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

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240926: May 3rd 2018 at 4:34:24 PM

Can a new office be gotten rid of?

bitemytail Since: Dec, 2011
#240927: May 3rd 2018 at 4:35:56 PM

[up] If nothing else, it can be given no funding, which prevents it from really doing anything.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#240928: May 3rd 2018 at 4:36:31 PM

Putting aside whether it would be, can a faith-based office be declared unconstitutional by the courts?

edited 3rd May '18 4:36:37 PM by sgamer82

RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#240929: May 3rd 2018 at 4:36:42 PM

Yes? Of course it can be gotten rid of. If it's created solely based on presidential authority that's easy.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240930: May 3rd 2018 at 4:36:53 PM

[up]x5 Which office specifically? It depends.

Generally the answer is yes. If someone has the authority to create an office, they can cut it too. Those two powers are essentially the same thing in terms of government reorganization.

edited 3rd May '18 4:37:48 PM by archonspeaks

They should have sent a poet.
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#240931: May 3rd 2018 at 4:39:15 PM

So what we have here is an Executive Branch office that all other organs of the federal government are required to report to, with a remit that seems to fly in the face of the Establishment Clause.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240932: May 3rd 2018 at 4:41:39 PM

And I can just see it being used to provide covers for refusal to serve or treat LGBTQ+ people.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240933: May 3rd 2018 at 4:42:51 PM

Trump could strangle a man on live television and get away with it.

He's basically The Caligula at this point and is kept in power by his Evil Chancellors.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#240934: May 3rd 2018 at 4:43:50 PM

That's pretty much what "Religious Freedom" means these days. We've already seen Trump pushing for healthcare providers to be given the right to refuse to provide any sort of medical treatment to transpeople purely on the basis of individual morals.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#240935: May 3rd 2018 at 4:46:50 PM

To quote the Trumpster:

"We know that in solving the many, many problems in our great challenges, faith is more powerful than government - and NOTHING is more powerful than God."

Theocracy, here we come!tongue

TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#240936: May 3rd 2018 at 4:47:58 PM

[up]

I'm gonna go bang my head against the wall now at that post of his, see ya. AAARGH!

edited 3rd May '18 4:48:06 PM by TheWildWestPyro

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240937: May 3rd 2018 at 4:48:59 PM

If Trump believes in God, I'm the King of Siam.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#240938: May 3rd 2018 at 4:51:29 PM

It wouldn't surprise me if he thinks he is God.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240939: May 3rd 2018 at 4:55:11 PM

So I just looked over the executive order, and like everything Trump it's half terrifying and half dumb. It looks like it's basically taking a bunch of Bush-era faith outreach programs and combining them into a White House Office with access to the Domestic Policy Council. Basically, it's a spot for one of his friends at the table. He'll probably appoint someone horrific and they can whisper in his ear about policy like the rest of the bunch.

edited 3rd May '18 4:55:43 PM by archonspeaks

They should have sent a poet.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240940: May 3rd 2018 at 4:56:59 PM

Given he faked his mental compentency exam, I'd like to see if he'd pass a retake

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#240941: May 3rd 2018 at 5:00:54 PM

Given what Charlesphipps told us about Kentucky on the previous page, this is relevent: This Democrat thinks she can win in “Trump country” Kentucky. It's Amy Mc Grath.

I found this quote interesting: "The primary for the Kentucky Sixth essentially boils down to an intraparty debate about how Democrats can best compete in rural, red-leaning districts. It’s made up of the solidly blue city of Lexington, plus 18 other rural counties that lean conservative. The Sixth District has nearly 100,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, but it’s voted solidly red in numerous past elections. Many counties in the Sixth overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2016, and the Cook Political Report rates the district R+9. Still, Democrats have won in the past; Democratic Rep. Ben Chandler was elected in 2004 and 2010, but was defeated by Barr in 2012."

How to approach potential swing districts is the question of the year, of course.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240942: May 3rd 2018 at 5:06:07 PM

[up][up][up]So what kind of stuff can we expect to see from this new office? It definitely has bad implications for LGBTQ+ folks. How about stuff like creationism in schools?

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240943: May 3rd 2018 at 5:10:20 PM

Re: Kentucky

Amy is a good egg.

Famously, she tried to get pot legalized in the state this year and more or less forced the Republicans to do Loophole Abuse. Basically, they're just refusing to take a vote on the subject and delaying over and over again because the entire state (notably, largely farmers) is for it and the Republicans can't break with their Party on it.

