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Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#241701: May 9th 2018 at 4:29:55 PM

[up][up]That's absolutely something worth noting, but another thing to keep in mind is that if you look at the special elections in aggregate the Democrats have a 16-17 point advantage.

Now obviously that too should be taken with a grain of salt but since it involves the actual voters instead of just registered voters I think it's worth paying attention to.

edited 9th May '18 4:32:57 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#241702: May 9th 2018 at 4:44:16 PM

Bingo, until the Dems stop overperforming in special elections, I don't think its time to start worrying more than usual.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#241703: May 9th 2018 at 5:01:59 PM

Plus, you know, the whole Iran thing...

i'm tired, my friend
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#241704: May 9th 2018 at 5:09:53 PM

I hope there's a way for the Iranian accord withdrawal to hurt the GOP without actually spilling blood. Maybe oil prices going up?

An actual war with Iran would have a major and obvious build up, if Iran is struck by the US in quick succession, it won't be the kind of battles that drive up bodycounts (among the attacker).

edited 9th May '18 5:10:59 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#241705: May 9th 2018 at 5:15:46 PM

Mueller, She Wrote Picked up this scoop on their latest episode, and it's well worth a read, particularly if you were wondering why the Judge went so hard on Mueller's Prosecutors in the Manafort case in Virginia. episode here

1/ So we had the pleasure this week of speaking to a criminal defense attorney in the EDVA who has stood in front of Judge Ellis, and spoke to a lawyer that was in the hearing for Manafort’s motion to dismiss.

2/ First, she Explained (as I had posited) that Judge Ellis goes hard on the government to make sure the Feds have good reason to bring a case. In fact, he does this so often, it’s called “getting Ellised”, and is considered a badge of honor for federal prosecutors.

3/ Then she told us about an attorney who was present during the motion hearing last Friday when Ellis laid into Mueller’s team. When asked why the case wasn’t given to EDVA the way the Cohen case was handed off to SDNY, he dropped a bombshell.

4/ We have learned that back in 2005, the US Atty in EDVA Chuck Rosenberg (who I’ve seen a million times on @maddow) had looked at these Manafort bank/tax fraud and money laundering charges back in 2005 but decided not to prosecute.

5/ That’s why Mueller didn’t send these charges back to EDVA; they’d passed on them already. Plus, there’s a statute of limitations issue. After 8 yrs, Manafort can no longer be prosecuted for bank/tax fraud crimes UNLESS you can loop those crimes back into something more recent.

6/ Therefore, Mueller wouldn’t be able to bring charges from over a decade ago unless they were connected to the current Russia investigation, and those charges are not yet known to the public. So HOW are decade-old money crimes connected to the 2016 election? I think I know how,

7/ Well, at least I can guess how. This is a theory so grab your foil hats. Remember Deripaska? He and Manafort invested together a lot while Manafort, Kilimnik, and Gates were working for Yanukovych in the Ukraine. In fact, Deripaska invested $18M with Manafort...

8/ on a telecom company deal about a decade ago. Then Manafort and Gates disappeared with Deripaska’s money after Yanukovych lost his election. Deripaska sued Manafort TWICE to get it back, but mysteriously withdrew his lawsuit when Manafort got his no-pay-needed job with Trump.

9/ Manafort promised Deripaska private briefings on the campaign to pay him back, which he gave at least one well-documented time in August, 2016. Manafort dined with Kilimnik at 666 5th Ave and gave him the brief, who then told Deripaska who flew in on a private jet that night,

10/ then Deripaska flew to Moscow immediately to pick up the Prime Minister of Russia. They flew to Norway and hung out on a yacht where Deripaska told the PM what he learned from Kilimnik’s brief with Manafort. Video was taken by Nastya Rybka that was released by Navalny,

11/ and now Rybka is in a Thai prison and Navalny has been jailed. So, all the bank/tax fraud and money laundering associated with that $18M from a decade ago would not be prosecutable because it’s past the 8 year statute of limitations,

12/ but because Manafort paid it back with squid pro crow private briefings about the Trump campaign in 2016, POOF!! It’s relevant. And it’s collusion. And superseding indictments on Manafort are coming. That’s conjecture, but I’m right. #MSW #Mueller Is Coming /end

edited 9th May '18 5:16:01 PM by megaeliz

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#241706: May 9th 2018 at 5:17:03 PM

Is there a particular reason for why the Republicans are gaining?

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#241707: May 9th 2018 at 5:18:59 PM

I wouldn't count the media as a check though,everything else sure.

