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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
#244776: Jun 8th 2018 at 10:28:18 AM

So about the California primary, the LA Times has some good-news-bad-news for us: Good news, lots of Republicans are fleeing the party, changing their status to "no party affiliation." Bad news, the Republicans who are left are out-voting everyone else.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#244777: Jun 8th 2018 at 10:34:08 AM

Also, on the Asbestos thing, guess which country is the world's leading producer of asbestos?

If you guessed Russia, you're right.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#244778: Jun 8th 2018 at 10:36:34 AM

Got anyone besides Newsweek for the asbestos thing? Not that I don't believe it but I'd like to share it around.

Oh really when?
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#244780: Jun 8th 2018 at 11:17:07 AM

This just dropped

New indictment filed against Manafort names ally with Russian intel ties

(CNN) Prosecutors have filed a new indictment against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort that also names as a defendant Konstantin Kilimnik, a close business colleague of Manafort's who prosecutors have said has close ties to Russian intelligence.

The indictment includes two new charges against both Manafort and Kilimnik: a count of obstruction of justice and a count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, meaning the two allegedly worked together to tamper with witnesses.

Knew there would be superseding indictment for Manafort!

edited 8th Jun '18 11:19:05 AM by megaeliz

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#244781: Jun 8th 2018 at 11:23:45 AM

Well, I can't say anything for sure about Trump, but it definitely seems like Manafort is going to jail.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#244782: Jun 8th 2018 at 11:33:03 AM

[up] and I bet there's going to be more.

I wonder if he will flip?

edited 8th Jun '18 11:33:24 AM by megaeliz

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#244783: Jun 8th 2018 at 12:58:47 PM

From a few pages back, The Hill covers the "No Gays Allowed" sign, which was put back up after the cake ruling.

On that note, the news about the DREAMER who was deported and subsequently murdered made me sad, but fucking hell that Asbestos thing had me clasping my hands over my mouth to muffle The Scream of frustration it made me emit.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#244784: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:14:39 PM

I fully expect news of Trump chucking a baby off the side of a cliff to show he can.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#244785: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:20:13 PM

If the baby is not white? There'll be cheers.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#244786: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:23:53 PM

You know, I thought it was an exaggeration when I had the Trump analog in my books being a time traveling Nazi.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#244787: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:25:32 PM

[up]Congratulations; you're a seer. Have a damp squib and a used party hat. :/

edited 8th Jun '18 1:26:00 PM by Euodiachloris

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#244788: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:26:23 PM

Getting alerts that Trump snubbed Macron in Quebec, and showed up late.

Classy as 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
#244789: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:28:05 PM

Someone needs to just lock Trump in a closet.

i'm tired, my friend
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#244790: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:28:29 PM

Its a countdown until the elections and impeachment.

It was an option before.

Now it's a necessity.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#244791: Jun 8th 2018 at 1:56:56 PM

So about the California primary, the LA Times has some good-news-bad-news for us: Good news, lots of Republicans are fleeing the party, changing their status to "no party affiliation." Bad news, the Republicans who are left are out-voting everyone else.

Congratulations, that's the first site I've seen that has decided EU data laws are too hard and just makes itself unavailable if accessed from Europe. [lol]

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#244792: Jun 8th 2018 at 2:58:21 PM

Romney predicts Trump will win in 2020. There's a lot to unpack here.

He claims that if the economy continues to do great (and again, "great" is not universal- as others brought up a few pages back, not everyone is doing better under Trump's tax code), he'll be re-elected easily. And he has the advantage of being the incumbent; only a few presidents in the last 100 years were one-term (LBJ, Carter, H.W. Bush). It would be foolish to not heed this warning and get overconfident.

Some have claimed this is Romney's subtle, coded way of encouraging Democrats to get out and vote, considering he was bashing him a year ago, but I think the man sold out and jumped on the Trump train. Choo choo. Him running for Senate certainly has something to do with his change in tone, too.

If we want people to get out and vote in 2018 and 2020, maybe we need a return of the LBJ-style ad: "The stakes are too high for you to stay home."

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#244793: Jun 8th 2018 at 3:14:02 PM

Trump pardoned Muhammed Ali today.

Except Muhammed Ali's conviction had already been overturned in 1971 and Carter had already pardoned all draft escapees.

edited 8th Jun '18 3:14:13 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#244794: Jun 8th 2018 at 3:21:54 PM

Romney has realized that the GOP is now the Trump party, and has jumped on board.

