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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#148476: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:37:20 AM

She's already said that there's nothing illegal in her emails. Several times. Which has nothing to do with whether or not the FBI has the authority to investigate them: If people could just say "no nothing's wrong here" and be left alone than the concept of investigation and law enforcement would have literally no meaning. And the reason no one was complaining in September is that the FBI hadn't yet pulled this stupid stunt. You don't complain about an action before it happens.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#148477: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:40:21 AM

@Indirect: Yes, who was saying back in September that the Clinton email thing was smoke and mirrors, other than the entire Democratic establishment? I don't know, you'd have to do an awful lot of searching to find information about that.

Back in September, there was a case to be made that the FBI was doing its job as an impartial federal law enforcement agency. It had not been revealed at the time that there was a cadre of #NeverHillary folks advocating for prosecuting her as a partisan action and threatening to leak information if they didn't get their way.

And, of course, the FBI has had plenty of opportunity to investigate the Trump organization for its multiple cases of fraud, flagrant violations of campaign laws, use of hate speech, tax fraud, and the like, but has apparently declined on the grounds of "not wanting to appear to influence the election". Uh huh.

Meanwhile, Russia's been brazenly interfering in U.S. politics with the overt goal of disrupting the NATO alliance so it can have unfettered influence over Eastern Europe. The FBI can't talk about that, because it might be "too partisan". Sure. And Trump's been his tacit ally by insisting that the U.S. needs to exort protection money from NATO if they want us helping out.

[down] I saw that, too.

edited 4th Nov '16 8:48:23 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#148478: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:46:44 AM

No details yet, but I'm getting notifications that Chris Christie's aides were convicted in that Bridgegate scandal

EDIT: Here we go:

2 former Christie allies convicted in lane-closing scheme: http://bigstory.ap.org/711abcdbc9094802b461869c61c46668&utm_source=android_app&utm_medium=copy_to_clipboard&utm_campaign=share

edited 4th Nov '16 8:48:03 AM by sgamer82

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#148479: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:47:45 AM

Also the current emails aren't even Clinton's.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#148480: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:48:48 AM

@ HallowHawk: Obama's administration is still trying to push for its passing through a lame-duck Congress. The Council of Economic Advisers put out a report yesterday basically saying "if we don't, China will move in to pick up the pieces and US firms lose out" and trying to sway the more free-trade-ish members to pass it.

edited 4th Nov '16 8:49:12 AM by megarockman

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
Shippudentimes Since: Dec, 2012
#148481: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:51:34 AM

Re: Diabetes posts: is type 1/2 Diabetes a thing? Because when I was first diagnosed, I had the genetic material for both type 1 and 2 (requiring insulin and diabetes pills like Metformin), but after a while it slowly transitioned back into type 1 (sole reliance on insulin).

Also, The Washington Post created a system called the Four Pinocchio system, a measuring stick for the amount of lies versus truths they've stated over the campaign trail. It's interesting.

In many ways, it was an unbalanced race. Donald Trump has amassed such a collection of Four-Pinocchio ratings - 59 in all - that by himself he's earned as many in this campaign as all other Republicans (or Democrats) combined in the past three years. His average Pinocchio rating was 3.4. (By contrast, the worst Pinocchio rating in 2012 was earned by Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota - an average of 3.08 Pinocchios.)

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, ended up with an average Pinocchio rating of 2.2. That put her in about the same range as President Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in 2012. (She had a total of seven Four-Pinocchio ratings.) If not for her statements about the email controversy, which earned her lots of Pinocchios, her average rating would have been much lower.

Some interesting highlights of the Pinocchios:

Most absurd facts

Trump repeatedly made claims that boggled the imagination. He said the unemployment rate was 42 percent when it was actually 5 percent. He claimed there were 92 million "jobless Americans," which included everyone who did not want to work, such as retirees and students. He even claimed that he could save $300 billion a year from a Medicare prescription drug program that only costs $78 billion.

