USPOL Jan: In the Year of Our Trump 1

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ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Gosh, 2015 was a bang up year for mass shooting enthusiasts, racists, Islamists, and conservatives of all stripes! It was also not a bad year for homosexuals, people who thought the 2016 election couldn�t be as good as 2012, and people who like keeping the lights on in the US government. Will 2016 be better? Well, it is a leap year, a Summer Olympics year, and best of all, a presidential election year, so things are surely going to look up down! Maybe we'll even get to learn the real secret of Obama's America! Join us as we begin a new year in the January 2016 edition of the US Politics thread!

114th Congress Bingo Card

As we end the first year of the 114th Congress, it�s time to take stock and see what they�ve achieved recently, and what they�ll get done next year!

Obamacare: Young-person enrollments are up, but Republicans will now get to crow about how expensive it is now that the Cadillac tax, health insurance tax, and medical device taxes are on hold.
Budget and Appropriations: We�ve managed to stave off a shutdown. For now� But there�s a do-nothing reconciliation bill just to be safe. One big winner in the omnibus though? NASA.
Cybersecurity and Telecommunications: Big Brother continues apace. CISA's privacy protections were gutted and the remainder stuck into the omnibus, where it passed. Meanwhile, following San Bernardino, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and other senators have revived a bill which would require social media to report suspected terrorists. FBI Director James Comey is begging Congress to force backdoors in encryption algorithms, while Hillary would just like governments to break encryption. But hey, it could be worse, we could just close the Internet!
Gun Control: The guns they just don�t stop shooting, they are literally unstoppable. So why not make the best of it and watch QVC but for guns.
Environment: Judicial Watch has joined the fray to force NOAA to abide by Lamar Smith�s fishing expedition with regards to global warming studies. Meanwhile, NOAA did hand over some e-mails, but not those from scientists. Oh, and the EPA is still bad and evil.
Immigration: Remember that unaccompanied minor crisis from a year back? Well, it�s time for round two. The administration�s response? Let�s round up a bunch of refugees that weren�t granted asylum.
War on Terror: Obama didn�t protect us!
The Torture Report and the NSA: Turns out that pro-surveillance Congresspeople get really mad when it happens to them.
Abortion: Attacks on Planned Parenthood will likely be put on hold. But the attacks at the state level will continue.
Education: No Child Left Behind is dead! Long live No Child Left Behind! (read: Mandatory testing is still around, even if states have more control over education.)

Other News, featuring the Clinton Corner

Hillary Clinton doesn�t believe rape victims (who claim Bill raped them). And that�s why you shouldn�t vote for Hillary.

In other news�

Only 31 more days to Iowa and Graham and Pataki are out (but not Jim Gilmore for some reason), helping to shake up the undercards just a little bit more (especially if Fox finally demotes some people to the second tier). But that�s about it. The last Republican debate still had nine candidates on stage, but the story now is about Cruz, Rubio, and Trump (or maybe just Cruz and Trump) as the others continue to flail at best. Oh, and did I mention that Trump would kill families of terrorists? Finally, Jim Webb wants to deny Hillary the presidency.
Those black lives just keep on mattering.
The NAACP filed suit against Alabama�s voter id law.
Martin Shkreli wanted to bankrupt Chagas Disease sufferers. Martin Shkreli revealed the Wu Tang Secret. Martin Shkreli is one bad rear end Albanian motherfucker. Martin Shkreli drat well better lead to a Wu Tang Clan/Bill Murray heist film directed by Wes Anderson. Martin Shkreli was arrested for securities fraud. Martin Shkreli did not have The Wu Tang Secret seized by the Feds. Martin Shkreli was the puppet master, all along!
Kentucky voters are going to get what they voted for. New governor Matt Bevin stripped voting rights from 140,000 former felons and lowered the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour from $10.10 an hour in his first week in office. And his plan to replace Kynect is to make Medicare recipients pay more to have �skin in the game.�
Since Republicans aren�t going to pass anything Obama wants, his final State of the Union speech will be �non-traditional� and focus on his vision for the country.
Politwoops is back!

