US Politics

Without Fox News this wouldn't be a problem at all.

It's the only news source millions of voters use, and it's propaganda. It won't even cover the things that are most pertinent to it's own viewers.

Now with Sinclair joining the propaganda machine, I have no idea how this ends.

You've essentially got a news source which is run by corrupt, genuinely evil people whose goal in life is to ensure the poor have no power being the only source of information watched by those poor. Part of me just has to salute how well it's all worked for them.
 
Beachryan said:
Without Fox News this wouldn't be a problem at all.

It's the only news source millions of voters use, and it's propaganda. It won't even cover the things that are most pertinent to it's own viewers.

Now with Sinclair joining the propaganda machine, I have no idea how this ends.

You've essentially got a news source which is run by corrupt, genuinely evil people whose goal in life is to ensure the poor have no power being the only source of information watched by those poor. Part of me just has to salute how well it's all worked for them.
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All news in the US is the problem. Fox, for all it's hatefulness, still engages in good journalism. 24 hour, non-stop, low-concentration, sensationalist bullshit arguing in place of facts is the problem.
 
EPA commissions a challenge coin for 2017 disaster responders
https://www.cnn.com/profiles/sara-ganim-profile
The Environmental Protection Agency is spending more than $8,500 on challenge coins to congratulate its response to 2017 natural disasters, including the hurricanes that ravaged Texas and Puerto Rico.

After three bids, a contract was awarded to The Lapel Pins Plus Network LLC for "response award development - Challenge Coin" with a request to design a two-inch color 3D "coin award" that displays the EPA Emergency Response program logo on the inner circle and "HURRICANES HARVEY, IRMA AND MARIA - THE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES" on the outer circle.
The back of the coin, to be designed by the contractor, should "convey the sentiment that EPA staff from all across the country worked together to respond to the incidents from Puerto Rico to California (and regions in between)," the contract says. It also says the coin should include the phrase "response excellence," the year "2017," and should say "PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT ALL ACROSS AMERICA."
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/21/politics/epa-challenge-coin-puerto-rico-texas-disaster/index.html

Reminder: ~4000 are dead in Puerto Rico with no acknowledgement from the govt.
 
Raoul said:
I get the sense Mitt is playing the long game. He knows its fruitless to get into a public spat with Trump while he's running for Senate. Once he's in the Senate, he will (imo) likely revert to being a Trump critic.
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He'll probably make the occasional criticism about how he's occasionally disturbed or annoyed by something without doing anything. At most he'll maybe vote against his wishes on one or two significant things. Apart from that don't expect much other than lip-service.
 
Cheesy said:
He'll probably make the occasional criticism about how he's occasionally disturbed or annoyed by something without doing anything. At most he'll maybe vote against his wishes on one or two significant things. Apart from that don't expect much other than lip-service.
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So basically he will turn out to be McCain lite :p
 
Cheesy said:
He'll probably make the occasional criticism about how he's occasionally disturbed or annoyed by something without doing anything. At most he'll maybe vote against his wishes on one or two significant things. Apart from that don't expect much other than lip-service.
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Yes, he will definitely not magically turn into Maxine Watters overnight. I do think he will criticize him on a number of things (Russia, trade wars, etc) and agree with him on others (judicial nominees, tax policy, deregulation).
 
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SalfordRed1960 said:
Have to be careful with such accusations.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...hecking-death-toll-estimates-hurricane-maria/
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Till this study came out, the Trump admin refused to update the count beyond 64 which was totally laughable.

The fact check uses the same study and says it provides a range and not a number. Fine, but when the govt doesn't provide a number, this is the one you have to go with. If it makes you feel better: >=1000 people died with no government acknowledgement.
 
berbatrick said:
Till this study came out, the Trump admin refused to update the count beyond 64 which was totally laughable.

The fact check uses the same study and says it provides a range and not a number. Fine, but when the govt doesn't provide a number, this is the one you have to go with. If it makes you feel better: >=1000 people died with no government acknowledgement.
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Not at all, and why 1000, you are just jumping at figures?. I have no idea what the count is, but looking at the methodology it is a big jump to say there is approx 4000 dead, just because they found 38 died, some direct and some indirect. Hence my comment about have to be careful making assumptions based on estimates.

I am surprised that Fema or PR Government haven't come out with more accurate figures. That said, I haven't see figures for Texas and mainland states either. Surely, there must be a death register on PR that would confirm how many died?
 
SalfordRed1960 said:
Not at all, and why 1000, you are just jumping at figures?. I have no idea what the count is, but looking at the methodology it is a big jump to say there is approx 4000 dead, just because they found 38 died, some direct and some indirect. Hence my comment about have to be careful making assumptions based on estimates.

I am surprised that Fema or PR Government haven't come out with more accurate figures. That said, I haven't see figures for Texas and mainland states either. Surely, there must be a death register on PR that would confirm how many died?
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The article you posted goes into what is happening. The PR govt, is trying to get a final count. The Trump admin didn't bother and is still not bothered. I don't think power was restored for several months, and the whole grid was privatised in the name of restoring power. So I'm not surprised the state govt is struggling to get a handle on things, and I'm not surprised that the federal govt isn't helping.

