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
Fair point, and as I certainly no expert on either Putin or Russia, I won't speculate further.
In other news, I think this picture may make some people's day
For those who don't want to or are unable to click, it's a picture of a former Trump supporter outside a building where Trump was giving a speech. He's holding a gigantic sign saying "I've made a huge mistake." Only way it could have been better is if he spelled it yuge.
Authoritarianism—or just tyrannical bosses—in general have a chilling effect on good advice as employees become more risk averse.
That said, I'm sure the Russian leadership know this. Oil fluctuations have been used against them for at least half a century when the Saudis tried to undercut Soviet production. They're likely moving as best as the Russian state apparatus can accomplish.
Stateside, the GOP is arguing about who would do the best job of licking Trump's boots: Gray hires rival’s staff, defends Trump credentials in Georgia special election
Jack Melton, the former campaign manager for tea party activist Amy Kremer, said the Republican side of the April 18 special election appears to be between Gray and former Secretary of State Karen Handel – and that Gray was his pick “as the only conservative outsider in this race.”
Many Republican analysts now see Democrat Jon Ossoff, who has become a fundraising dynamo for national Democrats, as a shoo-in to lock up one of the spots in a likely June 20 runoff to win the seat, which stretches from east Cobb to north De Kalb. That’s prompted the 11 Republicans in the 18-candidate field scrambling for a slice of the electorate to sharpen their attacks on each other and Ossoff in the final month before the vote.
Gray, a former Johns Creek city councilman, has faced his own questions about the depth of his support for Donald Trump, who he has put at the center of his campaign. Other Trump loyalists have accused him of papering over his past support for Trump’s rivals in the 2016 primary, pointing to social media posts purported to be from Gray critical of the president.
“The Republicans cannot afford to lose this seat to the liberal Democrat Ossoff by putting forward a fatally flawed candidate, who now appears to have not only been lying throughout the campaign about not being a politician but has been lying about his support for Donald Trump in an effort to try and further his political career,” said former state Sen. Judson Hill, another GOP contender.
Gray spokesman Joash Thomas on Saturday called the allegations “simply fake and untrue” and pointed to Gray’s work at Trump’s Georgia campaign office during the campaign as “something that can’t be photo-shopped.”
“Failing campaigns always attack first,” he said. “It’s not surprising that we’re a target.”
Funny that führerprinzip should come up 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
Intelligence Chairman (R-CA for those interested) and a Ranking Democrat on the House Committee both didn't find any proof on the "Obama Wiretapping Trump" claims
. Meaning that Trump's accusations are still unsubstantiated.
edited 19th Mar '17 12:38:22 PM by MorningStar1337
Well duh.
edited 19th Mar '17 12:42:56 PM by HextarVigar
Your momma's so dumb she thinks oral sex means talking dirty.Just read an interesting article where the author made a point that Hunter S Thompson predicted the rise of "Trumpism" in his book about the Hell's Angels. It was an interesting read, the main point being that a lot of Trumpists likely voted out of a sense of "total retaliation". I can get the link if anyone is interested.
Maybe not his core supporters, but the ones who voted for him because they thought Clinton would be worse. And then Trump proceeded to literally do almost everything he accused her of.
Also, the "America needs respect" people because it's dawning on them that Trump's a laughingstock and no one in the world respects him. People don't even fear him right for these people. People don't fear Trump for his power. They fear him for his stupidity.
More people weigh in: Claims GCHQ wiretapped Trump 'nonsense' - NSA's Ledgett
A commentator on Fox News had claimed that GCHQ had carried out the activity on America's behalf, but Mr Ledgett said the claim showed "a complete lack of understanding in how the relationship works".
Each side, he said, was prohibited from asking the other partner to carry out acts that they were prohibited from doing.
He also said the huge risks to the UK in carrying out such an act would completely outweigh any benefits.
"Of course they wouldn't do it. It would be epically stupid," he told me.
GCHQ had also dismissed the allegation as nonsense.
The same article, slightly different topic
Last week there were claims that the CIA - along with Britain's MI 5 - had found vulnerabilities in some "smart" TV sets which allowed them to be turned into bugging devices.
Mr Ledgett emphasised that the mission of the NSA was to focus on foreign intelligence and not domestic.
He said that 90% of vulnerabilities in systems that the NSA spotted were reported to companies so they could fix them. And any vulnerabilities that the agency sought to leave in place to exploit for intelligence gathering needed to be approved by other government agencies.
"There's a fringe narrative out there that the US and UK and all these other governments are willy-nilly just exploiting every vulnerability in every device they can in order to gather information into a big pile and then root through it for interesting things. That's not what we do at all."
He acknowledged that the debate around the NSA's power was healthy, but said the way it came about was bad, referring to the Edward Snowden revelations.
He said that while he would not point to specific terrorist attacks or deaths as a result of disclosures, the NSA had seen one thousand "entities" (such as terrorist groups or foreign military units) which had tried to change behaviour to avoid surveillance.
It looked more like the tea partiers were a reaction to President Obama than "the establishment," and, going off the earlier White Socialism article, a reaction to the expansion of civil and economic rights. They may end up being Trump's staunchest supporters no matter how they dress it up with "fiscal responsibility." And they wouldn't be the first apparently odd couple. The evangelicals—of moral guardianship and all—went for Trump over Cruz by a landslide.
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 livesWell according to Gallup his approval rating is at an all-time low of 37%.
It's dipped below 40% twice before, but only for a single day on both occasions. If it stays below 40% for the next few days it could be a sign that his support base is starting to crack.
Normally new presidents go through a 'honeymoon period' for the first few months after the election, and drop off to whatever their baseline is after that. So, if that held true this time, mid 40s is what Trump's approval ceiling looks like.
His approval ratings for the first month, are, be to clear, the worst on record. note
edited 19th Mar '17 3:07:56 PM by Gilphon
Anyone know anything more about this CNN report?
Trump may move GOP health care bill to the right, dooming it in the Senate
The political calculation is setting off a domino effect on Capitol Hill.
Just days to go before a Thursday vote on the House GOP bill, moderate Republicans have already expressed deep reservations about making drastic reforms to the current health care system. Making additional changes to satisfy conservatives is certain to strengthen opposition among centrist Republicans.
But moving the bill to the right dooms the proposal in the Senate, where the GOP has a razor-thin majority.
![]()
![]()
In Bush's case the main reason it took so long for his approval rating to drop before 50% is because it took so long for the patriotic fervor caused by the 9/11 terrorist attacks to completely fade. His approval rating spiked all the way up to 90% in the immediate aftermath of the attacks when it had previously been in the 50-60% range.
Because of this, he shouldn't be seen as a "typical case" when it comes to the trends Presidential approval ratings follow.
Pretty much every president will have moments where they're pretty much hated. Even George Washington had a period in like 1793 where there were effigies of him burning in every American city. Trump is unprecedented in that he started off deeply unpopular and pretty much stayed that way.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

I don't think Putin is dumb enough to turn down decent advice, as long as it conforms to his goals/worldview. There was a time when Sean Hannity actually said we should invest in green technology- not because climate change is a real threat, but so we're not wasting money in the Middle East.