Is there a politics thread? Guess I'm making one

[Grefter]

Fucking wow.  Okay, I should read a ton more news more closely.

[The Duck]

Fucking wow.  Okay, I should read a ton more news more closely.

This is 100% bad for you.

[Grefter]

And that is partly why I missed this, because I was trying to look after myself and it has failed anyway.

[Shale]

So it turns out that not only is Jeff Sessions a racist Confederate gremlin, he's also a really bad liar.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-spoke-twice-with-russian-ambassador-during-trumps-presidential-campaign-justice-officials-say/2017/03/01/77205eda-feac-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.be343a69a2b5

Note the exchange at the heart of this: Franken asks Sessions how he'd respond to information that a member of the Trump campaign was in contact with the Russian government -- presumably looking for a promise to conduct an objective investigation, or appoint an independent prosecutor -- and Sessions' response is to blow straight past the part where he'd be investigating and instead deny any knowledge of Russian involvement in the campaign, or that he personally spoke with Russian officials. Something about protesting too much....

[superaielman]

Damned fools are going to be damned fools: The motto of politics of late. Enjoy a much deserved lynch  mob Sessions!

[NotMiki]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-gravity-is-strong

nice take on the Sessions revelations.

[SnowFire]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/03/02/this-lawmakers-bio-touted-a-business-degree-it-was-actually-a-sizzler-training-certificate/

The Iowa version of the academic-balance bill.  File it under "educated elite mocking uneducated real Americans who don't merely not have a business degree - which is fine - but don't understand that they don't have a business degree."  So...  not such a good campaign ad, alas.

[Cotigo]

Um. What? That's an article about a dude who claimed his sizzler management course certificate was a business degree. I'm not being coy I literally don't understand what the fuck you're saying.

[SnowFire]

He's a guy who was apparently was too stupid to know that Sizzler degree is not equal to business degree, which would be hilarious, except he's also a guy proposing a ludicrous "academic balance" bill like was mentioned above that would actually affect how real academia works, which makes it slightly less funny.

[Fenrir]

No heart.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN16A2ES

[Shale]

No brain, either.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-obama-wire-tapping-trump-tower-phones-235679

[Captain K]

Get your coathangers out ladies, the Republicans are in charge!

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-obamacare-repeal-20170306-story.html

[Ranmilia]

http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/03/07/racist-fliers-appear-on-texas-state-campus-for-the-fourth-time-in-past-three-months

I've seen some people saying that making current political comparisons to Hitler and the Nazi party is "unwarranted" and "offensive."

[Cotigo]

http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/03/07/racist-fliers-appear-on-texas-state-campus-for-the-fourth-time-in-past-three-months

I've seen some people saying that making current political comparisons to Hitler and the Nazi party is "unwarranted" and "offensive."

but my freeze peaches

ur ruinin my freeze peach by calling nazis nazis

[Grefter]

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/gop-lawmakers-are-about-to-pass-two-laws-that-would-make-it-nearly-impossible-to-sue-corporations/

A man walks into an election booth.

Ballot paper: who are you going to vote for
Man: just fuck me up fam.

[dunie]

so. right when settlements for trump university aren't so settled

[Luther Lansfeld]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/09/epa-scott-pruitt-carbon-dioxide-global-warming-climate-change

Oklahoma proud, yo.

[Dhyerwolf]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/09/epa-scott-pruitt-carbon-dioxide-global-warming-climate-change

Oklahoma proud, yo.

Oklahoma is too busy polluting it's own water supply while now being in the worse level of drought in the country (as least in terms of % of the state covered; other states might have areas with worse drought levels in certain areas) to worry about pesky things that will cause an additional contraction in clean water supplies.

[The Duck]

https://twitter.com/SteveKingIA/status/840980755236999169

Great party y'all got here. Conservatism is odious shit that needs to die forever.

[NotMiki]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/--100931

in case anyone was thinking this is a one-off with King, it's very much in line with prior statements. so no giving Iowa a break - they knew who he was when they re-elected him.

[Grefter]

It looks like his human suit is uncomfortable.

[The Duck]

http://www.npr.org/2017/03/16/520305293/trump-to-unveil-hard-power-budget-that-boosts-military-spending

This budget is hilariously bad and even though it's mostly bullshit that probably won't pass, it points out priorities. Things like cutting NIH funding is really obviously terrible. It is already difficult to get research funding right now and this would make it be harder unless you're doing something like cancer research or privatized moonshot projects. Incremental science is not sexy but it is how larger discoveries are made.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/trump-budget-cuts-science/519825/

The other battleground being fought is over Meals on Wheels, which feeds older people. It is getting cut because the "program doesn't work," which... uh...

https://twitter.com/axios/status/842461464631885824

Everyone who thinks this way needs to be destroyed.

[Shale]

Of course, Meals on Wheels and free school breakfast/lunch do work; there's reams of studies showing that MoW keeps seniors out of nursing homes -- improving their quality of life and reducing Medicare spending -- and that kids do better in school/life when they have a reliable source of food. The only reason you tell that lie is because you don't care whether poor people live or die.

[Shale]

Also, the Trump administration appears to have decided that the best way to distract from their incompetent kleptocracy is Iraq War 3.0, but against a nuclear power in China's backyard: https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/842695283758776321


Hahahahahahahahaha we're all going to die in fire

[NotMiki]

I like that the budget discussion has immediately laser focused on Meals on Wheels - which is a pittance of an expense.  It's really the perfect cut to hilight, and Trumps' opponents have made it a proxy for his entire package - putting the Trump folks in the unenviable-to-say-the-least position of needing to publicly attack it instead of attacking less popular and more costly government programs.  Good political acumen.