Talk to other goons (why would you want to do that?)
Remember that we have an IRC channel at synirc in #poligoon for livesteaming stuff.

Goon Recommendations
Documentaries

Slavery by Another Name
Citizenfour (Laura Poitras's companion pieces My Country, My Country and The Oath are useful for additional context on the impact of the US war on terror in the Middle East)

Talks

Long pieces

The Atlantic
- "The Case for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates (systematic mistreatment of African Americans in the economic sphere)
- "The Tragedy of the American Military" by James Fallows (the US: the chickenhawk nation)
- "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration" by Ta-Nehisi Coates (the Moynihan report and the fragmentation of African-American families due to crime, 50 years on)
- "The Southern Captivity of the GOP" by Christopher Caldwell (still-applicable 1998 article about regionalism in the GOP)
The New Republic
- "The Rehabilitationists: The Libertarian Movement to Undo the New Deal" by Brian Beutler (Libertarians are arguably winning the fight to undo Lochner)

Books

Punishment and Inequality in America by Bruce Western
The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America by Naomi Murakawa
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Matt Taibbi's
- The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap and
- Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power by Rachel Maddow
Rick Perlstein's trilogy on the history of the modern conservative movement:
Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, From Eisenhower to the Tea Party by Geoffrey Kabaservice
Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class by Ian Haney L�pez

Twitter feeds

@costareports (Robert Costa, Washington Post, formerly National Review): Conservative-leaning journalist to whom Republican sources often leak backroom stories (Republican retreats, Presidential campaigns, etc.)
@daveweigel (Dave Weigel, Bloomberg Politics, formerly Slate): "Idiosyncratic libertarian" journalist who is second only to Robert Costa in connections/interviews with Republican officials. Contrary to popular belief, not D&D superstar Joementum.
@BruceBartlett (Bruce Bartlett, ex-Reagan/Bush official): "Lifelong conservative who now thinks the GOP panders to fools, whom he calls wankers. My tweets should not always be taken seriously."
@dick_nixon "37th President of the United States. Messages from the President are unsigned, others from Ronald Ziegler. "
The following are semi-random selections from a list offered by Rygar201 and may be good or bad.
- @owillis (Olivier Willis, research fellow, Media Matters)
- @mattyglesias (Matt Yglesias, executive editor, Vox)
- @JuddLegum (Judd Legum, Editor-in-Chief, Think Progress)
- @EricBoehlert (Eric Boehlert, Media Matters)
- @JamilSmith (Jamil Smith, senior editor, The New Republic)
- @jonathanchait (Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine)
- @nielslesniewski (Neils Lesniewski, Senate coverage, Roll Call)
- @abwhite7 (Abraham White, former comms for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY))
- @DSenFloor (Senate D Floor Watch): "Live floor updates from the Senate Democrats"
- @billmon1 (Billmon)
- @ebruenig (Elizabeth Bruenig, The New Republic)

Related threads
"US Politics" is an incredibly broad topic, as A) the country is freaking huge and B) given our role in international events pretty much everything impacts us. So there are other subthreads
2016 Presidential Primary
2016 US Senate Elections
SCOTUS thread
Right Wing Media

There are also regional subthreads that are usually pretty slow, but sometimes cross-pollinate with this thread when something important is happening.
Pacific Northwest
Illinois
Texas
California

Lifted the rest of the above from FriedChicken. As before post suggestions for adding to the above and I'll edit them in if I see them.

And remember folks, drink chat goes in D&D chat thread. Drink responsibly. Your liver will thank you.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 05:59

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 27, 2024 03:55

Joementum: May 23, 2004; jesus christ

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:01

Ohtsam: Feb 5, 2010; Not this shit again.

