Board 8 > Politics Containment Topic 166: Three Trump Firings By 500 or Your Money Back

(+) Yeah! (+)

Shaduln posted...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/03/26/sen-mitch-mcconnell-pushes-bill-to-legalize-hemp/

Huh, something that makes sense coming from McConnell?

That loud sound you hear is Jeff Sessions throwing a shitfit.
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"Mr. Trump, I've poked my head out of my shell to tell you I figured out how to make Jeff resign....."
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https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/26/596937376/remington-declares-chapter-11-amid-trump-slump-in-gun-sales? (space) utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20180326

Remington just filed for Chapter 11. Turns out that people not living in gun paranoia is bad for business.
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I've seen claims that it is to avoid paying the liabilities from Sandy Hook lawsuits. Not sure how true that is though
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That said, it wouldn't surprise me in the least
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So now it seems the school shooter in Maryland killed himself, not the School Resource Officer. I wonder if the NRA will applaud him as a good guy with a gun.
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3/26/2018
AXIOS - Two more lawyers declined offers to join Trump legal team

Prominent attorneys Tom Buchanan and Dan Webb told The Daily Beast on Monday that they both rejected an offer to join President Trump's legal team responding to special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing Russia probe, citing business conflicts.

Why it matters: This signals the president's uphill battle to secure top notched legal talent to represent him. He pushed back on Sunday amid reports that he's struggling to find attorneys from reputable firms with experience, tweeting that many lawyers are eager to work for him. Trump's personal lawyer John Dowd resigned as the head of the president's legal team last week just days after saying Muller should shut down the probe.

https://www.axios.com/lawyers-declined-request-to-join-trump-legal-team-ba639d8f-509c-4dea-9bd6-9a65da17a8e0.html

These aren't firings, but they ain't hirings either.
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Yeah, this presidency is starting to collapse.

Did Nixon or Reagan ever have things like this happen?
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Reagan no, but the Trump is basically speedrunning the Nixon presidency, so it wouldn't surprise if there was a more low-key version of this.
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Nixon was actually somewhat competent though.
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it's difficult to say what nixon would have thrown out there if he had a twitter account. Though I have to imagine it would be more restrained and less self incriminating than whatever this is.
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Most teenage girls are more restrained and less self incriminating.
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For a glimpse of how Nixon handled the press during his issues:

8/16/2017
TWITTER - Michael Beschloss (Presidential historian, NBC, PBS)

Headline today 1973: https://t.co/NvNJlhLJpV

*PICTURE OF NEWSPAPER WITH A RICHARD NIXON MOMENT THAT SAYS NIXON BLASTS FALSE CHARGES: ASKS PUBLIC TO END OBSESSION, GET ON WITH NATIONS BUSINESS*

https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/897985494335836160

I'd enjoy seeing some Nixon and Donald quotes side-by-side during their controversies and see how similar their false charges/fake news-slander was.
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I'm hearing the 2020 Census is going to ask about people's citizenship. Haven't read about it yet...

...but as a former enumerator, it was already hard sometimes to get people to comply with the whole questionnaire. Employees were also not to ever press citizens on their answers -- if you asked someone what their race was and they said Canadian, you put down Canadian and move on. DACA recipients and other undocumented groups have less reason to be honest when lying has no likely punishment and being honest can hurt themselves and their state.
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Random question for you guys, what political/news podcasts do you listen to? Curious what informs this topic. If you regularly listen to a certain NPR show or RUSH LIMBAUGH or something, go ahead and include that too.

Podcasts:
Vox's The Weeds (great in depth discussion on a lot of policy stuff)
Ezra Klein show (depends on the guest)
Pod Save America (lmao liberal bubble)
Lovett or Leave it (funnier liberal bubble)
The Daily (good getting ready for work podcast, but another one that depends on the topic sometimes)
Today Explained (once again, depends on the topic)
On The Media (in depth look at the media every week from an NPR affiliate)
FIveThirtyEight Politics (I mostly listen to it when we are closer to an actual election for them to talk about)

Radio:
Generally, NPR. I usually prioritize one of the above podcasts though. 1A is the only show I'll usually just listen to over any podcast.
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I get NPR updates from my Echo. Don't really listen to much news outside of that. Prefer to read articles.
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538
Used to listen to PSA/LoLI/PStW but I dropped them when I had less free time last semester.
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Mostly NPR and Young Turks...open to most stuff that isn't Breitbart.

