U.S. Politics; Who Watches the Watchers?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Chip, chip, chipping away….:  

Quote

Washington (CNN)The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a challenge to a controversial Arkansas abortion law blocking medication-induced abortions.

The law, passed in 2015, says that any physician who "gives, sells, dispenses, administers, or otherwise provides or proscribes the abortion-inducing drug" shall have to have a contract with a physician who has admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

 

The order, issued without comment, clears the way for the law to go into effect in mid-July if no other legal action is taken. Planned Parenthood is expected to make another challenge to the law in US district court.

 

"The Arkansas restriction, which was enacted supposedly to protect women's health, is medically unnecessary," lawyers for Planned Parenthood argued in court papers. They say it is unconstitutional because it places an undue burden on a patient's right to choose abortion.

Medication abortion — available only early in a pregnancy — involves the combination of two pills called mifepristone and misoprostol.

Lawyers for Arkansas say the law is a "commonsense requirement" that "merely requires medication abortion providers to have a contractual relationship (to ensure follow-up treatment if needed) with a physician that has admitting privileges.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/29/politics/supreme-court-arkansas-abortion-order/index.html

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, ants said:

Did you even read what you linked? It doesn’t say what you are implying it says. 

Yes, I read it, and does imply ... quite a few things, and tells quite a few more, including that nobody knows anything really about the gift shop, or even where, these days, the moola goes . . . .

In the meantime Giuliani, the yugest NY Yankees fan, booed at yesterday's game when it was announced that he was present and it was his birthday.  Considering who are the average of Yankees fans in NYC, one does take notice of this, and can't help wonder whether this is connected to his current mission to be the dumbster's public face . . . .  OTOH, like the dumbster, NYers have known him as well as they've known the dumbster -- and NYers don't like him, especially his phony bravery on 9/11 (he was running toward the towers because that was supposed to be the safest place to be if NY was attacked -- a bunker - command center had been built deep below one of the Towers -- but when he was running there he didn't know what had been attacked or where -- he gets there, and oops, it's all collapsed and on fire, so his redlight horn howling vehicles run just as fast then, the other direction).

 

[Guy Kilmore]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Chip, chip, chipping away….:  

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/29/politics/supreme-court-arkansas-abortion-order/index.html

I just saw this this morning, and yep.  You want lasting progressive change in this country, you have to keep an eye on the courts.

[lokisnow]

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Chip, chip, chipping away….:  

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/29/politics/supreme-court-arkansas-abortion-order/index.html

This decision brought to you by that great democrat Patrick Leahy, a racist scumfuck who ardently believed that a black president should not have the same judicial appointment privileges as a right-and-proper white president. This decision is wildly cheered by every democrat political caste deep state flunky bureaucrat who ardently love to defend all scumfucks like Leahy and their peers as totally awesome because although they are fucking over the country, what really matters is democrats are acting in the  best interests of upholding senate traditions, senate norms, and the holy and sacred (read racist as all fuck) senate privilege.

Every democrat bureaucrat that is eager to return to “norms” rather than rectify this shit with return fire, can go fuck right off.

[Rippounet]

I probably missed it on this forum since this is a few weeks old, but you guys have seen this, right?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/black-cube-inside-shadowy-israeli-firm-accused-trying-undermine-iran-n877511

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/israeli-operatives-who-aided-harvey-weinstein-collected-information-on-former-obama-administration-officials

Quote

The Observer reported that aides of President Trump had hired Black Cube to run the operation in order to undermine the Iran deal, allegations that Black Cube denies. “The idea was that people acting for Trump would discredit those who were pivotal in selling the deal, making it easier to pull out of it,” a source told the Observer. One of the sources familiar with the effort told me that it was, in fact, part of Black Cube’s work for a private-sector client pursuing commercial interests related to sanctions on Iran. (A Trump Administration spokesperson declined to comment to the Observer on the allegations.)

Now I'm not one for the dramatic, but that smacks of authoritarianism.

[Ormond]

Maybe this should go into Entertainment, but I am sure it will be part of American Politics soon enough (Trump will probably be tweeting about it soon.)