The media absolutely is a check. Their role is to keep the population educated about current events so that they can make an informed choice.

The media failed for two reasons. One was the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. By weakening the obligation for fair and balanced reporting, Reagan was able to give rise to Right-wing propaganda networks such as FOX News, Breitbart, and InfoWars among others.

The other was the media's insistence on trying to keep the race between Clinton and Trump competitive. They gave a load of free publicity to Trump and refused to talk about Clinton's actual campaign platform, creating the impression that she didn't have one. They actively manipulated the race to keep two wildly disparate candidates neck and neck, and the result of this plus the feverish propaganda being churned out by conservative media resulted in tipping the scale in Trump's favor.

[up] No. The Republicans are gaining because all the little reasons that won't mean anything and you totally shouldn't ever think it will result in any change on a national level are starting to pile up.

Voters are not swayed by one big thing or another big thing. Their opinions are formed from all the little stories they hear throughout the year, and the Right is really good at lionizing Trump's actions and demonizing the Left.

It just remains to be seen as to whether their propaganda machine can make up the difference before November gets here.

edited 9th May '18 5:21:40 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#241708: May 9th 2018 at 5:21:38 PM

'Is there a particular reason for why the Republicans are gaining?'

I suspect its just more people are starting to pay attention to politics as primary season comes into swing.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#241709: May 9th 2018 at 5:26:58 PM

Special Counsel Mueller’s Team Questioned Blackwater Founder Erik Prince [1]

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has spoken with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. It was not immediately clear what questions Mueller’s team had or what information Prince shared with the special counsel.

Prince attended a now-controversial meeting with the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund in the Seychelles Islands on Jan. 11, 2017—just over a week before Inauguration Day. The Washington Post reported that Mueller is interested in potential efforts at the Seychelles meeting to set up a backchannel between the Trump administration and the Kremlin.

A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment.

Reached for comment, Prince spokesperson Marc Cohen did not dispute this reporting.

“Erik gave a full and frank public account of events as they concern him to the intelligence committee and he has nothing else to add on this topic,” Cohen said.

As Cohen noted, this isn’t the first time Prince has faced questions related to potential coordination between President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin. On Nov. 30, 2017, he spoke at length with the House intelligence committee about the campaign. The committee released the transcript of Prince’s interview, where he described his conversation with Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev. Prince told the committee that they discussed trade and terrorism.

“I met him at a hotel bar, and we chatted on topics ranging from oil and commodity prices to how much his country wished for resumption of normal trade relations with the—relationship with the USA,” Prince told the committee. “I remember telling him if Franklin Roosevelt could work with Josef Stalin to defeat Nazi fascism, then certainly Donald Trump could work with Vladimir Putin to defeat Islamic fascism.”

“The meeting ended after a maximum of 30 minutes,” Prince continued. “I’ve had no communications or dealings with him or any of his colleagues before or after that encounter last January. That’s really all there is to say about that meeting.”

What Prince didn’t note was that Lebanese-American businessman George Nader also attended the meeting, according to the Post. The paper reported that Nader is now cooperating with the Special Counsel probe, and has met with investigators “numerous times.”

The Post reported last April that the meeting’s organizers were interested in discussing Persian Gulf politics.

“Though the full agenda remains unclear, the UAE agreed to broker the meeting in part to explore whether Russia could be persuaded to curtail its relationship with Iran, including in Syria, a Trump administration objective that would be likely to require major concessions to Moscow on U.S. sanctions,” the paper reported.

Prince is well-connected in Trump World. He donated $250,000 to pro-Trump efforts during the campaign, and his sister, Betsy De Vos, is Trump’s education secretary. Prince pushed hard—and unsuccessfully—for the administration to change its Afghanistan War strategy to rely on military contracting companies—the kind of firms that have made him a fortune. Prince is also close with former White House advisor Steve Bannon and has made numerous appearances on Breitbart’s radio show. But those relationships have not always resulted in Prince getting what he wants. Blackwater insiders have lambasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions to The Daily Beast (calling him a “big, giant wussy”) for the continued legal targeting of a Blackwater contractor over the killing of civilians in Iraq.

