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

Eschaton Since: Jul, 2010
#192851: Jun 12th 2017 at 12:28:31 PM

Aren't all tweets archived at the Library of Congress?

Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#192852: Jun 12th 2017 at 12:33:15 PM

Don't quote me on this but it would probably be sufficient to have an archival record which is accessible to FOIA requests and I would be surprised if Twitter doesn't already have internal tools for that sort of thing in order to comply with court orders requesting records and the like. The basic process is probably something I could replicate in a couple UNIX command lines (albeit with a reference book at hand).

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#192853: Jun 12th 2017 at 12:35:59 PM

Not so sure about that, Elle. I am a volunteer at Wikipedia and from some conversations with the Wikimedia staff I know that they deliberately store as little information as possible to discourage subpoenas. So I think that Twitter would get away with not having an archive of deleted stuff at all, other than technical backups of course.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#192854: Jun 12th 2017 at 12:39:22 PM

There is already an independent online archive. It was archived every few hours since September 2016, and in real time since 1/27/17, the moment he became president. Not official but still a good reference.

The Trump Twitter Archive: http://www.trumptwitterarchive.com/about

edited 12th Jun '17 12:40:35 PM by megaeliz

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#192855: Jun 12th 2017 at 12:50:55 PM

[up]

The problem being that it's not an official thing, and those disputing that Trump actually did post X or Y tweet would simply go "Those could have been altered!"

Having an official one, at least for the office of the President, if nothing else, would likely be a good call to make, and I'm honestly not sure how such a proposal would fare. On the one hand, Congressional Republicans likely wouldn't want to make it official, but on the other hand, Trump himself might, given previous statements by Spicer and Conway and his general megalomania.

edited 12th Jun '17 12:51:18 PM by ironballs16

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#192856: Jun 12th 2017 at 2:00:49 PM

If I remember rightly from a debate a couple of weeks ago (or was it a month or two ago?), the issue isn't the presidential Twitter account - that's already covered. It's just his personal account that's in question, and mainly because he's been using it for POTUS-related subjects, which the blurs the line between whether it can be considered a 'personal' or 'business' account now.

In short, it's the way he's been using his personal account that's triggered the debate.


Edited to add:

This was a weird opinion piece, so I thought I'd share it (CNN):

Donald Trump just held the weirdest Cabinet meeting ever

The public portion of these gatherings of all of the president's top advisers are usually staid affairs. Photographers are let in to take pictures. The president makes a very brief statement. A reporter shouts a question, unanswered. The end. Donald Trump did something very different in his Cabinet meeting Monday.

First, he reviewed the various alleged successes of his first 143 days and made this remarkable claim: "Never has there been a president....with few exceptions...who's passed more legislation, who's done more things than I have."

But, that wasn't even close to the weirdest part of the Cabinet meeting!

Once Trump finished touting his administration's accomplishments, he turned to several of his newly-minted Cabinet secretaries like Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Each of those Cabinet secretaries lavished praise on Trump, which he accepted without comment but with a broad smile. At first, I thought Trump was just going to have the new members of the Cabinet spend a few minutes praising him. NOPE! It soon became clear that Trump planned to have every Cabinet member speak. And when I say "speak" what I really mean is "praise Trump for his accomplishments, his foresight, his just being awesome."

You think I am exaggerating. I am not. Here's what White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said about Trump: "We thank you for the opportunity and blessing to serve your agenda."

edited 12th Jun '17 4:02:44 PM by Wyldchyld

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#192857: Jun 12th 2017 at 4:13:47 PM

Jesus christ he's going full cult of personality.

Also looks like the text of Trumpcare isn't being released to the senators who will vote on it. Shady.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
I-Teleported-Bread Since: Jul, 2016
#192859: Jun 12th 2017 at 4:19:39 PM

So how likely is it that this so-called "Trumpcare" will pass, assuming the senate and congress are still at odds with Trump de la Dump?

pwiegle Cape Malleum Majorem from Nowhere Special Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Cape Malleum Majorem
#192860: Jun 12th 2017 at 4:29:56 PM

[up]x4 — Trump doesn't care about actually getting stuff done. He only cares about people kissing his ass, and crowds cheering his name.

