Politics 2018

[remphish1]

Everything he complained about that Obama’s did he did and even went one step further!

[NoJ]

Well, the IG report destroyed 45's deep state conspiracy. What are they gonna come up with next?

[lost highway]

Well, the IG report destroyed 45's deep state conspiracy. What are they gonna come up with next?

 

They're too good at constructing their own narratives. There's text messages from agents saying 'We can't let him be president', so it doesn't matter that they never did anything to affect the election. They have the crumb they need for Hannity to hang onto.

 

Never mind that Comey's most unprofessional move really screwed Clinton.

[lost highway]

At least we have this:

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-manafort/judge-sends-trumps-former-campaign-chief-manafort-to-jail-idUSKBN1JB12X

[jff]

Justice Kennedy just announced his retirement.  Unless the democrats can obstruct and stonewall like never before, the supreme court will be consistently hard right for the rest of our lives.

[KevinG]

Justice Kennedy just announced his retirement. Unless the democrats can obstruct and stonewall like never before, the supreme court will be consistently hard right for the rest of our lives.

Fuck, he couldn't wait another year and half

[jff]

Fuck, he couldn't wait another year and half

 

He certainly could have, but didn't give enough of a shit.  He's almost dead anyway, so what does it matter to him if the country turns to hell?  He won't have to experience it.

[Doug C]

That unAmerican Merrick Garland atrocity is somehow worse now. Or I guess I'm angry about it all over again.

[KevinG]

We will have a new supreme Court Justice before the november elections. I guess our only hope is that Mueller comes out with some shit that seriously and credibly shows that POTUS did some really shady Russian shit.

[jff]

I think Trump just won his second term.

[ih8music]

Fuck, he couldn't wait another year and half

 

I had the exact same reaction.

 

 

He certainly could have, but didn't give enough of a shit.  He's almost dead anyway, so what does it matter to him if the country turns to hell?  He won't have to experience it.

 

This, too.  He's been the swing vote in nearly every 5-4 decision the court has faced over the past 2 decades.  He knows what kind of justice will be appointed by Trump, too.  Short of him announcing that he has terminal cancer or something, fuck him.

 

It would take some unfathomable act of God for the appointment to be delayed until after the Nov election.  Our only hope is that the Dems take over both the House and Senate and use that position to prevent Trump from tilting the court any farther to the right.  But this seat is all but gone.

[brownie]

I think Trump just won his second term.

Sometimes I feel like the majority of this country has become the living embodiment of Wall-E.

[ih8music]

Notice how quiet the Bernie or Busters are these days. Two sides of the same coin my ass.

[ih8music]

In case you're like me and have been having a hard week... read this:  https://www.facebook.com/wstenberg/posts/10156414314761192

[kidsmoke]

In case you're like me and have been having a hard week... read this:  https://www.facebook.com/wstenberg/posts/10156414314761192

 

I love that piece, and I agree. See you all at the rallies on Saturday.

[jff]

That piece has problems.  

 

"despite hacked voting machines and gerrymandering - that there is no known mechanism by which our government can deny massive voter turnout."

 

What?  Hacked voting machines are precisely how our government can deny massive turnout.  They can simply say "it didn't happen and here's the data to prove it.  Don't agree?  Let's go all the way to the supreme court."  Guess how that turns out.

 

"Stop pretending that the worst of what’s happening now is what is going to always happen."

 

Nobody thinks that.  What we do know with near certainty, however, is that much of this damage will not be corrected in our lifetimes, and that legitimately FUCKING SUCKS.  It's little comfort to know someone sometime in the future might get to experience the promises this country has made to its people.

 

"A time when the last bastion of white power and male supremacy and oligarchy..."

 

There's absolutely no reason to think we're seeing the last bastion of any of those things, and lots of evidence that all of them are only ramping up.

 

 

_____

 

Having said all that, I have not rolled over or given up and I ALWAYS vote, but for the foreseeable future we are most definitely fucked.

[KevinG]

That piece has problems.  

 

"despite hacked voting machines and gerrymandering - that there is no known mechanism by which our government can deny massive voter turnout."

 

What?  Hacked voting machines are precisely how our government can deny massive turnout.  They can simply say "it didn't happen and here's the data to prove it.  Don't agree?  Let's go all the way to the supreme court."  Guess how that turns out.

 

"Stop pretending that the worst of what’s happening now is what is going to always happen."

 

Nobody thinks that.  What we do know with near certainty, however, is that much of this damage will not be corrected in our lifetimes, and that legitimately FUCKING SUCKS.  It's little comfort to know someone sometime in the future might get to experience the promises this country has made to its people.

