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It’s time once again for our favorite form of legitimate theater: American Political Theater - March 2015! The 114th United States Congress is now well underway, and while February was not quite the wild ride January was (a President’s Day recess helped), there’s still plenty of news to report, what with Republicans continuing to lunge from crisis to crisis... The Obama Update While Obama hasn’t been quite as aggressive about it as he was in January, his alter-ego Trollbama has still been out in full force.
114th Congress Bingo Card Now that we’re deeper into the Congressional session (with fewer days this month to boot) less has changed with respect to the predictions I laid out in January. Still, the beginning of a month is as good a time to take stock as any.
Other News
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 Talks Long pieces
Books
Twitter feeds
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 There was a South thread, too, but it's been dead since last July. Lifted the rest of the above from FriedChicken. As before post suggestions for adding to the above and I'll edit them in. And remember folks, drink chat goes in D&D chat thread. Drink responsibly. Your liver will thank you. ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Mar 1, 2015 |
# ¿ Mar 1, 2015 09:01 |
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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 01:42 |
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Schizotek posted:Speaking of Middle East morons with laughable names, how did Sisi manage to become some sort of conservative folk hero? Is it really as simple as mowing down muslims in the street? Pick one:
skaboomizzy posted:I think the fiscal year ends Sept 30th. That'd be the budget. Debt ceiling returns March 15, though extraordinary measures mean it might not be a problem until October... Right when Congress is going to be dueling with Obama over defunding the EPA/FCC/DHS. Huh. Just like 2013. ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Mar 1, 2015 |
# ¿ Mar 1, 2015 17:29 |
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J33uk posted:Nope. Restored like a year ago along with the Apache deliveries. You've got to realize that foreign policy is strictly an optics based affairs in this White House, once something is out of the news you implement the real policy. Which is exactly why Republicans believe he never actually implemented the real policy and support Sisi.
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# ¿ Mar 1, 2015 20:56 |
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SirFozzie posted:Comrade, it is true! Our loyal workers have discovered the secret of time travel! Please, tell us how the will of the people were served over the next twelve months (and who wins the 2015 world series? Me and Dimitri have a bet) Badly. All the fever dreams of Republicans came true and Obama is running for a third term!
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# ¿ Mar 1, 2015 23:54 |
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skaboomizzy posted:Congress: It's Calvinball played by Ivy League law-school grads and "self-made small businessmen". You must have missed the parliamentary trick Republicans tried to get the Obamacare repeal on Obama's desk.
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# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 08:05 |
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Matthew Yglesias on why death (to America) is certain.
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# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 03:13 |
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Happy Noodle Boy posted:This is going to be terrible, isn't it? Don't you want to hear the leaks from the Iran negotiations that Republicans will be using to try to bludgeon Obama with over the next few weeks?
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# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 17:03 |
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SpiderHyphenMan posted:Ahahhahah applauding a second time jesus christ gently caress these people Hey! Show some respect for the most powerful person on earth and the defender of democracy!
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# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 17:14 |
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Mo_Steel posted:Oh boy, tell me about your better deal. More sanctions I bet.
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# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 17:45 |
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Kro-Bar posted:"Prevent a nuclearized middle east." Is he offering to give up Israel's arsenal? What arsenal?
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# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 17:46 |
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Just a reminder that the Oscar-winning Snowden documentary by Laura Poitras, Citizenfour, is on HBO GO, so you have something else you can watch with that subscription you got just to watch Game of Thrones but justify as being for Last Week Tonight. You should probably watch it if you haven't and think Snowden was in it only for the publicity. (You should watch it even if you don't think that, too.) ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Mar 3, 2015 |
# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 21:16 |
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Cross-posting from the SCOTUS thread, court analysts see SCOTUS having 5 votes to strike down redistricting commissions. Gerrymandering for everybody!
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# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 00:38 |
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Amergin posted:Both parties already do it, anyway. Not true. The two commissions likely to be affected by this decision are explicitly non-partisan or are designed to (at least in principle) have equal representation from the main two parties. The case in question, if decided as expected, would effectively require these commissions to submit their maps so that political parties could veto them in the state legislature.