Good Riddance 2015

Now to await 2016 with a mix of optimism and dread

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:02

computer parts: Nov 18, 2010; PLEASE CLAP

If I'm grateful to Trump for one thing, it's that I don't have to hear all those dumb "Jurassic Park is popular, Bush vs Clinton is happening, are we in the 90s again?" memes.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:03

Berke Negri: Feb 15, 2012; Les Ricains tuent et moi je mue
Mao Mao
Les fous sont rois et moi je bois
Mao Mao
Les bombes tonnent et moi je sonne
Mao Mao
Les bebes fuient et moi je fuis
Mao Mao

greetings uspol from the future

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:04

Nostalgia4Infinity: Feb 27, 2007; 10,000 YEARS WASN'T ENOUGH LURKING

This year is going to blow

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:04

On Terra Firma: Feb 12, 2008

Ohtsam posted:

Now to await 2016 with a mix of optimism and dread

A much more fitting thread title.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:05

blue squares: Sep 28, 2007

Welcome to the final year of the United States of America, people.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:07

Raskolnikov38: Mar 3, 2007; We were somewhere around Manila when the drugs began to take hold

Nostalgia4Infinity posted:

This year is going to blow

Impossible, there's a non-zero chance reince Pribus kills himself on stage at the convention.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:07

Spunky Junior Reporter!: Jul 27, 2011; Fun Shoe

Trump 2016

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:08

Crain: Jun 27, 2007; I had a beer once with Stephen Miller and now I like him.

I also tried to ban someone from a Discord for pointing out what an unrelenting shithead I am! I'm even dumb enough to think it worked!

Raskolnikov38 posted:

Impossible, there's a non-zero chance reince Pribus kills himself on stage at the convention.

Gun in the mouth or ritual seppuku?

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:12

Raskolnikov38: Mar 3, 2007; We were somewhere around Manila when the drugs began to take hold

Crain posted:

Gun in the mouth or ritual seppuku?

Hooks up an IV bag of ethanol and experiences bliss before dying.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:14

fishmech: Jul 16, 2006; by VideoGames; Salad Prong

I just want to say I think it's hilarious that Carson was trying to spin having a whole bunch of senior staffers quit as Actually Good For Carson.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:15

Joementum: May 23, 2004; jesus christ

fishmech posted:

I just want to say I think it's hilarious that Carson was trying to spin having a whole bunch of senior staffers quit as Actually Good For Carson.

It is though! Clears the payroll of dead weight that's not helping the business.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:16

AtomikKrab: Jul 17, 2010; Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

Gonna be a good year... For me, a lot of you all are probably boned.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:17

Grouchio: Aug 31, 2014

You guys are all sounding like Trump is going to beat Clinton/Sanders in November. :gonk:

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:20

Spunky Junior Reporter!: Jul 27, 2011; Fun Shoe

Grouchio posted:

You guys are all sounding like Trump is going to beat Clinton/Sanders in November.

America elected George W Bush twice.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:21

Grouchio: Aug 31, 2014

what happened posted:

America elected Barrack Obama twice.

That too.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:22

Joementum: May 23, 2004; jesus christ

what happened posted:

America elected George W Bush twice.

Debatable.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:24

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Joementum posted:

Debatable.

Empty quoting this.

Keep your powder dry for the inevitable Trump landslide victory after he calls Hillary a oval office during one of their debates.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:29

Dusty Baker 2: Jul 8, 2011; Keyboard Inghimasi

Over/under on the first mass shooting in the US?

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:30

Joementum: May 23, 2004; jesus christ

fknlo posted:

Keep your powder dry for the inevitable Trump landslide victory after he calls Hillary a oval office during one of their debates.

Trump's "ex"-staffer Roger Stone is waaay ahead of you on this.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:32

blue squares: Sep 28, 2007

Dusty Baker 2 posted:

Over/under on the first mass shooting in the US?

18.5

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:33

JT Jag: Aug 30, 2009; #1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver

Dusty Baker 2 posted:

Over/under on the first mass shooting in the US?

One week

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:36

Vienna Circlejerk: Jan 28, 2003; The great science sausage party!

leftover churchchat from the last thread, relevance having been the whitest denomination u'know having its BLM banners vandalized but admittedly diverged from that

Ron Jeremy posted:

This is exactly what I was looking for when my wife and I went. Maybe I just went to the wrong one or on the wrong day. We went to the one in aptos. Maybe san jose?

