Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
I think those Christians who use 2 Corintians to guide their charity decisions should remember Acts 5:1-11—the story of the couple who were supposed to sell all their land and donate the proceeds to the church, keep some for themselves, lie about it when pressed, and get struck down for it.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.
Seriously. Mine cost about $100. Four years ago. It's getting slow but I haven't upgraded because I can't afford to. Speaking from the White Trash Sector, we only buy new tech when we absolutely have to and then we keep them until they break.
The wealthy don't really understand the concept of a thing being broken, because money can buy replacements for everything. They don't get that some of us drive around in thirty year old cars because that's all we can afford, and if the side panelling gets dented, well, that shit stays dented. Ain't worth the cost of the deductible.
edited 16th Mar '17 5:23:10 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.The thing that drives me up the wall about the cell phone thing is that it's being parroted by people who really should know better. Like, people who buy smartphones every so often and can't afford healthcare.
The other thing with a smart phone is that if you get a plan, you generally don't pay for the whole phone all at once.
@Meals on Wheels, elimination would certainly lead to deaths. I know the people in my area who make the deliveries; for a lot of senior citizens and completely disabled it's the only thing keeping them alive. I guess they'd just label them as more parasites dragging the god-fearing red blooded Americans down.
In apopros of nothing, Drumpf's tax returns.
I think there's one important question people, to sound arrogant, should ask: why did he hide that for so long? If everything was on the up and up, why did it take SOMEONE ELSE threatening to release it to get it out?
Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.Why prevent wars when you can fight them with more cash. Must admit. I never thought of it that way...
Trump budget: Rex Tillerson defends foreign aid budget squeeze
Speaking in Japan, he said the level of state department spending in the past had been "simply not sustainable" and he willingly accepted the "challenge".
If Congress backs the budget, and that is far from a done deal, the state department and USAID face cuts of 28%.
Budget savings would benefit the military primarily.
Environmental programmes, medical research and the Amtrak long-distance rail network would all lose out.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the largest source of public broadcasting money in the US, would lose its funding completely.
the US secretary of state said the White House was acting on the expectation that there would be fewer military conflicts involving the US directly "as time goes by" and that its allies would do more themselves to contribute to development aid and disaster assistance.
The state department was "coming off a historically high allocation of resources", he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
"We are going to be able to do a lot with fewer dollars," he said.
Under the budget plans, defence department spending would rise by $54bn (£44bn) or 10%, including $2bn for nuclear weapons, while homeland security would get a 6.8% boost.
In addition, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the maintenance and safety of the nuclear arsenal and its research labs, would gain $1.4bn.
Veterans Affairs would get a rise of 5.9%, or $4.4bn, to meet growing healthcare costs.
In relative terms, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would lose the most, taking a hit of 31.4% or $2.6bn.
However, in dollar terms, health and human services would face the biggest cut of all: $12.6bn or 16.2%. It is not clear what research on diseases or disorders would lose the most money, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Agriculture loses 21% of its budget, labour 21% and transport 13%.
The state department and USAID (US Agency for International Development) between them pay for everything from the diplomatic corps to fighting poverty, promoting human rights and improving healthcare in foreign countries.
A 28% cut would mean the loss of $10bn.
Second. The EU is going to be busier than ever. Hope they're gearing up for it.
As compensation, they can always reap the rewards of US agriculture exiting the market, plus an "American Cost" of poor transportation and labor unrest. Hmph, agriculture sectors everywhere else may get a boom time.
Note: The budget hasn't been passed and GOP M Cs are waxing poetically, but my expectations aren't that high anymore. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
I'm really concerned about the gutting of the US diplomatic corps. If the US doesn't coordinate internationally, no one in US politics (not Trump, the GOP, the Democrats, or any interest group other than Bannon) is going to get their agenda advanced. And you can't run diplomacy out of the Oval Office.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.Not quite true. Only the worst, least democratic, and most militaristic parts of US politics will get their agenda advanced.
edited 16th Mar '17 7:20:01 AM by Zennistrad
![]()
![]()
That would honestly be up to the local politicians. They're the ones averse to spending.