This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
JBC31187 Since: Jan, 2015
#192861: Jun 12th 2017 at 4:36:04 PM

[up][up]Too close for comfort. Mc Connell's seems invested in it now, so he must believe there's a chance.

So, a reminder: call your reps and senators. Call volume has dropped, so try at least once a week.

FireCrawler2002 Since: Apr, 2017
#192862: Jun 12th 2017 at 4:49:50 PM

[up]x5 Trumpmenistan.

edited 12th Jun '17 4:50:18 PM by FireCrawler2002

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#192863: Jun 12th 2017 at 5:11:13 PM

OMFG, the POS POTUS is even more of a pathetic insecure manchild than I thought.

Yeesh, what's next? The Cabinet members giving him shoulder rubs? They're already stroking his...ego.

Disgusted, but not surprised
TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#192864: Jun 12th 2017 at 5:14:03 PM

[up] "Stroking" nothing. At the rate they're going, they're going to give him the mother of all hickeys below the belt.

edited 12th Jun '17 5:30:34 PM by TrashJack

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#192865: Jun 12th 2017 at 5:33:13 PM

@Handel snubbing an LGBT lawmaker...can't say I'm surprised. Though the extreme reaction gave me yet another reason to go f*** Handel. Thing is, I don't know if that headline will help or hurt her in the area...

@Maryland and DC:

The plaintiffs are hoping to force Mr. Trump to release his tax returns should either of the lawsuits reach the discovery phrase. The Justice Department would most likely take such a fight to the Supreme Court, legal experts said.
That's impressive planning. Let the Legal Speed Chess begin!

@That Cabinet Meeting.
Tis not the dethroning moment of suck. That'll be the moment the population does that. No reason that this shouldn't be all over future textbooks as a the FUBAR-Event Horizon fast approaching. And while I expect demands like that from Trump, none of them are innocent of following that asinine (and precedent-setting) performance.

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#192866: Jun 12th 2017 at 7:01:31 PM

It didn't take long: Democratic Lawmakers mock the heaping praise lavished on Trump.

[up] "Tis not the dethroning moment of suck. That'll be the moment the population does that."

That already is the case among some of his supporters. Unless you meant the population is forced to praise him under penalty of jail time if they don't.

edited 12th Jun '17 7:06:11 PM by speedyboris

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#192867: Jun 12th 2017 at 7:11:53 PM

[up]And rest assured, nearly 60 percent of the country would be serving jailtime in that instance.tongue

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#192868: Jun 12th 2017 at 7:48:34 PM

"Never has there been a president....with few exceptions...who's passed more legislation, who's done more things than I have."

Wow. That's fucking surreal.

I really do wonder if he believes his own bile.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#192869: Jun 12th 2017 at 7:52:13 PM

He might as well. Trump has always felt like he's lived in his own reality where he's the best person ever, completely bereft of any real responsibility or wrongdoing and he doesn't have much of a reason to think otherwise because he has IRL plot armor.

TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#192870: Jun 12th 2017 at 7:55:52 PM

[up] re:"IRL plot armor"

There's an old saying about people like Trump: "The devil's children have the devil's luck."

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#192871: Jun 12th 2017 at 8:01:41 PM

Look! More fans... note 
Under Trump, US militias not ready to lay down arms

JACKSON, Ga.

In the woods south of Atlanta, John and Yvette De Maria are with about a dozen camouflage-wearing, heavily armed Americans huffing and puffing as they scramble to navigate the sprawling piece of property where they train, one weekend a month, to ward off enemies — foreign or domestic.

The De Marias are with the Georgia Security Force militia, whose members are relieved that Donald Trump won the presidency but believe it would be a mistake to lay down their arms just because he is in the White House. So they continue to take to the woods to be ready for whatever may come, whether it's an economic crisis that spawns unrest or Islamic extremists carrying out attacks on American soil.

"I started to realize that I got very angry because the system has been so abused over and over and over again, making rights out of thin air for people who don't deserve to get anything," said John De Maria, who goes by the nickname Rooster J.

... experts [say] that militia activity tends to fall off under Republican presidents and ramp up under Democrats. But just as last year's election upended conventional models, those who watch militias say life in the Trump era may not follow the same patterns.

If anything, it could be a potential powder keg, if those feelings of having a kindred spirit in Trump erupt into a sense of betrayal if he fails to deliver on his promises.

