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[ChairmanPoo]

How can you be sure? I mean, granted, Trump's Administration is basically a colander on account of all those leaks, but Obama's and Bushes expansion of the NSA, wiretapping, the huge fuck-off intelligence datacenter in Nevada, that took a while for it to be leaked. Couple years after they started, IIRC.

I am sure because I looked at Ispil's sign. It is safe for all to view

Look at it now.

If you are afraid we will look together.

[Lord Shonus]

The thing with guns and mentally ill was Congress doing that, not Trump.

I feel that it is very important to point out that the law hasn't changed much here. The rules on who can and cannot possess a firearm are the same now as they were this time last year. The Obama measure that they got rid of was a massively expanded reporting requirement from the Social Security Administration - one which would have required them to report on any mental health benefits, even those that do not legally disqualify you from owning a firearm. Much like Gorsuch's case history, the reporting on this greatly exaggerates the truth.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Ironically, Trump's administration seems to be so leaky specifically because of his ruthless approach towards loyalty. He fires everyone who worked for Obama because he thinks that'd make them loyal to Big O instead of him (and doesn't think they could be both), but this causes the massive influx of new blood to inevitably be filled with inappropriate and apathetic hires that are more likely to leak information. He responds to perceived dissent by firing people without hesitation, but that just means it's easy to not be seen as potentially disloyal: verbally fellating Trump and his positions is enough to be above suspicion and hide that you're leaking info.

[redwallzyl]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/us/immigration-trump-illinois-juan-pacheco.html?_r=0

seems like all those buzz words about getting rid off all the "bad dudes" start to sound a bit off when the start rounding up beloved members of the community. fools just assume hes talking about some nebulous criminals somewhere that we were for some reason not getting rid of and he would never do this. this is what happens when a con man tells you about a non existent problem and says he will fix everything.

[Reelya]

More generally, it happens any time a model of reality is at odds with reality. You implement the fix and things go to shit (best case scenario is that the fix does nothing at all).

The sad part is that many "models" (dogmatic ideologies) are also unfalsifiable because they have stock standard rhetoric which explains why the fixes backfire. And I don't think that's necessarily engineered in, on purpose. Like catchy memes, dogmas which are emotionally charged and have bullet-proof circular logic built into them will survive and spread better than versions which are fairly balanced and based on reason and facts.

In the case of right-wing anti-minority stuff, you do stuff against a minority group, and then if they get upset and protest or fight back in any way that's taken as proof of how terrible that minority is, so they need harsher crackdowns.

[misko27]

I don't know why the scare quotes are necessary. Dogmatic ideologies can have models too. Although perhaps the word "model" should be in scarequotes in your first sentence rather not your third, because I don't know what you mean by "model of reality". Is that not synonymous with ideology? Or are you aiming for something broader? Paradigm, perhaps? I like paradigm because it's not merely individual facts, but rather an entire theory of interpretation of those facts, which seems to fit your intended meaning.

But you tell me.

EDIT:
While I have the floor, I'd like to remind everyone that tomorrow is Trump's first primetime address to the nation and to Congress. With his popularity low, repeal going nowhere fast, controversial actions on immigration, a rudderless and slow-moving Congress, foreign policy misteps, leaks everywhere, media fights, Russia looming, and above all a culture war fully in swing, stakes are fairly high for him.

[Sergarr]

Spicer arranged calls between officials, reporters to push back on Russia stories

The officials included CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Axios reported, citing a senior administration official.

The phone calls were in reference to a New York Times report that said Trump campaign aides and associates were in touch with Russian intelligence officials during the campaign.
Spicer reportedly connected the officials to reporters from The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. During the calls, journalists were told the story wasn't true but weren't given details.

"Both of them said: All I can tell you is the story is not accurate," an official told Axios.

The Post reported last week that the Trump administration used senior members of the intelligence community and Congress to attempt to discredit the Russia stories.

The report came after CNN reported that the FBI rejected a recent request by the White House to dispute the media reports that Trump campaign officials had contact with Russian intelligence officials before the election.