But ABC has cancelled "Roseanne" because of Roseanne Barr's racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett. Too bad they can't cancel the revival of "The Apprentice" that has taken over the White House.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/05/29/abc-cancels-roseanne-after-barrs-racist-tweet.html

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/29/media/roseanne-twitter-chelsea-clinton/index.html

 

 

[Martell Spy]

President Trump Is Taking Control of the Mueller Probe in Slices

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/trump-is-taking-control-of-the-mueller-probe-in-slices.html

Quote

 

Republicans are converging on the position that they have the right to decide which laws matter and who should be investigated.

This increasingly aggressive posture appears to be following a predetermined schedule. Congressional Republicans are determined to seize control of the Mueller investigation before voters have a chance to strip them of the majority that gives them the power to do it.

 

 

[KingintheNorth4]

1 hour ago, Ormond said:

Maybe this should go into Entertainment, but I am sure it will be part of American Politics soon enough (Trump will probably be tweeting about it soon.)

But ABC has cancelled "Roseanne" because of Roseanne Barr's racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett. Too bad they can't cancel the revival of "The Apprentice" that has taken over the White House.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/05/29/abc-cancels-roseanne-after-barrs-racist-tweet.html

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/29/media/roseanne-twitter-chelsea-clinton/index.html

 

 

It's funny and ironic knowing that the same people angry about Roseanne's "free speech" being violated because she was rightfully fired for her blatently racist tweet were just celebrating the NFL forbidding players from peacefully protesting police brutality by kneeling during the National Anthem.

[Yukle]

It's depressing to know that Trump's supreme laziness is so extreme that he has fewer work hours in a day than the comedians who poke fun of him every night.

Here's a great look into Seth Meyer's daily routine; it's fascinating to see what goes into a late-night show. It's worth a read, no matter what you think of him (he's hilarious, BTW), just to see what goes into making the shows.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2018/05/29/feature/inside-the-writers-room-with-seth-meyers-how-to-make-late-night-tv-in-the-trump-era/?utm_term=.d91f7fe1a98b

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

6 hours ago, Guy Kilmore said:

I just saw this this morning, and yep.  You want lasting progressive change in this country, you have to keep an eye on the courts.

Yep. On of Trump's few actual achievements is how successfully he and Republican senators have packed the lower courts. That will be with us for a long time to come.

5 hours ago, lokisnow said:

This decision brought to you by that great democrat Patrick Leahy, a racist scumfuck who ardently believed that a black president should not have the same judicial appointment privileges as a right-and-proper white president. This decision is wildly cheered by every democrat political caste deep state flunky bureaucrat who ardently love to defend all scumfucks like Leahy and their peers as totally awesome because although they are fucking over the country, what really matters is democrats are acting in the  best interests of upholding senate traditions, senate norms, and the holy and sacred (read racist as all fuck) senate privilege.

Every democrat bureaucrat that is eager to return to “norms” rather than rectify this shit with return fire, can go fuck right off.

Huh?

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I'm surprised this hasn't been posted here yet, though it does appear to be a slow day:

Quote

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said special counsel Robert Mueller's team would be "meddling" in the fall midterm elections — his latest evidence-free charge against the members of law enforcement charged with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

"The 13 Angry Democrats (plus people who worked 8 years for Obama) working on the rigged Russia Witch Hunt, will be MEDDLING with the mid-term elections, especially now that Republicans (stay tough!) are taking the lead in Polls," Trump tweeted.

"There was no Collusion, except by the Democrats!" Trump added.

In a series of other tweets, Trump also questioned why Mueller’s team wasn’t investigating Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and "Clinton/Russia/FBI/Justice/Obama/Comey/Lynch etc."

“It’s a Rigged Witch Hunt, that’s why! Ask them if they enjoyed her after election celebration!” he wrote.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-claims-mueller-s-team-will-be-meddling-midterm-elections-n878126

So we're back to the "RIGGED election!!!!!" days.....

[Jace, Extat]

I think our friend is angry that Dems refuse to engage in asymmetrical warfare with Rs

[Mexal]

Greitens resigning brings me great satisfaction. What a piece of shit.

[Martell Spy]

Quote

Trump’s decision to cancel his cancellation may have been driven more by Pompeo’s reassertion of authority. Pompeo is nearly as hawkish as Bolton when it comes to North Korea, but he is also the nation’s top diplomat and a fierce Trump loyalist. Trump wants diplomacy with North Korea, and so Pompeo is determined to give it to him. Pompeo is also determined to restore some of the State Department’s luster and influence after his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, practically wrecked the place—not necessarily because Pompeo is a keen advocate of diplomacy, but simply because he wants power (as most politicians do), and one way for a cabinet secretary to get it is to elevate the department that he runs, i.e., to elevate diplomacy.

