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Nov 2023 Mod notice:


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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

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#262501: Nov 21st 2018 at 3:08:30 PM

Because drug trade is an economic activity and thus usually crosses state borders. See Gonzalez v. Raich

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#262502: Nov 21st 2018 at 3:50:00 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/11/21/day-671/

    Day 671: Sad irony 
1/ The White House authorized U.S. military troops deployed at the Mexican border to use lethal force and conduct law-enforcement operations. John Kelly's "Cabinet order" expanded the authority of troops at the border to include "a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention, and cursory search" in order to protect border agents. The order could conflict with the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the military from acting as law enforcement on U.S. soil. (Military Times / Axios)

https://www.axios.com/border-troops-use-of-force-posse-comitatus-b23bca0a-715d-451a-8c3e-c37ee997fe13.html

2/ The White House attacked "activist judges" for temporarily blocking Trump's attempt to refuse asylum to migrants who cross the border illegally. Trump also blamed Monday's ruling against his administration on an "Obama judge," who wrote that Trump's "rule barring asylum for immigrants who enter the country" outside a port of entry "irreconcilably conflicts" with federal immigration laws and "the expressed intent of Congress." Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back on Trump's characterization, saying the U.S. doesn't have "Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges," adding that an "independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for." (NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/c4b34f9639e141069c08cf1e3deb6b84

3/ The House Intelligence Committee's incoming Democratic majority is looking to hire money-laundering and forensic accounting experts for the purposes of examining unanswered financial questions about Trump and Russia. (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/house-intelligence-panel-hiring-money-laundering-sleuths

4/ The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee demanded that Trump say whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Republican Sen. Bob Corker and Democrat Bob Menendez specifically asked whether the administration believed that bin Salman was involved in the murder. Under the Magnitsky Act, Trump can be required to determine whether a global leader was responsible for human rights violations. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/20/senators-trump-khashoggi-killing-1009549

poll/ 15% of Americans say they are "looking forward" to talking about politics at Thanksgiving, 40% "hope to avoid" politics and 45% don’t really care. (CBS News)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-finds-many-americans-hope-to-avoid-political-discussions-at-thanksgiving/

Notables.

A federal judge blocked a Mississippi state law that banned most abortions after 15 weeks, ruling that it "unequivocally" violated women's constitutional rights. Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that "the fact that men, myself included, are determining how women may choose to manage their reproductive health is a sad irony not lost on the court." (Reuters / CNN/ NPR)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-mississippi/in-mississippi-u-s-senate-race-a-hanging-remark-spurs-democrats-idUSKCN1NP15Q

A federal judge in Detroit declared that a law banning female genital mutilation is unconstitutional. He dismissed charges against two doctors and six others accused of subjecting at girls to the cutting procedure, writing that "as despicable as this practice may be," Congress did not have the authority to pass the law that criminalizes female genital mutilation, and that it's a matter for the states to regulate. (USA Today / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-genital-mutilation-idUSKCN1NP2OR

Both parties have reached an impasse as a partial government shut down looms two weeks away. Trump wants Republicans to secure at least $5 billion to pay for his border wall, which is much more than Democrats are willing to give. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/21/trump-border-wall-congress-government-shutdown-1009349

U.S. farmers are having trouble selling massive stores of grain that would usually be sold to Chinese buyers. As the trade dispute with China continues, farmers across the country are either letting their crops rot or plowing them under instead of harvesting as they wait and hope for better prices next year. (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-grains-idUSKCN1NQ0GA

Robert Mueller still wants to question Trump about his actions in the White House, in addition to the written answers Trump submitted in response to questions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Rudy Giuliani signaled that the Trump team would fight any questions they believe violate executive privilege – especially if they relate to potential obstruction of justice. (Politico / CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/21/politics/rudy-giuliani-robert-mueller/index.html

Mueller asked a federal judge to order George Papadopoulos to start serving time in prison on Monday as scheduled. Papadopoulos asked to delay his two-week prison sentence while a constitutional challenge to the special counsel's appointment in a separate case in Washington is resolved. Mueller's team responded that Papadopoulos waived his rights to appeal when he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/special-counsel-urges-judge-to-order-former-trump-campaign-aide-to-prison-monday-as-scheduled/2018/11/21/d41072b8-eda4-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html

WTFJHT won't be posting Thursday or Friday, but offer Current Status, a news tool the site's creator built, to keep track of things in the meantime.

