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American Politics thread: No Nazis Allowed
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Could a civil association lobby to repeal these anti abortion laws?
Morals and common sense won't work, will money do?
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Only if it could raise more money than all the opposing ones, and it just so happens that the people with the most money in this country are also the most morally bankrupt. God bless America.
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On a different subject: I passed by CNN earlier and they were running the headlines that Trump said he is "fine" with Buttigieg's marriage. I don't know what exactly was said as I was doing something else at the time, but I'm already mad that's become a headline. Is this going to be more BS like that time where Trump held up a rainbow flag and pledged he would protect the LGBT community (from immigrants, everyone leaves that part out) and now we're going to have to hear about how Trump is an ally of the LGBT community?
I wish I could stop it in its tracks. Trump is no friend of the LGBT community. His policies and laws he pushed have been anti-LGBT (especially trans), and here's a big kicker - the supreme court justices that he has stacked the court with could spell trouble for same-sex marriage's legality if it came back to the Supreme Court. So he's "fine" with Buttigieg's marriage? That's cute. It doesn't mean crap.
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More of the meme-makers show an actual grasp of logic when it comes to this shit:
Ugh, I had posted that first one on FB, so of course one of my uncles has to respond "but the bill was signed by a woman." Missing the point entirely.
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Well, while all this anti-abortion shit is going on, the House was nice enough to pass a LGBTQ rights bill.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/17/18627771/equality-act-house-congress-lgbtq-rights-discrimination?fbclid=IwAR1PdEsxiX4aOFZYm3dNZcKicsFTXWuyMGRQxtQ-nDDiLfKmNQwrQXA58c4One step forward, two steps back.
Oh George, we need you so much.
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Only if it could raise more money than all the opposing ones, and it just so happens that the people with the most money in this country are also the most morally bankrupt. God bless America.
Evil is not one big happy family, certain blocks of money with human face would love to be seen as less evil. I guess Amazon, Hollywood or Walmart would rather be seen pro choice rather than anti abortion.
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Evil is not one big happy family, certain blocks of money with human face would love to be seen as less evil. I guess Amazon, Hollywood or Walmart would rather be seen pro choice rather than anti abortion.
To be completely honest, other than a few outspoken celebrities, I’d be completely surprised if any major figure or corporation you’ve mentioned would want to take a stance on the issue. Better to do nothing than to do the right thing and drive away paying customers.
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Nevada Poised To Become 15th State To Ditch Electoral College – The state Senate voted along party lines to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would give the state's six electoral votes to the winner of the presidential popular vote.
President Hillary Clinton?
That would have been the result of the 2016 presidential election — if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact were in effect.
With a state Senate vote Tuesday, Nevada is close to becoming the latest state to sidestep the Electoral College when it comes to electing presidents.
According to the National Popular Vote organization, which oversees efforts to persuade states to join the compact, 14 states and the District of Columbia have agreed to pledge their 189 electors to the winner of the national popular vote — regardless of which candidate won the state. Nevada, with its six electoral votes, would bring the total to 195. Once 270 electors are pledged, the compact would kick in.
The effort is part of a national movement to neuter the Electoral College and give more weight to the popular vote. Democrats in particular have been stung by the Electoral College, which effectively gives disproportional voting power to smaller, rural states that tend to vote Republican. In addition to President Trump, George W. Bush also won the White House without winning the popular vote.
Nevada's Senate voted 12-8 to join the agreement, entirely along party lines. Every Republican voted against the proposal. Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, has not indicated whether he will sign the measure into law.
As NPR has reported, the popular vote movement seems to be gathering steam. In February, 11 states were on board. Since then, Colorado, Delaware and New Mexico have signed on.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/05/22/day-853/
Day 853: Cover-up
1/ Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic leadership believes that Trump is "engaged in a cover-up" after meeting with congressional committee leaders. "We believe that the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up," Pelosi told reporters. "A cover-up. And that was the nature of the meeting." Trump responded to Pelosi's comments by storming out of an infrastructure meeting with senior Democrats after only three minutes, before heading to the Rose Garden to host a surprise press conference. "I don't do cover-ups," Trump said before declaring that he would refuse to work with Democrats until they stop investigating him. "I want to do infrastructure," he continued. "I want to do it more than you want to do it. I’d be really good at that - that’s what I do. But you know what? You can’t do it under these circumstances. So get these phony investigations over with." (New York Times / NBC News / Axios / Reuters / CNBC / ABC News)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congress-idUSKCN1SS1R7
Analysis: The various cover-ups of Donald 'I don’t do cover-ups' Trump. "I don’t do cover-ups," he said. "You people" — the media — "know that probably better than anybody." (Washington Post)
‘I pray for the president,’ Pelosi says after Trump cuts short infrastructure meeting, blasts Democrats. "In an orchestrated – almost to an 'oh, poor baby' point of view – he came into the room and said that I said that he was engaged in a cover-up and he couldn't possibly engage in a conversation on infrastructure as long as we are investigating him," Pelosi said. (Boston Globe / The Hill)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/445074-pelosi-trump-cover-up-could-be-impeachable-offense
Trump rails about impeachment, says Democrats are fishing. Trump claimed that his approval rating "would be at 65%" if there were no investigations. (NBC News)
2/ The House Intelligence Committee reached a last-minute deal with the Justice Department over the redacted material in the Mueller report and announced that will not enforce the subpoena against Attorney General William Barr. The DOJ agreed to turn over the material and the underlying information in Mueller's report, but committee chairman Adam Schiff said the subpoena "will remain in effect and will be enforced should the Department fail to comply with the full document request." Schiff said he expects the DOJ to finish turning over the 12 categories of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence material from Mueller's report "by the end of next week." In a letter sent to Schiff on Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd warned that "the Department will not likely be able to continue to work with the Committee to accommodate its interest in these materials" if the committee takes "the precipitous and unnecessary action of recommending a contempt finding or other enforcement action against the attorney general." (Washington Post / New York Times)
3/ The IRS must honor congressional requests for Trump's tax returns unless Trump invokes executive privilege to protect them, according to a confidential draft legal memo written by IRS staffers. The memo undercuts Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's argument that the White House doesn't have to comply with Congress' requests because they lack any "legitimate legislative purpose." Mnuchin said he came to that conclusion after consulting with attorneys from the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the Justice Department, but the memo says the Treasury Secretary does not have the authority to deny requests for taxpayer returns made by tax-writing committees in Congress. (Washington Post / New York Times)
New York lawmakers passed a pair of bills that would allow Congress to obtain Trump’s state tax returns. Tax officials will now be authorized to hand over Trump's state returns to any one of three congressional committees. (New York Times / CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/22/politics/new-york-state-president-taxes/index.html