Sebastian Gorka, a top Trump aide, is a sworn member of Vitezi Rend, a Hungarian group known for Nazi collaboration during World War Two
. Members are inadmissible to the US under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and Gorka is suspected of failing to disclose this, despite publicly wearing a badge issued by them at the Trump inauguration, as well as using an initial exclusive to them on government paperwork.
edited 16th Mar '17 7:27:15 AM by Krieger22
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotAnd last I heard (though about a month ago), most of the US ambassadorships and much of its diplomatic corps at the UN still consisted of empty chairs. I wonder where Trump thinks the groundwork for those awesome new dealsTM is going to come from.
And now Trump, who's so good for the every-man (and only men) is cutting the DOL. Well, the labor unions made their bed...Hope they didn't forget the class on kowtowing before management or "How to work with one arm behind your back...in the freezer at home."
edited 16th Mar '17 7:39:58 AM by CenturyEye
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our livesSupporting Effective Instruction State Grants program ($2.4 billion): The White House says the program is "poorly targeted and spread thinly across thousands of districts with scant evidence of impact."
21st Century Community Learning Centers program ($1.2 billion): The formula grants to states support before- and after-school and summer programs. "The programs lacks strong evidence of meeting its objectives, such as improving student achievement," the budget says.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program ($732 million): This financial aid program, known as SEOG, help give up to $4,000 a year to college students based on financial need. The Trump administration says it's a "less well-targeted" program than Pell Grants.
Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program ($190 million): The grants are targeted toward students with disabilities or limited English proficiency.
Teacher Quality Partnership ($43 million): A teacher training and recruitment grant program.
Impact Aid Support Payments for Federal Property ($67 million): Obama also proposed the elimination of this program, which reimburses schools for lost tax revenue from tax-exempt federal properties in their districts.
International Education programs ($7 million): This line item funds a variety of exchange programs, migrant schools and special education services abroad.
Make America Dumber Again
William S. Lind is among the deplorables who got to influence Trump.
edited 16th Mar '17 7:59:07 AM by AngelusNox
Inter arma enim silent legesMeh. Science is voodoo. That's what we voted on after all.
Apologies, but if you were planning on spending the next four years curled up next to the magic dragon, well...Sessions vows crackdown on drug dealing and gun crime
“I am determined that this country will not go backwards,” Sessions said as he addressed law enforcement officials in Richmond. “President Trump gave us a clear directive. It’s the policy of this administration to reduce crime in America, not preside over an increase in crime, but reduce crime.”
Sessions traveled to Virginia’s capital to highlight Project Exile, a two-decades-old federal program that gives felons caught carrying guns mandatory five-year prison sentences.
“The crime rate in our country remains at historic lows,” the attorney general acknowledged in his remarks. “But we’re beginning to see an increase again.”
He attributed that increase to less forceful prosecutions and lower sentences, a declining prison population and a growing opioid epidemic. He also said that “in this age of viral videos and targeted killings of police,” police officers in many communities were afraid to do their jobs.
The solution, Sessions said, is to “hammer” drug dealers and other criminals while bringing back the drug abstinence campaigns of the 1980s and 1990s.
“We have too much of a tolerance for drug use,” Sessions said. “We need to say, as Nancy Reagan said, ‘Just say no.’ There’s no excuse for this, it’s not recreational. Lives are at stake, and we’re not going to worry about being fashionable.”
After his speech, Sessions told reporters he believed “medical marijuana has been hyped, maybe too much.” He added that his office may rethink parts of an Obama-era policy that largely allows individual states to legalize marijuana use.
Critics of Project Exile said the five-year mandatory minimum disproportionately affected poor black Americans. Sessions said he was “sensitive to these issues” but that most people in low-income African American neighborhoods want tough criminal penalties.
Recalling his own time as a prosecutor in Alabama, Sessions said that “the people in those communities pleaded with us to have more police and do a better job getting thugs off the street.”
Oh and yeah blacks are in the crosshairs from the highest levels again, but that's not really news. Not that I don't believe that last part unreservedly.
edited 16th Mar '17 8:14:47 AM by CenturyEye
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives

Go right ahead.
Disgusted, but not surprised