US Politics, March 2018: Why do people leave the White House for good?

He's worth creating a new ocean for, true

"He might be a goddam liar and obstructionist, but he's *our* goddam liar and obstructionist!"

What possible penalties could Nunes receive?

at what point do Nunes actions veer into obstruction or does it not really work like that in his particular position?

heh xpost

In other news, is there a good way to donate to the striking teachers in WV?

There's a strike fund - one sec.

https://www.gofundme.com/wv-teachers-strike-fund

What possible penalties could Nunes receive?

Theoretcially? Expulsion from the House. Or censure. Or a sternly worded public reprimand from the Ethics Committee. Or a few sharply disapproving looks from his colleagues as they pass in the hallway. Or an all-day lollipop from Speaker Ryan.

xpost Thanks. Also, can anyone vouch for this one?

https://www.gofundme.com/stoneman-douglas-yearbooks

Best I can do is say: looks legit!

xpost to Aimless then I'm betting the later takes place

*latter

“The New York Times, a prominent purveyor of leaks, is highlighting anonymous sources leaking information that accuses Republicans of leaking information,” [Nunes spokesman] said. “I’m not sure if this coverage could possibly get more absurd.”

this is some astounding, next-level disingenuousness

Dow dropped 500 points after tariff announcement

unpatriotic Wall St fuckers

AshLee Strong, spox for Speaker Paul Ryan, on NYTimes story on Intel Cmte/Nunes leak: “The speaker heard the senators on their concerns and encouraged them to take them up directly with their counterparts.”

...

Dem Congress really needs to be making public statements about this to keep the story afloat. so it will at least be clear that Ryan is willfully letting it continue

AshLeeeeeeee

Theoretcially? Expulsion from the House. Or censure. Or a sternly worded public reprimand from the Ethics Committee. Or a few sharply disapproving looks from his colleagues as they pass in the hallway. Or an all-day lollipop from Speaker Ryan.

― A is for (Aimless),

Set on fire. Defenestrated. Wrapped in burlap with a scorpion, asp, and chimp and tossed in the sea.

People For the American Way, the organization that runs Right Wing Watch, filed suit against the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development today to demand the release of documents concerning reported changes in federal policy toward LGBTQ people.

Right Wing Watch had filed Freedom of Information Act requests with both agencies asking for documents on reported actions removing mentions of LGBTQ people from federal announcements and programs.

These reported actions were being taken quietly and without public announcement, raising the questions of who made the decisions, what the decisions covered, and whether agency staff had been directed to implement certain policies regarding programs affecting LGBTQ people without public knowledge.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/were-suing-two-federal-agencies-to-release-information-on-secret-lgbtq-policy/

Is there a finite tenure for either Ryan or McConnell or are they just going to continue undermining any steps towards sanity for the next few years anyway.

nope

Rayburn and Mansfield were speaker and majority leader, respectively, for 15+ years

Ryan's been muttering via usual anonymous friends about wanting out this year. I suspect he's considered either alternate fate -- losing the House or stuck carrying Trump's ever more piss-colored water -- to be not worth it.

Dear God. There’s basically one person left in America who thinks our criminal justice system isn’t punitive enough. His name is Bill Otis. And Trump just nominated him to the US Sentencing Commission. https://t.co/e4jzNbbizX

— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) March 1, 2018

From 2015:

Faced with the choice between two potential errors—continuing to imprison someone who’s no longer a threat and releasing someone who ends up harming new victims—Otis says he’ll opt for the former. “Error is an inevitable fact of life,” he says in an interview. “And the only realistic question that adults can ask is not what system are we going to adopt that is going to avoid error, because there is no such system. The only question you get to ask is, which system is going to give us the fewest errors and who should have to bear the risk of error?”

Though Otis usually eschews the theoretical vocabulary of criminologists for more pungent terms (a favorite device of his is to refer sarcastically to offenders as “Mr. Nicey”), the philosophy he gravitates to has a name: incapacitation. It holds that a surefire solution to crime is to remove likely offenders from society. Otis’ version of the idea embodies what Berkeley law professor Jonathan Simon calls “a kind of axiomatic success that is immune to empirical evidence.” If any parolees commit crime, well, there you go: case closed. And if locking them up is the only true insurance against future crimes, then the best crime prevention measure is locking up more people for longer sentences. Rather than see dramatically declining crime rates as cause for corresponding drops in imprisonment, Otis argues that now is not the time to tinker with a successful formula.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2015/07/bill_otis_meet_the_last_man_standing_who_thinks_criminal_justice_reform.html

Is there a finite tenure for either Ryan or McConnell

They will continue to serve until one of the following happens:

• they resign their position
• they retire from the House or Senate
• their caucus votes them out of their leadership positions
• they lose an election and do not return to Congress

I thought McConnell caused enough trouble in that minority position prior to the Republicans getting into power as it was.
if anybody is going to make an anchor out of Nunes couldn't he help weigh it down, please.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/momentum-builds-to-can-devin-nunes-from-house-intel-role.html

your 'left' party at work

https://splinternews.com/democrats-are-trying-to-help-the-banks-racially-discrim-1823427155

fuck Tim Kaine

this momentum builds but Ryan had an easy excuse to do it already and pretended he didn't know he could remove Nunes then.

