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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Well, see, I don't think "mostly the same staff" is a good idea.
Like, at all.
Oh God! Natural light!I'd argue for 'Similar' instead of 'Same' in the new organization. Same Goals, vastly different methods and have that written in the regs with the blood of exsanguinated ex-ICE agents rotting in prison.
And transfers over only after thorough vetting on their ICE-days conduct.
Edited by 3of4 on Jul 23rd 2018 at 9:36:13 PM
"You can reply to this Message!"Seriously though, unless it's actually spreading lies and misinformationnote , I don't see why it matters. Most people aren't going to visit a website because of a billboard.
That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw![]()
Damn that's a really hardcore way of putting it. Still I agree
Eh, sure it's probably not going to be effective but I get why it would matter to them. I've seen Islamophobic billboards as a Muslim and that was never fun, not really some horrible atrocity but still unpleasant.
Haven't found an article yet, but the manafort trial judge has (a) delayed the trial until July 31, and (b) unsealed the names of the immunity witnesses.
Best I can find so far: https://twitter.com/aliasvaughn/status/1021472550210228224?s=19
2. These people are all from financial institutions, so my guess is that they helped Manafort conceal and launder money, hence why they requested immunity to testify.
3. Also and by the way, @Fox News LIED with a FAKE propaganda scoop, as usual. There is NO trace whatsoever of Tony Podesta, that Fox News lied about re: his being one of the witnesses granted immunity. He was NEVER part of the group of course. And Fox lied. /END
Edited by sgamer82 on Jul 23rd 2018 at 1:45:57 PM
Well, like was mentioned before, most ICE agents don't have a whole lot to do with deportation, and for the most part they seem to regard the whole deportation operation with distaste. Presumably those people would keep their jobs, and continue to do whatever they do. You can sell it however you want, but you're not really "destroying" the agency if most of its employees keep their job and the organizational structure is essentially the same.
Re-branding it and cleaning house is certainly a good idea, though.
Edited by archonspeaks on Jul 23rd 2018 at 12:43:23 PM
They should have sent a poet.Maybe.
If it results in increased voter turnout and better immigration policies then I don't really care.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jul 23rd 2018 at 3:42:54 PM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangI don't want them to keep their jobs. I want them to be able to transfer over after it has been established their conduct has been clean. Different thing.
And why is it a bad thing if its a PR question? Trust in ICE has been critically damaged. Fatally even. Do regain that trust for a follow-up agency does need a pretty clear sign you are willing to do so.
Edited by 3of4 on Jul 23rd 2018 at 9:45:43 PM
"You can reply to this Message!"Bernie Sanders bashing Dems again.
That's cool. Not like we have one of the most important midterms in US history in just over three months or anything.
That's the same thing. If it needs to be sold as destroying the agency to get the public on board then sure, but what we're really talking about here is review and minor restructuring, and I think that would be a better, or at least more politically expedient, way to sell it.
They should have sent a poet.What would be a major restructuring in your eyes?
Edited by KarkatTheDalek on Jul 23rd 2018 at 4:24:17 AM
Oh God! Natural light!
Actually changing the major mission or structure of the agency in some way. If large parts of their jurisdiction were broken off and given to other agencies, or if the agency itself was broken up and spread among other agencies. I don't really think that would be a good idea though.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/07/23/day-550/
Day 550: Reality distortion field.
1/ The Justice Department released a previously classified application to wiretap Carter Page showing that the "the FBI believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government" to "undermine and influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election." The government monitored the former Trump campaign adviser under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and according to the October 2016 application, the FBI believed "the Russian government's efforts are being coordinated with Page and perhaps other individuals associated" with the Trump campaign to establish "relationships with Russian government officials, including Russian intelligence officers." The application says that Page "has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government." (New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News)
2/ Trump – providing no evidence – claimed the released documents prove the Justice Department and FBI "mislead the courts" as a "pretext to SPY on the Trump Team." Trump, dismissing the claims in the FISA application, charged that it shows his campaign "was illegally being spied upon (surveillance) for the political gain of Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC." (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/us/politics/trump-fisa-carter-page.html
3/ Trump tweeted that Russia's interference in the 2016 election was "all a big hoax," again reversing his position on whether he believes the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion on Russian election meddling. Instead, Trump deflected and placed blame on Obama, asking "Why didn't he do something about it? Why didn't he tell our campaign?" Answering his own questions, Trump posited that it was because Obama "thought Crooked Hillary was going to win!!!" (Washington Post)
4/ Trump renewed his call to to end the Robert Mueller investigation, tweet-claiming that it's "totally conflicted and discredited." Trump cited the release of the FISA application to wiretap Carter Page, who was under suspicion by the FBI of being a Russian agent, as evidence that the investigation is "a fraud and a hoax." (Politico / Washington Post)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/23/trump-fisa-carter-page-735619
5/ Carter Page acknowledged working as "an informal adviser to the staff of the Kremlin" in a 2013 letter. On Sunday, Page said "there may have been a loose conversation" with Russian officials," but dismissed allegations that he was a Russian agent as "spin," a "ridiculous smear campaign" and "literally a complete joke." (Politico)
6/ A federal judge granted immunity to five witnesses expected to testify in the Paul Manafort trial. Judge T.S. Ellis granted Robert Mueller's request and ordered that the names of those five prospective witnesses be made public. Judge Ellis also ordered Mueller to provide Manafort's attorneys with the names of the 30 prospective witnesses for the trial, which is scheduled to begin this week. (ABC News / CNBC / CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/23/politics/manafort-witnesses-immunity/index.html
TK/ Russia's foreign minister told Mike Pompeo that the charges against Maria Butina were "fabricated" and she should be released. Butina was charged in federal court last week and accused of acting as a Russian agent "for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian federation." Butina told the Senate Intelligence Committee in April that she received financial support from Konstantin Nikolaev, a Russian billionaire "with deep ties to the Russian Presidential Administration." Nikolaev has never met Trump, but his son, who is studying in the U.S., volunteered for Trump's 2016 campaign and was spotted at the Trump International Hotel in Washington during Trump's inauguration. (New York Times / Washington Post)
The Senate Intelligence Committee requested financial transactions on Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin that banks deemed to be "suspicious" or "derogatory." (Buzz Feed News)
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emmaloop/senate-committee-was-probing-alleged-russian-agents
7/ In an all-caps tweet, Trump threatened Iran with "CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED." The tweet was in response to a speech by President Hassan Rouhani, who warned the U.S. that any conflict with Iran would result in the "mother of all wars." Trump responded in kind, informing Rouhani to "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN" and to "BE CAUTIOUS!" (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/world/middleeast/trump-threatens-iran-twitter.html
poll/ 52% of voters disapprove of Trump while 45% approve. Among Republican voters, 88% approve of Trump – the highest of his presidency. (NBC News)
poll/ 56% of voters disapprove of Trump doubting the U.S. intelligence community's conclusions that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election. 29% approve. (ABC News)
poll/ 50% of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of his meeting with Putin, while 33% approve. (Washington Post)
Notables.