[smjjames]

I think that's a bit old, by a few days. Also, there was apparently a story that Trump had signed off on Spicer doing the crackdown on leaks with the cellphone checks, but then later the WH denied that is what happened. They can't even keep their story straight.

Anyways: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-budget-state-department-235454

I wonder when the last time a President tried (sucessfully or not) to slash State Department funding while upping Defense funding at the same time? Though it sounds like the aid programs rather than the core of it, but still.

While I have the floor, I'd like to remind everyone that tomorrow is Trump's first primetime address to the nation and to Congress. With his popularity low, repeal going nowhere fast, controversial actions on immigration, a rudderless and slow-moving Congress, foreign policy misteps, leaks everywhere, media fights, Russia looming, and above all a culture war fully in swing, stakes are fairly high for him.

It'll be interesting for sure. I'll bet 10, no, 100 internets that he mentions something about polls, crowd size, or anything related to winning the election.

[Sergarr]

I think that's a bit old, by a few days.

No, it's actually from yesterday, if I haven't messed up the time-zone difference. Trump administration is pretty bent on removing that Russia story from the media because it's true and it has real potential capacity to sink Trump, so they keep trying to pressure media-related people practically every new day.


The "fervent defender of liberty", McCain, has a problem with Trump's hike on defence budget.

Namely, it's way too low.

McCain, Thornberry Decry Trump Pentagon Budget Boost

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is pledging “an historic increase in defense spending” of $54 billion to $603 billion for the fiscal 2018 budget, but neither Congressional Republicans nor defense budgets experts were very impressed at first glance.

“Such a budget request would represent an increase of $18.5 billion above the level proposed by President Obama for fiscal year 2018. In other words, President Trump intends to submit a defense budget that is a mere three percent above President Obama’s defense budget, which has left our military underfunded, undersized, and unready to confront threats to our national security,” Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says in a statement.

McCain said he and the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mac Thornberry, believe we should substantially spend more. They “agree,” McCain says, “a defense budget of $640 billion is required in fiscal year 2018 as a first step toward restoring military readiness, rebuilding our military, and reshaping our forces for the realities of 21st century warfare. With a world on fire, America cannot secure peace through strength with just three percent more than President Obama’s budget. We can and must do better.”

Warmongers.

[Sheb]

I don't know why the scare quotes are necessary. Dogmatic ideologies can have models too. Although perhaps the word "model" should be in scarequotes in your first sentence rather not your third, because I don't know what you mean by "model of reality". Is that not synonymous with ideology? Or are you aiming for something broader? Paradigm, perhaps? I like paradigm because it's not merely individual facts, but rather an entire theory of interpretation of those facts, which seems to fit your intended meaning.

But you tell me.

From the context I think he means something like paradigm, or the German Weltanschauung.

[Reelya]

Yeah, what I meant by "model" in quotes was your internal model of a system, which you used to make predictions, in the same sense that scientists refer to having e.g. a model of the atom.

I don't think it's actually correct to call that an "ideology", it's a "model". e.g. do we talk about the "plum pudding ideology of the atom"? No we don't, it's the  "plum pudding model of the atom".

In the same way a scientist accepts a specific model and uses that to make predictions about how changes will affect it, belief systems have models of specific things from reality, and they also make predictions about how laws etc will affect that model. When the model is wrong, the the proposed solutions aren't going to work, even if they would have been valid if the model was right.

[Phmcw]

America need more guns! Apparently... so you will add the equivalent of Russia's budget to your military budget.


I'm happy to see that Polandball is now a whitehouse advisor!

[Sheb]

And McCain thinks it's not enough. :p

[palsch]

I think that's a bit old, by a few days.

It was in the Axios report I posted on the previous page, but got a bit buried and took time to filter to other news outlets so easy to see why it looked like old news.

[martinuzz]

Inb4 Trump makes NATO pay for the defense budget increase just like how Mexico is going to paywall.