February 2020 Current Events Thread: Warren 2020: WITNESSED

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > February 2020 Current Events Thread: Warren 2020: WITNESSED

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mlmp08: Jul 11, 2004; Prepare for my priapic projectile's exalted penetration; Nap Ghost

And part of what opened the door to women in government was widows or relatives taking over for their dead male husband/relative.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:00

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# ? Jun 8, 2024 21:34

UP THE BUM NO BABY: Sep 1, 2011; by Hand Knit

https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1230889348167434240?s=19

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:00

maffew buildings: Apr 29, 2009; too dumb to be probated; not too dumb to be autobanned

Yes but think of the landlords

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:14

Doc Hawkins: Jun 15, 2010; Dashing? But I'm not even moving!

first talk of taking over PG&E, now housing...can replicants be hacked? i think someone changed gavbot's programming.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:22

AreWeDrunkYet: Jul 8, 2006; Can't post for 6 days!

UP THE BUM NO BABY posted:

https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1230889348167434240?s=19

Didn't California run a pilot to divert some Medicaid funding to housing and counseling services, and found that it was a lot cheaper than dealing with the inevitable medical problems from living on the street.

That said, just treat housing a basic human right and you don't need this convoluted nonsense.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:36

MA-Horus: Dec 3, 2006; I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.

AreWeDrunkYet posted:

Didn't California run a pilot to divert some Medicaid funding to housing and counseling services, and found that it was a lot cheaper than dealing with the inevitable medical problems from living on the street.

That said, just treat housing a basic human right and you don't need this convoluted nonsense.

lol western democracies are having enough trouble with the idea of healthcare as a basic human right because they've been poisoned by american corporate greed, and you want the poor, poor landlords to suffer now too?
(I am in completely agreement with you, the homeless situation in LA/SF was astonishing to me even coming from Toronto where it's loving bad)

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:43

Chichevache: Feb 17, 2010; One of the funniest posters in GIP.

Just not intentionally.

UP THE BUM NO BABY posted:

https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1230889348167434240?s=19

If I get a prescription for Bakersfield can I get a second opinion? Sometimes the remedy is worse than the disease.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:43

BigDave: Jul 14, 2009; Taste the High Country

AreWeDrunkYet posted:

Didn't California run a pilot to divert some Medicaid funding to housing and counseling services, and found that it was a lot cheaper than dealing with the inevitable medical problems from living on the street.

That said, just treat housing a basic human right and you don't need this convoluted nonsense.

But then how can oliarchs buy properties through anonymous shell LLCs and evict tenants to rent apartments on Airbnb?

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:43

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Chichevache posted:

If I get a prescription for Bakersfield can I get a second opinion? Sometimes the remedy is worse than the disease.

Lol

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:51

CRUSTY MINGE: Mar 30, 2011; Peggy Hill
Foot Connoisseur

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:05

Slim Pickens: Jan 12, 2007; Grimey Drawer

Pigeons with 'Make America Great Again' hats glued to their heads released in Las Vegas

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:17

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

"Have you tried staples"

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:18

McNally: Sep 13, 2007; Ask me about Proposition 305

Do you like muskets?

Well this is not at all concerning.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...dcfb_story.html

quote:

Trump dismisses intelligence official�s assessment of Russian preference for him as Democratic �hoax�
By John Wagner and Ellen Nakashima
Feb. 21, 2020 at 12:53 p.m. EST

President Trump on Friday dismissed the assessment of a senior U.S. intelligence official that Russia wants to see him reelected as a �misinformation campaign� being driven by Democrats, as fallout continued from a classified congressional briefing last week.

�Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa,� Trump tweeted, referencing the delays this month in tabulating the results of the nation�s first presidential nominating contest.

�Hoax number 7!� Trump added, suggesting that reports about the congressional briefing were akin to investigations of his campaign�s possible coordination with Russia in the 2016 election and his conduct toward Ukraine that led to his impeachment by the House and ultimate acquittal by the Senate.

Shelby Pierson, the intelligence community�s election threats executive, participated in a classified briefing on election security last week for the House Intelligence Committee.

Pierson told the lawmakers � Democrats and Republicans � that according to the intelligence gathered by U.S. agencies, Russia had �developed a preference� for Trump in 2020, according to an official briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a classified briefing.