By the way, a friend told me The Hill was largrly conservative -- is that the consensus? I've liked the site and have not thought of it as such. If anybody has the latest version of that map of where sources land in the political spectrum too, that would be appreciated.
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The Hills reporting seems pretty good, but they put up editorial op-eds from far right talking heads with wildly biased headlines that probably misled a bunch of people.
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I mostly listen to NPRs morning edition and the friday news round up they do on OnPoint.
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3/27/2018
TALKING POINTS MEMO - NRA Acknowledges Receiving Foreign Funds, Moving Money Between Accounts

The admissions came in a recent letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who has sought answers about the groups foreign funding, following reports that the FBI is probing whether a Russian banker funneled money to the NRA to benefit the Trump campaign.

While we do receive some contributions from foreign individuals and entities, those contributions are made directly to the NRA for lawful purposes, NRA General Counsel John Frazer wrote to Wyden. Our review of our records has found no foreign donations in connection with a United States election, either directly or through a conduit.

The NRA is not required to disclose how funds are transferred between its various entities. As TPM has reported, that makes it difficult to trace if the NRA legally received foreign money into its general accounts, then transferred the same amount into an account that can be used for political spending.

Even if the NRA segregated the foreign money that it received, money is fungible, Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance expert at the Campaign Legal Center, told TPM. Foreign money in one account frees up money that can be used for elections in another account.

This is a very carefully worded letter that appears designed to give the impression that the NRA does not take foreign money for its election work, but reading between the lines, it does not actually say that, Fischer added. The NRA said it did not receive foreign money in connection with the U.S. election. It does not say that foreign money was not used in a U.S. election.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/nra-acknowledges-receiving-foreign-funds-moving-money-between-accounts

Oh hey, Wyden's letter got a result afterall.
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HaRRicH posted...

I'm hearing the 2020 Census is going to ask about people's citizenship. Haven't read about it yet...

Yeah, there are already a few lawsuits announced against it. NY is one, IIRC.
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https://twitter.com/christinawilkie/status/978807645976059905

Our lazy-ass president.
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But he has the most stamina.
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https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/978938860582440960?s=21

Received message last night from XI JINPING of China that his meeting with KIM JONG UN went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me. In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!

Thank you for this message DONALD TRUMP
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https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/978932860307505153

THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED! As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY. We need more Republicans in 2018 and must ALWAYS hold the Supreme Court!

given Trump's Always Sunny-esque comedic timing I fully expect to see "Trump Repeals Second Amendment" in the headlines tomorrow
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KIM looks forward to his meeting with me.

reminder that according to sephy, democrats are evil people who are fine with tons of north koreans starving to death because they don't want the US to go to war with north korea.

yeah, at least republicans are super eager to go to war with north kor--...oh.
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https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/don-jr-sobbed-wife-busted-plan-impregnate-celebrity-apprentice-mistress-report/

what
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His daddy did it!
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Now everyone will blame Aubrey O'Day for his marriage ending, instead of him.
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Kenri posted...

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/978932860307505153

THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED! As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY. We need more Republicans in 2018 and must ALWAYS hold the Supreme Court!

given Trump's Always Sunny-esque comedic timing I fully expect to see "Trump Repeals Second Amendment" in the headlines tomorrow

Is this how the Democrats manage to lose 2018? By letting talk of repealing the 2nd Amendment flourish, re energizing the right?
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"We gotta beat those damn dirty Democrats because a Republican said this thing about our guns!"
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I still think it would be better to focus on bringing in better mental health legislation.

At the very least it would force the Republicans that argue "it's not about guns, it's about mental health" to either sack up or shut up.
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http://thehill.com/policy/finance/380598-poll-majority-of-americans-not-seeing-change-in-paychecks-due-to-tax-cuts?amp

So much for running on the tax cuts.
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/28/politics/shulkin-va-jackson/index.html

We've hit our three, boys!
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To be fair, it looks like Shulkin got what was coming to him if this were a sane world.
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Shulkin was the only thing standing between the VA and privatization, and he was smeared by conservative groups for not wanting to blow up the VA.