4/ Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled at a U.S. District Court hearing in New York that Congress has the legal authority to demand the Trump Organization's financial records from Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. Lawyers for Trump, his three older children, and the Trump Organization argued that the subpoenas should be quashed. The ruling clears the way for the banks to comply with subpoenas issued to them last month by two congressional committees, and comes just two days after a different federal judge in Washington, D.C. said Trump’s accounting firm has to comply with a congressional subpoena for Trump's personal financial records. (Reuters / CNBC)
poll/ 70% of Americans say they have confidence in the condition of the U.S. economy and their own financial situation. 41% of those who said the economy was in good shape also credited Trump's policies as the reason why the economy is doing well, up from 32% at the beginning of 2018. 41% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president. (ABC News)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/americans-feel-good-about-economy-and-give-trump-credit-cbs-news-poll/
Notables
Michael Cohen communicated more than 1,000 times over the course of eight months with the CEO of a U.S. money-management firm with ties to a Russian oligarch, according to a warrant filed on Aug. 7, 2017. The exchanges between Cohen and Andrew Intrater of Columbus Nova LLC began the day Trump was elected, and Mueller's team was investigating whether payments to Cohen from Columbus Nova were connected to a plan to give Michael Flynn a proposal to lift sanctions against Russia. No charges were filed related to that particular inquiry. (Bloomberg)
Rex Tillerson met with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for more than six hours in a private, closed-door session, during which he talked about his time serving under Trump, the frictions between himself and Jared Kushner, and his attempts to tackle issues like Russian interference in the 2016 election. (Daily Beast)
Trump’s golf trips have cost taxpayers at least $102 million in extra travel and security expenses. Trump's trips to Florida cost $81 million, his trips to New Jersey cost $17 million, his two days in Scotland last summer cost at least $3 million, and another $1 million went toward a trip to his resort in Los Angeles. (HuffPost / New York Magazine)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-golf-102-million-taxpayers_n_5ce46727e4b09b23e65a01bb
Steve Mnuchin says the Harriet Tubman redesign of the $20 bill will no longer be unveiled in 2020. The unveiling had been scheduled to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Mnuchin says the design process has been delayed, and no new imagery will be unveiled until 2028. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/22/harriet-tubman-20-bill-no-longer-coming-in-2020.html
Mick Mulvaney is looking to install one of his political allies as the new head of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. Mulvaney has signaled that he wants someone who worked with him at the Office of Management and Budget to replace the outgoing current head, Shahira Knight. Having someone he trusts as the new head of the team would allow him to be directly involved with negotiating and passing critical pieces of legislation during the remainder of Trump's term. (CNBC)
Senator Mike Lee of Utah says the U.S. census should include questions about criminal records in order to help policymakers get former convicts back into the workforce. Lee suggested the idea at a hearing about the Census’s impact on the economy. (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-census-crime-idUSKCN1SS2E9
U.S. Customs and Border Protection only installed 1.7 miles of fencing with the $1.57 billion that Congress appropriated last year for Trump’s border wall with Mexico. The administration recently updated a federal judge on the status of its border wall efforts, and "based on that updated information," the court filing reads, "it appears that CBP has now constructed 1.7 miles of fencing with its fiscal year 2018 funding." (Bloomberg)
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/federal-wall-funding-of-1-57-billion-yields-1-7-miles-of-fence-1.1262220
Michael Avenatti was charged with extorting Nike and stealing $300,000 from his former client, Stormy Daniels. Federal prosecutors in New York charged him with fraud and aggravated identity theft involving Daniels and a book deal, and with attempting to extort more than $20 million from the sportswear giant, Nike. Avenatti has denied the allegations. (Southern District of New York / Associated Press / Reuters / CNN / CNBC)
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So, who's the best contender to win the Democrat presidential nominee 2020 and why? (Just curious, I don't know much about the different candidates.)
And Democrats should be able to take over the White House right? There's no way that Trump will win again after what's happened? Thanks in advance! ^^
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Last time I checked, Joe Biden had the lead.
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@Stranger:
And Democrats should be able to take over the White House right? There's no way that Trump will win again after what's happened?
You underestimate the stupidity of a substantial number of people in this country. Between the gullible and naive types who swear up and down that Trump moved us away from a lot of the bad stuff that Obama did (that he didn't do) and will vote for him. Alongside the pretentious and stubborn types who if their preferred candidate doesn't win the primaries will either sit out the general (or god forbid) vote third party or Trump (just like they did in 2016). To say nothing of the ever recurring problem of voter suppression.
With those last two factors in mind, there's a reasonable good chance that Trump may get a 2nd term.
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Last time I checked, Joe Biden had the lead.
Oh, nice. I do like him. [Obama is one of my favourite presidents, so yeah…]
You underestimate the stupidity of a substantial number of people in this country. Between the gullible and naive types who swear up and down that Trump moved us away from a lot of the bad stuff that Obama did (that he didn't do) and will vote for him. Alongside the pretentious and stubborn types who if their preferred candidate doesn't win the primaries will either sit out the general (or god forbid) vote third party or Trump (just like they did in 2016). To say nothing of the ever recurring problem of voter suppression.
There's a reasonable good chance that Trump may get a 2nd term.
Well, shit. Anything I can do to help convince people not to vote for Trump, etc.?
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Incidentally, Biden is in the lead because Democrats like Obama.
(But actually Biden is bad)
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Incidentally, Biden is in the lead because Democrats like Obama.
(But actually Biden is bad)
What's wrong with Joe Biden?
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He's a serial groper, to start.
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@Stranger:
Well, shit. Anything I can do to help convince people not to vote for Trump, etc.?
Short of gaining the ability to control people's mind's you're SOL.
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@Stranger:
Well, shit. Anything I can do to help convince people not to vote for Trump, etc.?
If you do find a way, you will become a legend.
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@Stranger:
Well, shit. Anything I can do to help convince people not to vote for Trump, etc.?
Hit them with a stick.
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@Stranger:
What's wrong with Joe Biden?
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/10/18173132/joe-biden-hillary-clinton-2020
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/03/joe-biden-isnt-the-answer-for-president-in-2020.htmlThis doesn't even get into how he praises legitimitate subhuman scum like Mike Pence and then gets mad at "extreme leftists" or whatever for not even being able to say what good people subhuman scum like Mike Pence is.
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I will concede that your point is valid. But have you considered the fact that Joe Biden is not Donald Trump?
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https://www.vox.com/2019/1/10/18173132/joe-biden-hillary-clinton-2020
This article explains a bit of how past stuff will surface again. I think it's kinda sad that people focus on the negative stuff that the man did, than the positive stuff. Though it be nice to have a non-baby boomer in office.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/03/joe-biden-isnt-the-answer-for-president-in-2020.html
Biden carries himself with the confidence of a winner, despite not having won, or even come close to winning, either of the previous presidential primaries he’s entered.
