American Politics thread: No Nazis Allowed
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Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Raj Shah out of Trump’s White House by end of year: CBS
UM.
This seems like a big departure. I'm really curious as to who Trump can hire after these guys leave. Who could be worse…is a question I expect to be answered.
Also, I love this song and barely regret using it over and over. I feel I'll continue to get the chance:
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@Cyan:
Meanwhile on the primary elections side of things, Virginia Republicans (who have probably been in a bit of a panic for the past few years) have decided to run neoconfederate Corey Stewart against Tim Kaine this November.
I patched up my brain the other day, but then it got blown again due to this:
Corey Stewart was holding a rally, and the public started chanting "Lock him up!", referring to Tim Kaine. And then in a CNN interview, Corey says Kaine could very well be at the centre of FBI "spying" on Donald Trump.
Lovely.
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Happy IG Report Day, everyone.
If you have the option to just sleep through the day, I'd say go for it.
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Bloomberg has it. What you'd expect. Signs of bad judgment/behavior, but no signs of politically-motivated bias in the actual investigations.
Also, NYAG just launched a lawsuit against Trump, his family, and the Trump Foundation.
Happy birthday, bud.
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very Marilyn Monroe voice: Happy birthday, Mr. President
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A proper story on the lawsuit
New York sues Trump family foundation
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/14/politics/new-york-lawsuit-trump-foundation/index.html
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I'd say that arrested development is more adecuate.
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Today it's WaPo taking the most salacious GOP conspiratorial talking point out of the IG report and making it the headline. C'mon, guys, you were the ones that were still OK.
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Jake Tapper doing the same now. Good Scott.
This last election genuinely broke mass media.
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Jake Tapper has always been bad.
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I don't think Tapper is bad–he's frequently a decent interviewer--but he's the poster child for the current "fair journalism is inherently centrist both-sidesism."
Also, COMEY WAS USING A GMAIL ACCOUNT FOR FBI BUSINESS.
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He's a decent interviewer because he invites known liars on to his show and then owns them so he can go viral.
Also he once stood up for Fox News when Obama called them out but now is complaining that they might be bad, maybe.
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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/06/14/day-511/
Day 511: Persistent illegal conduct.
1/ New York State attorney general sued Trump and his three eldest children for "persistent illegal conduct" at the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The lawsuit alleges that Trump repeatedly misused the nonprofit, violating campaign finance laws, engaging in self-dealing to decorate one of his golf clubs, and illegal coordination with his presidential campaign to stage a multimillion dollar giveaway during a 2016 campaign event. The state asked to dissolve the foundation and distribute its remaining $1 million in assets to other charities, and force Trump to pay at least $2.8 million in restitution and penalties. Trump attacked the lawsuit on Twitter, calling it an attempt by the "sleazy New York Democrats" to damage him. He vowed not to settle the case. (New York Times / Washington Post)
2/ The Inspector General Report: James Comey "deviated" from FBI and Justice Department procedures while investigating Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email server. The report concluded that Comey's decisions were not "the result of political bias," but that his "decisions negatively impacted the perception of the FBI and the department as fair administrators of justice." Trump has argued that FBI agents tried to rig the Clinton investigation to help her win the presidency. The report also concludes that the text messages exchanged by FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page did not improperly affect the investigation, but "the conduct by these employees cast a cloud over the entire FBI investigation." (Bloomberg / New York Times)
3/ Sarah Huckabee Sanders and deputy press secretary Raj Shah are planning to leave the White House. Sanders plans to leave by the end of the year, while Shah hasn't settled on an exact date. Sanders denied the rumor, tweeting: "Does @CBSNews know something I don't about my plans and my future? I was at my daughter's year-end Kindergarten event and they ran a story about my 'plans to leave the WH' without even talking to me. I love my job and am honored to work for @POTUS." (CBS News)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarah-sanders-raj-shah-planning-to-depart-the-white-house/
4/ White House Counsel Don McGahn recused his entire staff from Robert Mueller's investigation last summer because many staffers "had been significant participants" in the firings of Michael Flynn and James Comey. Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb said McGahn's recusal was a key reason why he was hired last summer to manage Trump's response to the Russia investigation. (Politico)
5/ The White House launched a campaign to discredit Michael Cohen as speculation that he is preparing to flip on Trump continues to mount. The plan involves discrediting Cohen by arguing that whatever compromising information he shares with prosecutors about Trump is a lie meant to please Mueller in order to save his own skin. The plan includes everything from Trump's tweets, to comments from Alan Dershowitz, to front-page stories in the National Enquirer, all apparently intended to cast doubt on Cohen's credibility and motives. (Washington Post)
Notables.
