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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Remember that time the Border Patrol used tear gas on refugees? And how FOX News had an interview with former deputy chief of the CBP Ronald Colburn in which he claimed that tear gas was "natural" and thus was safe, even going so far as to claim you could put it on nachos and eat it?
It just occurred to me that this was in the Simpsons.
Yes, but there's difference between "we're going to help people (which requires hurting people, both physically and economically)" and "let's hurt all the people we don't like (which will help people, somehow)."
That's what I meant. Making a government where the primary goal is to hurt people, rather than an unfortunate necessity, never ends well. Obviously not for the "enemy," but not for anyone else either. I don't want to bring up the fascism comparisons, but, well.
Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.Trump administration downgrades EU mission to US
The unannounced move by the US State Department, which has not previously been reported, downgraded the EU delegation's diplomatic status in Washington from member state to international organization.
"We don't exactly know when they did it, because they conveniently forgot to notify us," an EU official who is familiar with the matter told DW in an interview.
"I can confirm that this has not been well received in Brussels," the person said, adding that the issue and an official EU response was still being discussed.
More reasons why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is awesome.
Edited by speedyboris on Jan 8th 2019 at 10:38:48 AM
It's a whole 'thing'. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_war_theory
For a war to be just, it must
- Be entered for the right reasons.
- Be fought right.
- Be finished properly so as to have a right outcome.
Arguably this has not been the case lately for the US.
I see item 3 as the real sticking point, with all the Forever War scenarios we're in.
Veselnitskaya, Russian in Trump Tower Meeting, Is Charged in Case That Shows Kremlin Ties
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/nyregion/trump-tower-natalya-veselnitskaya-indictment.html
Emergency Exit: Mark Harris trips alarm trying to evade Channel 9 in uptown
Edited by sgamer82 on Jan 8th 2019 at 10:55:14 AM
I hope the government shutdown continues until his own base hates him. It's sad that we need to use many people's paycheck, but it is time to stop compromising or negotiating with the right wing. They have shown their true colors here.
Sad that we can't have a functioning government unless a Rethuglican president has no power, but that is where we are. It might last for a year. Hope it doesn't, but you know Trump.
@Fourthspartan56: Yep; I can already see the beginnings of the left's own Donald Trump from that chaos; over the past few years the democratic party machine has pretty much imploded along with the technocratic center of the party. That's a recipe for disaster, and I'm not sure there's any way to avoid it that wouldn't essentially guarantee Trump's victory in 2020.
@Wildcard: Regretably, shutdowns have historically had no lasting effects
on approval rating for either Presidents or parties, so that's unlikely.
Edited by CaptainCapsase on Jan 8th 2019 at 1:48:29 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/01/07/day-718/
1/ The White House will order the IRS to pay out income-tax refunds, despite 90 percent of its workforce not working. A little over 10 percent of IRS employees are still on the clock through the partial government shutdown attempting to implement the sweeping Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The effort adds to bureaucratic backlog as the shutdown drags into its 17th day. (ABC News / New York Times)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-order-irs-pay-income-tax-refunds/story?id=60216999
Senate Democrats are considering blocking all future legislation in order to maintain focus on the shutdown. Chuck Schumer told the Democratic caucus he will only focus on bills that would reopen the government. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/07/politics/senate-democrats-mull-blocking-legislation-shutdown/index.html
2/ The Department of Agriculture wouldn't say for how long it will continue to pay out food stamps during the shutdown to the nearly 39 million people who depend on the service each month. Senior officials said the program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), has enough funding to cover the rest of January—but not enough for February. Congress has never let SNAP funding run out. (Politico / Washington Post)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/07/food-stamps-government-shutdown-1062090
3/ Trump's latest offer to end the shutdown includes a demand for $5.7 billion in funding "for construction of a steel barrier for the Southwest border," plus another $800 million to address "urgent humanitarian needs" related to unaccompanied minors arriving at the border. The White House refused to detail how the requested funding would be spent or why the amount is larger than what the administration requested a few months ago. Members of Congress made no progress in negotiations over the weekend. (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-shutdown-drags-on-trump-officials-seek-novel-ways-to-cope-with-its-impacts/2019/01/06/96c54a50-11ee-11e9-90a8-136fa44b80ba_story.html?utm_term=.958cf721ca45
Jimmy Carter became the latest former president to deny telling Trump he regrets not building a wall along the southern U.S. border. "I have not discussed the border wall with President Trump and do not support him on the issue," Carter said. (The Hill)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/424205-jimmy-carter-denies-telling-trump-he-regrets-not-building-a-border
4/ Trump wants to deliver a prime-time address Tuesday night to discuss the government shutdown and what he calls "the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border." All major networks—ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC—confirmed they had received requests to air the broadcast during the 9 p.m. Eastern slot, but producers have not yet decided whether or not they will do so. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-heading-southern-border-thursday-n955751
5/ The president of the World Bank resigned and will leave his post at the end of the month, three years before his term was set to end. Jim Yong Kim was nominated in 2012 by President Obama, and his early departure grants Trump the power to nominate a successor. Kim gave no reason for his sudden resignation. The CEO of the Bank will take over on an interim basis. (NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/world-bank-president-resigns-paving-way-trump-appointee-helm-global-n955781
Notables.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg missed oral arguments at the Supreme Court for the first time in more than 25 years as she recovered from surgery. It is not clear when she will return to the bench, but a spokesperson said Ginsburg, 85, continues to work from home as she recuperates. Doctors removed two cancerous growths from her lungs on December 21. (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/b1d7eb8384ef44099d63fde057c4172c
Former GOP Sen. Jon Kyl became the second person to turn down Trump's offer to replace Jim Mattis as Secretary of Defense. Ret. Gen. Jack Keane also turned Trump down shortly after Mattis resigned late last month. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/07/trump-struggles-to-replace-mattis-1084749
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to several Middle Eastern nations to reassure America's allies in the midst of a flurry of contradictions and confusion regarding Trump's plan to pull U.S. forces out of Syria and Afghanistan. (ABC News)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/amid-confusion-syria-withdrawal-pompeo-heads-middle-east/story?id=60211093