US Politics, December 2019: Profound procedural deficiencies

collectively lol

the 1% with their wagon-circling 40%

Shhh, shhhhhh, a dream is a wish your heart makes

What most people don’t understand is the Evangelical extremist right wing as well as white supremecists and other nationalists have always been simultaneously non-critically pro-Israel and virulently anti-semetic. It remains hidden because no one can get their head around that. https://t.co/0eVrh54kHs

— Stevie Van Zandt (@StevieVanZandt) December 11, 2019

Little Stevie otm

xpost Given I know of no other prominent divestment drive, people *have* decided which is the worst and to focus on that one exclusively. I am no fan of Israel, but they are nowhere near the top of the list for horrible countries. Imo. Anyway, I am not terribly invested in the debate so I'll just say too much focus is placed on Israel and that entire region of bad actors and stop there.

Given I know of no other prominent divestment drive

I hear 10x more about attempts to get universities to divest from fossil fuel investments than I do about BDS. And i guess you can say "yeah but I meant COUNTRIES" but the point is that the movement to push colleges to steer their investments away from politically disapproved sectors is not predominantly about Israel. For what it's worth, and as you might know from my other posts, i am Jewish and a big old Zionist, go to Israel and spend money in Israell plenty, think BDS is bad and wrong, BUT I also think 1. it's pretty small and marginal 2. Republicans have a strong incentive to make it seem bigger and less marginal, and to some extent even to make it BE bigger and less marginal, as a cynical ploy to get American Jews on their side.

perhaps activists think they have more leverage to *change* Israel than they do Saudi Arabia?

I only skimmed the two Articles in the NYT today but only saw Biden mentioned as a "political opponent," not by name, just like NPR frequently does it. Is his name in there?

Funny how Biden is named in the articles of impeachment. Makes the Dems’ priorities clear.

— Doug Henwood (@DougHenwood) December 11, 2019

So the EO doesn't say anything about establishing Judaism as a nationality? An I missing something or was this heinously misreported?

"(A) a political opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden,;"

Doesn't it kind of have to name Biden? It was all about digging up dirt on him.

makes the dems' priorities clear

I'm not following Henwood's logic.

yeah it'd be one thing if the articles said something like "digging up dirt on our next presidential nominee, the Wise and Exalted Joseph R. Biden"

(I haven't read the articles but I'm assuming they don't say that).

the naming of the FBI investigation Crossfire Hurricane seems really corny

The protocol for naming sensitive military operations has long been to assign randomly chosen names from a list prepared in advance, so that any intercepted communications about it would not reveal its nature or its target. The FBI probably has a similar protocol. I don't know if it applied here or not, because the protocol has been obviously ignored by the military whenever they think an operation needs a PR boost, e.g. Operation Desert Storm. However, this name was internal, so the chances are higher that the name was coincidental and the corniness was baked in when the name was put on the list.

Olivia Wilde interviewed Nancy Pelosi for The Hollywood Reporter.

What of Hollywood's role in making Donald Trump a reality TV star? Do you blame the industry for the current state of U.S. politics as it relates to Trump?

Well, let me say I've never seen his reality show, so I don't know if it was any good or what. I do think that he was assisted by the communications industry, not just Hollywood, but the press as well, because all they do is enable him, and that is really a sad thing.

I've said to many of my friends in the press, "You're accomplices, whether you want to be or not," [and they say,] "If he's saying it, then it's news." I don't think it's news, but it monopolizes the airwaves. So there is a lot of responsibility to go around in terms of the creation of whatever that is in the White House.

But he has a tactic, one that is used by autocrats, which is, "Just as long as they're talking about me, no matter if it's bad, then you're not talking about my opponent." When [the press was] talking about him, they weren't saying what Hillary was going to do about health care, to make our economy fair.

Nancy otm

'whatever that is in the White House' indeed

Next thread title?