The problem, said the official, is that �the underlying intelligence doesn�t conclusively support that assessment.�

At the briefing, lawmakers prodded Pierson for evidence. In fact, briefers may not be as forthcoming with a full committee as they would with a more restricted audience, such as the Gang of Eight of House and Senate leadership.

Some lawmakers said they did not think that Russia would have such a preference for Trump given his administration�s provision of lethal weapons to neighboring Ukraine to defend it against Russian aggression.

In any case, Pierson�s remarks were conveyed to Trump by one of the Republicans in the room, Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), the committee�s ranking member and a staunch political ally of the president.

Following that, Trump grew angry at his acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, in the Oval Office, seeing Maguire and his staff as disloyal for speaking to Congress about Russia�s perceived preference.

The intelligence official�s analysis and Trump�s furious response �ruined Maguire�s chances of becoming the permanent intelligence chief, according to people familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.

Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One on Thursday night that he was considering Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.) as his permanent director of national intelligence � a move that Collins shot down a few hours later.

During a television appearance Friday morning, Collins said it was �humbling� to be among those considered by Trump, but he said he doesn�t want the job.

�This is not a job that interests me at this time. It�s not one that I would accept because I�m running a Senate race down here in Georgia,� Collins said on Fox Business Network during an interview in which he emphasized his longtime support for the president.

�I�m sure the president will pick somebody appropriate for that job,� Collins said of the intelligence post.

In a tweet a few hours later, Trump made no mention of Collins but emphasized others are also under consideration.

�Four great candidates are under consideration at DNI,� he wrote. �Decision within next few weeks!�

Former senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) was among those who pushed back Friday against Trump�s assertion that the assessment of a Russian preference for him was another Democratic hoax.

�This is not a misinformation campaign by Democrats, Mr. President,� Flake tweeted. �It is the sober assessment of our intelligence community. It should be taken seriously.�

Ashley Parker contributed to this report.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:22

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

McNally posted:

Well this is not at all concerning.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...dcfb_story.html

I mean it's 100% expected for him to ignore all intelligence services and dismiss anything negative about him at this point.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:27

Tiny Timbs: Sep 6, 2008

It must make Trump miserable when guys like Collins shoot him down with some lame excuse

Especially after he makes statements about them. Maybe try asking privately next time.

Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Feb 21, 2020

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:29

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

joat mon posted:

Every Administration in US history?
That's the nature of politically appointed positions.
Before 1883, basically every federal job (granted, there weren't as many then) was like that, if you'd like an even worse precedent.

To expand on this a bit:

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1230895829768118272?s=19

The general idea is that Donnie Brainstem is a highly impressionable idiot. So, when personnel would find someone for a political post, who was obviously an incompetent MAGA chud, an adult in the room would bring a different pick directly to Trump. Trump would then go along with it, as he is a highly impressionable idiot. Didn't matter that the pick might've said anti-Trump stuff once.

So now, with no adults in the room and a personnel director prepackaged with more red flags than a construction site, Donnie's deciding to purge the non-believers. The big question is how far the purge will go. It seems like it will just touch into political appointees, which would be fine and unremarkable, if the picks weren't going to be sycophantic MAGA chuds that would happily break laws because Donnie demanded it. If it goes into career civil servants? Yikes.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:44

shame on an IGA: Apr 8, 2005

facialimpediment posted:

The big question is how far the purge will go. It seems like it will just touch into political appointees, which would be fine and unremarkable, if the picks weren't going to be sycophantic MAGA chuds that would happily break laws because Donnie demanded it. If it goes into career civil servants? Yikes.

lmao look at this guy who thinks that's a distinction chuds are willing or able to make

# ? Feb 21, 2020 19:53

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

facialimpediment posted:

To expand on this a bit:

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1230895829768118272?s=19

The general idea is that Donnie Brainstem is a highly impressionable idiot. So, when personnel would find someone for a political post, who was obviously an incompetent MAGA chud, an adult in the room would bring a different pick directly to Trump. Trump would then go along with it, as he is a highly impressionable idiot. Didn't matter that the pick might've said anti-Trump stuff once.