The article you posted also goes into the numbers. There are 3 studies. This one has a range of 800-8k. The older ones have numbers around 600-1100. That's why I said 1k.
 
Supreme Court allows most disputed maps in Texas, NC gerrymandering cases to be used
Washington (CNN)The Supreme Court on Monday ruled on two highly anticipated gerrymandering cases in Texas and North Carolina, in orders that mean most of the controversial maps in both states will likely be used this fall's midterm elections.

The court upheld three of four district maps in Texas that critics argued intentionally discriminated against minority voters, but struck down one.
In North Carolina, it wiped away a lower court opinion that had invalidated congressional maps there as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.
The decision on Monday marked yet another step by the Supreme Court on gerrymandering cases. Last week, the court punted on alleged gerrymandering in Wisconsin and Maryland, allowing the maps to stand for now.

The Texas case divided the justices by 5-4, splitting them along conservative-liberal lines. The court appeared closely divided on the case in April and split 5-4 last fall when it opted to freeze a lower court opinion invalidating two congressional districts and state house districts in four counties.
...
In an unsigned order Monday, the court wiped away a lower court opinion that had invalidated congressional maps in North Carolina as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and instructed the lower court to revisit the case in light of the Supreme Court's recent opinion concerning maps in Wisconsin.
In that case, Gill v. Whitford, a 9-0 court held that challengers did not have the legal right to bring the suit because they had failed to prove "concrete and particularized" injury that would demonstrate that the right to vote had been burdened.
...
North Carolina officials did not dispute that they sought to favor supporters of Republican candidates. The state legislator responsible for drawing the maps said he did so because "electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats."
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A few things:
1. Lol @ democracy

2. Hell isn't real and the GOP judges will be remembered as great revered men
 
berbatrick said:
The article you posted goes into what is happening. The PR govt, is trying to get a final count. The Trump admin didn't bother and is still not bothered. I don't think power was restored for several months, and the whole grid was privatised in the name of restoring power. So I'm not surprised the state govt is struggling to get a handle on things, and I'm not surprised that the federal govt isn't helping.

The article you posted also goes into the numbers. There are 3 studies. This one has a range of 800-8k. The older ones have numbers around 600-1100. That's why I said 1k.
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I am not saying you are wrong, I implied be careful with jumping to conclusions based on estimates. If people actually believe 4000 died, can you imagine the rhetoric that will fly about. It was bad enough seeing the finger pointing just after the hurricane, when we still do not know the truth. Heard the other day that the mayor giving it large after the hurricane has now been done for using the mishandling of relief funds.

Prefer hearing from people who have actually been to the place and reported on it than a reporter or politician

https://www.puertoricoreport.com/puerto-rico-back-to-normal/#.WzEqTKdKjIU

This is a site I often go to, because some of my staff are PRs and they often inform us what is going on. The place is a mess and it seems we will not know the cost or impact until end of 2019.
 
Honestly the Dems need to start figuring out the legalities of court-packing and impeachment.
 
SalfordRed1960 said:
I am not saying you are wrong, I implied be careful with jumping to conclusions based on estimates. If people actually believe 4000 died, can you imagine the rhetoric that will fly about. It was bad enough seeing the finger pointing just after the hurricane, when we still do not know the truth. Heard the other day that the mayor giving it large after the hurricane has now been done for using the mishandling of relief funds.

Prefer hearing from people who have actually been to the place and reported on it than a reporter or politician

https://www.puertoricoreport.com/puerto-rico-back-to-normal/#.WzEqTKdKjIU

This is a site I often go to, because some of my staff are PRs and they often inform us what is going on. The place is a mess and it seems we will not know the cost or impact until end of 2019.
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I don't get the concern.
The federal govt hasn't bothered to count the number of dead from a hurricane, and there are very credible reports that the number is in the 1000-order of magnitude. I do hope some rhetoric flies about, it's what the Trump admin deserves if they don't bother to do the very basic stuff that a govt is supposed to do.

The people conducting the studies did in fact "actually go to the place and reported on it."

>The place is a mess and it seems we will not know the cost or impact until end of 2019.

But the main problem is rhetoric which might fly around?
PR is a mess because of political and material reasons, not the strength of the hurricane. Cuba, next door, faced the same hurricanes, and is 4 times poorer than PR and 8 times poorer than the US as a whole; it had less deaths and a faster recovery.
 
berbatrick said:
Supreme Court allows most disputed maps in Texas, NC gerrymandering cases to be used


A few things:
1. Lol @ democracy

2. Hell isn't real and the GOP judges will be remembered as great revered men
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Following up:
Rigged Supreme Court upholds rigged Republican electoral maps

The case was about whether Texas had constructed a racial gerrymander of its congressional and legislative districts after the 2010 Census, and the court decided by a 5-to-4 margin that only one of the legislative districts in question was in fact an impermissible racial gerrymander. There were some complex procedural issues involving a series of court decisions and deadlines, but rather than use our time to explore those in detail, I’d like to look at the big picture. Here’s part of the dissent written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor:

It means that, after years of litigation and undeniable proof of intentional discrimination, minority voters in Texas—despite constituting a majority of the population within the State—will continue to be underrepresented in the political process. Those voters must return to the polls in 2018 and 2020 with the knowledge that their ability to exercise meaningfully their right to vote has been burdened by the manipulation of district lines specifically designed to target their communities and minimize their political will.