That's interesting he thinks like that. Though it's good that he's confident? But then again is he a sore loser if he lost?
Oh….. this article points out a bit of how Biden helped make laws for the "war on drugs." I think all drugs should be made legal and taken as a social issue to help those in need, like what happened in Portugal, where drug percentage rates went down. Then again, is there any politician that is against the "war on drugs"?
I like how the article pointed out the good things he done. He shows he changed over time, which is a good thing in my book. If you can say you are wrong, and change your toxic views, that is a pretty strong act right there.
Thank you for sharing this articles, it helps me see why people don't like him because of past deeds. Though hearing him doing stuff to women.... put shivers up my spine, he should at least apologize for his actions, but he didn't, which is kind of stupid.
This doesn't even get into how he praises legitimitate subhuman scum like Mike Pence and then gets mad at "extreme leftists" or whatever for not even being able to say what good people subhuman scum like Mike Pence is.
Oh, interesting. What specific part of Mike Pence does he praise him for?
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
I will concede that your point is valid. But have you considered the fact that Joe Biden is not Donald Trump?
That is true… though there is a long list of Democrats running for president, so we will see what happens.
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Yeah, Biden isn't really topping a lot of lists for ideal candidate (I think Elizabeth Warren has that covered by being one of the candidates with actual policy behind her). However, and while acknowledging that this is not in any way a high bar to clear, Biden at his worst would still be an improvement over Trump.
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Almost anybody at this rate would be an improvement over Trump.
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What the hell?
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Is Ocasio-Cortez already such as threat that Fox needs to belittle her like this?
Also: 'Wow, she's dumb. I don't even understand what she just said.'
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They've been doing this dumb shit for months to the extent that's it's causing her unpopularity to rise among their viewership….....made all the more bizarre when they have Shep Smith and Chris Wallace pouring water on trump or his sycophants which typically doesn't go over well with their dumbass viewer base.
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https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/mueller-statement-russia-investigation-may-29-2019/index.html I'm really getting tired of this. How does "we are constitutionally required to not issue an indictment" turn into "formally cleared of all charges"? It's a legal loophole. I'd actually even be okay with Mueller sitting on this until Trump is out of office (hopefully 2020 >_>) and then issuing the indictment when his hands are no longer tied with it.
But I don't see that happening.
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I've been done with AOC for a long while, just because one issue. Take a wild guess witch one.
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I've been done with AOC for a long while, just because one issue. Take a wild guess witch one.
I don't know enough about AOC or you to even try.
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Something about Venezuela and Maduro?
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AOC is opposed to a disastrous war of regime change so therefore she's a commie ally of Maduro.
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GvR wins.
She and Omar/Oman have been tweeting either pro maduro or anti intervention, without taking in consideration the current and past abuses, and the current and past failures on negotiation.
I get to say that they are just as hypocrite as the orange buffon. Whenever they use the words "tyrany", "oppresion" or "human rights", remember the asterisk of "not if they are leftist".
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
It wasn't just about military intervention. It was also about the sanctions, that until recently were focused on persons of interest, even though the economy has been in free fall for over 6 years.
Current news cycle is that there is money for a new kind of assault riffle, made in russia (or belarus), but not for the healthcare, that contrasting to the one in the US is supposed to be handled by the goverment, and our private options have been completely destroyed by goverment controls, that date to around 2003.
At the current speed of things we'll get to the point where the military intervention would have been the lesser evil in about two years.
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AOC is opposed to a disastrous war of regime change so therefore she's a commie ally of Maduro.
We still need to do Iran first (still) then we'll maybe perhaps give Venezuela some consideration.
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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/05/29/day-860/
Day 860: Not an option
1/ Robert Mueller declined to clear Trump of obstruction of justice and suggested that only Congress can "formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing" in his first public remarks about his two-year-long investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel noted that "charging the president with a crime was […] not an option we could consider," because Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller emphasized that if his office "had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so." Mueller concluded his remarks by reiterating his report's conclusion that "There were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation deserves the attention of every American." (Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / Associated Press / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / NPR)Read the transcript of Mueller's statement. (NPR / Politico)
What the Mueller report actually said: "The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion," Mueller wrote. This help "favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton." The Trump campaign "expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts," and it "welcomed" this help. Today, Mueller said "We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for itself." (The Atlantic)
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/mueller/590467/
[emoji419] Day 819: Attorney General William Barr repeatedly insisted that Robert Mueller "found no evidence" that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that Russian efforts to interfere "did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign." Barr also claimed Mueller's report did not find "collusion" between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Further, Barr said that even if the Trump campaign had colluded with WikiLeaks, that was not a crime. Mueller identified "numerous" Trump campaign-Russia contacts, but the report says there was "insufficient evidence" to establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump or his campaign aides and their contacts with Russians. The report outlines how Trump was elected with Russia's help and when a federal inquiry was started to investigate the effort, Trump took multiple steps to stop or undermine it. Barr said Mueller examined 10 "episodes" where Trump may have obstructed justice, but that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "disagreed with some of the special counsel's legal theories and felt that some of the episodes did not amount to obstruction." According to Barr, Trump acted out of "noncorrupt motives" because he was frustrated by Mueller's investigation, as well as media coverage that he felt was hurting his administration. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / NBC News / CNN / The Guardian / Bloomberg)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/18/politics/mueller-report-release/index.html
[emoji419] Day 837: More than 370 former federal prosecutors asserted that Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice if he was not president. Robert Mueller declined to exonerate Trump in his report, citing a Justice Department legal opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted. The former career government employees who worked in Republican and Democratic administrations signed on to a statement saying, "Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice." (Washington Post)
2/ Trump responded to Mueller's statement: "The case is closed!" Trump's tweet that "nothing changes from the Mueller Report" came minutes after Mueller reiterated his position that "if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so." Sarah Huckabee Sanders added that despite longstanding Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president for a federal crime, Mueller's "report was clear — there was no collusion, no conspiracy — and the Department of Justice confirmed there was no obstruction." She added that the administration was "prepared" for an impeachment fight. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/29/trump-responds-to-robert-muellers-statement-the-case-is-closed.html
3/ At least 10 Democratic presidential candidates have now endorsed impeachment proceedings against Trump following Mueller's news conference. Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Seth Moulton, Eric Swalwell, Julián Castro, Beto O’Rourke, and Wayne Messam all support impeachment proceedings. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, held firm on her belief that impeaching Trump isn't a worthwhile effort without uncovering new evidence "to make such a compelling case, such an ironclad case, that even the Republican Senate — which at the time seems to be not an objective jury — will be convinced of the path that we have to take as a country." (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/29/mueller-statement-emboldens-dems-on-impeachment-1346513