So now, with no adults in the room and a personnel director prepackaged with more red flags than a construction site, Donnie's deciding to purge the non-believers. The big question is how far the purge will go. It seems like it will just touch into political appointees, which would be fine and unremarkable, if the picks weren't going to be sycophantic MAGA chuds that would happily break laws because Donnie demanded it. If it goes into career civil servants? Yikes.

My understanding is that it's already cleared a ton of them out of EPA/USDA/DoE/NOAA etc.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 20:22

mlmp08: Jul 11, 2004; Prepare for my priapic projectile's exalted penetration; Nap Ghost

Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) Tweeted:
Differences in young adult spending, 2018 vs 1984:

Retirement/non-health insurance: +3.7%
Housing: +3.3%
Health: +2.8%

Clothes: -2.4%
Transportation: -2.3%
Groceries: -1.3% https://t.co/9znVqoPw8K https://twitter.com/DKThomp/status/1230928296982073346?s=20

# ? Feb 21, 2020 20:25

Notahippie: Feb 4, 2003; Kids, it's not cool to have Shane MacGowan teeth

facialimpediment posted:

To expand on this a bit:

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1230895829768118272?s=19

The general idea is that Donnie Brainstem is a highly impressionable idiot. So, when personnel would find someone for a political post, who was obviously an incompetent MAGA chud, an adult in the room would bring a different pick directly to Trump. Trump would then go along with it, as he is a highly impressionable idiot. Didn't matter that the pick might've said anti-Trump stuff once.

So now, with no adults in the room and a personnel director prepackaged with more red flags than a construction site, Donnie's deciding to purge the non-believers. The big question is how far the purge will go. It seems like it will just touch into political appointees, which would be fine and unremarkable, if the picks weren't going to be sycophantic MAGA chuds that would happily break laws because Donnie demanded it. If it goes into career civil servants? Yikes.

The purge looks like it might be in full swing right about the time that Coronavirus blows up in the US. So that'll be fun.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 20:29

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

That Works posted:

My understanding is that it's already cleared a ton of them out of EPA/USDA/DoE/NOAA etc.

I may be wrong, but a lot of the non-political appointees / civil servants are doing the "gently caress this, I'm out" thing. What I haven't seen is the political people telling the civil servants "gently caress you, you're out". It's been mostly camouflaged by funding cuts and making the servants' lives miserable, which generally happens under drat near any Republican administration, just worse here.

The whole thing is poo poo and stupid no matter what. I'm just not aware of the rank-and-file getting outright politically purged, just de facto purged due to the agencies going to poo poo.

For other content, it looks like the Weinstein case is going a bit weird. https://twitter.com/eorden/status/1230941613108744193?s=19

# ? Feb 21, 2020 20:47

Flying_Crab: Apr 12, 2002

https://twitter.com/carolinecaloway/status/1230713759095635969?s=20

# ? Feb 21, 2020 20:50

Alaan: May 24, 2005

https://twitter.com/eyokley/status/1230939067010953217?s=19

# ? Feb 21, 2020 21:03

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; Against All Tyrants; Ultra Carp

Alaan posted:

https://twitter.com/eyokley/status/1230939067010953217?s=19

# ? Feb 21, 2020 21:23

Icon Of Sin: Dec 26, 2008

He walked in and started catching daggers immediately :laffo:

# ? Feb 21, 2020 21:37

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Icon Of Sin posted:

He walked in and started catching daggers immediately

Everything we hoped

# ? Feb 21, 2020 21:39

Nick Soapdish: Apr 27, 2008

Alaan posted:

https://twitter.com/eyokley/status/1230939067010953217?s=19

# ? Feb 21, 2020 21:46

ded: Oct 27, 2005; Kooler than Jesus

Someone tried to kill Katy Perry

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/entertainment/katy-perry-collapse-idol-trnd/index.html

quote:

(CNN)Season 3 of "American Idol" on ABC has just started, but already there is drama.
In an exclusive clip People posted to its web site, judge Katy Perry falls to the ground after a gas leak forces evacuation of the show's auditions.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 21:59

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

CRUSTY MINGE posted:

Well, he was a chaplain, which means he didn't carry a weapon. Largely started off as bullshit fake martial arts. Knife-handing the tree with chops and 'hi-ya's, terrible attempts at kicking them.