Edited by sgamer82 on Nov 21st 2018 at 4:53:27 AM

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#262503: Nov 21st 2018 at 3:52:51 PM

[up][up]Unless I'm missing something, performing any operation comes with costs attached: rent, equipment, consumables, energy bills and employees. Maybe even layers of insurance. Which kind of need some form of remuneration to, you know, cover at all?

Which means... FGM will involve transactions, whatever their nature. Some of which will be cross-state, by dint of, well... this particular "procedure" being less legal in some states than in others.

Soooooooo... Yeah. It's federal. Or, at least, as federal as the IRS gets.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Nov 21st 2018 at 11:56:17 AM

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#262504: Nov 21st 2018 at 3:54:32 PM

Considering that in some places circumcision is still performed with simply a flint knife and some disinfectant, I don't think FGM would require all that much in the way of professional facilities either.

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#262505: Nov 21st 2018 at 3:58:12 PM

[up]You have some fun googling ahead of you, mate. Because... the girl version is a smidge more involved than you seem to currently realise.

And, involves a lot more incidental deaths. The, how shall I say it... *cough* "full Egyptian", in particular, is enough to scare you for life.

[down]Nonetheless, google it. Also: bear in mind that most parts of Africa was, by necessity, leaps ahead of both China and Europe in most forms of surgery and disease prevention. Until relatively recently (C19th). And, even then... the more extreme forms of FGM are not all that old. The oldest versions are the tamest. However, initiation ceremonies got more extreme as time went on.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Nov 21st 2018 at 12:07:12 PM

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#262506: Nov 21st 2018 at 3:58:58 PM

[up]They're performing them in the first place, I don't think that's a very high concern.

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#262507: Nov 21st 2018 at 4:24:40 PM

From the current status page, I found this: "American Troops at Border Won’t Have Guns, Mattis Says"

How they are intended to employ lethal force confuses me. Is this mixed messages? Backpedaling? Mattis keeping the boss from blowing up the world?

Edited by DeMarquis on Nov 21st 2018 at 7:24:57 AM

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#262508: Nov 21st 2018 at 4:31:42 PM

[up]They're not intended to employ lethal force because they're not allowed to employ lethal force. The troops are only there for various logistical and support tasks.

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#262509: Nov 21st 2018 at 4:34:50 PM

[up]Sort of? That's what they were originally sent for, but as of the latest order from Kelly, they're allowed to protect BP agents if necessary. However, if they still aren't allowed to carry firearms, then that kind of defeats the purpose.

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#262510: Nov 21st 2018 at 4:45:42 PM

That sounds more like empty platitudes to placate Trump than anything. Even when we were activated for last year's California fires as guards to prevent looting evacuated areas, they just gave us weapons and no ammunition to go with them.

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#262511: Nov 21st 2018 at 4:47:39 PM

I think it's the presence of soldiers alone that's supposed to intimidate people,fear is a powerful weapon

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#262512: Nov 21st 2018 at 5:02:46 PM

Some really great news for once:

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a Mississippi state law that sought to forbid most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, writing a sharply worded opinion with implications for states weighing similar measures. Gov. Phil Bryant signed H.B. 1510, also known as the Gestational Age Act, in March, pledging his "commitment to making Mississippi the safest place in America for an unborn child."

The law made exceptions only for medical emergencies or cases in which there's a "severe fetal abnormality." There were no exceptions for incidents of rape or incest.

The next day, the sole facility providing abortion services in Mississippi sued to prevent the law from taking effect, setting off months of legal challenges culminating in Tuesday's ruling.

US District Judge Carlton Reeves of Mississippi's Southern District, who was appointed by President Obama, wrote that the law "unequivocally" infringes upon a woman's 14th Amendment due process rights and defies Supreme Court precedents. Citing evidence that viability begins at between 23 and 24 weeks, Reeves wrote that "there is no legitimate state interest strong enough, prior to viability, to justify a ban on abortions." "The state chose to pass a law it knew was unconstitutional to endorse a decadeslong campaign, fueled by national interest groups, to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade," Reeves wrote. "This court follows the commands of the Supreme Court and the dictates of the United States Constitution, rather than the disingenuous calculations of the Mississippi Legislature."

Furthermore, he called the Legislature's professed interest in women's health "pure gaslighting," pointing to evidence of the state's high infant and maternal mortality rates.