Return to sender award

Hillary Clinton earned 24 Pinocchios over the course of the campaign for a series of misleading statements about her private email server arrangement when she was secretary of state. Among other claims, she falsely said the arrangement was permitted, that she had not sent or received classified information, and that the FBI director had said her answers were truthful.

Most imaginary history (GOP version)

Trump repeatedly claimed things that did not happen. He said he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrate the collapse of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He falsely claimed that Hillary Clinton started the "birther" movement that questioned whether Obama was born in the United States. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin called him a "genius" when in fact Putin called him "colorful." And he suggested that the father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) had a hand in John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Most imaginary history (Democratic version)

Hillary Clinton claimed that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act was enacted to thwart an anti-gay constitutional amendment; hacked emails later showed that her staff immediately knew the statement was false. She also claimed that she tried to join the Marines on the eve of her marriage in 1975 but was turned down - a story that did not add up for a number of reasons. And she asserted that Trump opposed the auto bailout in 2009 - when in fact he supported government action.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/11/04/the-biggest-pinocchios-of-election-2016/

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#148482: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:52:53 AM

Yes. Type 1 is autoimmune due to the destruction of insulin-producing cells. Type 2 is due to insulin resistance, typically due to obesity.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#148483: Nov 4th 2016 at 8:57:19 AM

Oh look, a Trump supporter railing about how "the libs" want to shut down free speech, and linking to the Daily Kos as evidence that we are all united in thinking one way—all while not understanding what the FBI did wrong and trying to pretend that Russia is our friend. Colour me shocked.

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#148484: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:03:49 AM

I mean, what we have here is a case of FBI agents conspiring to bring down a Presidential nominee based on a fairly discredited book written by a Breitbart editor.

This is self-evidently not a good thing, and certainly points to major problems within the FBI.

Oh God! Natural light!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#148485: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:12:50 AM

"fairly discredited" — You are being overkind. The book is a hack job commissioned by the primary funder of Breitbart.com and many pro-Trump SuperPACs, a man who has committed his Wall Street fortune to taking down the liberal establishment. This man is named Robert Mercer.

edited 4th Nov '16 9:15:13 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Shippudentimes Since: Dec, 2012
#148486: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:15:28 AM

Speaking of Breidbart, in their store, they're selling coffee mugs now- one that has a picture of Trump with the caption: "Caffinated: Bold. Distinct,", and one with Clinton with the caption of "Decaf: Weak, Bitter." and a popup ad of "Have your name on the Trump Donor Wall". I never knew of them before now, but from that alone, I take they're going the National Enquirer route of endorsing Trump.

edited 4th Nov '16 9:16:33 AM by Shippudentimes

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#148487: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:17:26 AM

Rachel Maddow has discussed the heritage and nature of Breitbart on many occasions; the latest was last night. See here, if you can watch MSNBC online. If not, I'm sure you can find the clips on You Tube.

Breitbart is essentially the hate press of the alt-right. It has been responsible for seeding the vast majority of the anti-Clinton memes you see in the media today, and is directly promoting Donald Trump. Its primary backer is also the largest single contributor to Trump's campaign, and no less than four of his major employees now directly work for Trump, including Steve Bannon, editor-in-chief of Breitbart.com, and Kellyanne Conway, formerly director of the main pro-Trump SuperPAC.

Breitbart trades in the craziest conspiracy theories you can imagine. The Jewish conspiracy is running the world. Obama is a secret Muslim. The Clintons have orchestrated the mass murder of their political enemies. They started the "Clinton is sick" thing. They regularly call for the Republican base to evict long-time Congressmen who "aren't conservative enough" — Paul Ryan, for example, is, according to Breitbart, a Democratic plant.

Breitbart enjoys a comfy partnership with the infamous Infowars website, which also peddles nothing but extremist right-wing conspiracies. They're particularly big on attacking climate science.

Donald Trump appears to get most of his campaign platform and ideas directly from Breitbart.

edited 4th Nov '16 9:33:29 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#148488: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:22:17 AM

@Fighteer: I thought I might have been too charitable there, but I thought it was best to play it safe, rhetorically speaking.