John Kelly revoked Rudy Giuliani's son's West Wing access after Trump ordered Andrew Giuliani be promoted to special assistant to the president. (Axios)
Trump told G7 leaders that Crimea is Russian because everyone who lives there speaks Russian. In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, leading to international condemnation, sanctions, and directly leading to Russia being kicked out of the then-G8. (BuzzFeed News)
https://www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/trump-russia-crimea
Mike Pompeo said sanctions on North Korea will remain until the country has completely denuclearized. The statement contradicts North Korean state media reports that Kim and Trump agreed to a plan of "step-by-step and simultaneous action" to achieve peace and denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. (Reuters)
The Supreme Court struck down Minnesota's law barring voters from wearing political apparel inside a polling place. The court's 7-2 vote said Minnesota's use of the term "political" badges, buttons and insignia was too broad. (NPR)
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Even Israel's foreign ministry thinks Trump's summit was bullshit
Also Putin slipped old boy his talking points.
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John Kelly revoked Rudy Giuliani's son's West Wing access after Trump ordered Andrew Giuliani be promoted to special assistant to the president. (Axios)
Gonna need some more whiteout
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Well you know, this is a good thing. There's still people alive who were around for the japanese internment camps after all. We can't go an entire lifetime without being completely terrible as a nation in a way that future generations will look back on and wonder "how the hell did they let that happen?" We need to be as guilty as our grandparents.
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We need George Takei to comment on this, he is a survivor of one of those camps.
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I gotta wonder. As much outrage as there has been about this administration. Would voices be louder, and marches more often, if we DIDN'T all know Trump was a crook that we expect to be fully exposed and thrown under the bus soon? If we didn't see the signs, if the Mueller investigation weren't going and we weren't counting on a blue wave in the midterms to put a block in place and stop this?
Like, are we not more outraged because we've convinced ourselves on multiple levels that this will be basically checked in another couple months?
If Trump were actually a straight and narrow politician and not a crook, just with horrendous policies, and we thought he was going to be there another 3-7 years, would the outrage be louder?
Or is it just the simple fact its been such a never-ending stream its impossible to stay focused and angry this long and we're getting tired? Between our healthcare, taxes, civil rights, internet, nazis walking free, Flint still not having clean water, Russia, porn stars, walls, negative interactions with our foreign allies, positive interaction with dictators, children being ripped from their parents and held in camps…
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Also the bureaucratic plundering of the National Park System and the rest of the environment, the EPA systematically dismantling the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and the fact that thousands of people have died in Puerto Rico and they still don't have any goddamned electricity.
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Also, COMEY WAS USING A GMAIL ACCOUNT FOR FBI BUSINESS.
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Every now and then Hillary gets an ace burn in.
At least this time it's impossible for her to wear it out.
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As expected, the right is seizing on the one Sztrok line: "we'll stop him."
Which, again, calls to mind the question: uh, how? Sure didn't seem like they did. Sure didn't seem like they even tried.
Dumb pieces of shit.
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Where's Teddy when we need him?
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As expected, the right is seizing on the one Sztrok line: "we'll stop him."
Which, again, calls to mind the question: uh, how? Sure didn't seem like they did. Sure didn't seem like they even tried.
Dumb pieces of shit.