I have no sympathy.

edited 9th May '18 5:30:06 PM by megaeliz

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#241710: May 9th 2018 at 5:28:03 PM

[up][up][up] The Fairness Doctrine doesn't need to be brought back. It requires broadcasters to discuss controversial issues of public interest, and to give equal time to both sides of said issues. If you note, that means global warming denialism, trickle down economics, and all manner of right-wing BS would get presented as equal.

edited 9th May '18 5:28:12 PM by archonspeaks

They should have sent a poet.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#241711: May 9th 2018 at 5:30:02 PM

The GOP gains, and Trump's approval rating only being rather bad instead of atrocious, can be attributed to Republicans acting in lockstep with the party, and the economy doing pretty well (for now).

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Nikkolas from Texas Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#241712: May 9th 2018 at 5:30:41 PM

The media exists to make money. It does not have integrity and cannot be relied upon to push anything resembling a progressive agenda.

They gave loads of free air time to Trump because Trump equaled ratings. That's all that mattered. Too late some figures thought "huh, maybe Trump can actually win" but the damage was done.

Between Trump and wholeheartedly backing the War in Iraq, I don't trust the media in any real sense. Individual reporters and articles, sure. CNN is not "fake news." It's just unreliable corporate news that exists to make money and perpetuate itself over anything else.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#241713: May 9th 2018 at 6:38:51 PM

The WTFJHT Briefing

1/ A report from the Senate Intelligence Committee concludes that Russia conducted an "unprecedented, coordinated cyber campaign" in order to undermine confidence in U.S. voting systems starting as early as 2014 and continuing through Election Day 2016. Senators report that the Russians targeted at least 18 states looking for vulnerabilities, and in six states they tried to gain access to voting websites. In "a small number of states" they actually breached election computer defenses. The committee said it found no evidence that vote tallies or voter registration information were changed, but that Russian hackers were "in a position to, at a minimum, alter or delete voter registration data." PDF (New York Times / The Hill)

2/ Top White House officials withheld information sought by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, siding with senior FBI and national intelligence officials that the information could endanger a top-secret intelligence source. The Justice Department, however, invited Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy for a classified briefing about their document request related to the Russia investigation after Nunes publicly suggested that he may try to hold Jeff Sessions in contempt for refusing to comply. Some administration officials worry that Trump will change his mind and support Nunes' argument that "Congress has a right and a duty to get this information." (Washington Post / CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/09/politics/devin-nunes-classified-briefing-justice-department/index.html

3/ One of the women who accused Trump of sexual assault won her uncontested primary bid for a seat in the Ohio state House of Representatives. Rachel Crooks accused Trump of kissing her without her consent in 2005 and went public with her claims in 2016. She is now the Democratic nominee for a seat in the Ohio state legislature. (CNN) / Washington Post)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/08/politics/rachel-crooks-ohio/index.html

Don Blankenship lost in the West Virginia Republican U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday following the coordinated effort by Mitch Mc Connell and Republican leaders to sink his bid. Blankenship called himself "Trumpier Than Trump." (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/politics/blankenship-west-virginia.html

4/ Trump mused about taking away press credentials from media outlets over "negative" coverage of him. "Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt?" Trump tweeted. "Take away credentials?" Trump was apparently responding to a segment on Fox and Friends, which cited a study from the Media Research Center – a right-wing media watchdog. The study says 91% of network news stories about him are negative. (The Independent / The Hill / Politico / Washington Post)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/09/trump-media-credentials-576798

5/ Robert Mueller's team interviewed Blackwater founder Erik Prince, who attended a meeting with the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund in the Seychelles Islands on Jan. 11, 2017. The meeting is understood to have been an effort to establish a back channel between the incoming Trump administration and the Kremlin. (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/special-counsel-muellers-team-questioned-blackwater-founder-erik-prince

Notables

Senate Democrats filed a petition to force a net neutrality vote by June 12th. All 49 Senate Democrats and one Republican have pledged to support the pro-net neutrality bill. The prolonged absence of John Mc Cain gives proponents a 50-49 vote edge in the Senate. However, the measure is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled House or survive a veto by Trump. (Ars Technica / Reuters / The Verge)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet/u-s-senate-to-vote-to-reinstate-open-internet-rules-idUSKBN1I9351

Trump's nominee to the lead the CIA defended the agency's use of torture of terrorism suspects, but said she "would not restart, under any circumstances, an interrogation program at CIA." During her confirmation hearing, Gina Haspel refused to definitively tell the Senate Intelligence Committee whether she believed it was wrong to waterboard terror suspects. (New York Times / Washington Post)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/us/politics/gina-haspel-cia-senate-confirmation-hearing.html