Incredible pic.twitter.com/n8Wh2Cbrqe

— Andrew Perez (@andrewperezdc) December 11, 2019

ah olivia wilde, who gives what appears to be an actually libelous portrayal of the news media in the new eastwood film, exactly who i would like to see asking the tough questions about the media.

it's almost as if GOP voters' opinions have no basis in fact

xps

I don't really blame Wilde for that but yeah, I did a bit of an eyebrow raise myself

as a guy who has been on calls all day trying to figure out how his insurance has just increased by $130 a month in 2020 and how he can get financial assistance to help with his physical therapy post surgery, I'd like to say that 43% of republicans can use my toilet bowl as a water cooler

I dunno, I can totally see why GOP voters would be satisfied with the cost of health care, now that Obamacare has been repealed and Trump fixed all the problems, lowered costs of medicine, deported all the immigrants and cut everyone off from welfare, and so on. Like, what else is there to complain about? Problem solved. Asshole Again in 2020, etc.

the naming of the FBI investigation Crossfire Hurricane seems really corny

Calling it Locomotive Breath would have been pretty bitchin, tho

Trump: Pardons Multiple War Criminals

Bevin: Hold My Beer.

https://www.kentuckynewera.com/news/article_c1a31eec-1c5f-11ea-b560-f7ed0ba79bdf.html

As one of his final acts in office, former Gov. Matt Bevin commuted the sentence of Dayton Jones to time served by executive order. The executive order gives no reason for the commutation.

...

According to New Era archives, Jones pleaded guilty Aug. 22, 2016, to first-degree sodomy, first-degree wanton endangerment and first-degree distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor. In November 2016, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison with no possibility of probation and a lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender upon release.

chill greta, chill

i hope his mouth caves in on itself

At least he didn’t make a pun equating her name to a place in nobility. That would have been horrific!

Do it https://t.co/WgntNWG1ca

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) December 12, 2019

this is hardly the most important thing here, but I do wish pundits would settle on some appropriate descriptors for Greta. she can be a teenage girl or a minor but Trump's behavior is sufficiently monstrous without having to label her as a "young child" or something that makes it sound like she's 8 years old. she's 16.

Older Than Barron!

I do still think that's a legit equivalency after right-wing media had a collective meltdown over a witness having the temerity to even invoke the young princeling's name.

yeah but barron hasn't CHOSEN to be in the public eye &c &c blah blah fart noise

I'm just surprised Barron is younger. I had thought he was 15 or 16 by now.

Mitch McConnell could flog Barron in the street and it wouldn't be as objectionable as a libruhl uttering his name.

good morning!

16 is young. Maybe a more vulnerable age than a younger child—she shouldn’t be harassed by the President of the United States that’s for sure.

Did i mention on ilx before that i hate Trump

It's not just her chronological age. She's also autistic.

The President shouldn't really be harassing anyone who isn't an enemy of the state.

Did i mention on ilx before that i hate Trump

― treeship., Thursday, December 12, 2019 10:54 AM

you know my hatred for the these ridiculous fucking ashole in congress is by far greater than anything i feel for that idiot blob.

My ire is definitely becoming more diffuse to include those who have enabled and continued to enable his slow devolution into the worst human on earth. I mean people don't become this awful in a bubble but rather because they're rewarded and praised for their flagrantly antisocial behavior instead of getting put in the hospital every time they open their fetid cakehole.

I thought he started at about the worst person ever and hasnow devolved to the same position.
THough I guess McConnell may be running him some competition.
BUt yeah it's the enablers I could do without.
Couldn't somebody just create a safe space, some little pocket universe somewhere where they could go off and be utterly deplorable without having a direct effect on the rest of the planet.

I mean the deck was certainly stacked against him ever developing any conscience or character, but a lifetime of sycophants responding with starry-eyed enthusiasm when he shits on their loafers has served only to transform him into a being composed of pure id.

So the republicans are basically on a repeat loop then?
Or is what they're saying today any different to what they've tried to say before.

NOt really watched hearings like this before so I'm new to this strike the last word thing. & not sure what it exactly refers to beyond Republicans wanting to talk even more BS and Dems trying to explain what should be obvious.

They've been on a repeat loop for 39 years

Holder going after Barr directly in the WaPo opinion pages. Seems kind of unprecedented (also meaningless outside of beltway punditry)