Mueller's message to Pelosi is that it is the constitutional duty of Congress to begin an investigation and consider impeaching Trump. Mueller's statement today underscored the special counsel's office "was bound" by department policy not to indict the president—or even accuse him. (Slate)
4/ Mueller resigned from the Department of Justice to "return to private life" and is "formally closing the special counsel's office" now that the "investigation is complete." He said he hoped this would be his last public comment on the subject and suggested that if he were compelled to testify before Congress, he would not speak "beyond what is already public" in his 448-page report because "the report is my testimony." Mueller added: "I am making that decision myself. Nobody has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter." (Politico / Daily Beast / NPR / NBC News / CNBC)
Andrew Miller will testify Friday before Mueller's grand jury. The former aide to Roger Stone agreed to testify after fighting a subpoena for 10 months. He faced jail time for contempt if he continued to refuse to testify. (Washington Post / ABC News)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/roger-stone-aide-agrees-testify-grand-jury-63349732
The Justice Department agreed to make Mueller investigation-related court activity public. While unsealing the records will not reveal the details of the filings, but instead provide an overview of how, when and for what Mueller was going to the federal court to gather evidence. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/28/politics/mueller-court-activity-public/index.html
Notables
Mitch McConnell would try to fill an opening on the Supreme Court if there were a vacancy next year. In contrast, McConnell refused to confirm Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, after the death of Antonin Scalia during the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. McConnell claimed that voters had a right to decide whether a Democrat or Republican should fill the open seat on the Court. When asked what his position would be when it came to filling a potentially vacant seat next year, however, McConnell smiled and said: "Oh, we'd fill it." (Washington Post / CNN / New York Times / Politico / NPR / NBC News)U.S. intelligence said Russia is secretly conducting low-yield nuclear tests to upgrade its nuclear arsenal and has failed to observe its commitments to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. (Wall Street Journal)
The Pentagon hasn't held an on-camera press briefing with any department spokesperson in a year. "We're talking about some sort of strike on another country and nobody knows why," said one Pentagon reporter. A spokesperson for the Defense Department pushed back against the claim, saying, "It depends what your definition of a briefing is." (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/29/pentagon-press-briefing-iran-1346093
The director of the HHS refugee office will leave the Trump administration next week. Scott Lloyd ran the refugee office for most of 2017 and 2018 as HHS was taking custody of thousands of migrant children separated from their families. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/29/scott-lloyd-leaves-hhs-1346421
The vast majority of money from Trump's bailout for farmers will likely to go to the largest farms – not the small mom-and-pop farms. Farms with annual revenues of several million dollars are likely to see the most bailout money, which are already major beneficiaries of federal crop support programs. Findings from the Environmental Working Group suggest that "the biggest payments will go to the wealthiest farmers, who need them the least." (Los Angeles Times)
https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-trump-farm-bailout-20190528-story.html
Trump's tax cuts have had "a relatively small (if any) first-year effect on the economy" and they are failing to pay for themselves, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Despite claims that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would add "rocket fuel" to the U.S. economy, the CRS found the law was mostly beneficial to investors. Wages are only growing at 2 percent, companies are seeing a bigger increase in earnings than employees, and "ordinary workers had very little growth in wage rates." (The Independent / Washington Post / Congressional Research Service)
https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20190522_R45736_8a1214e903ee2b719e00731791d60f26d75d35f4.pdf
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Trump's tax cuts have had "a relatively small (if any) first-year effect on the economy" and they are failing to pay for themselves, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Despite claims that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would add "rocket fuel" to the U.S. economy, the CRS found the law was mostly beneficial to investors. Wages are only growing at 2 percent, companies are seeing a bigger increase in earnings than employees, and "ordinary workers had very little growth in wage rates." (The Independent / Washington Post / Congressional Research Service)
More reruns than ABC
Didn't work in 81
Didn't work in 86
Didn't work in 01
MOST definitely did not work for Kansas in 2012. -
The tax cut is beneficial to investors because of companies buying up their own stock at inflated prices; it's only a matter of time until a bunch of companies see their values collapse because they've been hiding declining revenue with these buybacks.
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Should also have been a "matter of time" for people to realize the economics of the Obama admin are what have lead to the economy we have now.
Should also have been a "matter of time" for people to realize the government bailing out industries they encourage corruption in by rewarding fucking CEO's gambling with consumer's money is bad.
I'm not counting on any SIGNIFICANT change to happen as a result of these people being hurt in hindsight.
Why?
Because there will always be the Bush's and Trump's of the world to bail out those that gamble with others money. There will always be the people in these companies that are fine screwing over investors, consumers, and anyone else as long as they can get a short term gain out of it. I'm not banking on any of the people "benefiting" from the Trump Tax cuts coming out against it other than "I got screwed, please help even though I was advocating for this and gleefully thanked my POTUS for it until it didn't work to my specific advantage."
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GOP Redistricting Strategist Played Role In Push For Census Citizenship Question
A major Republican redistricting strategist played a role in the Trump administration's push to get a citizenship question on forms for the 2020 census.
Thomas Hofeller, who died last August, concluded in a 2015 report that adding the question would produce the data needed to redraw political maps that would be "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites," according to a court filing released Thursday.
Plaintiffs in one of the New York-based lawsuits over the question say that Hofeller later ghostwrote an early draft of the administration's request for the question and helped form a reason for adding the question to forms for the national head count.
The Trump administration has maintained it wants census responses to the question — "Is this person a citizen of the United States?" — to better enforce Voting Rights Act protections for racial and language minorities.
But Hofeller's documents uncovered through a separate lawsuit suggest administration officials were aware that including the question "would not benefit Latino voters, but rather would facilitate significantly reducing their political power," argue attorneys with the law firm Arnold & Porter, the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union in a letter to U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman.
The revelations come weeks before the Supreme Court is expected to issue a major ruling on whether the Trump administration can add the citizenship question to the 2020 census. A total of seven lawsuits have been filed around the country against the administration's plans for the question, which are currently blocked by orders from three federal judges at lower courts.
If the question is included on the census, Census Bureau research shows it is highly likely to scare households with noncitizens, especially within the Latinx and immigrant communities, from taking part in the constitutionally mandated head count of every person living in the U.S.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/05/30/day-861/
Day 861: Essentially
1/ Trump tweeted that Russia helped "me to get elected" – his first acknowledgement that Russia worked to get him elected in 2016. Trump later retracted the statement, telling reporters that, "No, Russia did not help me get elected. […] I got me elected." Trump has previously denied that Russia interfered in the election, rejecting the conclusions by American intelligence agencies and federal prosecutors that Russia worked to help him defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election campaign. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / The Guardian / CNN)https://apnews.com/2c973fabb59446cf852edda6ffa7174a
[emoji419] Day 819: The Trump campaign "expected it would benefit" from information released by Russia, but "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." The report continues: "The investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome." Putin's "preference was for candidate Trump to win."
