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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.

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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

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#267601: Jan 17th 2019 at 6:57:11 PM

I don't mean to hammer on you for this. Just saying that I don't want anyone to suffer economic hardships and devastation because of Der Cheeto.

Either way, I do hope it has awakened a lot of people to the dark side of this Presidency.

Even if it's not more than a few percentage points.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#267602: Jan 17th 2019 at 6:58:20 PM

The Democrats have pulled a Mitch.

The Republicans are APPALLED the Democrats would use Loophole Abuse.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chaos-on-house-floor-as-dems-hold-hasty-vote-to-end-shutdown-republicans-demand-redo

Anyone got a gif of Nelson pointing and laughing?

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#267603: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:02:21 PM

[up]That I feel good being vindictive about.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#267604: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:04:37 PM

That doesn't even sound like the Democrats tried anything sneaky. Just the Republicans weren't paying attention to procedure.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#267605: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:05:44 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/01/17/day-728/

    Day 728: Any way, shape or form 
1/ Rudy Giuliani claimed that "I never said there was no collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia. In a remarkable interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night, Giuliani argued that he had only ever said Trump himself had not colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, leaving open the possibility that campaign aides could have colluded. "There is not a single bit of evidence the president of the United States committed the only crime you can commit here, conspired with the Russians to hack the DNC." Trump has tweeted at least 13 times directly saying there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. (CNN / The Guardian / Washington Post)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/politics/rudy-giuliani-cnntv/index.html

2/ Hours later Giuliani backtracked his "no collusion" claim, saying he has "no knowledge of any collusion by any of the thousands of people who worked on the campaign." Giuliani's statement added: "There was no collusion by President Trump in any way, shape or form." (New York Times / Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/giuliani-seeks-to-clarify-comments-on-trump-campaign-and-russia-saying-he-has-no-knowledge-of-any-collusion/2019/01/17/0321b244-1a76-11e9-9ebf-c5fed1b7a081_story.html

A woman from Belarus claiming to have recordings that showed contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians was detained at a Moscow airport on prostitution allegations. Anastasia Vashukevich was deported from Thailand earlier in the day after spending nine months in prison on charges of conspiracy and soliciting prostitution. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/model-who-claimed-us-russian-collusion-tape-arrested-in-moscow-on-prostitution-charges/2019/01/17/97a65db2-1a66-11e9-b8e6-567190c2fd08_story.html

3/ Trump directed Michael Cohen to hire a company to rig CNBC and Drudge Report online polls in his favor. Cohen then stiffed John Gauger, who owns Red Finch Solutions. Gauger went to Trump Tower in early 2015 to collect the $50,000 he was owed for the work, but instead Cohen apparently gave him a blue Walmart bag containing between $12,000 and $13,000 in cash and a boxing glove that Cohen said had been worn by a Brazilian mixed-martial arts fighter. Cohen disputed that he handed over a bag of cash, but confirmed that he had hired Red Finch Solutions, adding in a tweet that "what I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of @realDonaldTrump @POTUS." Gauger said he never received the rest of what he was owed. However, in early 2017 Cohen received a $50,000 reimbursement from Trump and his company for the Red Finch work. (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/michael-cohen-says-he-paid-tech-firm-rig-online-polls-n959746

Cohen also hired Red Finch Solutions to promote him as a "sex symbol" on Twitter. The @womenforcohen account was created in May 2016 and run by a female friend of Gauger. (Wall Street Journal / The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/17/michael-cohen-paid-firm-tweet-sexy

4/ The Trump administration separated thousands more migrant children from their parents at the U.S. border than previously reported and whether they have been reunified is unknown, according to a report released by the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services. Before the administration officially implemented its zero-tolerance policy in the spring of 2018 that forcibly separated more nearly 3,000 children, the staff at the Department of Health and Human Services had noted a "sharp increase" in the number of children separated from a parent or guardian, according to the report. (Politico / The Guardian / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/17/report-trump-administration-migrants-1093242

5/ Trump postponed Nancy Pelosi's planned trip to Belgium, Egypt and Afghanistan in retaliation for her suggesting he delay his State of the Union address. He called it a "public relations event." Military transport is typically provided to the House speaker for foreign trips. Trump instead called on Pelosi to remain in Washington during the shutdown, but she is welcome to make the trips on commercial flights. (NBC News / Politico / New York Times)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/17/trump-pelosi-letter-1108470

The White House is discussing whether Mitch Mc Connell could invite Trump to deliver the State of the Union address in the Senate chamber. (CBS News)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-officials-discuss-whether-mcconnell-can-invite-trump-for-state-of-the-union-address/

The State Department is calling back its furloughed diplomats after finding enough money to cover payroll for two weeks. The 8,000 employees will still have to wait to get their back pay. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/state-department-diplomats-called-back-to-work-for-now/2019/01/17/d2d4c310-1a84-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html

poll/ 39% approve the job Trump is doing as president – down from 42% approval since last month. Since December, Trump's approval is down 18 percentage points among suburban men, down 13 points among white evangelicals, down 10 points among Republicans, and down 8 points among white men without a college degree. (NPR)