North Korea handed over three American prisoners to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and they are now on the way home from Pyongyang. Trump plans to greet the three men when they arrive at Andrews Air Force Base. North Korean state media said the men were detained for either subversion or committing "hostile acts" against the government. (CNBC / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles/north-korea-releases-detained-americans-ahead-of-planned-trump-kim-summit-idUSKBN1IA08I

The White House requested $7 billion in funding cuts to the Children's Health Insurance Program as part of a $15 billion rescissions package sent to Congress. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/08/politics/white-house-chip-funding/index.html

A group of Republicans are trying to force a vote to save the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in defiance of Paul Ryan. House GOP moderates filed a discharge petition that would trigger a series of votes on four immigration bills if 218 members sign on. They need every Democrat to support the petition and 20 Republicans to break ranks to trigger the votes. ( Politico / CNN)

Trump: "Everyone thinks" I deserve the Nobel Prize for improving relations with North Korea. Trump was asked by a reporter whether he deserved the honor, to which he replied: "Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it." (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/09/politics/trump-nobel-prize/index.html

Dept. of that Michael Cohen x Russia x Stormy Daniels thing.

Let's try to untangle the latest news surrounding Michael Cohen, Russian oligarchs, and Stormy Daniels…

Michael Avenatti released an "executive summary" yesterday of material he says connects Trump's payment to Stormy Daniels to a Russian oligarch. Avenatti represents Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump and Michael Cohen. (NPR) [1]

The Avenatti dossier claims that a company connected to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg made eight payments to Essential Consultants, one Cohen's shell companies, between January 2017 and August 2017. Avenatti suggested that the funds from Columbus Nova may have been used to reimburse Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her alleged affair with Trump. (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-cohen-took-cash-from-oligarch-connected-firm-after-election

Essential Consultants received more than $1 million from Vekselberg's Columbus Nova. Cohen's company, Essential Consultants, was incorporated on October 17, 2016 – 10 days after the Access Hollywood tape went public and a weeks before the election – and is the same shell company used to pay Stormy Daniels on October 27th. More than $4.4 million flowed through Essential Consultants beginning just before the 2016 election and continued until January 2018. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/politics/michael-cohen-shell-company-payments.html

Robert Mueller's investigators questioned Vekselberg about a $500,000 payment from Columbus Nova to Essential Consultants that was made shortly after the 2016 election. Vekselberg was placed on a list of sanctioned Russians for election interference and other activities last month by the Trump administration. The purpose of the payments and the nature of the business relationship between Vekselberg and Cohen is still unclear. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/08/politics/robert-mueller-russian-oligarch-payments-michael-cohen/index.html

AT&T paid Essential Consultants $200,000 in four separate installments for "insights" on the Trump administration between October 2017 and January 2018. Net neutrality was repealed in December 2017. Two of those payments came before the Justice Department filed a November 20th antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T's $85 billion deal for Time Warner. Two payments came after that. (CNBC / Politico / The Atlantic)

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-tech/2018/05/09/the-at-t-michael-cohen-connection-208446

Drug giant Novartis paid Essential Consultants $1.2 million for health care policy consulting work that Cohen was "unable" to do. Novartis signed a one-year contract with Cohen's shell company for $100,000 per month in February 2017 – days after Trump's inauguration – for advice on "how the Trump administration might approach certain U.S. health-care policy matters, including the Affordable Care Act." But a month after signing the deal, Novartis executives "determined that Michael Cohen and Essentials Consultants would be unable to provide the services that Novartis had anticipated" following their first meeting with Cohen. "Cohen promised access to not just Trump, but also the circle around him," a Novartis employee said. "It was almost as if we were hiring him as a lobbyist." (CNBC / Bloomberg / STAT News)

https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2018/05/09/trumps-lawyer-cohen-fixer-novartis/

Mueller's investigators questioned Novartis last year about its relationship with Cohen and Essential Consultants. "Novartis cooperated fully with the Special Counsel's office and provided all the information requested," a Novartis spokeswoman said in a statement. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/09/novartis-cooperate-mueller-576806

Korean Aerospace Industries confirmed that it paid $150,000 to Essential Consultants. The company is in contention for a multibillion joint U.S. contract with Lockheed Martin for jet trainers. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mueller-questioned-payment-to-trump-lawyer-michael-cohen/2018/05/09/6ad3a7d6-538d-11e8-a551-5b648abe29ef_story.html

The Treasury Department's inspector general is investigating whether Essential Consultants banking information was leaked. Banks are required to file a Suspicious Activity Report on any unusual transactions over $10,000, which experts say could be the source of the information that Avenatti released yesterday. Rich Delmar, counsel to the inspector general, said that the office is "inquiring into allegations" that Suspicious Activity Reports on Cohen's banking transactions were "improperly disseminated." (Washington Post)

edited 9th May '18 6:44:40 PM by megaeliz

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#241714: May 9th 2018 at 6:47:59 PM

Trump's entire relationship with the media is strange. He makes it clear that he hates it and bashes mainstream reporting, but at the same time he wouldn't have become president without the media and his relentless self-promotion.