On that note:
Giuliani said the Mueller investigation should be suspended by the end of the day on Friday, and claimed that suspending the probe today would be Sessions and Rosenstein's last chance to "redeem themselves." Giuliani also called for Peter Strzok to be put in jail over a series of text messages sent between Strzok and fellow FBI agent Lisa Page during the 2016 election. "Mueller should be suspended and honest people should be brought in, impartial people to investigate these people like Strzok," Giuliani said. "Strzok should be in jail by the end of next week."
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/14/giuliani-mueller-russia-probe-suspended-647022
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"Manafort pleads not guilty to witness-tampering charges, judge weighs revoking bail" - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-court/manafort-pleads-not-guilty-to-witness-tampering-charges-judge-weighs-revoking-bail-idUSKBN1JB21M
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Judge sends Paul Manafort to jail, pending trial
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/politics/judge-sends-paul-manafort-to-jail-pending-trial/index.html
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Paul Manafort? More like Paul Manajail, amirite guys?
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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/06/15/day-512/
Day 512: Fickle.
1/ A federal judge revoked Paul Manafort's bail and sent him to jail while he awaits trial after Robert Mueller accused Trump's former campaign chief of witness tampering. "I cannot turn a blind eye to this," Judge Amy Berman Jackson said. Manafort had posted a $10 million bond to remain at home while awaiting his September trial on charges that include money laundering and false statements. He will now remain in pretrial detention until his trial. (New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)
2/ Michael Cohen filed a restraining order against Michael Avenatti to stop him from speaking to the media about the Stormy Daniels case. Cohen argued that Avenatti's "publicity tour" of more that 100 television interviews since March is unethical, and harms Cohen's ability to have a fair trial by turning the case into a "media circus." (Politico / CNN / The Independent)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/15/cohen-lawyer-gag-order-avenatti-648958
Michael Cohen has told family and friends that he is willing to cooperate with federal investigators. The treatment from Trump and Rudy Giuliani has left Cohen feeling isolated, angry, and more open to cooperating. Cohen has not met with prosecutors to discuss any potential deal and is currently looking for a new legal team. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/politics/michael-cohen-cooperation-federal-investigators/index.html
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Cohen violated federal disclosure laws as part of his consulting deals, including whether he lobbied for domestic or foreign clients without properly registering. (Wall Street Journal)
3/ Giuliani called on Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein to "redeem themselves" by suspending the Robert Mueller investigation today. Giuliani also called for Peter Strzok to be put in jail over a series of text messages sent exchanged with fellow FBI agent Lisa Page during the 2016 election. "Mueller should be suspended and honest people should be brought in, impartial people to investigate these people like Strzok," Giuliani said. "Strzok should be in jail by the end of next week." (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/14/giuliani-mueller-russia-probe-suspended-647022
4/ Trump "certainly wouldn't sign" the Republican immigration proposal that would protect young undocumented migrants and end the policy of separating families at the southern border. Paul Ryan plans to bring up two immigration measures for a vote next week: a hard-line conservative bill, which likely fail, and "a very good compromise" bill. Trump said he "wouldn't sign the more moderate one." (Reuters / New York Times / The Guardian / Washington Post)
5/ The Trump administration announced a 25% tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports as Trump vowed to respond to what he called China's unfair trade practices. China retaliated with $50 billion worth of tariffs with "equal scale, equal intensity" on U.S. imports, calling Trump "fickle" and "provoking a trade war." The Dow fell 250 points in response to rising trade tensions. (Associated Press / Bloomberg / CNBC)
https://apnews.com/580916378b5144119c0e9bd02f42296c
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted of an escalation in the trade dispute between the U.S. and European Union. Merkel warned that Europe's strategic interests are tied to the future of the car industry shortly after Trump cited national security concerns as a reason to place tariffs on German cars. "We should think about the strategic significance of the auto industry for the European Union," Merkel said, "so we can prepare an exchange with the U.S." (Reuters)
6/ Trump held an interview with "Fox and Friends" on the White House lawn after musing on Twitter that "maybe I'll have to make an unannounced trip down to see them" and live-tweeting segments from the show. Trump called James Comey a criminal, said the FBI is a "den of thieves," blamed Democrats for the separation of families at the US border, said it's "great to give" Kim Jong-un credibility, and again blamed Obama for Russia's annexation of Crimea. (New York Times / CNN / Vox / The Hill)
http://thehill.com/homenews/media/392436-trump-holds-impromptu-fox-interview-on-white-house-lawn
Trump called a CBS News reporter "so obnoxious" and told her to be "quiet at least five times." CBS correspondent Weijia Jiang tried to ask Trump "why he declared the nuclear threat from North Korea was already 'over.'" (The Hill)
Trump said he wants "my people" to "sit up at attention" like how the North Koreans do when Kim Jong Un speaks. When asked to clarify by reporters what he meant by his "people," he replied: "You don't understand sarcasm." (The Hill / CNN)
Notables.
