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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#276526: Apr 4th 2019 at 3:42:22 PM

"So in short, what happened with Trump in the Republican primaries can't automatically happen in the Democrat primary."

It functionally cannot. A closely fought primary would end up with a contested convention. At the convention, one candidate must secure a majority. If Republicans followed the Democratic system, it's likely a negotiated compromise would have emerged that shut Trump out.

Trump is the ultimate system-type player in politics. Without the structural quirks of the GOP and the American electoral system, he would have lost long ago.

"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."
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#276527: Apr 4th 2019 at 4:12:29 PM

Trump backtracks on border closing; says to Mexico, you have 12 months to stop the flow of drug and migrants or tariffs on Mexican products and the closing of the border.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#276528: Apr 4th 2019 at 5:01:19 PM

For those who are counting; 12 Months=/=One Week.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#276529: Apr 4th 2019 at 5:04:39 PM

Ah, yes. Because destroying the Southwest’s economy seven months before the election is sure to help his chances.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#276530: Apr 4th 2019 at 5:38:02 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/04/04/day-805/

    Day 805: Alarming and significant 
1/ Robert Mueller's investigators gathered "alarming and significant" evidence of obstruction by Trump that was "much more acute than [Attorney General William] Barr suggested" in his four-page letter to Congress. Members of the special counsel team told associates they believe their findings are potentially more damaging for Trump than Barr explained, and are frustrated that Barr did not adequately portray their work. The team had also prepared summaries for different sections of their 400-page report, which Barr did not use. Lawyers and FBI agents on Mueller's team reportedly could not reach an agreement about whether Trump's conduct amounted to obstruction of justice, but Barr, after consulting with Rod Rosenstein, went ahead and cleared Trump. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Bloomberg)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/barr-didn-t-do-justice-mueller-report-officials-tell-new-n990776

The House Judiciary Committee called on Barr to release Mueller's summaries that were prepared as part of the Trump-Russia report. "If these recent reports are accurate … then those summaries should be publicly released as soon as possible," chairman Jerry Nadler said. Nadler also called on Barr to produce "all communications" about the Mueller report between the special counsel's office and the Justice Department. (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-nadler-idUSKCN1RG2OS

2/ The Department of Justice defended Barr's handling of Mueller's 400-page report on possible obstruction and Russian interference, saying they didn't disclose the full report because "every page" contained protected grand jury information and it "therefore could not be publicly released." A full report is expected to be released by mid-April after "appropriate redactions." (Politico / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/politics/justice-department-mueller-report-findings-william-barr/index.html

Rand Paul blocked a resolution calling for Mueller's report to be released publicly. It was the fifth time that Republicans blocked the resolution, which unanimously passed in the House last month. (Axios)

https://www.axios.com/mueller-report-republicans-rand-paul-block-release-60e8ac29-d427-40e1-b792-913b7a378d3e.html

3/ Trump accused the New York Times of being a "Fake News paper" with no "legitimate sources" after it reported that Mueller's team believes that the report is more damaging than Barr has indicated. "In fact, they probably had no sources at all!" The Times story was corroborated by the Washington Post and NBC News. (Axios / Daily Beast)

https://www.axios.com/trump-fumes-new-york-times-mueller-report-f6ffb7b0-c603-45f3-bebf-e6d9d302cc2d.html

4/ The House voted to end American involvement in the Yemen war and cut off support for the Saudi-led coalition. The bill now heads to Trump, who is expected to veto it – his second veto as president – and Congress lacks the votes to override him. The White House claimed the resolution raises "serious constitutional concerns." It's the first time Congress has invoked the War Powers Resolution to try and stop a foreign conflict. (Associated Press / New York Times / Politico / CNBC / The Guardian)

https://apnews.com/263d2069e3a0450b9f6329d01004de0c

5/ The House approved legislation reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act with new provisions to prohibit gun sales to convicted domestic abusers and stalkers. The National Rifle Association opposed the bill and said it'd be "scoring" how lawmakers vote on the bill to measure future ratings and endorsements in elections. (NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN)

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/707685268/violence-against-women-act-gets-tangled-up-in-gun-rights-debate

    Notables 
Trump backed down from his threat to close the southern border. Instead, he gave Mexico a "one-year warning" and threatened to impose car tariffs before closing the border "if the drugs don't stop." (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / Bloomberg)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/politics/donald-trump-mexico-border-threat/index.html

Jared Kushner was among one of the 25 White House officials whose security clearance was initially denied but later overturned. A whistleblower in the White House's personnel security office said she and another career employee determined that Kushner had too many "significant disqualifying factors" to receive a clearance. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jared-kushner-identified-as-senior-white-house-official-whose-security-clearance-was-denied-by-career-officials/2019/04/03/fefa8dbe-5623-11e9-814f-e2f46684196e_story.html

Trump intends to nominate Herman Cain for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board. Cain ran for the 2012 GOP president nomination, but dropped out after sexual harassment allegations. Cain also co-founded a pro-Trump super-political action committee, America Fighting Back PAC, which claims that "America is under attack" and "we must protect Donald Trump and his agenda from impeachment." (Axios / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

https://www.axios.com/trump-wants-herman-cain-federal-reserve-4b497361-d12a-4c5a-a2db-28ffe1d36b58.html