Oh my god

# ? Feb 21, 2020 22:15

CRUSTY MINGE: Mar 30, 2011; Peggy Hill
Foot Connoisseur

Yeah, he was as sharp as a bowling ball by the time he left. I'd never watched anyone else slowly descend into the crazy like that over a few months. He was genuinely very nice and wouldn't thump the bible to you if he knew that was not your thing, but that jar of marbles was well and empty by the time he left.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 22:40

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

https://twitter.com/dsupervilleap/status/1230967449505452035?s=19

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1230970482113105921?s=19

https://twitter.com/LauraLitvan/status/1230968972843110401?s=19

Not all that hard to deal with!

# ? Feb 21, 2020 22:50

Casimir Radon: Aug 2, 2008

ded posted:

Someone tried to kill Katy Perry

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/entertainment/katy-perry-collapse-idol-trnd/index.html

GROVER, NO!

# ? Feb 21, 2020 22:55

sharknado slashfic: Jun 24, 2011

The most shocking thing about this is that American Idol is still on

# ? Feb 21, 2020 23:04

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

Hey look, our new DNI is thoroughly compromised! Who would've known?

https://twitter.com/ericuman/status/1230973175179173889?s=19

# ? Feb 21, 2020 23:04

Doc Hawkins: Jun 15, 2010; Dashing? But I'm not even moving!

CRUSTY MINGE posted:

Yeah, he was as sharp as a bowling ball by the time he left. I'd never watched anyone else slowly descend into the crazy like that over a few months. He was genuinely very nice and wouldn't thump the bible to you if he knew that was not your thing, but that jar of marbles was well and empty by the time he left.

this sounds like a movie i'd watch. i can imagine the trailer already.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 23:36

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; Against All Tyrants; Ultra Carp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4vIBijzg4w

# ? Feb 21, 2020 23:36

BigDave: Jul 14, 2009; Taste the High Country

Doc Hawkins posted:

this sounds like a movie i'd watch. i can imagine the trailer already.

Will Ferrell needs a new project, attach him to it.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 23:53

Stultus Maximus: Dec 21, 2009; USPOL May

Alaan posted:

https://twitter.com/eyokley/status/1230939067010953217?s=19

Bloomberg had 60% favorability with liberal voters? The gently caress?

# ? Feb 22, 2020 00:07

Mr. Nice!: Oct 13, 2005; bone shaking.
soul baking.

Stultus Maximus posted:

Bloomberg had 60% favorability with liberal voters? The gently caress?

Prior to the debate 100% of people's knowledge about Bloomberg came from his commercials unless they already knew who he was.

# ? Feb 22, 2020 00:12

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# ? Jun 8, 2024 21:34

Terrifying Effigies: Oct 22, 2008; Problems look mighty small from 150 miles up.

Buckle up buckos

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1230976764375175168

quote:

WASHINGTON � Richard Grenell�s tenure as the nation�s top intelligence official may be short-lived, but he wasted no time this week starting to shape his team of advisers, ousting his office�s No. 2 official � a longtime intelligence officer � and bringing in an expert on Trump conspiracy theories to help lead the agency, according to officials.

Mr. Grenell has also requested the intelligence behind the classified briefing last week before the House Intelligence Committee where officials told lawmakers that Russia was interfering in November�s presidential election and that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia favored President Trump�s re-election. The briefing later prompted Mr. Trump�s anger as he complained that Democrats would use it against him.

Joseph Maguire, the former acting director of national intelligence, and his deputy, Andrew P. Hallman, resigned on Friday. Mr. Grenell told Mr. Hallman, popular in the office�s Liberty Crossing headquarters, that his service was no longer needed, according to two officials. Mr. Hallman, who has worked in the office or at the C.I.A. for three decades, expressed confidence in his colleagues in a statement but also referred to the �uncertainties that come with change.�

The ouster of Mr. Hallman and exit of Mr. Maguire, who also oversaw the National Counterterrorism Center, allowed Mr. Grenell to install his own leadership team.

One of his first hires was Kashyap Patel, a senior National Security Council staff member and former key aide to Representative Devin Nunes, Republican of California and the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Mr. Patel will have a mandate to �clean house,� CBS News reported, citing a person close to the matter.