"Its leaders are proud to challenge Roe but choose not to lift a finger to address the tragedies lurking on the other side of the delivery room, such as high infant and maternal mortality rates," he wrote in a footnote. "No, legislation like H.B. 1510 is closer to the old Mississippi — the Mississippi bent on controlling women and minorities."

tsstevens Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did from Reading tropes such as Righting Great Wrongs Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: She's holding a very large knife
Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did
#262513: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:08:25 PM

Seriously, seriously, reading up on President Walder Frey, all the stories coming out recently whether it be the Caravan or Ivanka, it honestly reads like a bad episode of Home Land.

Trump is Carrie Mathison and there is a global conspiracy involving the CIA, FBI, the Marines, the world media, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Israel, they are all in a plot to take him down. You cannot make up the real documented news, never mind the conspiracy theories of the MAGA hat wearers and Trump loyalists.

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#262514: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:10:38 PM

Any humor in that joke was lost because we have Qanon.

Literally that was true for months now.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Nov 21st 2018 at 6:11:22 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
tsstevens Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did from Reading tropes such as Righting Great Wrongs Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: She's holding a very large knife
Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did
#262515: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:13:59 PM

Ah yes, Qanon. I vaguely remember that. Wasn't he or she something of a pro or anti Trump version of Edward Snowden? Forgive my ignorance, what's the gist with him again?

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours
Friendperson Since: May, 2018
#262516: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:16:31 PM

[up] To be completely honest, everything I've read about Q makes it even more incomprehensible. I honestly think it's just a word-bot that spits out political phrases that right-wing nutjobs understand, somehow.

Imca (Veteran)
#262517: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:18:02 PM

A bit outdated, but thats just because of how fast this stuff moves, still accurate.

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#262518: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:19:49 PM

Q's conspiracy theory is basically that Donald is fighting a secret pedophilic cabal of which multiple high-profile democrats are a part of. It's pizzagate writ large.

What I find funny is that according to what I've heard, they assured people that a "red tsunami" was coming in the midterms and when it did, several arrests would be made and the democrats "exposed".

As we all know that didn't happen, and so there was a meltdown.

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#262519: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:27:06 PM

Qanon is/was a series of cryptic anonymous posts on 4chan that got spun into a vast pro-Trump conspiracy theory by gullible people. In all likelihood the "actual" Qanon is anyone who finds fucking with /pol/ funny

Imca (Veteran)
#262520: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:34:36 PM

No, it was the same person, they had the same tripcode....

which is where there name Q came from.

tsstevens Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did from Reading tropes such as Righting Great Wrongs Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: She's holding a very large knife
Reading tropes such as You Know What You Did
#262521: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:48:41 PM

I remember now...Hillary was a child sex slavery queen running a pedophile ring from a nonexistent pizzeria basement, but a little detail like that did not stop the conspiracy theories of NYPD and New York FBI arresting her for it.

Seriously it's reached the point of ludicrousness now. How can anyone think this is not all just some big joke? I know when I hear pro Trump rage seriously anymore, when they go on I just point and laugh because it's beyond fanaticism, beyond a Jihad or cult. It really has reached I Reject Your Reality standards at this point to the realm of Insane Troll Logic.

Currently reading up My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours
AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#262522: Nov 21st 2018 at 6:57:59 PM

And all due to Cheese Pizza being a code word joke for Child Porn in 4chan, being spun into getting complete idiots thinking that the Qanon bullshit was real.

Inter arma enim silent leges
Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#262523: Nov 21st 2018 at 7:00:58 PM

Oy, wait, they was a meltdown from Qanon when the midterms weren't a Red Tsunami? Can I get details on that? That sounds Schadenfreude-tasque.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#262524: Nov 21st 2018 at 7:03:21 PM

Was it ever determined what Qanon was trying to do? Were they a true believer? A troll? A Russian doing agitpop?

I just really hope that its not your typical right-wing projection at work; due to this being about organized sexual abuse....

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#262525: Nov 21st 2018 at 7:07:54 PM

[up]a theory i've seen is that it was a left-leaning person playing a massive prank. if so, i can understand why stringing along right-wing suckers would be funny, but it ended up being a terrible idea given that the far right takes this kind of stuff seriously to the point of threatening people's lives over it.

But no, we don't know anything about Q.

[up][up]https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/qanon-jeff-sessions-2018-midterms/ You can see part of it here. They were mad.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Nov 21st 2018 at 11:08:41 AM


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