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Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#238551: Apr 13th 2018 at 4:28:16 AM

So we're back to IOKIYAR.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
NoName999 Since: May, 2011
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#238553: Apr 13th 2018 at 5:12:15 AM

"It's OK if you're a Republican"

acronyms man

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.
#238554: Apr 13th 2018 at 5:37:43 AM
Thumped: This post was thumped by moderation to preserve the dignity of the author.
"You can reply to this Message!"
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#238555: Apr 13th 2018 at 5:43:36 AM

[up][up][up][up] You kinda went from Gestapo to Stasi within the first two sentences. :/

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
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.
#238556: Apr 13th 2018 at 5:52:29 AM

Yeah, and frankly, its pretty off topic anyway. Gingrich was going Godwin's Law not trying for facts about history.

So to put it in the appropriate vernacular: Am Thema vorbei. note 

"You can reply to this Message!"
math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#238557: Apr 13th 2018 at 5:56:11 AM

[up][up] A deeply unfair comparison because the Stasi were actually good at their jobs.

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#238558: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:02:46 AM

"It's OK if you're a Republican"

acronyms man

Initialisms, actually, unless IOKIYAR is pronounceable without twisting your tongue into knots.

The GOP propaganda machine is going all-out to discredit Comey and the FBI. I've never seen anything like this. Sources including ABC News are reporting that Trump has signed off on a pardon of Scooter Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Libby was convicted of lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice, and his sentence was commuted by George W. Bush. This could be an attempt to set a precedent for a mass pardon of Trump associates based on the narrative that the FBI is corrupt.

Scary times, man.

edited 13th Apr '18 6:04:38 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#238559: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:13:34 AM

A POS POTUS doing everything in his power to weaken state institutions who do not kiss his ass enough in his opinion. What a disgrace.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#238560: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:41:07 AM

It's not just that. I've been observing the antics of this government with varying levels of amusement and disgust, but we're coming rapidly to a point where the building crisis will be acute.

Will Trump go so far as to attempt to fire or pardon everyone involved in the investigations against him? If so, will Congress let him get away with it? These questions have never been so pertinent and may well define the future of our nation. I'm more worried than I've ever been.

Republicans may be getting ready to cede the House to Democrats in the November elections, but our executive branch may turn into a de facto autocracy before then. The only obstacle in the way is there being enough Republicans willing to say no.

edited 13th Apr '18 6:43:57 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#238561: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:44:58 AM

So we can count on that autocracy then?

i'm tired, my friend
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#238562: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:53:25 AM

So is Trump actually going to declare himself President For Life and formally tear up the twenty-second amendment live on FOX?

edited 13th Apr '18 6:53:57 AM by Deadbeatloser22

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#238563: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:55:15 AM

[up] It's not likely to be that blatant, just a gradual elimination or neutering of all people and institutions willing to stand against him, with Congress looking the other way and whistling.

The Trump presidency could be seen through a historical lens as the final chapter in "The Dummies' Guide to Dismantling a Representative Democracy".

edited 13th Apr '18 7:25:16 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#238564: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:56:20 AM

[up][up] I'm now imagining a version of that doctored picture of one of the Parkland kids ripping the Constitution in half.

RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#238565: Apr 13th 2018 at 6:58:33 AM

Initialisms, actually, unless IOKIYAR is pronounceable without twisting your tongue into knots.

Quite easily, given that it's mostly vowels rather than so many consonants that you have to go check Polish orthography to make sense of it.

JBC31187 Since: Jan, 2015
#238566: Apr 13th 2018 at 7:19:11 AM

[up][up] "Every accusation is a confession" part infinity.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#238567: Apr 13th 2018 at 7:32:10 AM

James Comey on the first time he met with Trump.

Usually don't do cable news, but this clip is great.

edited 13th Apr '18 7:46:02 AM by megaeliz

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#238568: Apr 13th 2018 at 7:54:29 AM

I guess I’m kind of just waiting for this all to finally be something.

They should have sent a poet.
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#238569: Apr 13th 2018 at 8:10:33 AM

I am told it is because they are under funded, but it takes about 14-20USD to ship a standard box package, inside the country, and it wont get there for a week.

Yeah, no. 7-10 days is the typical Standard shipping, and people have saved a lot of money on the "If it fits, it ships!" flat rate packaging. As an example, I had a 70-pound package come through my office last week - and they fit it into a Medium Flat Rate box, meaning they paid roughly $15 in postage on an item that would have typically cost them about $80 for the weight alone. Aside from that, the big caveat with Standard shipping is that, if there are Priority or Express packages needing shipment, Standard Post packages are the first ones removed to make room for them for transit, in the shipping version of triage.

And yes, prices have risen, but that's at least partially because the USPS has been trying to make up in packages what we've lost in letters since the advent of the internet.

Edit: And yes, I do realize how much biger amercia is, but they could at least match the international shipping price for domestic shiping.... not charge 3 times more if they aren't even going to ship it for the better part of a week.

If you're referring to packages ordered online, that's a weird situation that I've experienced as well. Ordering from Amazon and going with "Super Saver shipping" (or whatever the Free Shipping option is) typically means that Amazon doesn't process the order for almost a week, but the package still got shipped Priority, so the travel time was still 2-3 days even though it'd been ordered a week prior.

And yeah, the USPS is in a weird spot, as we're technically a pseudo-autonomous agency - we can make certain decisions unilaterally, but others (including retirement programs, postage rates, etc.) have to go through Congress first, which is what put us in the red to start with. After Enron fucked over its employees pensions through their antics, Congress mandated that the USPS "pre-fund" its retirement benefits, rather than the "pay-as-you-go" model used before that, which put the USPS budget massively in the red.

edited 13th Apr '18 8:18:52 AM by ironballs16

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Kaiseror Since: Jul, 2016
#238570: Apr 13th 2018 at 8:21:21 AM

On the whole Trump autocracy thing, would the military even go along with it?

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#238571: Apr 13th 2018 at 8:23:33 AM

Probably not, The danger with Trump isn't a military coup, it's the continual, gradual chipping away at the political norms that underpin our government. He's already doing it, with the casual disregard for federal law enforcement.

"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."
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#238572: Apr 13th 2018 at 8:23:52 AM

[up][up]

On the whole Trump autocracy thing, would the military even go along with it?

Their oath is to the Constitution of the United States, not the president himself.

edited 13th Apr '18 8:27:37 AM by megaeliz

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#238573: Apr 13th 2018 at 8:24:07 AM

[up][up][up] Good question. It's a total unknown right now. Traditionally our military serves the executive branch. Civilian control is fundamental to the structure of our government — that means that, when the President says "go", they go regardless of their personal objections, as long as the order is not actually illegal.

If Trump begins giving orders to suppress dissent or anything like that, our military leaders would most likely resign. For the military to actively depose the President... that would be all but unthinkable.

edited 13th Apr '18 8:24:21 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#238574: Apr 13th 2018 at 8:24:52 AM

The bigger threat is the slow and steady erosion of our institutions and self-respect as a nation. Especially if it leads to voter apathy.

Disgusted, but not surprised
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#238575: Apr 13th 2018 at 8:26:13 AM

I think Trump has been causing the opposite of voter apathy lately.

"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."

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