EPA senior staffers said they frequently felt pressured by Scott Pruitt to help in personal matters and obtain special favors for his family. The officials said Pruitt "had a clear sense of entitlement." (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-aides.html
Trump took credit for winning the bid to host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico. "Thank you for all of the compliments on getting the World Cup to come to the U.S.A., Mexico and Canada," Trump tweeted. "I worked hard on this, along with a Great Team of talented people." (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/15/trump-credit-world-cup-bid-648964
The Trump administration is expected to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council due to "chronic anti-Israel bias." (Reuters)
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Poor poor Israel and the mean countries picking on them because they won’t stop murdering innocent people or stealing land.
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https://www.rawstory.com/2018/06/trump-threatened-send-25-million-mexicans-japan-report/
He must not be aware of Japan's shaky history on immigrants.
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Southern Baptists Call Off the Culture War
America’s largest Protestant group moves to cut ties with the Republican Party and re-engage with mainstream culture. -
Canada is considering using the The Magnitsky Act on Trump. In short, it' for when a foreign national has supported corrupt actions… and basically they'd target all of Trump's buisnesses rather than America itself. Travel bans, assett freezes, sanctions, etc.
It'd be nice if everyone in the world took this path. Two scoops might care when its actually his business being affected and not everyone else's.
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Gotta hit them where it hurts. Their wallets.
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There is a bill on the floor right now to stop seperatin children from parents at the border.
43 dems, zero republicans.
WTF.
I usd to try and give the benefit of the doubt. "Oh well, you like bigger military and have certain ideas about budget priorities, and that's just difference of opinion" but its just straight up evil at this point.
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There is a bill on the floor right now to stop seperatin children from parents at the border.
43 dems, zero republicans.
WTF.
I usd to try and give the benefit of the doubt. "Oh well, you like bigger military and have certain ideas about budget priorities, and that's just difference of opinion" but its just straight up evil at this point.
Well what do you expect from the same party that thinks that doing immigration reform is bad because it gives "amnesty" to people simply for having the audacity to come over the border illegally and keep insisting they're the reason the country is messed up.
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Kids in de facto concentration camps are attempting suicide.
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My mom would've have ripped the throat off anyone trying to seperate her from her children.
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I don't care if we do it even if he's dead, I want to see Trump hung from the gallows for this.
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I came across a Facebook post from a man by the name of Dean Gloster, a former law clerk from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court to justices, Byron R. White and Anthony M. Kennedy.
What he wrote regarding the state of children being separated from their parents over the asylum conflict is heart-wrenching and staggering. Everybody please give this a read. Don't TLDR this. It's some of the most powerful words I've ever seen anyone speak of in regards to this miscarriage of American identity.
@Dean:
We are now essentially torturing parents who legally seek asylum in the United States (and their children), by taking away their minor children, caging those children, and telling the parents they may never be reunited–all to "deter" them (and those like them) from exercising their legal rights under U.S. law. This new Trump "zero tolerance policy" (announced and implemented April 6, 2018 by Jeff Sessions) is evil and not based on our laws.As some of you know, I used to be a lawyer, and in the 1980s I used to do pro bono political asylum work for Salvadorans fleeing death squads. U.S. law allows you to claim political asylum here if you have a "well-founded fear of persecution" in your home country that fits within specified categories. You can either present yourself at a point of entry and claim asylum (risky–you aren't afforded a lawyer and most asylum claims are turned down) or you can claim asylum as a defense to deportation.