I'm in the midwest and don't know much about the California UU congregations but there's definitely a lot of variation from one congregation to the next anywhere you go. UUism as a whole is run from the bottom up, with most decisions made democratically at the mostly autonomous congregational level, so if you have a congregation whose focus is humanism and social justice, they're going to choose a minister who feels similarly and prioritize those things in their activities, whereas others might call a Christian deist UU minister to their congregation and put all their efforts into more spiritual Sunday services, and still others might care more about their music program than anything else (church choirs are big and it's a democratic process, so...). Large congregations (for UUs, "large" is more than 400 or so) might have a couple of different interest groups like this, which can make for interesting and sometimes ugly congregational politics.

So yeah, definitely shop around and absolutely go on different days. Most churches have lay led services interspersed with the minister led ones, and you can get all kinds of weird things if you happen to show up on one of those days that might not (or might better, depending) give you a good idea of what the congregation is like as a whole. Also, many UU congregations have a rather weird tradition of taking the summer off, meaning the minister goes on some kind of sabbatical and the congregation has reduced (and frequently dull) programming with much less turnout during the summer months, so keep that in mind as well (ours doesn't do this and I'm glad because I found it kind of annoying at the other one I attended).

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:36

computer parts: Nov 18, 2010; PLEASE CLAP

Grouchio posted:

You guys are all sounding like Trump is going to beat Clinton/Sanders in November.

They're alcoholics with a predisposition towards clinical depression.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:37

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

There's really nothing quite like starting off January 1 with your dad going off on how the Burj Khalifa didn't collapse despite being on fire and that vindicates Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth or whatever.

Happy New Year, D&D.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:42

Epic High Five: Jun 5, 2004

gradenko_2000 posted:

There's really nothing quite like starting off January 1 with your dad going off on how the Burj Khalifa didn't collapse despite being on fire and that vindicates Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth or whatever.

Happy New Year, D&D.

It's like a logic puzzle

Jet fuel, steel beams melt

No jet fuel, steel beams do not melt

Therefore jet fuel can't melt steel beams

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:44

WhiskeyJuvenile: Feb 15, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

gradenko_2000 posted:

There's really nothing quite like starting off January 1 with your dad going off on how the Burj Khalifa didn't collapse despite being on fire and that vindicates Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth or whatever.

Happy New Year, D&D.

i've been posting this on facebook all day

it's been great

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:45

Wayne Knight: May 11, 2006

Dusty Baker 2 posted:

Over/under on the first mass shooting in the US?

Before it is 2016 in all of the US

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:47

Dusty Baker 2: Jul 8, 2011; Keyboard Inghimasi

RZA Encryption posted:

Before it is 2016 in all of the US

lol

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:48

My Imaginary GF: Jul 17, 2005; by R. Guyovich

"At this point, I think his campaign is finished. He has money, but deflated staff and poll numbers"

How many candidates does this apply to? I can think of at least three

Dusty Baker 2 posted:

Over/under on the first mass shooting in the US?

Isn't mass in, like, 3 days or so?

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:55

Vienna Circlejerk: Jan 28, 2003; The great science sausage party!

op failed to mention Paul Ryan's conversion to Islam

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:56

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

I completely missed Bevin lowering the minimum wage in Kentucky, which would be hilariously ridiculous if it didn't affect a lot of people.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:57

My Imaginary GF: Jul 17, 2005; by R. Guyovich

FlamingLiberal posted:

I completely missed Bevin lowering the minimum wage in Kentucky, which would be hilariously ridiculous if it didn't affect a lot of people.

Coal don't mine itself, especially now that the Chinese don't want none.

Can't save the coal industry if ya don't slash wages

# ? Jan 1, 2016 06:59

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

My Imaginary GF posted:

Isn't mass in, like, 3 days or so?

It's customary in Catholicism to attend mass on New Year's Eve and/or Jan 1.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 07:01

Mr Hootington: Jul 24, 2008

I know this isn't the media thread but, is there anyway we could start adding good news sources to stay caught up with politics and US bullshit in the OP? I'm thinking just having a list like the Atlantic, the New Yorker, the WSJ, the NYT, National Review (gives a good look into conservatism), or other actual "good" news sources. We could add things like media matters, politifact, 503, zero hedge, or any of the other alternative news sources or new media.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 07:01