What allows conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones to continue operating without too many lawsuits or consequences over the serious (if ridiculous) accusations they spout? I assume they're covered under free speech, but there are people who take the things they say seriously and act violently on them - i.e, Pizzagate.

(I know Jones was recently sued over Sandy Hook, but I'm surprised it took so long - unless he was sued over a conspiracy theory by someone else.)

edited 9th May '18 6:50:23 PM by Raptorslash

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241715: May 9th 2018 at 7:08:33 PM

Jones is an interesting case where his wife (now ex-wife) basically said that he was entirely built on shams and lies that were designed to bilk listeners out of their cash but she became terrified when he started to bring home his investors who really honestly believed his bullshit—and they were paranoid nutjobs with guns.

His lawyer started a defense that initially backed it up before correcting himself that Alex Jones DOES believe everything he says....according to him.

edited 9th May '18 7:59:33 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
nightwyrm_zero Since: Apr, 2010
#241716: May 9th 2018 at 7:21:03 PM

That's the problem with pretending to be crazy. There's always someone out there crazier than you and believe all the crazy bullshit you say.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241717: May 9th 2018 at 7:31:15 PM

You have to wonder what Jones thought when the President announced he bought into it.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#241718: May 9th 2018 at 7:33:24 PM

I'm thinking cash register sounds.

Disgusted, but not surprised
TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#241719: May 9th 2018 at 7:42:45 PM

[up][up][up] There's also the distinct possibility of Becoming The Straitjacket. Jones might well have been just a charlatan when he started out, but it's very possible that in constantly acting crazy, he may have legitimately become crazy as a direct result of it.

edited 9th May '18 7:43:42 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
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241720: May 9th 2018 at 7:59:10 PM

Becoming the Mask exists for a reason.

Mind you, I used to listen to Info Wars for fun.

Now I can't.

edited 9th May '18 8:00:24 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#241721: May 9th 2018 at 8:56:04 PM

I used to keep tabs with Info Wars to see what it was up to and to prepare for the incoming waves of bullshit. But now, things are so overdone and repetitive it is just an exercise in beholding stupidity.

Inter arma enim silent leges
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#241722: May 9th 2018 at 8:58:29 PM

What M84 said.

Do not obey in advance.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#241723: May 9th 2018 at 9:14:59 PM

I don't pay attention to Info Wars, but even it comes to Alex Jones the thing that ahead sticks in my head is an episode of The Last Podcast on the Left about Bill Cooper.

Bill Cooper was one of the big granddaddies of Conspiracy Theorists, and he thought Alex Jones was full of shit.

Ingonyama Since: Jan, 2001
#241724: May 9th 2018 at 9:16:51 PM

@ Rationalinsanity on the previous page: oil prices have already started going up because of the US breaking the Iran deal. The problem is, while this will cause problems here at home (i.e. higher gas prices) that may make more people turn on the Orange Menace, it also is something that greatly benefits Putin. (Similarly, any peace in the Koreas will help him out with natural gas availability and prices.)

Something I haven't seen discussed yet: Trump is undercutting tribal sovereignty and attacking Native American health care. It's forcing them to comply with the new Medicaid work requirement right now, but he's given signs he wants to do the same thing with welfare programs across the board. This should be no surprise since, aside from his racism, I read earlier about how peeved he has acted in the past about Native American casinos getting tax exempt status while his were foundering. So, so petty.

On a related note, I can't find the article now, but it seems some Republicans were trying to slip another attack on the ACA onto the farm bill (I can't recall if it was in the House or Senate). Luckily there has been enough outcry, even from some other Republicans, that this seems to have killed the bill and they're doing amendments, I think.

edited 9th May '18 9:19:21 PM by Ingonyama

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#241725: May 9th 2018 at 9:17:14 PM

I'm actually not too surprised there is increased GOP voter enthusiasm nowadays. It is primary season after all.

Disgusted, but not surprised

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