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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Well said.
It was also made worse by the fact that he gave a tepid apology and then a few days after it walked back on that apology and claimed that he didn't think he was in the picture after all.
Northam handled the situation especially poorly and more or less threw away any chance of recovering from it.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Feb 4th 2019 at 7:23:47 AM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangOK, so say that there's this filthy rich guy from Europe named Andrew Pennybags who agonizes over the insufficient protection for some endangered species in the USA, and wants to help fix that using a local environmentalist lobbying group as an intermediary. How can he do that without breaking the US law? Would it work if the money Pennybags donates would be used to cover enough of the lobbying group's essential expenses that they can divert an equal amount of their locally acquired funding to the actual influencing of US politicians towards passing laws that improve the protections for the aforementioned species?
Edited by MarqFJA on Feb 4th 2019 at 3:22:34 PM
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
I don't think that actually makes it legal money, though. After all, if by getting enough money to cover their operations they're able to use that money for lobbying, it's essentially the same thing as just having that money be used for lobbying directly. I think the NRA actually tried to use that reasoning in regards to their Russian money.
If the group isn't directly donating to politicians it's going to be in the clear legally.
So what he wants to do is fund the group enough that it can hire experts to provide expert testimony to sympathetic politicians so as to win them over, it can hire legal writers to draft possible legislator for political allies to sponsor, it can hire PR people to influence public opinion such that people contact their legislators on their own, it might well even be able to publicly list which elected officials are helping push to protect the species and encourage sympathetic American citizens to privately donate to said politicians campaigns.
In the legal grey area it might be legal for said organisation to even run (coordinated) ads calling for legislation to protect the species and for the public to vote for people who will exact such legislation, if magic language is used.
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I don't think using foreign money for lobbying is illegal, it's both lobbying for a foreign government/organisation secretly and directly contributing foreign money to a politician's campaign that are illegal. There's more to lobbying than campaign contributions.
Edited by Silasw on Feb 4th 2019 at 12:38:55 PM
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyranhttps://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/02/04/day-746/
1/ Trump said he doesn't "have to agree" with his intelligence chiefs on worldwide threats. Trump, agitated after intelligence officials contradicted him several times during congressional testimony last week, said he wants "them to give me their opinion," but not to share them publicly with Congress. Trump later called the intelligence officials naive and suggested they might need to go back to "school." Senior intelligence analysts who prepare Trump's briefs and the briefers themselves say Trump displays "willful ignorance" when presented with analysis, and that the use of visual aids, confining briefings to two or three sentences, and repeating his name and title as frequently as possible all fail to keep his attention. Two intelligence officers say they have been warned to avoid giving Trump intelligence assessments that contradict stances he has taken in public. (CBS News / Time)
2/ Trump won't commit to making Robert Mueller's final report public, and that he doesn't know if he wants the report made public at all, saying "it depends" on "what it's going to say." Trump did say that while he believes it's time to "get rid of the Russia witch hunt," he would leave the decision "totally up to the attorney general." William Barr, Trump's nominee for attorney general, said during his confirmation hearing that the public might see a summary report from the attorney general on Mueller's conclusions and not the full special counsel's report. (NBC News / New York Times / ABC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-he-doesn-t-know-if-he-wants-mueller-n966366
3/ Trump claimed to have "set the table beautifully" for his next fight with Democrats over his border wall, indicating that he will declare a national emergency on Feb. 15th, to secure funding for a wall. Mitch Mc Connell, meanwhile, privately advised Trump about the consequences of declaring a national emergency to build his border wall. (The Guardian / Washington Post)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/03/trump-next-border-wall-fight-with-democrats
The Trump administration said that reuniting thousands of separated migrant children may not be "within the realm of the possible." Health and Human Services officials said they don't know the exact number of children taken from their parents and that finding them would be too much of a "burden." (NBC News / Huff Post)
4/ Trump spent about nearly 60% of his time in unstructured "Executive Time." According to a leaked copy of his private schedule for the past three months, Trump usually spends the first five hours of the day in the White House residence watching TV and reading the news, and then calling advisers to discuss what he's seen and read. Trump's first meeting of the day usually starts around 11:30am. Trump has spent almost 300 hours in executive time and 77 hours in scheduled meetings since the midterms. (Axios / NBC News / The Guardian)