To that, many conservatives will ask, “So what’s the problem?” Indeed, in a brief concurrence to the decision that Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joined, Justice Clarence Thomas declared that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, shouldn’t be applied to any redistricting case.
...
And while those laws are sometimes struck down in lower courts, they know they have an ace in the hole: the Supreme Court. We must never forget that the court that keeps delivering these 5-to-4 decisions in favor of Republican efforts to rig the electoral system was itself rigged in favor of Republicans. When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — with the support of every single Republican in the Senate — simply declared that he would not permit President Barack Obama’s appointed replacement to even get a hearing, let alone a vote, for no real reason other than that Obama was a Democrat. It was unprecedented and indefensible, and it’s the reason the court is now divided 5 to 4 in favor of conservatives instead of 5 to 4 in favor of liberals.

And they should make this solemn commitment: The Republicans stole a Supreme Court seat, and Democrats will right that wrong if and when they get the chance.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blog...al-maps/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ed10db3180d1
 
The Supreme Court Devastates Antitrust Law

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/opinion/supreme-court-american-express.html
Obscured by the destructive chaos of the Trump administration, a far more chillingly efficient assault on America is underway: a hard march backward to laissez-faire economic policies of a sort not seen since the late 19th century. Last year, Congress did its part by cutting corporate taxes. And on Monday, in Ohio v. American Express, the Supreme Court delivered a big blow to antitrust law and its traditional mission of helping consumers and fostering economic competition.

With its five more conservative justices in the majority, the court ruled 5-4 in favor of American Express and its “gag orders” — which forbid merchants that contract with American Express from encouraging customers to use other credit cards — even though these restrictions are blatantly anticompetitive and raise prices for consumers.
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The Gang of Five have surpassed themselves yet again.
 
berbatrick said:
The Supreme Court Devastates Antitrust Law

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/opinion/supreme-court-american-express.html


The Gang of Five have surpassed themselves yet again.
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American conservatives are poison and will destroy this country. Progressives now have a multi decade fight on their hands to eradicate this greedy and uncaring ideology that has consumed 25% of this country. Pelosi and Schumer should step down the day after election day whether dems make big gains or not. They are not what this country needs right now to fight a dark future on the horizon.
Dems need to fight every stupid nickname with one for trump. Everytime McConnell warbles the usual bullshit dems should wheel out a red state Republican voter who has been fecked over by conservative policy, a joe the plumber if you will.
Policy needs to be simplified so everyone can understand how they benefit and who is fecking them over. As for the SC, not much can be done unless you fecking vote vote vote.
 
Tapper interview with Keith Ellison just went completely off the rails after Jake pivoted from the Trump travel ban and asked him about his relationship with Farakhan.



 
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Fergies Gum said:
Wonder why Farrakhan would lie about having a meeting with Ellison.
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I hope for Ellison's sake he is telling the truth since he's now on record on national TV denying it. If that winds up being not correct then his political career may take a nose dive.
 
Farrakhan’s a prophet that I think you ought to listen to.
 
Raoul said:
I hope for Ellison's sake he is telling the truth since he's now on record on national TV denying it. If that winds up being not correct then his political career may take a nose dive.
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I reckon Ellison has messed up here. Farrakhan claims Congressman Carson was also at the meeting and Carson has confirmed he was.

Carson said that he agreed to meet with Farrakhan in 2015, in the minister's hotel suite
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https://eu.indystar.com/story/opini...ut-future-meetings-louis-farrakhan/415971002/
 
Fergies Gum said:
I reckon Ellison has messed up here. Farrakhan claims Congressman Carson was also at the meeting and Carson has confirmed he was.



https://eu.indystar.com/story/opini...ut-future-meetings-louis-farrakhan/415971002/
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He seems very sensitive about anyone linking him with Farrakhan. Rather than simply denying he met with him (which is easily disprovable if he actually did meet with him), he would be better off dealing with it head on so its over and done with.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-ellison-and-louis-farrakhan-no-relationship/
 
Raoul said:
He seems very sensitive about anyone linking him with Farrakhan. Rather than simply denying he met with him (which is easily disprovable if he actually did meet with him), he would be better off dealing with it head on so its over and done with.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-ellison-and-louis-farrakhan-no-relationship/
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This will create a bit of a headache for him if it turns out he was lying. Journos will be asking Carson if Ellison was at the meeting and i doubt he'll be willing to lie about it.
 
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