I heard about that Trump "donor wall" thing - naturally, Trump would believe that what everyone desires most is to have their name emblazoned on a wall somewhere.

Speaking of Rachel Maddow, here's that Newsweek article we were discussing yesterday.

Oh God! Natural light!
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#148489: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:22:25 AM

In fairness the calls for a "purge" of the FBI isn't exactly helpful, we don't need a purge, a deep and thorough investigation into partisan use of official positions and powers, sure, a purge? Not so much.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#148490: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:22:33 AM

[up][up][up]I'll just reiterate all of the above. If you've seen a stupid Clinton meme ("She's sick", "she's corrupt") it probably started on Breitbart.

edited 4th Nov '16 9:22:49 AM by AmbarSonofDeshar

Shippudentimes Since: Dec, 2012
#148491: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:31:45 AM

And if we're doing election playlists:

Hours leading to election resuls:

Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain

A Trump victory:

Elvis Costello's "This Sad Burlesque"

Clinton victory:

Rayman Legends' "Mariachi Madness" (A mariachi cover of Survivor's Eye of the Tiger):

Also, don't know if anyone's posted this, but according to the NY Times, 161K new jobs have been added last month and there has been a 4.9% drop in the unemployment rate:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/05/business/economy/jobs-report.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#148492: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:33:09 AM

@Silasw-

I agree. Not to mention that purely for pragmatism reasons, it would look pretty awful for Obama to suddenly fire a lot of people prior to election day- and would probably hurt Clinton's chances- as it would for her to fire a bunch of people right after talking office.

If Coney and others (not purge but like anyone who was screwing around with that Twitter account) are to be fired, that's something you do a few months in on a day when other stuff is happening so it won't receive a lot of news coverage.

edited 4th Nov '16 9:33:32 AM by Hodor2

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#148493: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:34:24 AM

Yeah, a savage lopping of heads wouldn't accomplish much. But there's only so much of this cancer the body can tolerate before it starts to fail.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#148494: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:49:12 AM

Really, I don't think you can deny at this point that the Trump camp has been colluding with the FBI.

Oh God! Natural light!
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#148495: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:50:17 AM

Not sure if this was posted here already, but it looks like al Qaeda may be preparing a November Surprise of their own.

If the FBI was wasting time and effort on Clinton witch hunts instead of dealing with terrorist threats...

Disgusted, but not surprised
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#148496: Nov 4th 2016 at 9:54:19 AM

I'm sure the government's taking the necessary precautions.

Oh God! Natural light!
Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#148497: Nov 4th 2016 at 10:18:13 AM

Per that CNN video linked above, it feels like the only FBI Purge needs to be at their New York branch.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#148498: Nov 4th 2016 at 10:22:25 AM

In a bit of comedy, have Gary Johnson faking a heart attack after Ann Marie Buerkle (the former Congresswoman for my district) claims that marijuana creates a higher risk for a heart attack an hour after its usage.

edited 4th Nov '16 10:26:40 AM by ironballs16

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#148499: Nov 4th 2016 at 10:28:40 AM

It does increase the risk of a heart attack. Not a lot, but it does. That's why people with heart conditions shouldn't use the stuff.

It can also, like excessive alcohol use, mess up your critical thinking skills which would frankly explain a lot about Gary Johnson.

BestOf FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC! from Finland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC!
#148500: Nov 4th 2016 at 10:31:27 AM

I checked 538 just now. They've flipped Florida and North Carolina back to Democrat in Polls-Only. (Polls-Plus, which gives Republicans an edge because they're not the incumbent and the economy is not better than OK, still has NC a bit on the red side - but Florida is light blue.)

As I've mentioned before, 538 assumes that polls have fairly significant margins of error, and they make their predictions based on a huge number (in the tens of thousands) of simulations with the polls weighted according to various criteria. In Polls-Plus there are also some factors that are unrelated to the polls, such as demographics and the state of the economy and the way the state has tended to swing in the past.

If Clinton wins either of North Carolina or Florida and everywhere she's the clear favourite she's got this election.

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

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