So things are likely to get very bad for the VA in coming months, if I had to guess.
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TheRock1525 posted...

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/380598-poll-majority-of-americans-not-seeing-change-in-paychecks-due-to-tax-cuts?amp

So much for running on the tax cuts.

Donald's ratings after tax reform:

December 20th-31st, 2017: +1.5% gain (-0.4% loss overall for the month)
January 2018: +2.9% gain
February 2018: +0.3% gain
March 2018 so far: +0.1% gain

These past two months break pretty much even for Donald, but given the past two months that's a big success compared to the other shit storms going on.

Anyway, I'm not arguing with the Hill's stats there about how people feel about their checks, but Donald's continued to benefit from passing tax reform and I figure he'll continue for another month or two.
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Suprak the Stud posted...

Shulkin was the only thing standing between the VA and privatization, and he was smeared by conservative groups for not wanting to blow up the VA.

So things are likely to get very bad for the VA in coming months, if I had to guess.

Oh, geez. Didnt realize that. Damn it.
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Shulkin
McMaster
Tillerson

Are there other people this month who the White House said was safe just before the real news came that they would be leaving? Not just fired, but the White House denied the rumor before the fact was confirmed soon after?
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The legal team? Or are you not counting them because those aren't actual positions?
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What about the lawyer who left after like, 2 days? Does that count?
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TheRock1525 posted...

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/380598-poll-majority-of-americans-not-seeing-change-in-paychecks-due-to-tax-cuts?amp

So much for running on the tax cuts.

I mean, this is literally impossible unless they are going to receive the cut on the back end when they file for their return.

So, basically, this means 52% of respondents were democrats who refuse to acknowledge anything good because Trump.
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Why would you see tax cuts in your paycheck? I thought the whole point was "let's lower taxes on corporations and the rich and they can in turn pay their employees more", and this is showing that most people aren't seeing that happen. Surprise surprise.
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Corrik posted...

TheRock1525 posted...

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/380598-poll-majority-of-americans-not-seeing-change-in-paychecks-due-to-tax-cuts?amp

So much for running on the tax cuts.

I mean, this is literally impossible unless they are going to receive the cut on the back end when they file for their return.

So, basically, this means 52% of respondents were democrats who refuse to acknowledge anything good because Trump.

Or they're lower-middle class with no kids and you're being ridiculous.
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Inviso posted...

Why would you see tax cuts in your paycheck? I thought the whole point was "let's lower taxes on corporations and the rich and they can in turn pay their employees more", and this is showing that most people aren't seeing that happen. Surprise surprise.

Oh wait, I had a complete brain fart. For some reason I thought taxes were paid entirely at the end of the year (hence filing tax returns), rather than bit by bit from one's paycheck.
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From the primary source article about the poll

Just 32 percent of the public reports having more take home pay because of the tax cuts, including only 48 percent of Trump supporters and 35 percent of the middle class. More than half say they see no change in their paychecks and 16 percent are unsure. It could be that more time is needed for people to notice the change. It could also be that the tax cut provided too small a break to be meaningful to many Americans.

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I'm middle class and my taxes are going up because I do itemized deduction of over $10,000 each year.
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I have seen a difference, but honestly if I hadn't known about the tax adjustment I would have just assumed it was my COLA.

It hasn't been major in any way.
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Corrik posted...

TheRock1525 posted...

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/380598-poll-majority-of-americans-not-seeing-change-in-paychecks-due-to-tax-cuts?amp

So much for running on the tax cuts.

I mean, this is literally impossible unless they are going to receive the cut on the back end when they file for their return.

So, basically, this means 52% of respondents were democrats who refuse to acknowledge anything good because Trump.

Or they're lower-middle class with no kids and you're being ridiculous.

Literally it is IMPOSSIBLE to not see a difference in the middle bracket. It is simple math.

I am middle class, have 2 kids, and another dependent. The 15% tax bracket was dropped to 12%. It is impossible to not see a 3% difference in much of the lower class and the every class above.

The only people who will not see a difference is people who already pay $0 in taxes or make like sub 10k a year.

So, 52% of the respondents are just likely morons.
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