For the first time in 69 days, Trump had a chance to play a round of golf. He was joined by Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. (Yahoo Sports)
5/ The White House claimed that Trump's tan is the result of "good genes" and not due to a spray-tan booth or the use of a tanning bed. According to three people who have spent time in the White House residence, there is no bed or booth in the residence, the East Wing, or on Air Force One. Two senior White House officials also insisted that no such devices exists. (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/us/politics/trump-tan.html
Trump's annual physical exam is next week. Last year, Trump's physician described the president as being in "excellent health" despite revealing that he was borderline obese and has a common form of heart disease. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/politics/trump-president-annual-physical-walter-reed/index.html
6/ Deutsche Bank refused to give Trump a loan during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump was funding his campaign and expanding his business group's collection of properties at the same time. The Trump Organization specifically wanted a loan against a Miami property to fund work on the Turnberry golf course in Scotland. A 2018 financial disclosure, Trump owed at least $130 million to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, a unit of the German bank. The decision came down to senior bank officials worrying about what would happen if Trump won the election and then defaulted on the loan. Deutsche Bank would then have to choose between not collecting on the debt or seizing the assets of the president of the United States. (New York Times / CNBC)
Maryland prosecutors have subpoenaed financial documents from Trump's golf courses in Scotland. The document request is part of an investigation into whether Trump has violated the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution by profiting from his businesses, including Trump Turnberry and Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. (Times of London / The Hill / Business Insider)
In late 2016, Deutsche Bank tried to shed a $600 million loan to VTB Group, a large Russian state-owned bank. The bank sold $300 million of the loan to another Russian financial institution, Alfa Bank, in December 2016. (Wall Street Journal)
European lawmakers will probe Deutsche Bank's possible involvement with money laundering by Danske Bank. (Politico)
A Russian-born lobbyist at the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 received half a million dollars in payments before and after the meeting. The large cash deposits to Rinat Akhmetshin were deemed suspicious transactions by bank investigators. (Buzz Feed News)
poll/ 38% of American want Trump to be re-elected in 2020, compared to 57% who say it is time for someone new in the Oval Office. (Monmouth University)
https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_us_020419/
Notables.
Trump plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq to monitor and pressure Iran. The U.S. has been quietly negotiating with Iraq for weeks to move hundreds of troops stationed in Syria to bases in Iraq so they can continue to attack ISIS strongholds from there. Iraqi President Barham Salih said Trump did not ask for permission to station more U.S. troops in his country to watch Iran. Iraq and Iran are allies. (New York Times / Reuters / CBC News)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-iraq-idUSKCN1PT0E4
Pentagon will deploy approximately 3,750 additional troops to the Southern border to install wire barriers and monitor crossings. The new deployment will bring the number of active-duty troops there to around 6,000. The additional troops will be deployed for 90 days. (NPR / CNN / Reuters)
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/04/691222383/pentagon-deploying-3-750-troops-to-southern-border
Trump is expected to announce new uniformed leaders for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Trump also will formally nominate a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-moving-to-install-new-chiefs-of-army-navy-marines-11549230573
Trump nominated a former oil lobbyist to head the Interior Department. David Bernhardt is current deputy chief of the Interior Department and would succeed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who resigned amid multiple scandals and ethics investigations. (New York Times / Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/04/david-bernhardt-interior-secretary-1145523
Putin ordered Russia's military to develop new medium-range missiles in response to the U.S. leaving a key Cold War nuclear arms treaty. (ABC News)
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler appointed several climate change deniers to its Science Advisory Board. Wheeler also appointed a scientist who argues for easing radiation regulations to lead the agency's radiation advisory committee. (Associated Press / CNN)
And the Northam situation just got worse, he’s now made it clear that it’s not him in the picture (which still doesn’t excuse the racist act of putting said picture in his yearbook), he’s certain of this because he’d remember dressing up like that, he’s certainly he’d remember dressing up like that because he remembers the time he blacked-up to do a Micheal Jackson act for a dance contest.
He didn’t wear blackface in the photo, he’s know this because he remembers when he wore blackface and it was different circumstances.
So for anyone keeping track, Northam is now at two racist incidents involving blackface for that time period, one wear he wore it himself and one where he put a photo of someone in blackface into his yearbook.