A large number of lower level Republicans (or just people with spines) were for it too, forcing the delay to prevent a break in the party.

It going blue would be AMAZING but not impossible.

edited 3rd May '18 5:12:28 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240944: May 3rd 2018 at 5:10:54 PM

[up][up] It's basically a dedicated evangelical advocate on the Domestic Policy Council. The council only advises the President on policy issues so it doesn't really expand his authority, and the DPO is already heavily religious and Republican. It's just one more terrible human being potentially influencing the president.

edited 3rd May '18 5:11:29 PM by archonspeaks

They should have sent a poet.
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240945: May 3rd 2018 at 5:26:56 PM

The ironic thing about this is that Trump embodies all of the Seven Deadly Sins.

And Trump isn't even a devout Christian. He certainly doesn't act like one is supposed to.

RAlexa21th Zettai Ryouiki Enjoyer from California (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I <3 love!
Zettai Ryouiki Enjoyer
#240946: May 3rd 2018 at 5:28:37 PM

The Seven Deadly Sins come from a self-insert fanfic, not canon.

edited 3rd May '18 5:29:04 PM by RAlexa21th

Continue writing our story of peace.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#240947: May 3rd 2018 at 5:42:59 PM

Hysteria over Jade Helm exercise in Texas was fueled by Russians, former CIA director says [1]

A former director of the CIA and NSA said Wednesday that hysteria in Texas over a 2015 U.S. military training exercise called Jade Helm was fueled by Russians wanting to dominate “the information space,” and that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to send the Texas State Guard to monitor the operation gave them proof of the power of such misinformation campaigns.

Michael Hayden, speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe podcast, chalked up peoples’ fear over Jade Helm 15 to “Russian bots and the American alt-right media [that] convinced many Texans [Jade Helm] was an Obama plan to round up political dissidents.”

Abbott ordered the State Guard to monitor the federal exercise soon after news broke of the operation. Hayden said that move gave Russians the go-ahead to continue — and possibly expand — their efforts to spread fear.

“At that point, I’m figuring the Russians are saying, ‘We can go big time,’” Hayden said of Abbott's response. “At that point, I think they made the decision, ‘We’re going to play in the electoral process.’”

Jade Helm 15 was a planned military training exercise that became a fascination of conspiracy theorists before it even began. The exercise, which spanned several states, began in Texas in Bastrop County in 2015 and was described by federal officials as routine. But some conspiracy theorists speculated that the exercise was a covert effort to institute martial law. Hayden was not CIA director at this time.

Weeks before the exercise began, Abbott wrote a letter to the State Guard asking them to keep an eye on the operation so “Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed.” In the letter, Abbott added that he had "the utmost respect for the deep patriotism of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to fight for and defend our freedom."

Yet the move prompted significant criticism. Democrats questioned whether Abbott really trusted the military. Even some Republicans — including former Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst — spoke out in support of the exercise. Former state Rep. Todd Smith accused Abbott of "pandering to idiots."

“I think it’s okay to question your government — I do it on a pretty regular basis," former Gov. Rick Perry, who is now U.S. Energy Secretary, told reporters at the time. "The military's something else."

A spokesperson for Abbott did not immediately return The Texas Tribune’s request for comment Thursday, but Democrats are already seizing on Hayden's remarks to further criticize the governor for calling the State Guard to monitor the operation.

“It doesn’t take an intelligence expert to see that Trump Republican Greg Abbott calling the Texas National Guard on the U.S. Military was downright idiocy,” Manny Garcia, the deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, said in a news release, misidentifying the Texas State Guard. “Abbott still owes the men and women of our armed forces, and every single Texan, an apology.”

edited 3rd May '18 5:45:46 PM by megaeliz

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#240948: May 3rd 2018 at 5:46:58 PM

"We know that in solving the many, many problems in our great challenges, faith is more powerful than government - and NOTHING is more powerful than God."
And in another thread, someone criticized me for saying that progress would mean basically killing the American Christian faith.note 

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240949: May 3rd 2018 at 5:49:40 PM

Yes, all 71% of us are monsters.

Especially the ones feeding the hungry here in Kentucky in lieu of the government.

edited 3rd May '18 5:50:11 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#240950: May 3rd 2018 at 5:59:30 PM

Because in the US, when anyone says "Christian" they mean "these regressive asshats."

Okay, and what of those of us that aren't anti-progress?

i'm tired, my friend

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