Now on our southern border, the U.S. is (contrary to law) refusing to admit those legally claiming asylum (Chis Hayes/Beto O'Rourke interview, in comments.) They are forcing immigrants to cross into the U.S. illegally, and then arresting them and (even if they have a defense to being deported because of a potentially valid asylum claim) taking their children to be housed in a concentration camp–an abandoned Wal-Mart filled with cages or a new tent camp in 100 degree Texas heat on a military base. This is being done, per Jeff Sessions and Mitch McConnell, to "deter" them from seeking asylum--that is, as a punishment to them, to deter others from doing the same thing. Even though that thing (claiming asylum) is completely legal under U.S. law.
Accounts from Congressional Representatives and pro-bono attorneys reveal that parents are told that their children are being taken away "to get a bath" and then the children are not returned. When asked how they'll be reunited, parents are being told "your families do not exist anymore." Parents have been deported and they don't know where their children are. Because there are at least four federal bureaucracies involved (CBP, DHS, ICE, ORR in addition to private prison corporations and the DOJ) and there was no planning for implementing the policy none of attorneys representing them, the Customs and Border Patrol, nor U.S. Congressional Representatives can get confirmation that the children are even being kept track of by family.
Not surprisingly, one man, after learning that his child had been taken away, recently killed himself.
Jeff Sessions announced the new policy on April 6, 2018 (link in comments) but Trump now (1) claims, inaccurately, that it's "the Democrats'" prior law (a complete lie) and (2) tweeted today that he won't change the new policy unless Congress agrees to fund the wall and end political asylum and end "catch-and-release." (That is, we must make the current policy permanent and worse.)
Today, DHS revealed that almost 2,000 children have been taken from their parents in the last 6 weeks under the new policy. (Washington Post link.) Children are housed in cages on concrete floors. Many of the children don't have access to anyone who speaks their language. The staff has no training to deal with the children's trauma, and a whistle-blower recently explained that both the staff and the children are traumatized, while the CEO of the private prison company has been paid $1 million. (Chris Hayes, after the O'Rourke interview, in comments.)
Today, three medical organizations announced their unanimous denunciation of this new policy because separating young children from their parents and incarcerating them is permanently traumatic. (Link in comments)
So here we are, friends. This is a violation of the Fifth Amendment guaranty of due process of law. It's a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. It is a violation of international law. I would hope that any of those who continue to assist the implementation of this new policy are shunned by their congregations of faith until that changes. (Catholic bishops have already discussed assessing Canonical penalties to ICE agents ranging from refusing the sacrament of communion to excommunication.) I would hope that our courts ultimately order them to cease and desist, and if they fail to do so, that they are jailed for contempt of court. I hope they are ultimately prosecuted as international war criminals and they can never travel outside the U.S. In the meantime, every single one of them has violated his or her oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, and they deserve our horror and our contempt.
I've spent today in a funk, knowing that I needed to write this, and hating that fact. I have, despite every horrible thing up until the last nineteen months, been proud to be an American, choosing to concentrate on our lofty aspirations (equal protection, freedom of speech) rather than our tragic failings (slavery, segregation, white supremacy, McCarthyism.)
But this is simply unmitigated evil. And refusal to face it or to acknowledge it or to own it, is cowardice and a deliberate choice to enable evil. (Yes, friends, this is America, today. This is exactly who we are, until we change it.)
We are terrorizing families. We are traumatizing children. We are violating our principles and our laws to further a racist ideology of our misguided rulers. We are doing evil. We need to do everything in our power to stop that. Now.Link to original FB post if you can access it: https://www.facebook.com/dean.gloster/posts/1810592548987483
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Oh hey who wants a the total opposite of a surprise?