Also his wife had to tell him not to moonwalk.
Edited by Silasw on Feb 4th 2019 at 2:34:28 PM
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranI think all wives have to stop their husbands from moonwalking at some point.
Trump's inauguration committee has been subpoenaed.
Prosecutors also showed interest in whether any foreigners illegally donated to the committee, as well as whether committee staff knew that such donations were illegal, asking for documents laying out legal requirements for donations. Federal law prohibits foreign contributions to federal campaigns, political action committees and inaugural funds.
There are two different issues here. One is foreign money being contributed to politicians directly. That's just flat illegal, no matter what. Organizations that accept foreign donations and make political contributions are required by law to manage them separately on their books, and to report them separately on their tax documents and whatnot, I believe.
The other is acting to influence U.S. governmental decisions on behalf of a foreign entity. That's not illegal, but anyone engaged in it is required by law to register as a foreign agent under FARA. This requirement is what has gotten a lot of Trump's associates in trouble, tripping up Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort, and others. It is also the base charge against Maria Butina.
Edited by Fighteer on Feb 4th 2019 at 10:58:49 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
So the hypothetical example that I described earlier is legally permissible, if the visible fiscal separation and official registration criteria are fulfilled?
What does the registration part do, anyway? Does it mean the group will go on a watchlist of some sort to ensure they're not being serving the foreign entity's interests in a way that is detrimental to the country?
Edited by MarqFJA on Feb 4th 2019 at 7:12:47 PM
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.I wouldn't say so. If a foreign actor donates money to a US organization to cover expenses, such that it frees up more locally sourced money for use in local applications, that's still just giving them money to use on whatever they see fit. Especially since with that arrangement, it's equally true to say that the organization used the local money to pay their expenses and used the foreign actor's money to spread influence.
It's like pouring fancy bottled water into a watering can and then filling the rest up with a garden hose. You can't say '10% of this water is fancy water and will only be used for fancy tasks'.
It's been fun.The reporting requirement is a facet of public transparency, as noted. This way, we can know that Jane Smith was working on behalf of Slovakia to obtain bee farming concessions or whatever.
The dilemma this presents for folks like Manafort is that the whole point of their influence operation was to make it look as as if it arose organically from within the United States, rather than what it actually was: the Russian-backed Ukrainian government trying to manipulate US politicians to support it.
The illegal part is the deliberate attempt to deceive us about the source of the influence.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Trump announcing that he's declaring war on Mexico and instituting Emergency Powers to round up everyone with Mexican descent and putting them in ICE "Deportation Camps". Also, that he's going to build the wall using unpaid prison labor, including the Mexicans in the "Deportation Camps", as a way to justify his campaign promises that "Mexico would pay for it", as in, pay in blood, sweat, and tears. He'll say that the Mexicans won't get to go back to Mexico until the wall is finished, he will remain President until the wall is finished, and the wall will be made of stone and will be 8 10 12 indeterminate feet tall.
Well, that or he'll just whine about Pelosi and the mean ol' Dems not letting him have his wall and he'll eat a cheeseburger.
Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Feb 5th 2019 at 5:20:39 AM
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Fearmonger much?
That or a Joking Mode bracket would be nice.
Edited by kkhohoho on Feb 5th 2019 at 7:14:42 AM

With the governor of Virginia the issue isn't so much that he was racist as it's that he hasn't grown from that racism and taken responsibility for it.
If his response to this has been something like
"As I have spoken about previously during my younger years I was not well versed on racial issues, I was, bluntly, a racist, I engaged in acts and beliefs that were greatly disrespectful to the African American community, I have since grown from these times and looked to atone for my past misdeeds. I have never hidden from the people of Virginia that I have in my past actions of which I am not proud, this is one of them, it sadly is not alone, it is one of several instances from my past where I disrespected African Americans and treated them as less than they are, I offer my heartfelt apology to both the people of Virginia and the African American community for my youthful failures. I hope only that I may be granted the chance to continue my work of attornment and serve them as the governor they deserve."
we'd have a very different situation on our hands.
That's the thing, the time to take ownership of his racist past and admit to his mistakes isn't now when this is dug up, it's years ago when he ran for office.
Edited by Silasw on Feb 4th 2019 at 12:15:21 PM
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran