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Kinda checked out from US politics for awhile, sad to see that the state of the union is completely depressing. Especially depressing to catch up on Scotus blog, as it seems most of the decisions coming out these days translate into more money = better than. Even with Sibellius, where the Business owners are getting up in arms because they cannot (hopefully - fingers crossed Kennedy) force their employees to live under the same tenants of faith as they do, like some feudal lord getting up in arms because the field hands dare believe that transubstantiation is rather silly. I was going to try and dial back on the booze this May, but I'm feeling kinda grim now. Suggesting Laphroaig of pretty much any vintage, as the smokey burn going down compliments any foul mood rather well. In happier news, gonna check out the Shelby Foote trilogy. I read Grant's Memoirs awhile back and really enjoyed them, and it would be interesting to read a history of the war from a slightly shifted perspective. As far as the "war of northern aggression" goes, its not an uncommon thought at all. I know a bunch of folks out in Western VA who take that line, which is doubly funny because Western VA split off from VA following VA's initial vote to secede from the Union.
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May 7, 2014 19:15
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Good Citizen posted:Ted Cruz has released his report on 76 lawless actions by Obama, and yeah, they're as bullshit as you'd imagine Most of those things are just executive orders. Whatever happened to the party of "if the president does it, that means its not illegal"?
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May 7, 2014 21:42
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BUG JUG posted:Barack "The Islamic Shock" HUSSEIN Obama. I know, it would just be nice to have some internal consistency.
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May 7, 2014 22:06
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Evil Sagan posted:Firing a missile at a public restaurant does seem pretty lovely. Definitely not pro-business. Think of all the law enforcement and construction jobs it will create.
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May 7, 2014 22:14
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richardfun posted:His sentence was commuted though, wasn't it? The jail time was, he still had to do community service I think. Full Battle Rattle posted:That guy had to resign. True enough, though it took something like three special prosecutors to bring him to that point (and he received a full pardon from his successor). My point though was that apparently, according to Cruz, what was good for the goose is no good for the gander, and it seems silly for Cruz to get all indignant about the Obama administration running something from Nixon's playbook. assfro fucked around with this message at 23:34 on May 7, 2014 |
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May 7, 2014 23:15
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Full Battle Rattle posted:Ugh, way to go, Ford. It is kind of an oversight that if you get impeached the guy who replaces you has the ability to totally wipe the slate clean, a power that he alone in the entire country wields. On average, this guy is probably your friend, or at least a respected colleague (although occasionally VP has been filled with convenient do-nothings and on at least one occasion, a mortal enemy). Not to nitpick, but Nixon bailed out before he could be impeached. He doubtlessly would have been, the public nature of Watergate necessitated that, but still, he never actually was impeached. Ford had made some noise about not pardoning him, but it was basically the first thing he did, and his presidency was Mud after that point. Totally agree regarding the pardoning though - under the original US election system, the VP was the runner up per the votes of the electoral college rather than the predetermined running mate of the presidential candidate, and generally at odds with you. A simpler time under Washington's hope for a democratic republic bereft of political parties. How far we have come. I've never seen the West Wing, but I do agree that had Nixon gone down in flames - or even having been successfully impeached, rather than retiring to California and making bank giving speeches and writing self-apologetic memoirs, that the country would be better off. Instead, Nixon revealed himself and his administration to be a lying, manipulative gang of thieves and thugs, and flat out told the country "gently caress you, I'm above the law" - and got to retire to a life of leisure in the sun, setting a rather ugly precedent for having no faith in our leadership.
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May 8, 2014 01:58
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computer parts posted:And by "the original election system" you mean "George Washington's Presidency", because that was literally the first thing outside of the Bill of Rights that they amended out. Second thing. And it applied to Adams as well. Rygar201 posted:And rightly so because it was loving stupid. I'm guessing this was a response to me. It would never work under a two party system, but its a nice bit of nostalgia from a pre-partisan United States. And Ford can say whatever he wants, because with the pardon Nixon got to run around writing books, and making speeches and appearances about how it twisted him up inside to take that pardon for that exact reason, while laughing all the way to the bank. assfro fucked around with this message at 03:01 on May 8, 2014 |
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May 8, 2014 02:47
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Full Battle Rattle posted:Then again, wasn't there a problem with presidential succession back then as well? It is kind of a silly idea (well, scary if you're sitting president) but if your VP hates you and all it takes is your death to make him president... Not really, I mean, Boener is only two heart beats away from the presidency, and I don't think anyone seriously believes he is going to try and orchestrate a coup like that. edit: I'm not actually arguing for a return to the multi-party executive, I just thought it was an interesting example of where the VP might not immediately pardon an outgoing president, and a time when partisanship was hoped to be less debilitating. Said hope lasted all of 16 odd years and now we cannot even pass a budget, let alone have a split executive office. assfro fucked around with this message at 03:13 on May 8, 2014 |
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May 8, 2014 03:07
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pangstrom posted:In case you're not going to watch a talk show for the next month and might miss this: The most Repulican company is the company that makes WONDERBREAD. Republicans are whitebred? No poo poo.
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May 8, 2014 05:33
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Fried Chicken posted:In a 60-36 decision, the public announced today that they think the Roberts Court is chasing a partisan or personal agenda rather than rendering impartial rulings on law People who desperately want to believe that the Supreme Court is above partisan politics and is instead just being the impartial judges they swore to be (they never have been, but partisanship has become far more prevalent in the past 20 years). And yeah, probably some people who thought that the ACA stands out for its "impartiality", though gutting the commerce clause has been on the conservative bench's to-do list since the Rehnquist court, so I don't know that I would the ACA ruling up as a bastion of impartiality.
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May 8, 2014 18:36
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