2/ Trump attacked Robert Mueller, characterizing him as "totally conflicted" and "true never-Trumper," suggesting that if the former special counsel had any evidence, he would have brought charges. Trump insisted that Mueller's comments yesterday "essentially" said "'You're innocent.' There was no crime, there was no charge because he had no information." Trump also referred to a "business dispute" with Mueller, but didn't elaborate. Bill O'Reilly, however, said Trump called him last night to complain that "Mueller didn't like him because he turned him down to be the head of the FBI after he fired Comey" and that Trump once refused to refund his country club membership deposit. "Mueller wanted $15,000 back and Trump said no," O'Reilly said. Mueller denied the incident. Trump went on to baselessly claim that Mueller "loves Comey," and "whether it's love or a deep like, he was conflicted." (ABC News / NBC News / Mediate)
[emoji419] Day 860: Robert Mueller declined to clear Trump of obstruction of justice and suggested that only Congress can "formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing" in his first public remarks about his two-year-long investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel noted that "charging the president with a crime was […] not an option we could consider," because Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller emphasized that if his office "had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so." Mueller concluded his remarks by reiterating his report's conclusion that "There were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation deserves the attention of every American." (Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / Associated Press / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / NPR)
https://apnews.com/94323cfc164c4759ba6bf84ad2a46203
3/ Attorney General William Barr thinks Mueller should have reached a decision on whether Trump obstructed justice, despite Justice Department guidelines saying a sitting president cannot be indicted. Barr suggested that Mueller "could've reached a decision as to whether there was criminal activity." Mueller, however, said that because "It would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge," it was "not an option we could consider." (The Hill)
Key U.S. intelligence partners, including the United Kingdom and Australia, are concerned with Barr's politically-charged Justice Department review of how the Russia investigation began. Trump gave Barr the authority to declassify and study the pre-election Obama-era intelligence related to the investigation. Partners are concerned that Barr could potentially reveal intelligence shared with the U.S. and, in the process, damage their other relationships with foreign partners. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/30/politics/barr-intelligence-review-allies-reaction/index.html
4/ At least 49 Democrats and one Republican support starting an impeachment inquiry against Trump. Democratic leaders also say Mueller's remarks yesterday reiterate the importance of having him testify before Congress. Mueller has indicated that he is reluctant to testify and that he wouldn't say anything beyond what his office wrote in report, calling his report "my testimony." (New York Times / NBC News)
5/ The Trump administration deliberately concealed evidence about the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The origins of the plan were discovered on hard drives in Thomas Hofeller's home, who died last summer. The files show that Hofeller concluded that adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census "would clearly be a disadvantage to the Democrats" and "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites" in redistricting. He pushed the idea to the Trump administration in 2017, which then intentionally obscured Hofeller's role in court proceedings. The government has maintained that adding the question was intended to improve enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court will decide the case by the term's end next month on whether the citizenship question can be added to the 2020 Census. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-census-gerrymandering-idUSKCN1T01WN
Notables
The White House wanted the USS John S. McCain "out of sight" during Trump's visit to Japan. A Navy official confirmed that someone in the White House asked to move the destroyer while Trump was in the area. A tarp was also hung over McCain's name, and sailors were given the day off. A spokesperson for the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan didn't know about the White House's request. (Wall Street Journal / NBC News / The Hill / Washington Post / New York Times)Trump said whoever directed the Navy to obscure the warship USS John S. McCain was "well-meaning," adding that he didn't know about and "was not involved" in the effort to the hide the Navy destroyer. "I would not have done that." (Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/9c3d51b355854034a87e8f2d6f489b98
Several service members aboard the USS Wasp wore "Make Aircrew Great Again" patches. The Navy is reviewing whether the Trump-themed patches violated Navy rules. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/29/politics/navy-review-trump-patches/index.html
A federal judge rejected the Trump administration's request to begin construction on a border wall with Mexico while it appeals a ruling that found funding for the wall was not authorized by Congress. U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam said the government was unlikely to prevail on the merits of its appeal, failing to justify a stay of a preliminary injunction issued last week. (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-court-idUSKCN1T020S
Federal prosecutors subpoenaed Mar-a-Lago for records related to Republican Party donor Li "Cindy" Yang and several of her associates and companies. The former owner of a Florida spa is involved in a prostitution investigation and allegedly sold access to Trump and his associates at Mar-a-Lago events. (Miami Herald / Vanity Fair)
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article230946518.html
China accused the U.S. of engaging in "economic terrorism" and said the ongoing trade war has "brought huge damage to the economy of other countries and the US itself." Yesterday, Chinese state media issued a similar warning to Washington: "Don't say we didn't warn you." The statements come as China's top economic planning agency said it would be willing to reduce exports of rare earth minerals to the U.S., which are an important part of high-tech manufacturing. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/30/asia/china-us-peoples-daily-trade-war-intl/index.html
The U.S. has slipped into third place when it comes to the most competitive economies. While the U.S. is still on top when it comes to economic performance, the boost in confidence from Trump's tax cuts has faded while higher fuel prices and weaker high-tech exports have reduced competitiveness. (CNBC)
Trump might meet with two pro-Brexit politicians when he visits the U.K. next week. Trump said he considers Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to be "very good guys" and "very interesting people." (Politico / Bloomberg)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-uk-boris-johnson-nigel-farage-1347574
The Department of Energy referred to fossil fuel as "molecules of U.S. freedom" in a press release touting exports of natural gas. (ABC News)
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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/05/31/day-862/
[h=1]Day 862: A colossal blunder[/h]
1/ Trump threatened to impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods unless the country stops all "illegal migrants coming through Mexico," linking his immigration policy to trade. The tariffs would begin on June 10th and "gradually increase" to 10% on July 1st, followed by an additional 5% each month for the next three months. Tariffs would remain at 25% "if the crisis persists." The National Foreign Trade Council called the move "a colossal blunder," as U.S. companies pay the import penalties and pass some costs along to consumers. The White House defended the legality of the move, saying Trump was acting under the powers granted to him by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president broad power to take action to address any "unusual or extraordinary threat." (Washington Post / New York Times / The Guardian / Reuters)
2/ Republicans warned Trump that imposing tariffs on all Mexican imports could upend the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and undermine the economy. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley called the move "a misuse of presidential tariff authority and contrary to congressional intent," adding that implementing the tariffs would "seriously jeopardize passage" of the USMCA. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, blamed Congress for refusing to deal with problems at the border, saying if they "were stepping up and doing more the president wouldn't have to continue to look for ways to stop this problem on his own." (Politico / Washington Post)- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and business groups are considering suing the White Hose over Trump's new tariffs on Mexico. The tariff threat was reportedly "hurried out the door" in order to appease Trump, who did not consult business groups or federal agencies in advance. A 5% tariff on imported goods from Mexico would result in a potential tax increase on American businesses and consumers by about $17 billion. That would eclipse $86 billion if the tariffs reach Trump's cap of 25%. (CNBC / NBC News / U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