 

"A time when the last bastion of white power and male supremacy and oligarchy..."

 

There's absolutely no reason to think we're seeing the last bastion of any of those things, and lots of evidence that all of them are only ramping up.

 

 

_____

 

Having said all that, I have not rolled over or given up and I ALWAYS vote, but for the foreseeable future we are most definitely fucked.

 

I couldn't agree more.  

[brownie]

What we do know with near certainty, however, is that much of this damage will not be corrected in our lifetimes, and that legitimately FUCKING SUCKS.

I am not generally an overly optimistic person, but I refuse to believe that this mess cannot be corrected as swiftly as it was created. I refuse to believe there is no hope. Because once one gives up hope, well.....

 

Having said all that, I have not rolled over or given up and I ALWAYS vote, but for the foreseeable future we are most definitely fucked.

“Foreseeable future” does not have to mean “not within our lifetimes”. And I would bet that I am at least 10 years older than you. I have to believe that all it takes is the right votes for the right candidates at the right time. Because if I don’t believe that, well.....

[jff]

I am not generally an overly optimistic person, but I refuse to believe that this mess cannot be corrected as swiftly as it was created. I refuse to believe there is no hope. Because once one gives up hope, well.....

 

“Foreseeable future” does not have to mean “not within our lifetimes”. And I would bet that I am at least 10 years older than you. I have to believe that all it takes is the right votes for the right candidates at the right time. Because if I don’t believe that, well.....

 

I'd love to be wrong about everything I said but, just to offer some examples to explain where I'm coming from: lifetime appointments can't be corrected with an election.  Public lands that are given away are extremely unlikely to be given back with the change of leadership.  Fouled air and water can't be cleaned anywhere near as quickly as it was polluted.  The damage done to families torn apart at the border isn't going to be corrected immediately, and maybe not ever, when these families are reunited.  You can betray a trusted ally with a single word, but it takes a lot of time and action to regain that trust.  It takes months to build a house, but you can destroy a house in minutes with the strike of a match.  I can drive around my neighborhood and still see evidence of the great recession on every street.  Recovery takes a long time, and sometimes never happens.  I don't see that as pessimism, but as a sad reality.

 

It takes a lot longer to build or fix things than it does to wreck things. I think this is pretty close to a universal truth.  This is why I have disdain for silly dalliances like voting for Jill Stein (and I say this as someone who voted for Ross Perot in my first election) or the whole concept of "lesser of two evils."

[calvino]

I think it's fine to say and think that 'we're fucked' (because we are) and be optimistic at the same time. This country has been fucked before and we got out of it. This one will definitely take time - but barring nuclear annihilation - we have time to do it. Of course, Trump, the R's in Congress and Supreme Court may completely changed the Constitution - it that happens, it will take even a lot longer. 

[Oil Can Boyd]

Pruitt out. 

But the fact that he was allowed to resign and was praised by Trump, rather than being thrown out ages ago, is still problematic.  

[lost highway]

So, just a little check in from the "How does this stuff all matter in everyday life?" front:

My wife works for a tiny school district. Of their 4 aging elementary schools they passed a bond to replace 3 of the buildings. As to be expected, the construction budget has been very tight. Demolishing and rebuilding several two story schools is a pretty massive undertaking.

 

Recent trade war escalations have added one million dollars to the cost of their project (which are nearing completion). That's a million bucks they didn't have all thanks to materials skyrocketing on account of the orange man.

 

A contractor friend of mine said that he's been okay, but his friends working in HVAC (heating/ventilation/air-conditioning) have been hit hard because of the cost of metal ducting. They've had to raise prices very suddenly after eating some losses on projects that were already in progress.

[calvino]

Yeah --- I am in the HVAC boat and ours has been taking on immense water -- of course we try to talk to the GC's who hired us and it's an uphill battle.

 

This whole crap show has been hitting my family --- our good friend's mom was the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that upheld the Muslim ban, not to mention an old classmate of mine has been all over cable news as a Trump puppet head in this border crisis - guessing he was picked because he is a conservative with a latino sounding name -- I still can't grasp my head around the fact that he is up there defending it and yet he comes from the most Catholic-practicing family that I know, but so it goes. 

[NoJ]

45 isn't even trying any longer to hide the fact that he is owned by the Russians. Wow, just wow.

[uncool2pillow]

In a rational world, assuming there are a quorum of representatives and senators as well as John Roberts in town, Trump would be impeached and removed from office before (what would be the former) Air Force 1 landed at Andrews.