Guess who is the main mind behind the Amerigestapo abducting children? This guy!I mean I'm not shocked to make this title official, but he really is the most singularly evil person in the whole Trump administration.
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@Monkey:
Oh hey who wants a the total opposite of a surprise?
Guess who is the main mind behind the Amerigestapo abducting children? This guy!I mean I'm not shocked to make this title official, but he really is the most singularly evil person in the whole Trump administration.
Does it count as a surprise if there were too many possible culprits?
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Play a game with me.
Think of even totally not disgusting excuses for Trump and his people on why they "wouldn't know any better" or be detached, or predestined for being scum. Anything.
Oh they're old.
Oh they're senile.
Oh they're from some homogenous rural backwoods hole.
Oh they're just in it for the money.See how many you can actually rack up for Miller.
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@Monkey:
Oh hey who wants a the total opposite of a surprise?
Guess who is the main mind behind the Amerigestapo abducting children? This guy!I mean I'm not shocked to make this title official, but he really is the most singularly evil person in the whole Trump administration.
A particularly evil smile, isn't it?
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Who remembers when movies would use this
to highlight just how bad their villains were? -
It’s about time a Democratic congressman shows actual courage and lets themself get arrested for trying to enter a detention facility.
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I wish. Not likely to happen, but hey, I give them credit to standing up to them in congress at all. Assholes.
Who remembers when movies would use this
to highlight just how bad their villains were?Sadly Indiana Jones isn't quite the hero we need to face this enemy. We need . . . . fuck, James Bond.
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Was talking to the campaign manager and congressional candidate I'm working for about this woman that for about a month and a half has been commenting on EVERYTHING we post on Facebook to try and argue about it. Then, when other people would flag her (usually racist) comments and they'd be removed, she'd accuse our campaign of censoring her. So today I ask them both if I should outright block her, and we look at today's comments from her.
While she's immune to logic, the sheer amount of people calling her BS in response to her "Well obama caged kids, so therefore it's somehow ok" stance has actually been boosting the activity on our page and views overall.
So I guess a crazy child hating racist can come in handy in at least one occasion :/
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Was talking to the campaign manager and congressional candidate I'm working for about this woman that for about a month and a half has been commenting on EVERYTHING we post on Facebook to try and argue about it. Then, when other people would flag her (usually racist) comments and they'd be removed, she'd accuse our campaign of censoring her. So today I ask them both if I should outright block her, and we look at today's comments from her.
While she's immune to logic, the sheer amount of people calling her BS in response to her "Well obama caged kids, so therefore it's somehow ok" stance has actually been boosting the activity on our page and views overall.
So I guess a crazy child hating racist can come in handy in at least one occasion :/
There's no such thing as bad publicity
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Was talking to the campaign manager and congressional candidate I'm working for about this woman that for about a month and a half has been commenting on EVERYTHING we post on Facebook to try and argue about it. Then, when other people would flag her (usually racist) comments and they'd be removed, she'd accuse our campaign of censoring her. So today I ask them both if I should outright block her, and we look at today's comments from her.
While she's immune to logic, the sheer amount of people calling her BS in response to her "Well obama caged kids, so therefore it's somehow ok" stance has actually been boosting the activity on our page and views overall.
So I guess a crazy child hating racist can come in handy in at least one occasion :/
This is going to sound crazy but let her speak her views, no matter how offensive they are. However, be sure to counter with facts and common sense. Otherwise, you're gonna turn the whole affair into a circus, which people are fucking sick and tired of now in politics. If she's immune to logic, then it doesn't mean others that see the posts won't be. If anything, it'll just make her the pariah at the end of the day.
There is strength in numbers so let the numbers of those who look at the truth prevail.
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If you are going to keep an ignorant asshole around you need the power of archives and facts to contain, you might want to get a working doc of the links to every of her reports as well.
To keep at hand when she comes all "her emails" or pizzagate you bring the fact that you already had this conversation.