I weep for them. I cry the bitterest of tears.

Referring to:

"A former White House official said he's spoken with more aides inside the White House who are trying to leave the administration, but not necessarily getting the kinds of high-paying offers in the corporate world as former aides usually do.”https://t.co/eNVDzBwMxX

— Tom Namako (@TomNamako) March 1, 2018

I like the wacky sitcom idea of having them all leave and just go open a diner or something.

a PR firm

they are so good at it

in case anyone wants to see an actual shot from hope hicks' modeling days, there's one here (it's a 2003 ya novel "created by" the woman who wrote the GOSSIP GIRL books)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_It_Girl_(novel)

Popular Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey is leaving Constance Billard to attend Waverly Academy, an elite boarding school in New York horse country where glamorous rich kids don't let the rules get in the way of an excellent time. Jenny is determined to leave her crazy Manhattan past behind and become a sophisticated goddess on campus. But first she will have to contend with her self-absorbed roommates, Callie Vernon and Brett Messerschmidt. Hot guys, new intrigue, and more delicious gossip all add up to more trouble than ever for Jenny. But if getting caught up with boys and facing the Disciplinary Committee is what it takes, Jenny is ready. She'll do all that and more to be The It Girl.

this is almost literally the Hope Hicks story

lol

McMaster to leave? Am I really first to post this or do I keep overlooking something?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/white-house-preparing-mcmaster-exit-early-next-month-n852371

i honestly have trouble keeping the respected-but-totally-reactionary generals straight

Tariff news going over great!

Like most brewers, we are selling an increasing amount of our beers in aluminum cans, and this action will cause aluminum prices to rise. It is likely to lead to job losses across the beer industry. (2/3)

— MillerCoors (@MillerCoors) March 1, 2018

*Coors headquarters*

"But we're the reactionary fuckheads of the industry!"

"We will be sympathized with."

"..."

pissing off the intel gangs AND Coors, Yam may find himself taking a Dallas motorcade ride before next Thanksgiving

coors is like owned by canadians now and they just hang and do curling and shit, afaict. *looks at brewery from desk* yup.

Axios reporting that tariff mess exacerbated by absence of Rob Porter and interruption of weekly trade meetings. It's gonna be great fun when a few months from now the WH staff has dwindled to Vince McMahon and a magic eight ball

https://www.axios.com/trump-declares-his-trade-war-targets-steel-aluminum-2f68d5fe-69ec-4872-b1d5-aaae28f7bf4b.html

pissing off the intel gangs AND Coors

video game bros are also unhappy now

McMaster to leave? Am I really first to post this or do I keep overlooking something?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/white-house-preparing-mcmaster-exit-early-next-month-n852371

― Evan,

i had no idea. the report says "exclusive" and it was published about 20 minute ago, it looks like

WASHINGTON — The White House is preparing to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser as early as next month in a move orchestrated by chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to five people familiar with the discussions.

The move would be the latest in a long string of staff shakeups at the White House over the past year and comes after months of strained relations between the president and McMaster.

A leading candidate to become President Donald Trump’s third national security adviser is the auto industry executive Stephen Biegun, according to the officials.

third national security adviser is the auto industry executive Stephen Biegun

just trying to let this sink in.

xps re: tariffs the solar racking/mounting industry is also pissed fwiw

The Sinclair news anchor hivemind is eye-rollingly untroubling in a world where like >50% of the American population possesses the skepticism and critical thinking skills to look askance at such a ridiculous maneuver. If that country ever existed, it's clear that it doesn't at this particular time.

I’m sorry for being sick of ostensibly intelligent people having no memory and no ability to do math. That country exists right now. We live in it. Read the fucking polls and remember the popular vote.

For fuck’s sake.

Dude, people on every side of the election were taken by propaganda that flattered their worldview. Even ostensibly intelligent people have to make the individual effort to avoid being conned.

Sorry, not that many people voted for Jill Stein.

wheres the new thread at

For April I like, "big drug and people flows."

"Getting more dangerous"

US Politics, April 2018: Getting more dangerous (looks like moo vaughn's dreams are coming true)

looks like moo vaughn's dreams are coming true

― Karl Malone, Sunday, April 1, 2018 10:15 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes, the one good thing the Dump Admin is doing.

Of course, it wasn't their idea - http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/04/federal-officials-may-revamp-how-americans-identify-race-ethnicity-on-census-and-other-forms/

cash grab by ancestry.com imo

― El Tomboto, Sunday, April 1, 2018 10:31 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Maybe the 2000 census, etc. was too - https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2008/acs/2008_Brittingham_01.pdf. They were founded in '83.

a-a-a-and... that's a wrap!

don't we usually lock these?

yes. it's time to move on.