"What would concern me is that nobody gets more angry than a fan spurned," said James Corcoran, a professor at Simmons College in Boston who has watched militias closely for decades and has written extensively about the movement.

The leader of the Georgia Security Force, Chris Hill, remains deeply skeptical of Congress and worries the lawmakers will undermine Trump's agenda: preventing him from building a wall on the Mexico border, repealing "Obamacare" and fulfilling his promise to "Make American Great Again."

"Even if President Trump is able to do the things that he wants to do, he's still got Congress to contend with. Congress is the same old dog-and-pony show. All they do is fight. They're never going to grant us more freedom," said Hill, who goes by the nickname General Blood Agent.

"A lot of people have let their guard down because he was elected, and I would wholeheartedly say that is a big mistake. ... If anything we should use this time wisely. Like the Good Book says, a wise man prepares, a fool takes his chances."

...Following a dramatic spike after the 2008 election of President Barack Obama, there are now an estimated 165 militias in the U.S., according to Ryan Lenz, a senior investigative reporter with the Southern Poverty Law Center.

For Hill and his group, the 2008 election was their defining moment, the one that signaled the U.S. was on the wrong track. They believed Obama wanted to restrict gun rights and forever alter their way of life.

Yvette De Maria said she and her husband were looking for "like minds" and found the Georgia Security Force through Facebook and a pastor friend who had traveled to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with the militia to help out after fires in the Smoky Mountains devastated the region. That act of charity had moved her.

Even before Obama was elected, the De Marias felt the country was heading down the wrong path, with the military and law enforcement no longer cherished or revered. Yvette De Maria said she believes protesters have been allowed to get out of control after police shootings.

Political correctness has run amok, she said, with politicians and the courts carving out constitutional protections that strayed far from the intent of the nation's forefathers. She laments, for example, the legalization of same—sex marriage and the transgender bathroom issue, believing they amount to a war on her Christian faith.

"We cannot be silent anymore. We have voices. We need to rise up. We need to speak up. We need to find like minds," Yvette De Maria said. "We're going to church every Sunday — but Monday through Saturday, what are we doing?"

She and her husband found their mission and some like-minded people in the militia, which is part of the Three Percenters movement. It derives its name from the belief that just 3 percent of the colonists rose up to fight the British. They have vowed to resist any government that infringes on the U.S. Constitution.

While focused on training, the militia is also social.

In the woods, they use hand signals and walkie-talkies to alert the others to where and how many enemies are lurking, They then navigate obstacles made of firehoses, logs and scraps of wood, metal and string to eliminate the threats.

The first two runs are "dry fire" exercises; the guns aren't loaded. The last exercise of the day involves live rounds in their weapons — from AR-15s to handguns. After the targets are riddled with holes, the militia members gather around a fire at a campsite a short walk away to enjoy music and a barbecue.

For Hill, a paralegal by day, the Trump election was a defining moment to be celebrated.

"We're being called Trump militia. It's something I'm probably going to wear as a badge now," Hill said. "I feel a connection to President Trump."

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#192872: Jun 12th 2017 at 8:13:36 PM

Trump is probably confusing Executive Orders with actual legislation. No one in the Cabinet of course has the guts to correct him.

edited 12th Jun '17 8:14:02 PM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#192873: Jun 12th 2017 at 8:24:21 PM

Trump considering firing Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, according to Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy.

If Trump does that, I don't even know how Republicans in Congress could back Trump anymore. Sure, any Joe Schmoe (R) could blindly follow Trump to the bitter end (even though many of them wouldn't), but the actual Republicans in Congress, who for years heaped praises on the FBI and CIA, and even to this day still praise it and especially Mueller, would have to be suicidally stupid to follow Trump with this move.

If he does fire Mueller, it might be the straw that (finally) breaks the Camel's back...

TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#192874: Jun 12th 2017 at 8:26:35 PM

[up] I know how they'll justify continuing to back Trump: by disposing of all pretenses of giving a **** about the law. And the GOP base will accept it and continue to support their rotten-to-the-core party.

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
Boston Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
#192875: Jun 12th 2017 at 8:30:32 PM

^^^ Which is hilarious, given how in the past he criticized the number of executive orders President Obama was issuing.


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