Trump suggested that there could be consequences for Michael Cohen for recording a discussion they had two months before the 2016 election about paying a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with him. Trump tweeted that it's "inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client," calling it both "totally unheard of and perhaps illegal." New York state law allows one party to a conversation to tape it without the other knowing. Trump added: "The good news is that your favorite president did nothing wrong!"(New York Times)
Trump's lawyers, however, waived his attorney-client privilege regarding the taped conversation he had with Michael Cohen in September 2016 in which they discussed payments to an ex-Playboy model. The government now has access to it as part of New York's probe into Cohen. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/21/politics/trump-cohen-recording-privilege/index.html
At least 12 audio tapes from Cohen were released to federal investigators and prosecutors. The tapes were seized by the FBI in the raids on Cohen's home and office in April. The Justice Department is considering whether the payments to Karen Mc Dougal violated federal campaign finance laws. (The Guardian / The Hill)
Robert Mueller wants to subpoena Kristin Davis, a former prostitution mogul who went to prison after being tied to former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Davis ran for New York governor in 2010 and her campaign manager was Andrew Miller, who was subpoenaed by Mueller a month ago. Roger Stone worked for her campaign pro bono. Miller is a former Stone aide. (TMZ / New York Times)
https://www.tmz.com/2018/07/20/manhattan-madam-kristin-davis-subpoenaed-robert-mueller-trump/
Brett Kavanaugh suggested several years ago that the unanimous SCOTUS decision that forced Richard Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes may have been wrongly decided. In a 1999 transcript, Kavanaugh asked, "Should U.S. v. Nixon be overruled on the ground that the case was a nonjusticiable intrabranch dispute? Maybe so." He also said, "Nixon took away the power of the president to control information in the executive branch by holding that the courts had power and jurisdiction to order the president to disclose information in response to a subpoena sought by a subordinate executive branch official." (Associated Press)
GOP lawmaker Jason Spencer screamed the n-word multiple times, portrayed a racist caricature of a Chinese tourist in order to take up-skirt photos of a suspected terrorist's burka, and threatened to cut off the penises of suspected terrorists during the latest episode of Sacha Baron Cohen's "Who Is America?" In a post-credits scene titled, "A Message to Terrorists from Rep. Jason Spencer," the Republican state representative from Georgia yelled into the camera: "All you damn sand-n*ggers over in the Middle East, we are tired of you coming to America and we are tired of you trying to threaten us." He continued, wielding a knife in front of a green screen: "We will cut off your dick, you understand? We will take your dick and we will shove it in your mouth." He then takes a bite out of a large sausage and asks, "How are you going to rape children and women without a dick?" (Daily Beast)
John Kelly signed off on an effort to remove three officials who were loyal to Scott Pruitt after the EPA secretary resigned earlier this month. The White House removed the trio, in what one administration official described as a "purge." (Daily Beast)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-kelly-signed-off-on-a-purge-of-scott-pruitt-loyalists-from-epa
Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and other Obama-era national security officials who have criticized him. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump believed that the former officials "politicized" their positions by accusing him of inappropriate contact with Russia. (Bloomberg / Politico)
Anyone noticing how the harder those investigations advance, the more erratic Trump's behaviour seems to get?
More tariffs on stuff out of a whim and now the open threat in all caps to Iran for no good reason.
And funnily enough, even his twitter is filled with more people calling out his bullshit than the bots and sycophant MAGA dipshits.
Inter arma enim silent legesTrumpism is not a Christian Fundamentalist regime. It is supported by some but Trump has driven a large number of them away and some to actually sack their leadership.
Trump is just White Nationalism.
Trump followers must choose Trump over God and many have.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Jul 23rd 2018 at 2:45:40 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.

If the new agency has the same mission and most of the same staff as the old one, which it will, then it's housecleaning. Saying you've destroyed it and rebuilt it is just a fancy way to sell that action to the public.
They should have sent a poet.