Trump's nominee to lead the Interior Department continued lobbying clients for several months after vowing to end his lobbying activities. In November 2016, David Bernhardt filed a legal notice formally ending his status as a lobbyist, but continued his work until as late as April 2017. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/climate/david-bernhardt-interior-lobbying.html

FBI Director Christopher Wray said that white supremacy is a "persistent" and "pervasive" threat to the U.S. After the New Zealand mosque massacre last month, Trump said he didn't consider white nationalism to be a rising global threat. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/politics/fbi-director-wray-white-supremacy/

BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#276531: Apr 4th 2019 at 5:47:39 PM

Fuck the NRA.

Good on Christopher Wray for realizing the threat that white nationalism poses. I'm still wary of the FBI being concerned about "black identity extremists", though.

Do not obey in advance.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#276533: Apr 4th 2019 at 7:23:53 PM

Ugh, f*ck off, NRA. If y'all could hurry up and go bankrupt soon, I'd appreciate it.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#276534: Apr 4th 2019 at 8:46:42 PM

[up][up][up] Chris Wray is one of the rare Trump appointees that is actually qualified and competent, and not just a political hack.

Remember, he's a DOJ lifer, and has actually demonstrated how far he's willing to go for his agency, several times over.

Edited by megaeliz on Apr 4th 2019 at 12:07:31 PM

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#276535: Apr 4th 2019 at 8:51:12 PM

Edited by megaeliz on Apr 4th 2019 at 12:04:47 PM

TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#276537: Apr 4th 2019 at 10:42:49 PM

[up]Quick, get a bunch of liberals to found pro-Trump Super PACs. Maybe he'll nominate them without realizing his mistake.

Speaking of nominations, Ron Vitiello (acting head of ICE) has been withdrawn from consideration.

No one was informed of this ahead of time, and Homeland Security thought it was some sort of paperwork snafu.

Edited by TheRoguePenguin on Apr 4th 2019 at 10:44:10 AM

akanesarumara Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: Abstaining
#276538: Apr 5th 2019 at 12:39:52 AM

So... hope this is the right thread for this but the US just revokes the visa of an ICC prosecutor investigating the behaviour of US and allied soldiers in Afghanistan. (link)

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#276540: Apr 5th 2019 at 2:49:23 AM

I wonder how long it will take for ICE to cross the actual, "This should be destroyed not reformed" line with voters.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#276541: Apr 5th 2019 at 3:11:27 AM

They probably crossed that line a long,long time ago,it's just with the current President they won't do what's necessary because they approve of their actions

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#276542: Apr 5th 2019 at 3:26:12 AM

[up][up] Distinction without a difference for me. To expand on it, I see the probable final outcome of either abolishing or reforming ICE as similar in the end, except the first is a much messier (but extremely populist) process.

Edited by Grafite on Apr 5th 2019 at 11:30:30 AM

Life is unfair...
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#276543: Apr 5th 2019 at 3:41:26 AM

You have got to be kidding

Essentally a lawmaker in Albama is proposing a law that .."would make carrying out an abortion at any stage of the pregnancy punishable by 10 to 99 years in jail."

I don't see it getting passed for obvious reasons but that someone actually thought it was a really good idea astounds me,but I think it's because every so often someone proposes a crazy unpassable law this,I think they do it just to see how far they can take plus it makes them the focus of attention perhaps so they can get their actual proposals passed

What can I say,it's a hot button topic for a reason

Edited by Ultimatum on Apr 5th 2019 at 10:41:39 AM

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#276544: Apr 5th 2019 at 3:54:27 AM

It's Alabama, I am not even surprised anymore.

"You can reply to this Message!"
CookingCat Since: Jul, 2018
#276545: Apr 5th 2019 at 3:59:05 AM

Looks like Kushner is doing a good thing behind Trump's back and quietly pushing to expand legal immigration: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/03/jared-kushner-expand-legal-immigration-1249950

Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#276546: Apr 5th 2019 at 4:02:34 AM

Trump already trolling Biden on Twitter for his sexual misconduct allegations. Like he's remotely the person to talk about the issue, besides being petty as usual. And I hate myself for getting a chuckle out of it.

Life is unfair...
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#276547: Apr 5th 2019 at 4:13:54 AM

Donald Pot vs. Joe Kettle

i'm tired, my friend
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#276548: Apr 5th 2019 at 4:21:46 AM

Let's not go overboard, here. Biden has been accused of making women uncomfortable by being overly familiar and doing things like putting his hands on their shoulders or touching their face. Trump as been accused (by at least one of his ex-wives) of straight-up rape. Neither is acceptable, but they're in no way equivalent, either.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#276549: Apr 5th 2019 at 4:25:45 AM

That is not at all what I was implying.

i'm tired, my friend
Spinosegnosaurus77 Ramen Fairy from Ontario, Canada Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend

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