3/ Trump's Treasury secretary and top trade advisor both opposed the plan to impose tariffs on Mexico. Steve Mnuchin and Robert Lighthizer have stressed the importance of enacting USMCA, meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, and argued that the tariffs could derail ratification of the deal in Congress. "Lighthizer is not happy," an unnamed administration official said. The tariff strategy was spearheaded by White House adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hawk, after Trump was "riled up" by conservative radio commentary about the recent surge in border crossings. (Wall Street Journal / CNBC)
4/ The Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General found "dangerous overcrowding" and unsanitary conditions at a Border Patrol processing facility following an unannounced inspection. The IG found "standing room only conditions" at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center with "approximately 750 and 900 detainees." The facility has a maximum capacity of 125 migrants. (CNN)- About half of the nearly 2,000 unaccompanied migrant children held in overcrowded Border Patrol facilities have been there beyond the legally allowed time limits. Federal law and court orders require that children in Border Patrol custody be transferred within 72 hours after being apprehended. Some unaccompanied children are spending more than a week in Border Patrol stations and processing centers and children 12 or younger have been in custody for an average of six days. (Washington Post)
5/ Trump is considering a proposal to enact restrictions on asylum claims that would deny Central American migrants from entering the U.S. The draft proposal would prevent migrants from seeking asylum if they lived in another country after leaving their home country and coming to the U.S., which would impact thousand of migrants who have been waiting on the other side of the border after traveling through Mexico. (Politico)
6/ Attorney General William Barr disagreed with Robert Mueller's "legal analysis," saying it "did not reflect the views" of the Justice Department, which is why he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "applied what we thought was the right law" instead. In Barr's written testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, however, he wrote that "we accepted the Special Counsel's legal framework for purposes of our analysis and evaluated the evidence as presented by the Special Counsel in reaching our conclusion." Barr also said he was surprised that Mueller "did not reach a conclusion" as to whether Trump had obstructed justice, despite Mueller stating in his report and at yesterday's press conference that "charging the president with a crime was […] not an option we could consider," because Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller also noted yesterday that the Constitution "requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing." Barr went on to claim that Mueller's report shows "no evidence of a conspiracy […and…] this whole idea that the Trump was in cahoots with the Russians is bogus." (CBS News / Talking Points Memo / New York Magazine)- A federal grand jury used in the Mueller investigation remains interested in Roger Stone after Andrew Miller, who worked for Stone in 2016, testified last week. (CNN)
7/ House Republicans blocked the $19.1 billion disaster aid package for a third time. The long-delayed bill, which has Trump's support, was blocked by Tennessee Rep. John Rose. Rose called the legislation "another act of irresponsible big government." (Washington Post)
8/ North Korea executed its former top nuclear envoy to the U.S. and four other foreign ministry officials by firing squad after negotiations stalled between Kim Jong Un and Trump. The February summit collapsed after Trump called off the talks. Kim Hyok Chol, who led the working-level negotiations, was executed in March along with four other officials. (Reuters / Bloomberg / NBC News) -
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/03/day-865/
[h=1]Day 865: Presidential obstruction and other crimes.[/h]
1/ Before even landing in England for his first official state visit to the U.K., Trump tweeted that the mayor of London was a "stone cold loser" for being "foolishly 'nasty'" to him. Sadiq Khan wrote an op-ed prior to the visit, calling Trump "one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" and suggested that the state visit be rescinded because Trump's views are "incompatible with British values." After landing, Trump met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace and later tweeted that the trip was "going really well." (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Politico / NBC News / The Guardian)- Ahead of his three-day state visit, Trump suggested that the U.K. should "walk away" from Brexit talks if the European Union does not give it what it wants. Trump criticized the $50 billion bill the U.K. must pay as part of the Brexit deal, saying he "wouldn't pay" it because "it's a tremendous number." Trump later called on the U.K. to throw off the "shackles" of EU and strike a free-trade deal with the U.S. (Vox / CNN / Bloomberg)
2/ Trump called for a boycott of AT&T in order to force "big changes" at CNN, which is owned by the telecommunications giant. Trump tweeted for AT&T "do something" about CNN, because the network "is the primary source of news available from the U.S." in the U.K. and – he claims – its coverage of his administration is "unfair." (Axios / CNBC / Politico / Washington Post)
3/ The House Judiciary Committee announced a "series of hearings" related to Robert Mueller's report, "Presidential Obstruction and Other Crimes." The first hearing is scheduled for June 10th and will focus on Trump's "most overt acts of obstruction" with John Dean, a key figure in the Watergate scandal, as one of the witnesses. Mueller – for now – is not scheduled to appear. (New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / The Hill / CNBC / Politico)- Research study: Russian Twitter trolls attempted to fuel the anti-vaccination debate in the U.S. According to the study from George Washington University, "sophisticated" bots, mimicking previous Russian troll efforts, shared opinions from both sides of the anti-vaxxer debate. (CBS News)
4/ The Justice Department refused to turn over transcripts of recorded conversations between Michael Flynn and Russian officials, including those with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, despite a court order. The transcripts between Flynn and Kislyak were obtained from an FBI wiretap and are expected to show that in December 2016 they talked about sanctions that the Obama administration had just imposed on Russia. Prosecutors also failed to release unredacted portions of the Mueller report related to Flynn that the judge ordered to be made public. The Justice Department, however, did release transcripts of a voice mail from Trump's attorney John Dowd to Flynn's attorney, Rob Kelner, about Flynn's discussions with Mueller just before Flynn pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in Mueller's investigation. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / Axios)
- Jared Kushner doesn't know if he'd call the FBI if he received an email like the one before the Trump Tower meeting, which had the subject line: "Re: Russia - Clinton - private and confidential." (Axios / Washington Post)
5/ A witness in Mueller's investigation was charged with transporting child pornography last year. George Nader operated as a liaison between Trump's supporters, Middle East leaders, and Russians interested in making contact with the incoming administration in early 2017. Nader helped arrange the Seychelles meeting in January 2017 between Erik Prince and a Russian official close to Putin. Nader was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. (Washington Post)
- Day 441: A cooperating witness in Robert Mueller's investigation may have information linking the United Arab Emirates to Russia. George Nader has received at least partial immunity for his cooperation. Nader's international connections helped him arrange several meetings that have drawn the attention of the special counsel, including a meeting in the Seychelles between Kirill Dmitriev, the manager of a state-run Russian investment fund, and a Trump adviser days before Trump took office. (New York Times)
- Day 483: Mueller's team is examining a series of meetings that took place in the Seychelles, which have been characterized as an attempt by the U.S. to set up a backchannel with Russia. A Russian plane, owned by Andrei Skoch, a Russian billionaire and deputy in the Russian State Duma, the country's legislative body, flew into the Seychelles a day prior to the 2017 meeting. (NJ.com)
poll/ 41% of Americans feel Trump should be impeached and removed from office compared to 54% who are against impeachment. Trump's approval rating, meanwhile, stands at 43% with 52% disapproving of the President. (CNN)
[h=2]Notables.[/h]
- The House Oversight and Reform Committee is moving to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena for information about efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Chairman Elijah Cummings said he would consider postponing the contempt votes if Barr and Ross turn over the requested documents by Thursday. (Politico)
