Guy Kilmore Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 The Supreme Court Upheld Ohio's voter-purge law. I wouldn't mind it if there was an easy option for same day registration. Without it, I don't like the idea of people losing their right to vote because of bureaucracy. ETA: The court conservatives even used the same debunked study that the White House was trotting around a while ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Chatywin et al. Posted June 11, 2018 Author Share Posted June 11, 2018 3 hours ago, DMBouazizi said: That picture is going to win most photoshopped of the year (decade?) by a mile. The photo is haunting. Also of note, look whose mouths are moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 This is quite a story, and lengthy: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news/article212756749.html Quote WASHINGTON Several prominent Russians, some in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle or high in the Russian Orthodox Church, now have been identified as having contact with National Rifle Association officials during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, according to photographs and an NRA source. The contacts have emerged amid a deepening Justice Department investigation into whether Russian banker and lifetime NRA member Alexander Torshin illegally channeled money through the gun rights group to add financial firepower to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. Other influential Russians who met with NRA representatives during the campaign include Dmitry Rogozin, who until last month served as a deputy prime minister overseeing Russia’s defense industry, and Sergei Rudov, head of one of Russia’s largest philanthropies, the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation. The foundation was launched by an ultra-nationalist ally of Russian President Putin.... . . . . McClatchy in January disclosed that Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller was investigating whether Torshin or others engineered the flow of Russian monies to the NRA; the Senate Intelligence Committee is also looking into the matter, sources familiar with the probe have said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the inquiries, which are part of sweeping, parallel investigations into Russia’s interference with the 2016 U.S. elections, have not been publicly announced. . . . . . . . The NRA, Trump’s biggest financial backer, spent more than $30 million to boost his upstart candidacy; that's more than double what it laid out for 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, and the NRA money started flowing much earlier in the cycle for Trump. . . . . . . . Two NRA insiders say that overall, the group spent at least $70 million, including resources devoted to field operations and online advertising, which are not required to be publicly reported. NRA officials first forged a relationship with Torshin, a close Putin ally, and his protégé, Maria Butina, in 2011. Soon, Torshin helped Butina start a Russian gun rights group called Right to Bear Arms. In 2016, upon Trump's election as president, Torshin tweeted that he and Butina were the only Russian lifetime members of the NRA. For five years, Torshin flew to the United States to attend the group’s annual conventions, culminating in the 2016 affair in Louisville. Torshin briefly met Donald Trump Jr. at a dinner during the event, but failed in efforts to arrange a private meeting with Trump. Months earlier, in December 2015, Torshin and Butina’s gun rights group hosted an NRA delegation led by NRA board member and former President David Keene for a week of lavish wining and dining in Moscow. During their visit, the NRA group met with Rogozin, who served as the deputy prime minister overseeing Russia’s military industrial complex for seven years and previously was Russia’s ambassador to NATO. Late last month, Putin put him in charge of the Russian space program. Rogozin is a far-right nationalist who has “extensive ties to the Russian arms industry” that he managed and “is deeply hostile to the West,” said Mike Carpenter, who was a Russia specialist while a senior Pentagon official in the Obama administration. . . . . It's also reported just a bit ago, then, here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/11/1770984/-DOJ-investigation-finds-more-connections-between-Russia-and-top-NRA-officials So one guesses it might show up elsewhere today? Unless upstaged by more baby tantramics from the orange dumbster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingintheNorth4 Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 The amount of damage this administration has done in just 72 hours is staggering. They'v said Justin Trudeau has a special place in hell, described Theresa May as a "school mistress", and described their own foreign policy as "We'r America, bitch." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Chatywin et al. Posted June 11, 2018 Author Share Posted June 11, 2018 39 minutes ago, KingintheNorth4 said: The amount of damage this administration has done in just 72 hours is staggering. They'v said Justin Trudeau has a special place in hell, described Theresa May as a "school mistress", and described their own foreign policy as "We'r America, bitch." Indeed. One has to wonder how long it will take to clean up this mess after Trump is gone. I don't think the damage will be permanent, but it will take a very long time to repair what's been done. Also, I fear Trumpism will develop in other countries as a reaction to his behavior. It's natural for people to think that they have to fight fire with fire, which could lead to the emergence of some very bizarre and dangerous new leaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalbear Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 8 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said: Indeed. One has to wonder how long it will take to clean up this mess after Trump is gone. I don't think the damage will be permanent, but it will take a very long time to repair what's been done. Also, I fear Trumpism will develop in other countries as a reaction to his behavior. It's natural for people to think that they have to fight fire with fire, which could lead to the emergence of some very bizarre and dangerous new leaders. Again, this damage is not going to be undone without massive change in the US political system. Which likely means never. Trump is a problem, and countries not being able to trust Trump is bad - but the real issue is that Trump actually happened. Prior to this the US had had relatively sane, consistent leadership since WW2, all with the same foreign policy general plan and the same specific mantle of leader of the free world. While differences existed from time to time among allies, the US viewpoint in foreign policy was to be globalist in scale, promote democracy over communism, promote stability over wars and engage largely in proxy wars or fast wars when possible. Trump shows that this entire ideology can change virtually overnight, with almost no oversight or real challenge to it. The problem isn't Trump; the problem is that Trump could happen, and any country that allows Trump to happen is simply not going to be trustworthy until they fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 14 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said: Indeed. One has to wonder how long it will take to clean up this mess after Trump is gone. I don't think the damage will be permanent, but it will take a very long time to repair what's been done. Also, I fear Trumpism will develop in other countries as a reaction to his behavior. It's natural for people to think that they have to fight fire with fire, which could lead to the emergence of some very bizarre and dangerous new leaders. Alternatively, it could be that other countries learn how easy it was to make America their plaything. It can't be as easy as Putin made it look to rig an election. However, Saudi Arabia, China and Qatar showed you can bribe Trump to get whatever you want. Then, Israel showed you don't even need to offer anything in return, other than telling Trump he'll be the first to achieve something and he'll do it on that basis alone. America modeled its Republic on Rome. As he sailed away from Rome in 130s, Jugurtha described Rome as, "Urbem venalem et mature perituram, si emptorem invenerit," or translated in the Common Andal tongue as: "A city for sale and doomed to quick destruction if it should find a buyer." It seems America is for sale. Unfortunately, Trump doesn't set high prices for his country, and there is no shortage of buyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said: Indeed. One has to wonder how long it will take to clean up this mess after Trump is gone. I don't think the damage will be permanent, but it will take a very long time to repair what's been done. Also, I fear Trumpism will develop in other countries as a reaction to his behavior. It's natural for people to think that they have to fight fire with fire, which could lead to the emergence of some very bizarre and dangerous new leaders. A great depends on that next leader though, doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arryn Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I literally thought the 1812 thing was satire. Just found out he actually said it. Again, if you’d written this stuff pre-Trump FOR a satire, people would have said it was way too over the top to be believable enough to be funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altherion Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 1 hour ago, دبكال said: Again, this damage is not going to be undone without massive change in the US political system. Which likely means never. Trump is a problem, and countries not being able to trust Trump is bad - but the real issue is that Trump actually happened. Prior to this the US had had relatively sane, consistent leadership since WW2, all with the same foreign policy general plan and the same specific mantle of leader of the free world. While differences existed from time to time among allies, the US viewpoint in foreign policy was to be globalist in scale, promote democracy over communism, promote stability over wars and engage largely in proxy wars or fast wars when possible. Trump shows that this entire ideology can change virtually overnight, with almost no oversight or real challenge to it. The problem isn't Trump; the problem is that Trump could happen, and any country that allows Trump to happen is simply not going to be trustworthy until they fix that. First, you are drastically overestimating how much has actually changed. Trump being rude to our allies is amusing (possibly even to the allies he's being rude to because they're laughing at him), but it doesn't change the practical reasons for all of those relationships and they're not going to walk away simply because of one rude leader. Second, why do you think that the possibility of change is a bad thing? Yes, the US has pursued generally the same policy for a long time... but consistent is not the same thing as good. What has the policy you describe brought the vast majority of Americans? It made a significant contribution to real median wages being stagnant for nearly half a