Mr. Patel was best known as the lead author of a politically charged memo two years ago that accused F.B.I. and Justice Department leaders of abusing their surveillance powers to spy on a former Trump campaign adviser. The memo was widely criticized as misleading, though an inspector general later found other problems with aspects of the surveillance.

Working with Mr. Nunes, Mr. Patel began what they called Objective Medusa to examine the F.B.I.�s investigation into whether anyone associated with the Trump campaign conspired with Russia�s election interference in 2016.

�I hired him to bust doors down,� Mr. Nunes told the author Lee Smith for his book �The Plot Against the President,� which chronicles Mr. Patel�s investigations on behalf of the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. Mr. Patel was interviewed extensively in the book, which claims without proof that journalists, diplomats, law enforcement and intelligence officials engaged in a vast plot to undermine Mr. Trump�s campaign and then bring him down as president.

As acting director of national intelligence, Mr. Grenell has access to any secrets he may want to review. And he has requested access to information from the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The revelations about last week�s briefing reignited fears about Russia�s continuing efforts to interfere in the American election, including in the Democratic primary races.

During the briefing, which was supposed to focus on coordination between government agencies to fight election interference, not the acts themselves, Republicans challenged the intelligence agencies� conclusion that the Russians continue to favor Mr. Trump. Some officials said the briefing was not meant to be controversial and that intelligence officials intended to simply reiterate what they have been telling Congress for months.

Intelligence officials have already documented instances of the Kremlin trying to influence American politics, namely attempts by Russian military intelligence officers to hack into the Ukrainian energy company that once employed the son of former Vice President Joseph Biden Jr. Officials want to know whether the breach was an effort to help Mr. Trump, whose efforts to persuade Ukraine to announce investigations into Mr. Biden helped prompt his impeachment.

And during the congressional impeachment hearings, Fiona Hill, a former senior White House official who worked on Russia issues, warned about Moscow�s continued efforts to spread disinformation.

Mr. Trump himself wrote in a January letter accompanying the administration�s national counterintelligence strategy that �Russia remains a significant intelligence threat to United States interests � employing aggressive acts to instigate and exacerbate tensions and instability in the United States, including interfering with the security of our elections.�

Intelligence officials were scheduled to brief the full House and Senate on election security on March 10, arrangements that were made weeks ago, accounting to congressional aides.

How long Mr. Grenell will be able to stay as the acting director is an open question. For him to remain past March 11 � a limit imposed by federal law � Mr. Trump must formally nominate someone else for the director of national intelligence post.

Mr. Trump told reporters late Thursday that he was considering Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the intelligence committee, but Mr. Collins took himself out of the running the next morning.

Mr. Collins, who helped lead the president�s impeachment defense, had received no advance notice that he was under consideration for the top intelligence post. He saw no reason to entertain a job he did not want, especially as he wages a special election battle for a Senate seat in his home state of Georgia.

�I know the problems in our intelligence community, but this is not a job that interests me at this time,� Mr. Collins said on Fox Business. �It�s not one that I would accept because I�m running a Senate race.�

People close to Mr. Collins have speculated that the president might have been trying to entice Mr. Collins out of that election to tamp down a messy intraparty fight that could cost Republicans control of the seat. Party leaders have converged around Senator Kelly Loeffler since Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia appointed her to fill the state�s vacant Senate seat late last year and have made no secret of their disdain for Mr. Collins�s refusal to exit the race.

A nomination to a cabinet-level position would have required Mr. Collins to drop out of the race. But given his lack of intelligence experience and political track record, there was little likelihood the Senate would have confirmed him to the post.

With Mr. Collins off the table, Mr. Trump will need another potential nominee. The White House is considering Pete Hoekstra, the former Republican congressman who is now the American ambassador to the Netherlands, according to three officials.

Whether the Senate would be willing to formally consider Mr. Hoekstra is unclear. But if Mr. Trump were to send a nomination to the Senate it would, under federal law, allow Mr. Grenell to serve for at least another six months.

# ? Feb 22, 2020 00:19

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > February 2020 Current Events Thread: Warren 2020: WITNESSED

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