- A new State Department policy requires visa applicants submit information about any social media accounts used in the past five years. Account information could provide the government with access to photos, locations, dates of birth, and other personal data commonly shared on social media. (New York Times)
- Trump's economic advisor will depart the White House "shortly." Kevin Hassett denied that his pending departure was not related to Trump's tariff threats on China and Mexico. Hassett, however, said that the chance of Trump hitting the 3% growth target this year is less certain due to the trade war and a ballooning budget deficit. He will leave at the end of this month. (Politico / CNBC / Bloomberg / Reuters)
- Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has "repeatedly used her connections and celebrity status in China to boost the profile" of her family's shipping company, Foremost Group, which benefits from industrial policies in China. Chao has no official affiliation or stake in her family's company, but she and her husband, Mitch McConnell, have received millions of dollars in gifts from her father, who ran the company until last year. (New York Times)
- The Trump administration considered imposing tariffs on imports from Australia last week, but decided against the move after opposition from military and State Department officials. Some of Trump's top advisers urged him to impose the tariffs in response to a surge of Australian aluminum coming into American markets over the last year. But DOD and State Department officials warned that the move would alienate a top ally. (New York Times)
- The Pentagon told the White House to stop politicizing the military after the Trump administration ordered the Navy to hide the USS John S. McCain during Trump's visit to Japan. The Navy confirmed that the White House made the request "to minimize the visibility of" the ship. (Associated Press / NBC News)
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Baby Trump Blimp is gone, but something even more fun and insulting has come in it's place:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-robot-tweeting-toilet-london-protest-112955723.html?ncid=facebook_yahoonewsf_akfmevaatca -
Well if it wasn't made clear how cheap Trump is along with how little he likes Tiffany.
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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/05/day-867/
And before we start, yes the title is exactly what it sounds like…
Day 867: The cleanest climate.
1/ Trump said he believes climate change "goes both ways," claimed the U.S. has one of "the cleanest climates," and blamed China, India, and Russia for polluting the environment. Trump's comments came after a 90-minute meeting with Prince Charles on the subject. While Trump remains unconvinced that the climate is warming, he said he agrees with Charles that he wants the U.S. to have "good climate, as opposed to a disaster." The United States is the world's second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions, which rose an estimated 3.4% in 2018. (BBC / The Guardian / Washington Post)
2/ Trump claimed that he is "making up" for not serving in the Vietnam War by proposing to increase the Pentagon's budget to around $750 billion in 2020. Despite avoiding service through student deferments and a medical disqualification for bone spurs, Trump claimed he "would have not have minded that at all. I would have been honored" to serve. (Washington Post)
Trump erroneously claimed that he reinstituted a ban on most transgender people from serving in the military because some of them take prescription medicine. Trump said that when "you're in the military, you're not allowed to take any drugs." The military, however, doesn't prohibit service members from taking prescription medicines. (Bloomberg / Washington Post)
3/ A bipartisan group of senators will try to block the Trump administration's use of emergency authority to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Senators will try to force 22 votes aimed at rebuking the Trump administration's May decision to invoke an emergency provision in the Arms Export Control Act in order to push through $8 billion worth of arms sales to the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Congress had been blocking the sale since last year. (Associated Press / Politico / USA Today / New York Times)
https://www.apnews.com/540d432b2ec4462da0ad6d001890158a
4/ The House passed the DREAM and Promise Act of 2019, which would give millions of young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. The measure passed with a vote of 327 to 187, and it now heads to the Senate, where it is unlikely to be considered. The White House has also threatened to veto the measure if it makes it to Trump's desk. Seven Republicans voted in favor of the measure, and no Democrats voted against it. (CBS News / New York Times / Washington Post)
5/ A 40-year-old migrant woman died while in U.S. Border Patrol custody – the second migrant woman to die within a 36-hour period. Border Patrol agents detained the woman in Eagle Pass, Texas on Monday and she collapsed minutes later. She was transported to a hospital, where she died shortly after arriving. On Saturday, a 25-year-old transgender asylum seeker from El Salvador died at a hospital in El Paso, Texas. (The Guardian)
6/ Border Patrol agents are boarding buses and trains across the northern U.S. with increasing frequency to ask passengers about their citizenship status, often nowhere near the U.S. border. Newly obtained emails show a Border Patrol official in Maine told agents "Happy hunting!" as they prepared to begin boarding buses. The searches can happen as often as three times per day at some bus stations, even at those with no direct routes to or from the border, causing bus delays and missed connections. (NBC News)
7/ The Trump administration canceled English classes, recreational programs, and legal aid for unaccompanied minors in federal migrant shelters. The Office of Refugee Resettlement discontinued funding for the programs, calling them "not directly necessary for the protection of life and safety, including education services, legal services, and recreation." (Washington Post / ABC News)
poll/ 54% of Americans say they think Trump will win the 2020 election, compared to 41% who feel he will lose. In December, 51% said they thought Trump would lose his bid for re-election. (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/politics/cnn-poll-trump-prediction-economy-issues/index.html
poll/ 68% of American believe "made-up news" is a "very big problem" in the U.S. By comparison, 46% called climate change a "very big problem," 40% said the same about racism, and 34% said the same about terrorism. (Pew Research Center / Nieman Lab / Axios)
Notables
House Democrats rejected calls to preemptively cancel a House vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt, but said they are willing to reopen negotiations with the DOJ over Mueller's full, un-redacted report. Rep. Jerry Nadler said he was willing to try to find a compromise, but only "without conditions" from the Justice Department. "We urge you not to make the mistake of breaking off accommodations again," Nadler warned last night. "We are here and ready to negotiate as early as tomorrow morning." (New York Times / House Judiciary Committee)
A federal judge said the Justice Department does not have to turn over the transcripts of Michael Flynn's calls with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak as part of Flynn's sentencing. The DOJ originally failed to turn over the transcripts, saying they did not have any additional documents to share with the court that could help at sentencing. The judge said "the government is not required to file any additional materials or information on the public docket." (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/04/politics/flynn-kislyak-sullivan-transcript/index.html
The Russian trolling effort on Twitter during the 2016 campaign was larger, more coordinated, and more effective than previously known. The operation by the Internet Research Agency amounted to "a vast, coordinated campaign that was incredibly successful at pushing out and amplifying its messages," according to the cybersecurity firm Symantec. Some of the trolls used their fake accounts to make money on the side, with one potentially generating nearly $1 million. (Politico / NBC News)
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/05/study-russia-cybersecurity-twitter-1353543
The Trump administration sharply reduced federal spending on medical research that uses tissue from aborted fetuses. The move overrides the advice of scientists, who say the tissue is crucial for studies that benefit millions of patients and have led to life-saving advances, including the development of vaccines for rubella and rabies and drugs to treat the HIV virus. The decision fullfills a top goal by anti-abortion groups that have lobbied hard for it. (New York Times / ABC News)
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1/ Trump said he believes climate change "goes both ways," claimed the U.S. has one of "the cleanest climates," and blamed China, India, and Russia for polluting the environment. Trump's comments came after a 90-minute meeting with Prince Charles on the subject.