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# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 00:43 |
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Evil Fluffy posted:Am I misunderstanding this case or would setups like California be untouched by the ruling unless 5 justices want to be broad assholes? As others have alluded, California's implementation in particular would get struck down in short order since it's basically the same issue (taking redistricting away from the legislature entirely). All the other (less-effective) redistricting commissions would be upheld for now since the legislatures of the states in questions explicitly played a role in their creation and/or get effective veto power over the redistricting commissions' recommendations. Basically, if it goes the way it's expected to go, SCOTUS will be effectively ruling that you literally cannot constitutionally cut your elected representatives (and the associated party machinery) out of the loop when it comes to (federal) redistricting. This probably wouldn't restrict the use of independent commissions for redistricting of state legislature seats, if the federal redistricting bits were construed by the courts as a severable clause of the whole proposition/initiative. ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 09:48 on Mar 4, 2015 |
# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 09:44 |
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As expected, the Senate failed to override Obama's veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline authorization bill, 62-37
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# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 20:51 |
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AreWeDrunkYet posted:FERGUSON ON EDGE: Prosecutors consider criminal charges against Michael Brown family members... Literally the only link about it on the Drudge Report. Hillary's e-mail scandal is far far more important than civil rights that deal with bleaugh people. Oh and in other news, that was fast.
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# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 22:54 |
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Larry Klayman vows to make the Hillary e-mail scandal a thing which will dog her for months.
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# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 00:34 |
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Another item from the 114th Congress Bingo Card: The White House has issued a veto threat against a bill that would prohibit the EPA from using "secret science" in its rule making (i.e. scientific studies with confidential patient information withheld for privacy reasons). The new bill also limits EPA funding for making such information public to $1 million per year, effectively forcing the EPA to halve the number of studies it performs per year. A related bill which would loosen regulations on industry scientists serving on EPA advisory boards while restricting academic scientists from using unpublished science on the same and mandating such boards respond to all public comments (regardless of quantity or quality) has also been issued a veto threat.
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# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 01:49 |
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Mo_Steel posted:Can the response just be "Thanks for your comment" displayed in big red letters when you click submit on their website, or is this verbal comments? To quote the bill: quote:(1) To facilitate public participation in the advisory activities of the Board, the Administrator and the Board shall make public all reports and relevant scientific information and shall provide materials to the public at the same time as received by members of the Board. Most of the political wrangling and harassment of the EPA will be over what, exactly, qualifies as a "significant comment" and, presumably, using the advisory boards' responses to bludgeon the EPA as "disregarding" the clearly correct opinions of the public. It's also worth noting that the bill would also explicitly restrict these advisory boards from issuing policy recommendation of any sort. So expect these boards to become mealy mouthed "we could do this or we could do that" reporting entities. Also, with respect to the qualifications to serve on the boards, quote:(2) Each member of the Board shall be qualified by education, training, and experience to evaluate scientific and technical information on matters referred to the Board under this section. The Administrator shall ensure that-- What's that? You're a climate scientist who has done some research on global warming that hasn't been submitted for peer review yet? Guess you'll have to sit this meeting out and let the industry shills who "aren't" working on global warming research lead the advisory board on this one!
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# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 09:03 |
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forbidden lesbian posted:being able to buy insurance across state lines seems alright but then everything else happened Without meaningful national standards for insurance, it's not. (Don't like a state's minimum insurance regulations? Stop issuing from there and move to South Dakota!)
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# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 19:52 |
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The Florida bill that would jail transgender people who use the restroom of their true gender, and permit civil suits against businesses and organizations who do not enforce the law has made it out of the Florida House Civil Rights Subcommittee on party lines: 9-4
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# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 22:21 |
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Nintendo Kid posted:Really all you'd have to do is be a decent person and not call the cops over someone taking a piss. Which is why there's the "I'm offended that you even permit this at your establishment so I'm gonna sue the proprietor" part of the law. Alien Arcana posted:I'm trying to understand what that means but all I can think is "if you let someone use the wrong bathroom and someone gets offended they can sue you." Sorry. The way I worded it may have been a bit ambiguous/confusing, but your reading is correct. The law would indeed allow offended third parties to file civil suits against businesses who let people use the wrong bathroom.
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# ¿ Mar 5, 2015 23:38 |
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MacheteZombie posted:What if I sneak into the women's bathroom? Does your birth certificate say you're a female? If not, is there no one in there? If so, did you lock the door when you went in or have a friend outside telling everyone that a guy is using the bathroom? If not, you're guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor, son!
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# ¿ Mar 6, 2015 00:00 |
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mightygerm posted:Doesn't the Logan Act forbid this? The article itself points to a precedent which strongly suggests otherwise: quote:The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country. Of course the White House doesn't approve in this case, but that won't stop the Cotton Brigade from using the first part as an excuse.
