. “Make your voices heard, peacefully and patriotically”. What do you think about the Republicans efforts in Nashville to expel the Democratic Reps in the wake of this kerfuffle? Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-60-minutes-parkland_n_642a522be4b02a8d518f6014 Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene has clearly said some kooky stuff over the years. That’s something for which she should be held to account. The most logical way to do that is to bring her on to a mainstream platform for an interview and then present her kookiness and ask her to defend it. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Now, on the whole, I actually like MTG and I think it’s good to get fresh voices into the Congress to shake up the status quo. I think she’s a little too eager to jump on conspiracy theories, but we all say and think foolish things from time to time. But whether I like her or not, I must state unequivocally that calls to shame Leslie Stahl for ‘platforming’ MTG are evil and dangerous. If you’re afraid to bring a kooky fringe thinker into the scrutiny of mainstream views, it means that you don’t think your narrative can withstand the challenge from the fringe thinker. If that’s the case then you’ve run far afield from objective reality and that will inevitably end in disaster. Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7ewxx/trump-gag-order-manhattan-da Careful what precedent you set while you’re in power. The shoe will eventually be on the other foot. Make it a comfy one. Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.businessinsider.com/nashville-covenant-school-andy-ogles-gun-family-photo-for-christmas-2023-3 So, today sucks. Again. The senseless loss of innocent life is awful. And if we all keep doing what we’ve been doing we will keep getting what we’ve been getting. We propose some solutions to the issue of gun violence. Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/twitter-ban-marjorie-taylor-greene-b2309784.html Follow-on issues from the Nashville shooting. Twitter puts Rep. Marjorie Tayler-Greene in temporary Twitter jail for saying mean things. Contrary to popular belief, if we as a society succeed in banning speech that is uncomfortable to hear or that offends us we will only drive those ideas underground where they will fester. Nut-bags don’t stop being nut-bags if you manage to put tape over their mouths. That just makes them angry and increases the chances of future violence from those who have been silenced. Like the video if you agree, comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/27/1166173049/donald-trump-investigations-republican-voters-2024-presidential-election So NPR released a poll about the swirling threats to indict President Trump for a variety of malfeasance. Shockingly, it found that 9 out of 10 Democrats don’t like Trump and 8 out of 10 Republicans like Trump and the rest of the country is pretty much split down the middle. Earth shattering news, but that’s what Reddit fed us today. Enjoy! Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.businessinsider.com/aoc-rosa-parks-too-woke-gop-book-ban-race-textbook-2023-3 It’s hard to take a Congressional Rep seriously who insists on straw-manning her opponent. This is why politics is so infuriating. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-lawyer-evan-corcoran-audio-recordings-1789786 President Trump is a sloppy person. He’s dynamic and charming and effective at motivation, but he doesn’t measure his words or his actions. From an alleged affair with a porn star to alleged mishandling of classified documents, his sloppy approach leaves him open to attacks from political opposition. We discuss this as well as our updated publishing schedule in today’s Rant. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/mar/09/fentrice-driskell/1-every-3-ron-desantis-spends-federal-government-y/ Have you ever cared to dive into the intricacies of federal transfer payments? How about Medicaid reimbursements? 
Yeah, me neither. But I guess if Politifact wants to find a way to make Ron DeSantis look bad they’ll even try to scratch up a tiff over the ratio of federal government contributions to state budget expenditures. There’s actually a pretty cool (if nerdy) discussion nested in this tiff regarding the constitutionality of our current system of transfer payments between the federal government and individual state governments. But I don’t want to completely bore you to death. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-budget-tax-rich-corporations “Tax the rich” is a dangerous mentality. Easy for it to grow until it become “Eat the rich”. If a society embraces that extreme then everyone ends up equal in poverty. Callous politicians like President Biden push class envy for their own benefit. We discuss. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/11/lauren-boebert-grandmother-conservatives-the-week-in-patriarchy I felt slimy after recording today’s Reddit Rant. This article contains the kind of cultural commentary that leads to real harm. It’s both gross and sad. Enjoy? Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/09/us-debt-biden-budget-failure/ Well, today’s Rant is a BUMMER. We’re talking about debt and US fiscal policy and it’s just a mess. Digest at your own peril. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/09/donald-trump-have-let-putin-annex-ukraine-end-war/ Ukraine vs Russia is a huge mess with a long history. Today’s article tries to make Trump into a bad guy by saying he’d allow Putin to annex (part?) of Ukraine. While I don’t agree that Trump is the “bad guy” I also don’t think he’s the savior for this conflict. Putting Trump back in office doesn’t fix this issue, at best it only delays it for a few years. Put simply, the Ukraine conflict is the nexus point for a whole spider web of interconnected current issues. We break some of them down but it’s a challenge to keep discussion of this topic on-point. Enjoy! Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3885499-frost-on-desantis-targeting-black-lgbtq-transgender-people-its-fascism/ Fascism is a fun “ism” word that gets thrown around loosely in certain circles. The thing is, it does have an actual definition. And I don’t think the author of this particular article understands the word that he is using. We talk about it. Let me know what you think. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/opinion/desantis-florida-free-speech-bill.html The NYT sets its sights on Florida as more pending legislation from the land of oranges and sunshine draws the ire of the leftist media machine. It’s intriguing to me when I see so many different outlets all beating the same drum. Almost like they talk to each other. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-anti-trans-bill-court-custody-kids-gender-affirming-care-2023-3 We go big picture today on the Reddit Rant. The highly charged political conversations around gender are indicative of deeper issues, not easily addressed at a legal/political level. I know I’m stepping into a minefield here, but I firmly believe that critical thinking is a tool that can enable us to engage with these sensitive topics successfully. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/florida-bill-would-require-bloggers-who-write-about-governor-to-register-with-the-state/ For today’s Reddit Rant we travel to the wild world of local Florida News. Apparently there’s a state senator there who introduced a bill to mandate registration and fees for bloggers who write about the executive branch. Newspapers are excluded from this requirement. As a rule, the First Amendment is first for a reason. I’ve never been a fan of credentialism, it stratifies society and creates unnecessary barriers to entry. Competition is requisite for a free society, especially in the marketplace of ideas. This law is a bad idea. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-324365