Republicans are collaborators.

edited 8th Jun '18 3:22:39 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#244795: Jun 8th 2018 at 3:21:57 PM

But we've gotta distract from the G7 things.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#244796: Jun 8th 2018 at 3:32:29 PM

Silicon Valley libertarians normally have fairly leftist policy agendas, and their lobbying money mainly goes to the Democrats, simply because they're more intelligent and better educated than the Republican masses (and because they've historically been political enemies of Wall Street's finance-driven corporations).

  • They want net neutrality and protection for ISPs and content providers because their business models are based on an open Internet.
  • They want UBI even if they're libertarian, because they can damn well see the writing on the wall when automation takes away jobs. (Also, because "replace the welfare state with a negative income tax" is actually a classic libertarian position.)
  • They know that climate change exists and aren't ideologically committed to denying it. (I am aware that Thiel has flip-flopped on the issue. Thiel is also crazy even by techbro standards - vampire, remember?)
  • They oppose the War on Drugs because that opposition has always been a Libertarian position (and Libertarians have always been crazy enough to stick to the no-compromises version of ending the War on Drugs, which means that that position could be safely ignored).

The main area where techbros align with the Republicans is on identity issues; gender, race, and sexuality - and these ideals usually (but not always) don't take priority over their economic interests. Also, unlike true-red Republicans, Silicon Valley voters do not "fall in line" and vote for anyone with an R on their ticket. (That said, they were excellent useful idiots for the Trump campaign. Whites-only socialism and the right to grab women by the pussy?)

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#244797: Jun 8th 2018 at 4:17:56 PM

Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk said he's being forced out of his job following disagreements with Trump's administration over how many bison the park can sustain; he was offered a transfer he didn't want and was told by acting National Park Service Director Paul "Dan" Smith Wenk was going to be out in August after they appoint a new superintendent, despite Wenk saying he was going to retire next March.

BILLINGS, Mont. — Yellowstone National Park's superintendent said Thursday he's being forced out as a "punitive action" following disagreements with the Trump administration over how many bison the park can sustain, a longstanding source of conflict between park officials and ranchers in neighboring Montana.

Superintendent Dan Wenk last week announced he intended to retire March 30, 2019, after being offered a transfer he didn't want to take.

He said was informed this week by National Park Service Acting Director Paul "Dan" Smith that a new superintendent will be in place in August and that he will be gone by then.

"I feel this is a punitive action but I don't know for sure," Wenk told The Associated Press. He wasn't given a reason and said the only dispute he's had with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was over bison.

Ranchers in neighboring Montana have long sought reductions in Yellowstone's bison numbers because of worries that they could spread the disease brucellosis to cattle and compete with livestock for grazing space outside the park.

Wenk and park biologists have said the current population of more than 4,000 bison is sustainable. But Zinke and his staff have said the number is too high, Wenk said, and raised concerns that areas of the park such as the scenic Lamar Valley are being overgrazed.

Zinke is a former Montana congressman. His close attention to projects back home has stirred speculation he has future political ambitions in the state.

Zinke spokeswoman Heather Swift declined to comment directly on Wenk's assertions or the issue of bison management. She referred a reporter to a previously issued statement that said President Donald Trump had ordered a reorganization of the federal government and that Zinke "has been absolutely out front on that issue."

"We're not a livestock operation. We're managing a national park with natural systems," Wenk said. "We do not believe the bison population level is too high or that any scientific studies would substantiate that."

Wenk spent more than four decades with the National Park Service and seven years in Yellowstone.

Last year, members of the park's maintenance department were disciplined after an investigation found female employees were subjected to sexual harassment and other problems.

The scandal echoed problems that surfaced in recent years in other national parks and in some instances prompted personnel changes, but Wenk said that was never brought up in the discussions about transferring him to a new post.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#244798: Jun 8th 2018 at 4:19:02 PM

I wouldn't be suprised if Romney turns out to be right, TBH. The incumbent advantage will more likely than not carry Trump to re-election unless the Democrats manage to scrounge up a legitimately exciting candidate who can command attention.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#244799: Jun 8th 2018 at 4:20:40 PM

I disagree, Trump barely won against Clinton who was a flawed candidate so I think unless we get someone terrible come 2020 his defeat would be more likely then not. Regardless calling his victory is not a rational predication.

That's clearly just Romney fellating Trump and behaving like a good Republican stooge, whether Trump actually has a chance or not has zero relevance to whether or not we should take his proclamation seriously (spoiler: we shouldn't).

edited 8th Jun '18 4:21:30 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
#244800: Jun 8th 2018 at 4:28:59 PM

And Mueller is nowhere near finished yet, and Trump's BS with the economy is not sustainable.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

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