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# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 20:18 |
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Ardlen posted:The Iranian response reasonably covers the same question: It's worth noting that these executive agreements include those status of forces agreements the hawks like so much.
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# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 20:31 |
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Mitt Romney posted:It's odd that the undermining of the President has become acceptable. It seems like this is something that the media should really be hammering the GOP on. Nov. 5, 2008: "The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace" February 19, 2012: "It’s hard for people to pinpoint exactly what it is they don’t like about President Barack Obama, but I think I can easily sum it up: his thinly veiled contempt for America, and his transparent resentment for the country he was elected to lead."
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# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 20:53 |
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Gravel Gravy posted:And now we add genocide to the list of MIGFs foreign policy objectives. You're either with us or against us.
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# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 22:15 |
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Gravel Gravy posted:Oh, So now we are discussing diplomacy. That's good. What is this better deal you and Netanyahu keep referring to? Total unconditional surrender of all nuclear materials to the State of Israel. For safe-keeping don't you know.
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# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 22:38 |
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Grognan posted:
Debt ceiling is reinstated in 5 days (but probably won't be an issue until October because of extraordinary measures)
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# ¿ Mar 10, 2015 20:09 |
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awesmoe posted:Honest question - what do these guys (or, specifically, what does Trey Gowdy) hope to achieve with this? Getting his name in the paper? A firm belief that this time she'll let slip that she did benghazi personally herself? Trying to get her negatives up? I guess you could ask "what difference does it make?" Dr. Tough posted:I think a better question is why that select committee still or even exists in the first place Because we should not deny our children the right to get to the bottom of Benghazi like we did.
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# ¿ Mar 11, 2015 01:54 |
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Sir Tonk posted:So isn't Cotton the same guy that had a meeting with all the top lobbyists in his state after winning his House election because he needed to ask them how to be a Congressman? I swear it's the same guy, but with his recent defense lobbyist meeting I can't find anything else in google. I remember reading that but I think that was an unsubstantiated secondhand claim from a D&D poster. At least I could never dig up supporting material on the topic.
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# ¿ Mar 11, 2015 19:42 |
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More good news... For Republicans!
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# ¿ Mar 11, 2015 21:41 |
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Shageletic posted:This is the most crushing article I've read in a while, and that's saying something considering what I regularly read. Jesus Christ. The good news is that he won't be reelected next term. The bad news is that that's only because he's term limited out (otherwise, he's almost certainly win if he wanted to run. He won an uncontested election last year and his previous race was a 67/33 landslide.)
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# ¿ Mar 12, 2015 00:42 |
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Party Plane Jones posted:Christie is sunk between the forgotten Bridge debacle and him selling out New Jersey to the tune of 7 or so billion dollars in exchange for 'donations' by the oil industry for 2 million if I remember right. Neither of those matter to Republican primary voters. It's true that he's sunk, but only because he shook hands with Obama.
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# ¿ Mar 12, 2015 03:50 |
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Fried Chicken posted:What size round was it? Imagine the irony if it was green tip M855. (Not that there are any pistols that shoot it)
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# ¿ Mar 12, 2015 16:57 |
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Joementum posted:Coburn also blocked TRIA at the end of the last session, which is one of the five bills passed this year now that he's retired. So two of the five bills are stuff that should have passed in December. But you see, the gridlock was broken after an election in which we voted out Democrats. Therefore, it must be the case that Democrats were the ones holding up that bill, not our loyal Republican colleague Coburn! The Party of No, everyone!
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# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 01:53 |
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Joementum posted:That'd be an interesting argument for them to make if the gridlock had actually been broken, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that Mitch isn't going to increase productivity in the Senate. Oh, but you see gridlock has been broken, relatively speaking. They are one bill ahead of where they were this point in the 113th (VAWA re-authorization was the fourth bill of the 113th, and passed March 7th), which only ties them as of tomorrow. Suffice to say, Republicans can happily continue to crow that the only reason they haven't done even better is that voters haven't voted out ENOUGH Democrats.
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# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 02:21 |
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It looks like Loretta Lynch will require Joe Biden's vote to secure her nomination as Attorney General.
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# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 04:16 |
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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 01:42 |
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The NYPD would like to remind Wikipedia readers that Eric Garner did not "[raise] both his arms in the air" but merely" flailed his arms about"
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# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 18:23 |