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/17/685539207/poll-trump-approval-down-slips-with-base

poll/ 57% of voters said they would "definitely" vote against Trump in 2020, 30% said they plan to vote for Trump, and an additional 13% said they had no idea who they'll vote for. (PBS)

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/57-percent-of-voters-say-they-wont-support-trump-in-2020

Notables.
Betsy De Vos is recovering in a wheelchair after breaking her pelvis and hip socket in a bicycling accident. She described the recovery as "very painful." (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/17/devos-bicycle-accident-wheelchair-1108564

The Trump Organization requested and received at least 192 visas for foreign workers in 2018, according to Department of Labor data – the highest for the company going back to at least 2008. (Talking Points Memo)

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/donald-trump-companies-foreign-worker-visas

The Trump administration called extending disaster funding for Puerto Rico's food stamp program "excessive and unnecessary" after the House passed a measure that would have provided the island with $600 million in disaster relief funding. (Buzz Feed News)

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhiprakash/trump-food-stamps-puerto-rico-shutdown

More than 130 Republicans joined House Democrats in opposing a Treasury Department plan to lift sanctions against companies controlled by a Putin ally. Senate Republicans narrowly blocked a similar measure yesterday. Oleg Deripaska is a Russian oligarch with ties to Paul Manafort. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/01/17/rebuke-trump-administration-more-than-republicans-break-ranks-oppose-treasury-plan-lift-sanctions-against-putin-ally/


Separate, but also interesting:

Trump startled by cozy Barr-Mueller relationship

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/01/17/politics/donald-trump-william-barr-robert-mueller/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fcurrentstatus.io%2F

Washington (CNN) — President Donald Trump was startled Tuesday as he watched television coverage of his nominee for attorney general describing a warm relationship with the special counsel Robert Mueller in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to three people familiar with the matter.

During the first day of his confirmation hearing, William Barr described telling the President the first time he met him in June 2017 that he was friends with Mueller, referring to him on a first name basis. "I told him how well I knew Bob Mueller and that the Barrs and Muellers were good friends and would be good friends when this was all over," Barr said. "Bob is a straight-shooter and should be dealt with as such."

While Barr said during his hearing that Trump "was interested" in hearing about the friendship, the details that emerged this week caught the President off guard, the three sources said. He bristled at Barr's description of the close relationship, complaining to aides he didn't realize how much their work overlapped or that they were so close.

There is no indication Trump's surprise will jeopardize the nomination, however.

Edited by sgamer82 on Jan 17th 2019 at 8:07:02 AM

MorningStar1337 The Encounter that ended the Dogma from 🤔 Since: Nov, 2012
The Encounter that ended the Dogma
#267606: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:05:54 PM

[up][up][up][up]No gif, but I do have a video clip.

BTW are there any other sources, I'd rather avoid Faux News when possible.

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jan 17th 2019 at 7:06:18 AM

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#267607: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:07:23 PM

Completely with you, Wildcard. The people who voted for Trump got what they wanted. This is their bed to lie in.

Now for several links:

Jack Dorsey Has No Clue What He Wants.

It seems clear that Twitter’s current iteration, a machine learning-curated hell, isn’t the website Jack Dorsey wants. He just refuses to say what that website actually is.

Beto's excellent adventure drips with white male privilege.

We Thought Beto O’Rourke Was Cool Until We Found Out He Voted for Anti-Black Lives Matter Legislation.

As Kanya Bennett, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, explained to Mother Jones, the Thin Blue Line Act “sends the signal that the Congress has the backs of law enforcement over the backs of other constituents, primarily constituents of color.”

That is an important point to note. The Thin Blue Line Act essentially makes police officers a protected class—similar to minorities, LGBTQ people or women. It also duplicates laws that many states already have on the books to seek more severe punishments against those who target or kill law enforcement officers.

And Jack Kerouac-style, he roams around, jobless (does he not need a job?) to find himself and figure out if he wants to lead the free world. This is a luxury no woman or even minority in politics could ever have.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Lame-Duck Changes To Wisconsin Voting Laws.

he judge also struck down a law passed during the lame duck session that requires a 2-year expiration date on student I Ds used for identification at the polls, as well as a law that limits the use of receipts as valid voter identification for individuals who are involved in a sometimes lengthy process of getting a valid ID without a birth certificate.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#267608: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:13:45 PM

If you cast out every democrat who ever voted for any legislation that went against minority interests in some way, or did the wrong thing with law enforcement, you'd probably have about 1/5 of the party left and no presidential candidates.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#267609: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:16:08 PM

Representative Tom Marino (R-PA-12) will be resigning on January 23rd for a private sector job.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#267610: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:16:43 PM

[up][up][up]And this is why one should not get too emotionally invested in a public figure, be it politicians, celebrities, etc.

Edited by M84 on Jan 17th 2019 at 11:17:03 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#267611: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:19:20 PM

[up]Yeah, I was thinking something similar with the pedestal a lot of people were putting Kamala Harris on.

And now we know her record might have some bad black marks, that overall might not even make her bad, but like, no one is perfect.

