USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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Jaxyon: Mar 7, 2016; I’m just saying I would like to see a man beat a woman in a cage. Just to be sure.

Yes it's pretty much "that affirmative action case stole my job/scholarship/admission" poo poo, with transgender people being the accepted group to be mad about.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:24

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# ? May 24, 2024 21:44

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Speaking of Hunter Biden, an interesting story is emerging to the House Committee investigating him. That 51-spook sign-off letter intimating that the laptop story was a Russian op was instigated by current Secy. of State Blinken:

quote:

Joe Biden�s presidential campaign prompted former acting CIA Director Mike Morell to �help Biden� by organizing 50 colleagues to sign a letter in October 2020 falsely claiming that damning emails from Hunter Biden�s laptop published by The Post were Russian disinformation.

In private sworn testimony, Morell told the House Judiciary Committee that Antony Blinken, now secretary of state, was the senior campaign official who reached out to him �on or before� Oct. 17, 2020, three days after The Post published an email from the laptop suggesting Hunter had introduced his Ukrainian business partner to his father, then-Vice President Biden.

Morell, identified as a potential CIA director under Biden, said he organized the letter to �help Vice President Biden � because I wanted him to win the election.�

Until Blinken�s call, Morell told House investigators, he had no intention of writing any statement exonerating Biden.

But he agreed that the conversation with Blinken �triggered � that intent� in him.

At 10:53 p.m. the night of the call, Blinken emailed Morell a USA Today article claiming that the FBI was examining whether Hunter�s laptop was part of a �disinformation campaign.�

At the bottom of Blinken�s email was the signature block of Andrew Bates, then-director of rapid response for the Biden campaign.

Morell said he did �a little bit of my own research,� then reached out to retired CIA senior operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos for assistance in compiling the letter discrediting The Post�s reporting.

Over the next two days, Morell gathered signatures from 51 former intelligence officials, including himself and four other former CIA directors, including John Brennan and Leon Panetta.

Morell testified that he sent an email telling Nick Shapiro, former deputy chief of staff to Brennan, that the Biden campaign wanted the statement to go to a particular reporter at the Washington Post and that he should send the statement to the campaign as well.

Morell did not recall why he told Shapiro the campaign wanted the statement to go to this reporter first and admitted that he may have spoken to the campaign on another occasion.

In the end, Shapiro took the letter to Politico, which published it on Oct. 19 under the headline: �Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former officials say.�

The letter alleged that the New York Post story �has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.�

The letter was used by candidate Joe Biden during the Oct. 22 debate against President Donald Trump to deflect accusations about his involvement in his family�s international influence-peddling operation, which had garnered millions of dollars from China and Ukraine while he was vice president.

It was also used to try to discredit The Post�s reporting that had embarrassed candidate Biden by contradicting his claims during the campaign that he had never spoken to his son about his overseas business dealings.

Morell testified that after the debate, he received a call from Steve Ricchetti, chairman of the Biden campaign, to thank him for writing the statement.

�He was the head of the Biden campaign at the time � Steve thanked me for putting the statement out. And that was the extent of the conversation.�

The thank-you call with Ricchetti was organized by fellow signatory Jeremy Bash, �who I work with at Beacon [Beacon Global Strategies] and who is active politically,� Morell testified.

Bash, Panetta�s former chief of staff-turned-MSNBC security analyst, was later appointed by President Biden to a prestigious role on his President�s Intelligence Advisory Board.

The Post is also alleging, in another story, that the IRS whistleblower who went to the House committee is telling them that Garland lied in his testimony to them.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:25

Mooseontheloose: May 13, 2003

Oxyclean posted:

A particular article sticks in my mind that was basically "this girl had her win STOLEN by a trans girl" and I feel like it's not the only time I've seen it framed as a "this person would have won if not for the unfairness of trans people in the sport/competition" with never the consideration that, uhh maybe they just lost because they weren't the best? It's big main-character-syndrome whenever they find someone to act personally aggrieved about the presence of transwomen in sports.

like gotta think about all the sports I would have won if not for the unfairness of letting people taller then me compete, letting people stronger then me compete, people who care more then me compete, people who are more fit then me compete, people who had access to better nutrition then me compete, people who had better sleep then me compete...

that said it almost feels like a waste of energy pointing any of it out because it's always such transparent concern trolling.

It's similar about CRT/affirmative action/equity around race arguments. My mediocre white kid is having things taken away from them because other people are getting an unfair advantadge. It's never that my kid is average, everyone else's kids suck.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:27

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Someone should come out and say it: sports scholarships are fuckin' dumb. They shouldn't exist, everyone should be able to afford college regardless of whether they are particularly adept at a given sport.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:29

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Members of Congress didn't let the banking crisis last month go to waste:

quote:

As Fears of Banking Crisis Surged, Members of Congress Sold Bank Shares

WASHINGTON � On March 10, as fears were swirling over the health of the nation�s banks, an investment account belonging to the children of Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., sold shares of Seacoast Banking Corp. worth $65,000 to $150,000.

Two days later, with the government working to control the crisis, Moskowitz said in a television interview that he had attended a bipartisan congressional briefing on the tumult. And on March 13, as investors fretted over the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and two other, smaller banks, Seacoast Banking shares fell nearly 20%.

A spokesperson for Moskowitz said in an email that the Seacoast share sales had been suggested by the congressman�s financial adviser as a means to diversify his young children�s holdings. Moskowitz said the congressional briefing on the bank crisis had taken place just before the television interview and after the shares were sold.

But the transaction was just one example of how members of Congress continue to buy and sell stocks and other financial assets in industries that intersect with their official duties.