It's amazing how he can be half-right and half wrong at the same time.
2/ Trump claimed that he is "making up" for not serving in the Vietnam War by proposing to increase the Pentagon's budget to around $750 billion in 2020.
The logic in this argument is a bout as meaningful as sticking a fork in a electrical socket.
7/ The Trump administration canceled English classes, recreational programs, and legal aid for unaccompanied minors in federal migrant shelters. The Office of Refugee Resettlement discontinued funding for the programs, calling them "not directly necessary for the protection of life and safety, including education services, legal services, and recreation." (Washington Post / ABC News)
"Immigrants refuse to assimilate to our culture".
poll/ 68% of American believe "made-up news" is a "very big problem" in the U.S. By comparison, 46% called climate change a "very big problem," 40% said the same about racism, and 34% said the same about terrorism. (Pew Research Center / Nieman Lab / Axios)
Jesus the stupidity.
The Trump administration sharply reduced federal spending on medical research that uses tissue from aborted fetuses. The move overrides the advice of scientists, who say the tissue is crucial for studies that benefit millions of patients and have led to life-saving advances, including the development of vaccines for rubella and rabies and drugs to treat the HIV virus. The decision fullfills a top goal by anti-abortion groups that have lobbied hard for it. (New York Times / ABC News)
Taking it back to the Bush Administration I see.
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Not really surprising since he's a groper, but Uncle Joe also has a history of wanting to strip women of their rights: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-s-long-evolution-abortion-rights-still-holds-surprises-n1013846
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Not really surprising since he's a groper, but Uncle Joe also has a history of wanting to strip women of their rights: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-s-long-evolution-abortion-rights-still-holds-surprises-n1013846
For context, the headline to that article is "Joe Biden's long evolution on abortion rights still holds surprises. As a senator from Delaware, he once supported stripping exceptions for rape and incest from federal funding."
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/06/day-868/ Day 868: Aesthetics
1/ Mexico proposed sending about 6,000 National Guard troops to the country's border with Guatemala to help stem migration as part of a deal to avoid Trump's tariffs. Mexico and Guatemala also agreed to consider significant changes in asylum laws in the region, allowing the U.S. to reject requests for protection from many people fleeing persecution. The arrangement being discussed would require migrants to seek asylum in the first safe country they enter. Trump threatened to charge a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods starting Monday unless the country reduces the flow of migrants streaming to the U.S. border. The U.S., however, is considering delaying the tariffs as talks continue and Mexican negotiators have made clear that they will pull their offers if Trump imposes the tariffs. (Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico)
- Earlier in the day, Trump declared that "not nearly enough" progress has been made in the negotiations with Mexico. Trump warned that "if no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule." Trump indicated that he won't be satisfied with anything less than direct evidence that Mexico has completely stopped the flow of migration through its country. (New York Times / Politico)
2/ Trump threatened to impose tariffs on "at least" another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, but said he thinks China and Mexico both want to make deals. "Our talks with China, a lot of interesting things are happening," Trump told reporters. "We'll see what happens… I could go up another at least $300 billion and I’ll do that at the right time." No face-to-face meetings between Trump and Chinese officials have been held since May 10, when Trump announced a 25% increase in tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. (Reuters)
3/ **The military will spend a month painting a mile-long section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall to improve its "aesthetic appearance."**An unspecific number of service members were instructed to paint barriers in the California border town of Calexico for a total of 30 days. Sen. Dick Durbin called the task a "disgraceful misuse" of taxpayer money. (CBS News)
4/ Nancy Pelosi told senior Democrats she'd like to see Trump "in prison" while discussing with Rep. Jerry Nadler whether to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump. Nadler pressed Pelosi to start the proceedings, but Pelosi refused and said: "I don't want to see him impeached. I want to see him in prison." Pelosi said she prefers voters to remove Trump via the ballot box and then have him prosecuted for his crimes. Elizabeth Warren, meanwhile, said Trump "would be carried out in handcuffs" if he were anybody else. (Politico / Washington Post / NBC News)
5/ Jerry Nadler told Democratic leaders that he will issue a subpoena within the next two weeks for Robert Mueller to testify before the House Judiciary Committee if they're unable to reach an agreement to secure his voluntary public testimony. Mueller is currently only willing to answer questions in private, which is a nonstarter for most House Democrats. (Politico)- Trump said Mueller made "such a fool" out of himself when he delivered his public statement about the Russia investigation last week. (Fox News)
6/ House Democrats plan to grant committees the authority to enforce subpoenas for documents and witness testimony that the Trump administration has tried to block. Committee chairs will be able to sue the Trump administration and hold officials in contempt of Congress. Democrats said the reason for the change is to prevent contempt citations from dominating the House's floor time. (CNN / Politico)
7/ Michael Flynn fired his legal team. The former Trump national security adviser awaits sentencing for lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian official. (Politico)
8/ Trump's empty cabinet positions have been vacant more than four times as many days as any other president since Ronald Reagan at this point in their presidencies. (Axios) -
I'm curious for fellow dems, as of now who would you vote for in the primary?
As of now, I'd be putting my vote toward Warren.
And goes without saying that if she did not win, I'll still be voting for the nominee.
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Literally a monkey throwing poo would get my vote over Trump.
So it really truly honestly doesn't matter, but Warren seems like the best bet, but shes probably going to lose to a dude just cause.
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1. Harris- strikes the right balance between electability/charisma and progressive. She can be both charming and tough, and is younger and more progressive than Biden.
2. Warren- got a plan for everything. Smart and fiery, but I'm worried she's easily portrayed as shrill and bookish.
3. Whoever wins.
4. Tulsi Gabbard