https://www.businessinsider.com/then-vs-now-cost-of-tuition-supreme-court-justices-graduated-2023-3 You would think that an outlet like Business Insider would be good with numbers. You know, able to provide insight to their audience about the many variables that contribute to complicated questions like tuition costs changing over time. Nope, seems like they’re just eager to shill for a blatant power grab by a sympathetic administration. That’s disappointing. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-324365

https://rumble.com/v2amp9y-tri-2232023-reddit-rant-east-palestine-is-apparently-trumps-fault.html https://youtu.be/LL89mfWjPsI Original video in the link above. The argument raised by Business Insider and others that the train derailment in East Palestine was Trump’s fault because he rolled back some Obama-era rail regulations. Turns out that’s complete hogwash. Grrr. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-324365

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/11ervcv/rep_lauren_boebert_gets_absolutely_schooled_by/ Rep. Lauren Boebert gets into a passive-aggressive exchange with Rep. Jamie Raskin. This sort of interaction is one reason why Congress is so ineffective. When politicians focus on trying to get a soundbite for the news cycle instead of negotiating in good faith, everyone loses. HuffPost discusses the snitfit and we discuss Huffpost. Enjoy! Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-324365

https://www.businessinsider.com/murdoch-gave-kushner-confidential-information-about-biden-dominion-2023-2 More stuff coming out as Dominion releases some yummy nuggets of corruption that it found through discovery in its lawsuit. Shouldn’t be shocking to anyone paying attention, but it appears that Rupert Murdoch gave the Trump administration a sneak peek of Biden’s ads during the 2020 cycle. Not really pertinent to the whole “Dominion v Fox” thing, but it’s a juicy bit of gossip and helps to further the anti-Trump narrative, so let’s dish it up! This sort of thing makes me feel slimy. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-324365