Obviously that doesn't excuse anything, and there should be a breaking point, but I think a lot of people set themselves up for disaster with unrealistic expectations of people.

RainingMetal (Handed A Sword) Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#267612: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:20:04 PM

All we can do is wait for a response to see if it's an Old Shame.

ASAB: All Sponsors Are Bad.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#267613: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:36:18 PM

I think articles like the one on Beto and privilege are why so many people have difficulty explaining privilege to people who have it.

Because the article doesn't understand jack about it.

And I say that despite his shitty vote.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Jan 17th 2019 at 7:36:45 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#267614: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:48:47 PM

I'll leave the explanation as to why a white man claiming an article about white male privilege is highly suspect to someone else; this is what caught my eye:

We have already had candidates “black it up” to win us over. Hillary Clinton discussed the hot sauce in her bag. Kamala Harris recently put out a video of herself dancing to show how down she is. Is all of this blackface pandering supposed to make us forget the questionable policies that these candidates support?

...g-guys? You know Kamala Harris is already black, right? Guys?

i'm tired, my friend
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#267615: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:53:24 PM

''President Trump Directed His Attorney To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project''

President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.

Trump also supported a plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and jump-start the tower negotiations. “Make it happen,” the sources said Trump told Cohen.

And even as Trump told the public he had no business deals with Russia, the sources said Trump and his children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., received regular, detailed updates about the real estate development from Cohen, whom they put in charge of the project.

Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying about the deal in testimony and in a two-page statement to the Senate and House intelligence committees. Special counsel Robert Mueller noted that Cohen’s false claim that the project ended in January 2016 was an attempt to "minimize links between the Moscow Project and Individual 1” — widely understood to be Trump — "in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.”

Now the two sources have told Buzz Feed News that Cohen also told the special counsel that after the election, the president personally instructed him to lie — by claiming that negotiations ended months earlier than they actually did — in order to obscure Trump’s involvement.

The special counsel’s office learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents. Cohen then acknowledged those instructions during his interviews with that office.

This revelation is not the first evidence to suggest the president may have attempted to obstruct the FBI and special counsel investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

But Cohen's testimony marks a significant new frontier: It is the first known example of Trump explicitly telling a subordinate to lie directly about his own dealings with Russia.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#267616: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:53:53 PM

[up][up][up]...That article's issues (as [up][up] pointed out) aside...

It's not a good look for a white guy to complain about how an article written by a black woman about privilege does a bad job of it.

It kind of implies that you think you know more about privilege and how it affects society than a black woman does.

Edited by M84 on Jan 17th 2019 at 11:54:08 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#267617: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:54:21 PM

The short version of my explanation is that it says that "He thinks he can move upward and go for an even higher office after failing in Texas. That's white male privilege in action. Female candidates don't have that option."

I'm like, "That's not what white male privilege is. It's also not true about other politicians, female or otherwise."

It kind of implies that you think you know more about privilege and how it affects society than a black woman does.

I think the article is flat out wrong whether it's by a white man (which was said above) or not.

I'm judging it on its words, not it's authorship.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Jan 17th 2019 at 7:56:30 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#267618: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:57:25 PM

White male privilege is white men getting to enjoy facets of life that minorities, women, and minority women cannot.

If Beto gets to do... whatever he's currently doing with no problems, things a black woman could not do so easily... well...

I think the article is flat out wrong whether it's by a white man (which was said above) or not.

I'm judging it on its words, not it's authorship.

Doesn't change the fact that it's written by a black woman, whose experiences you're choosing to ignore in favor of your own understanding.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Jan 17th 2019 at 8:00:46 AM

i'm tired, my friend
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#267619: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:57:37 PM

Wait, what does hot sauce have to do with race?

[up] At the same time... "this is a problem because it's only possible for a privileged set", but it's also not a problem because someone can't magically downgrade their life any more than they can improve it. So what are we really supposed to do with this knowledge other than go "well, okay, good luck with that"?

Edited by RainehDaze on Jan 17th 2019 at 3:59:04 PM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#267620: Jan 17th 2019 at 7:58:37 PM

What [up][up] said.

Edited by M84 on Jan 18th 2019 at 12:01:24 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#267621: Jan 17th 2019 at 8:00:25 PM

I have to ask if we have actual reasons to assume he's going to run for President. Otherwise discussions on privilege and whether a woman and or not white person could do what he's doing are moot.

BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#267622: Jan 17th 2019 at 8:04:41 PM

I have a question about Michael Cohen and his relationship with his former employer. Is Cohen a sheep with no ability to make decisions on his own?

Do not obey in advance.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#267623: Jan 17th 2019 at 8:06:58 PM

[up]He's spent more or less his entire adult career working for Trump. A professional relationship that long is bound to foster some kind of emotional attachment (one-sided as it may have been).

Disgusted, but not surprised
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#267624: Jan 17th 2019 at 8:08:37 PM
Thumped: Wow. That was rude. Too many of this kind of thump will bring a suspension. Please keep it civil.
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#267625: Jan 17th 2019 at 8:11:20 PM

Serious question, are statements like [up] not crossing some line on the forums?


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