The North Korea Summit Might Actually Work
Despite John Bolton. And despite Donald Trump.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/north-korea-summit-might-actually-work.html

[Martell Spy]

Democratic poll: Manchin up double digits in West Virginia

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/29/joe-manchin-patrick-morrisey-west-virginia-poll-610385

Quote

 

Senate Democrats didn’t get Don Blankenship as their GOP opponent in West Virginia. But they are nonetheless happy with the matchup between Sen. Joe Manchin and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

A Democratic poll taken after the GOP primary this month shows Manchin leading Morrisey, 52-40, in the critical Senate race, according to a summary obtained by POLITICO. The poll was paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and conducted by Geoff Garin of Hart Research Associates.

The poll suggests that Manchin’s effort to align himself as a Democratic ally of President Donald Trump is working. Manchin’s approval rate is 55 percent, compared to 41 percent disapproval, while Trump is viewed positively by 59 percent of West Virginians and negatively by 30 percent.

 

 

[Martell Spy]

The 1,500 “missing” migrant children: an immigration expert explains what you need to know
Did the Trump administration lose track of hundreds of kids? Not exactly.

https://www.vox.com/2018/5/29/17405404/missing-migrant-children-trump

Quote

 

Sarah Kliff
Walk me through the relationship between this population of children whom the government hasn’t been able to reach and the children we’re hearing about now being separated from their parents at the border. Are we talking about the same group of kids here?

Jennifer Podkul
The government has instituted a new policy where they have said they want to criminally prosecute any person they apprehend between points of entry, even if they are an asylum seeker and even if they are a parent. They’ve said they want to do this to deter future families from seeking protection in the United States.

When they apprehend the parent, he or she goes over to the US Marshals, and the government has essentially created an unaccompanied minor [by separating the child]. They are treated just like any child who arrives by themselves. So it was unaccompanied minors that HHS didn’t make contact with over the phone, and now they’re putting an incredible burden on HHS by adding 700 new unaccompanied children to that population.

Sarah Kliff
So the kids being separated from their families, they’re essentially being added to the population of unaccompanied minors where that 1,475 number came from?

Jennifer Podkul
Right.

 

Sarah Kliff
What are some of the reasons that families might not answer these phone calls? Is it just the fact that everybody misses call, or something deeper going on?

Jennifer Podkul
A lot of these families may have a pay-as-you-go phone number. I definitely had times when I couldn’t get ahold of a client for weeks, then they’d get a new number, and we’d pick up right where we left off.

Right now, under this administration, there is a climate of fear. Parents and families that are undocumented might be scared to pick up the phone. The administration has specifically targeted sponsors of unaccompanied minors. They did raids against them last year.

 

Sarah Kliff
I know your organization represents unaccompanied minors in court. What does it mean for you that it looks like we’ll see a new wave of unaccompanied minors, given this new separation policy?

Jennifer Podkul
We’re a little bit in panic mode. Already, we were seeing less than 50 percent of unaccompanied minors receive representation, and now they’ve just added hundreds of kids into that group.

These cases get a lot harder when these kids are separated from an adult. If a child has traveled with an adult, the parent often knows the full story of why they’re seeking asylum. They have documents like birth certificates or police reports. But once these kids are separated, they’ve lost communication. It makes our job a lot harder. We spend a lot of time trying to find the parents.

Before two weeks ago, most parents were still in ICE [Immigration and Custom Enforcement] facilities. Now they’re being referred to US Marshal custody. We don’t know how we’ll be able to find them. We’re just now starting the process of figuring out how to keep open that communication, and it’s going to make things harder.

 

 

[Mexal]

 

[Mexal]

This is a little bit of a surprise given the narrative from Congressional Republicans and Trump.

 

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, Mexal said:

This is a little bit of a surprise given the narrative from Congressional Republicans and Trump.

Ah the freedom of not running for reelection.

[ThinkerX]

34 minutes ago, Mexal said:

This is a little bit of a surprise given the narrative from Congressional Republicans and Trump.

 

I seem to recollect that Gowdy was among a select few congressmen offered a briefing by intelligence professionals a few weeks back on the whole Russian collusion scheme, purportedly rooted in reality.  Don't know if he accepted, but if so, perhaps that has a bit to do with this decision.