Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Dunamisdeos]

Speaking of Russia, Trump is apparently hiding shit about his communications with Putin, so this is very much a /popcorn situation unfolding, yes?

 Link please :[    ]

[Max™]

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/01/13/trump-russia-collusion-putin-223973

[Trekkin]

In actual political news, remember my political crush on Tulsi years ago?

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/11/tulsi-gabbard-2020-president-run-1098629

Yay.

Well, that didn't take long. Not only has she said homophobic things(EDIT: and doubled down on them), she's gone and touted her work with organizations that support conversion therapy, and the Assad friendliness hasn't aged well either.

Somehow I do not think she'll get the Democratic nomination.

[Dunamisdeos]

Looks like she's done a 180 and apologized for her past positions.

Maybe she won't get the nomination, but hey, who knows these days.

In a statement to CNN provided after the initial publication of this story, Gabbard said, "First, let me say I regret the positions I took in the past, and the things I said. I'm grateful for those in the LGBTQ+ community who have shared their aloha with me throughout my personal journey."
She continued, "Over the past six years in Congress, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to help work toward passing legislation that ensures equal rights and protections on LGBTQ+ issues, such as the Equality Act, the repeal of DOMA, Restore Honor to Service members Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Equality for All Resolution. Much work remains to ensure equality and civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and if elected President, I will continue to fight for equal rights for all."

Also yeah, she sort of pointedly declines to say anything negative about Assad, purportedly in the interest of peace. Not sure I'd support her based on this info, does anyone have some more positive info on her?

[Trekkin]

Looks like she's done a 180 and apologized for her past positions.

Well, as it says in another of those links, “She tells me that, no, her personal views haven’t changed, but she doesn’t figure it’s her job to do as the Iraqis did and force her own beliefs on others.” How much of this sudden realization of the basic principles of representative government is driven by political expediency is a matter for serious consideration, but I do mean that literally.

In fairness to her, she reliably toes the progressive line on most of the standard progressive points, and her support for Bernie cost her a lot; her stance on many issues is unusually nuanced, too. And she's a veteran, for what that's worth.

Lady's got principles. It's just that some of those principles are utterly repellent, like her Islamophobia and infatuation with the far right.

[sluissa]

It may just be paranoia, but it's already feeling like the media machine has picked its democratic candidate and are doing what they can to try to make sure they run unopposed by any credible competition.

I'm not 100% sure who that candidate is yet, perhaps Beto O'Rourke, or maybe Elizabeth Warren. Or maybe they do intend to let a fair election happen in a field of their choosing. But it really does feel like they're giving some people a pass while digging deep to find stuff on others.

[Reelya]

https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/donald-trump-owns-this-stock-market-20181211-h18yyn

Trump replaced Janet Yellen, a dovish Federal Reserve chief (whose policies he liked), with hawkish Jerome Powell, whose policies he dislikes. Rates have gone higher, and it is the proximate result of the president's appointment.
...
We have since found out that he did not re-appoint Yellen because he felt that, at 5-foot, 3-inches, she was "too short" to run the central bank. This has to be one of the great unforced mistakes in the postwar history of US monetary policy.

Wut?

[Dunamisdeos]

The most important thing we can take away from this Presidency is that a flat, firm refusal to learn, tolerate, or adapt to anything whatsoever results in getting everything you ever wanted and that if this does not pan out it is an affront to all that is good and right.

[smjjames]

https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/donald-trump-owns-this-stock-market-20181211-h18yyn

Trump replaced Janet Yellen, a dovish Federal Reserve chief (whose policies he liked), with hawkish Jerome Powell, whose policies he dislikes. Rates have gone higher, and it is the proximate result of the president's appointment.
...
We have since found out that he did not re-appoint Yellen because he felt that, at 5-foot, 3-inches, she was "too short" to run the central bank. This has to be one of the great unforced mistakes in the postwar history of US monetary policy.

Wut?

Jerome Powell isn't actually that much hawkish, and he follows pretty much the same policies as Janet Yellen. So, Janet Yellen would still have done the same things as Powell is doing. Especially since the Fed is supposed to be independent of the Presidents influence.

Still, the article (the url and the headline anyway) points out the obvious. Two years in, he is definetly responsible for whatever happens to the economy.

It may just be paranoia, but it's already feeling like the media machine has picked its democratic candidate and are doing what they can to try to make sure they run unopposed by any credible competition.

I'm not 100% sure who that candidate is yet, perhaps Beto O'Rourke, or maybe Elizabeth Warren. Or maybe they do intend to let a fair election happen in a field of their choosing. But it really does feel like they're giving some people a pass while digging deep to find stuff on others.

To be fair, it's also a target rich environment and they can only spend so much time on digging dirt. It seems like a bit of 'flavor of the week/month' and besides, it's only just getting started.

I'm sure you remember how in 2015 they were all 'it's gonna be a battle of the dynasties!', but we all know how that turned out. It was the DNC (along with the Clinton political juggernaut) who pushed the other candidates out and made favorites, not the media.

[Max™]

Yeah Gabbard has various shit that they brought up, but she's also not an old white motherfucking lizard person pretending badly to be a regular totally normal acting human being person yes sirree!

[Trekkin]

Incidentally, Steve King finally got tangibly punished by the GOP for being a white supremacist. There are also multiple censure motions against him and a resolution of disapproval, but these are from Democrats.

It is, I think, telling that this is the point when the GOP has decided that racism might be an issue, after two years of unswerving loyalty to our racist President has gotten us, and more pertinently them, into the present catastrophe with no end in sight and worsening polls.

EDIT: Or maybe it was his serving fast food at the White House and bragging about it to reporters because "I would think that's their favorite food." Our vicious idiot king, everyone.

[smjjames]

@max: Gabbard is what, 50 something? That’s still significantly younger than either Trump or Clinton.

@trekkin: Rep King should have gotten the boot a million years ago. On the serving that football team burgers, he didn’t have much of a choice with much of the WH staff furloughed.

[Max™]

She's 37.

[smjjames]

Maybe I was thinking of someone else....

[Kagus]

But what's 37 in lizard years?