century and real wages for a considerable fraction of the population actually decreasing. It also meant that we were constantly at war with somebody (pretty much every administration has bombed at least one new country) which has caused a practically uninterrupted flow of injured veterans, cost us a great deal of money and generated enough ill will for people to attack us here... which promptly led to a surveillance state that can be easily described as the beginnings of a police state. Why is any of this a good thing? The consistent foreign policy has made certain wealthy people a great deal wealthier, but it has not made the vast majority of us safer or richer or better off in any way. Of course, as with most things about Trump, his chances of making it better are not very large, but simply providing some impetus for change is worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Both men have left their hotels. Trump presumably has brought his best crayons with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 How many people even know there was such a thing as the War of 1812 and the Brits trashed / burned D.C.? For most people if they know anything about the war of 1812 is that Andrew Jackson beat the pants of the Brits and won the war -- which of course had been resolved and treaty signed already by the time of New Orleans. But they don't know that. Anymore than they know what a disaster our invasion of Canada during the war of independence was -- led by Benedict Arnold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Kim Jong-un's arrival at the resort was a masterstroke of pageantry. He gave a curt nod to those greeting him, opened his own door and looked indifferently about as he power walked into the building. He probably rehearsed how to look aloof yet firm, with a "don't-care" persona about fifty times. Let's hope that the other big boys are nice to him. Donny had better share his toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Lulz, Trump doesn't understand a thing about propaganda, for all Fox uses it for him. He waited until his door was opened; North Korean media will already be spinning how this shows western leaders are weak and utterly depending on everything being done for them. It's a small detail, but his inability to look at anyone (except the cameras) is a contrast to how Kim managed to so carefully orchestrate the aura of power, not helplessness. Why must the rest of the world live and die by the decisions of these schoolboys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueMetis Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 15 minutes ago, James Arryn said: I literally thought the 1812 thing was satire. Just found out he actually said it. Again, if you’d written this stuff pre-Trump FOR a satire, people would have said it was way too over the top to be believable enough to be funny. War of 1812 thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I guess Veep is kind of like The Office for the White House. But now that the USA has an actual buffoon of Michael Scott proportions in the oval office, it is definitely possible to do an Oval Office version of The Office. But how much time needs to pass until people will stop saying "It's too soon"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Mr Trump: "I feel really great. We will have a great discussion and I think we will be tremendously successful." Mr Kim: "The past and the old prejudices and practices work as obstacles to our way forward but we overcame all of them and we are here today." Even through a translator, Kim speaks English more eloquently than Trump does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Billy Tipton Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Trump and his administration have finally brought the hope of diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea. Yet even on the night of this momentous occasion, Trump's detractors still want to pooh-pooh the event by making their daily cliché Trump jokes. These people remind me of the idiots who wouldn't give kudos to Obama after bin-Laden was taken out in 2011. Can't stand the people who treat politics like sports. Only want to cheer when their team is leading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arryn Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 24 minutes ago, TrueMetis said: War of 1812 thing? Trump called Canada a US security risk in conversation with Trudeau. When Trudeau asked how Trump could hold that view, Trump incorrectly cited 1812. People are unsure if he was joking or not, and which way would be worse. https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/06/politics/war-of-1812-donald-trump-justin-trudeau-tariff/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 10 minutes ago, Sour Billy Tipton said: Trump and his administration have finally brought the hope of diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea. Yet even on the night of this momentous occasion, Trump's detractors still want to pooh-pooh the event by making their daily cliché Trump jokes. These people remind me of the idiots who wouldn't give kudos to Obama after bin-Laden was taken out in 2011. Can't stand the people who treat politics like sports. Only want to cheer when their team is leading. This has nothing to do with teams or leading. This is the sports equivalent of say, whoever won the World Series playing a wiffleball homerun derby with a bunch of Jose Canseco's roid buddies from the gym. This isn't anything for the US yet. It's great for Kim and that's about it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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