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

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#237576: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:22:49 PM

Okay, after a couple posts rebuking me earlier, as well as reading that anonymous open letter to the public re: Sinclair, AND reading this piece about how attacking reporters/anchors is the wrong target, consider my opinion changed on the subject.

It's now clear from multiple articles I've read that: A) The anchors are just as disgusted with having to read that propaganda as the public is to hear it, and B) Many stations have hefty fines for any anchors/reporters that quit, something I didn't know at the time. Which is insane, by the way.

Also, heartening to see some fighting back, like a producer in Nebraska who resigned due to this.

edited 5th Apr '18 3:23:50 PM by speedyboris

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#237577: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:27:09 PM

Trying to put together the pieces of Trump/Russia that we've learned recently.

Let's examine the seemingly-random pattern of #Trump Russia-related tea leaves from the last few days, and see what we can divine. [1]

1/ First, #Pruitt. Not long ago, there was scuttlebutt that Pruitt would replace Sessions as AG, and then fire Mueller. Pruitt may be the only guy in the cabinet corrupt enough to do that. Now it looks like he's out.

2/ Next, that Wa Po piece from a day or two ago in which Mueller says Trump is a "subject" not a "target" of the investigation, and Trump trying to spin that as good news.

It's like the Patriots have first and goal from the 1 and he's celebrating b/c they haven't scored yet. [2]

3/ Like, THE BEST Trump could do was brag that he was "just" under federal investigation for collusion with Russia. [3]

4/ Junior got hurry-up divorced, almost certainly to preserve assets he knows might soon be seized, either by the feds or his defense attorneys.

Rudy G, same deal. (h/t @Cheri Jacobus for pointing this out).

Both are guilty af. The divorces may mean barrel-time is SOON.

5/ Remember when Jared Kushner hired the crisis management firm? Remember when his head attorney suddenly quit? There's been a LOT of Kush-related leaks lately. He should call himself Mugabe Kushner, he's so corrupt. [4]

6/There is no question than both Junior and Kushner, son and son-in-law, are TARGETS of Mueller's investigation. He can indict them whenever he wants. RUMINT has the Kush indictment unsealed in late December. [5]

7/ Word is, Mueller wants indictments to rain down before the midterms. So: spring and early summer. Which is to say: how soon is now? [6]

8/ Mueller has been detaining Russian oligarchs as they enter the US and interrogating them, making their lives miserable, setting them up for "lying to FBI" charges. Putin will NOT like that.

9/ Most important Mueller note: By the time this stuff leaks, generally, it is weeks or months in the past. The investigation is well beyond what the papers now make it out to be.

10/ Trump has no attorneys. Like, none. Lionel Hutz wouldn't work for the guy.

11/ Trump has also been more batshit nuts than usual, in his tweets and his speeches. Repeating old bullsh*t tropes, tweeting flat-out lies. Caravan something something Mexico blah blah blah. This is a panic move. He's cornered, and he knows it.

12/ And then there's Roger Stone, who "dined" with his "new friend" Assange, and then went on TV later that day and talked about the dirt that would be unleashed on Hillary and Podesta.

Stone is also being used for defamation.

Assange has no wi-fi.

14/ Russian cyber operatives

  1. hacked the DNC and RNC servers;
  2. weaponized American social media in key swing states especially;
  3. released hacked information at key moments during campaign.
They did this in coordination with Trump's people.

15/ The Trumpist tech team: Kushner; Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer, each part-owners of Cambridge Analytica; web guru Brad Parscale; Roger Stone, who coordinated with Guccifer 2.0; Julian Assange of Wiki Leaks, and various FSB-affiliated hackers (e.g., the "13 Russians").

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#237578: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:34:50 PM

Remember when Trump said Mexico is sending their rapists? He's doubling down on it.

Never mind that, you know, the report they're citing is talking about the number of rape victims... How odd that they'd, you know, be seeking asylum in another country.

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#237579: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:35:48 PM

[up][up][up]Good for you, I totally understand being angry at the people who are playing a role in aiding toxic propaganda like that but it's important to understand that they're more victims then perpetrators.

[up]Not to mention that at the very least he has a penchant for sexual assault if not outright rape, so like always the whole "protect the dignity of our white women" is bullshit.

edited 5th Apr '18 3:36:38 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#237580: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:42:31 PM

[up]x2 I have to admit, I laughed at this random tweet on the subject:

"Trump: Believe me, I know a thing or two about rape."

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#237582: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:49:16 PM

At the same event, he repeated the voter fraud conspiracy theory AGAIN. Even a year and a half after the election, and after that bogus voter fraud commission, the guy just can't let it go. He's so insecure.

edited 5th Apr '18 3:49:26 PM by speedyboris

PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#237583: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:51:34 PM

He is incapable of admitting that he's wrong. Ever. He believes that all of his beliefs are the truth, and sometimes he'll just change his mind and claim that was always his stance. Say one thing: at least his presidency is giving us a really good case study on narcissism.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#237584: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:51:45 PM

[up][up]I'm going to ask guess that he's nervous.

edited 5th Apr '18 3:53:37 PM by megaeliz

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#237585: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:53:02 PM

Why would he be questioning votes in California of all places?

PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#237586: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:53:33 PM

Because he lost there, which is clearly wrong.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#237587: Apr 5th 2018 at 3:58:34 PM

Sanders inserted his foot in his mouth again?

Ugh, does he have to keep giving us reasons to not like him?

Disgusted, but not surprised
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#237588: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:00:14 PM

[up]Because the Messianic Left has a major lack of talent available to them and thus will desperately crowd to anyone who makes some waves, and admittedly Sanders did make waves (if literally nothing else).

edited 5th Apr '18 4:00:27 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Reflextion from a post-sanity world (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
#237589: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:01:00 PM

[up][up]Yes, he does.

edited 5th Apr '18 4:01:33 PM by Reflextion

Someone did tell me life was going to be this way.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#237590: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:03:12 PM

I wonder how many of the most obnoxious "Bernie Bros" on Social Media were Russian Trolls.

Remember, they really, really didn't want Hillary to win, apparently because Putin blamed her comments for the 2011 Riots (at least according to the book, Russian Roulette), as well as how she pushed to be tougher on Russia.

And what better way to do that then by splitting the Democratic base with inflammatory rhetoric, painting her as a corporate shrill and the establishment was a bunch of sellouts?

edited 5th Apr '18 4:21:13 PM by megaeliz

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#237591: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:21:11 PM

Him calling Democratic campaign strategy a business model was sneaky as hell. It was blatant pandering to fears of “establishment Democratic officials” as big business Wall Street shills.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Izeinsummer Since: Jun, 2013
#237592: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:24:19 PM

Almost everything republicans ever accuse democrats of is projection. So Trump going on about vote fraud is a hint that, yes, the Russians hacked the voting machines, and yes, Trump knew about it in advance (Russia would tell him just to ensure he was on the hook, criminally. ) Just a hint. The actual evidence is the bullshit exit poll discrepancies from 2016.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#237593: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:25:04 PM

[up][up] That's not what I'm saying though.

He's no traitor like Trump, but early in the primaries, Russia was promoting anyone who wasn't Hillary Clinton, and only really started putting their weight behind Trump later in them. Even after that though, I'm pretty sure his rhetoric was used by the Russians to try to split the Democratic voter base.

edited 5th Apr '18 4:29:13 PM by megaeliz

TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#237594: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:25:30 PM

Just got an alert on my phone.

Trump wants and addition 100 billion in tariffs on China.

Welp

New Survey coming this weekend!
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#237595: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:26:56 PM

Friggin knew he would escalate after Beijing refused to back down.

Disgusted, but not surprised
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#237596: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:50:12 PM

E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt

WASHINGTON — At least five officials at the Environmental Protection Agency, four of them high-ranking, were reassigned or demoted, or requested new jobs in the past year after they raised concerns about the spending and management of the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt.

The concerns included unusually large spending on office furniture and first-class travel, as well as certain demands by Mr. Pruitt for security coverage, such as requests for a bulletproof vehicle and an expanded 20-person protective detail, according to people who worked for or with the E.P.A. and have direct knowledge of the situation.

Mr. Pruitt bristled when the officials — four career E.P.A. employees and one Trump administration political appointee — confronted him, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The political appointee, Kevin Chmielewski, was placed on administrative leave without pay, according to two of the people with knowledge of the situation. Mr. Chmielewski was among the first employees of Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign, serving as a senior advance official. The two people, who are administration officials, said that Mr. Chmielewski flagged some of his concerns about Mr. Pruitt directly to the White House’s presidential personnel office.

Two of the career officials, Reginald E. Allen and Eric Weese, were moved to jobs where they had less say in spending decisions and less interaction with Mr. Pruitt, the people said. A third career official, John E. Reeder, joined American University as a temporary “executive in residence” after being told by the E.P.A. to find a new job. And John C. Martin, who served on the security detail, was also removed from the team and had his gun and badge taken away after raising concerns about how Mr. Pruitt’s security was being handled.

A sixth official, Mr. Pruitt’s chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, also raised questions about Mr. Pruitt’s spending, according to three E.P.A. officials. He remains in his job but is considering resigning, agency officials said. Mr. Jackson came to the agency from the office of Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, who like Mr. Pruitt had been a major critic of regulatory moves made under President Barack Obama, and is a prominent climate change skeptic.

And according to someone from the EPA I follow, there's been more than just these 5.

dedicated to Scott Priutt:

edited 5th Apr '18 4:55:39 PM by megaeliz

TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#237597: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:53:09 PM

[up][up][up]

Well, the Hong Kong newspapers are gonna love this.

Seriously, they've gone into overdrive about the trade war, they've been yelling about it ever since Trump got elected.

edited 5th Apr '18 4:54:00 PM by TheWildWestPyro

LinkToTheFuture A real bad hombre from somewhere completely different Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
A real bad hombre
#237598: Apr 5th 2018 at 4:59:04 PM

Trump deciding to escalate in the face of basic common sense? Color me shocked.

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison
fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#237599: Apr 5th 2018 at 5:00:02 PM

Wonder how Fox News will blame the democrats for this?

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#237600: Apr 5th 2018 at 5:09:46 PM

It occurs to me, if/when the Blue Wave hits and Democrats have Congress, will Fox News et al be able to blame Trump's idiocy on Democrats by claiming the Democratic congress should have stopped him?


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