At least eight members of Congress or their close relatives sold shares of bank stocks in March, according to an analysis by Capitol Trades, a project of the data firm 2iQ � a number that could rise in the coming days, as lawmakers make additional disclosures of trades made last month.

Although broadly legal, stock trading by members of Congress has become a flashpoint because lawmakers are sometimes privy to closely held information about the companies and industries they oversee.

A New York Times investigation last year showed that during a three-year period, nearly one-fifth of federal lawmakers or their immediate family members had bought or sold stocks or other securities that could have been affected by their legislative work.

Efforts to pass legislation to place limits on trading by members of Congress or to ban it have stalled in recent years. On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced a new bill intended to eliminate the practice that has 19 co-sponsors in the Senate.

A House version of the bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.

�As the Silicon Valley Bank was closed, even during that period, there were reports that members of Congress were trading bank stocks,� Brown said. �I mean, imagine that � that members of Congress, we have more inside information,� he said, adding, �members of Congress are able, because of our jobs, to know more about the economy.�

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., sold shares of First Republic Bank, the large depositor that was rapidly losing both cash and clients, on March 15, the day before it received an industry bailout of $30 million.

The wife and children of Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., sold First Republic shares that same day. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, sold shares in First Republic from a joint account with his spouse on March 16, the day the industry bailout occurred.

By that time, First Republic shares had already fallen nearly 80% from a February peak. The timing of the sales by those three lawmakers or their relatives meant that the sellers averted an additional price swoon that was still to come. First Republic stock is down nearly 90% since the beginning of this year.

A spokesperson for Goldman has said that his portfolio is managed by a third party without his knowledge and that he is setting up a blind trust to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. Khanna has said that his filings relate to trades made by a diversified trust belonging to his wife and young children and that he has no involvement in it. Spokespersons for Curtis did not respond to requests for comment.

Some members were also buying bank shares during the volatility. On March 17, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., bought shares of New York Community Bancorp after private discussions with New York state bank regulators. Her transaction was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Two days later, New York Community Bancorp bought assets belonging to the failed Signature Bank � a deal that prompted its biggest share rally ever. Around that same time, other lawmakers, including Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and family members of Khanna, bought shares in larger U.S. banks, like Truist Financial. Goldman, among other transactions, made a series of purchases of shares in foreign banks, like Lloyds Banking Group and Mizuho Financial Group.

A spokesperson for Malliotakis said that her financial adviser had recommended the purchase and that it amounted to less than $5,000 in value. A spokesperson for Peters did not respond to questions about the transaction.

https://news.yahoo.com/fears-banking-crisis-surged-members-114128107.html

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:29

DarkCrawler: Apr 6, 2009; by vyelkin

Grimnarsson posted:

Isn't there a bit of a difference in accounting when comparing a multi-party parliamentary system and a two party system? If Finland had a two party scheme then plausibly the white nationalists would be part of the right-wing umbrella and therefore anyone who voted that big party would be a fascist, inflating the numbers. I think that might be a factor.

Yes, a two-party system is far more suspectible for potential radicalization and the Overton Window. At least after the lessons of WWII in mind for European countries in particular. Still, you have examples, the Tories probably being the Ur-Example (de facto If not de jure two party system due to FPTP).

The Republican Party is not fascist because fascists are a part of it. In its tenets, communications, ideals, political goals, and so on, it is specifically an openly white nationalist, anti LGBT, anti-immigrant, Christian dominonist, anti-democratic and atrocity/genocide denialist party as much as it is say, openly capitalist. A vast majority of its voters ascribe to one or more of those bigotries and they are core tenets of the party platform. Fascism is not a part of the coalition, it is the primary driving factor.

Pure Capitalism is the secondary factor, for a minority, and they certainly have the wealth and education to not miss on what their tax cuts were built on.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:32

Gyges: Aug 4, 2004; NOW NO ONE
RECOGNIZE HULK

PT6A posted:

Someone should come out and say it: sports scholarships are fuckin' dumb. They shouldn't exist, everyone should be able to afford college regardless of whether they are particularly adept at a given sport.

Sports scholarships are even worse than they appear on the surface. The university makes a small bit to ungodly amounts of cash off the athlete. In exchange the student athlete faces insane rules that ensure they're absolutely not making any money off this, intensive and long hours of practice and preparation that is equal to or exceeds a full time job, absences due to travel/prep/scheduling of games, and in many cases the destruction of their bodies. The end result is that most athletes can't even really do the student part of the student-athlete gig they signed a legal contract for.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:38

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Gyges posted:

Sports scholarships are even worse than they appear on the surface. The university makes a small bit to ungodly amounts of cash off the athlete. In exchange the student athlete faces insane rules that ensure they're absolutely not making any money off this, intensive and long hours of practice and preparation that is equal to or exceeds a full time job, absences due to travel/prep/scheduling of games, and in many cases the destruction of their bodies. The end result is that most athletes can't even really do the student part of the student-athlete gig they signed a legal contract for.

All the other stuff is still true, but the NCAA finally did recently cave after years of criticism and allow the student athletes limited ability to make money from their sports playing.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:40

Inferior Third Season: Jan 15, 2005

Willa Rogers posted:

Speaking of Hunter Biden, an interesting story is emerging to the House Committee investigating him. That 51-spook sign-off letter intimating that the laptop story was a Russian op was instigated by current Secy. of State Blinken:

The Post is also alleging, in another story, that the IRS whistleblower who went to the House committee is telling them that Garland lied in his testimony to them.

Please do better than just posting allegations from NYPost articles. They do not have a good enough track record to be taken at face value without corroboration from more reputable sources.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:45

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Inferior Third Season posted:

Please do better than just posting allegations from NYPost articles. They do not have a good enough track record to be taken at face value without corroboration from more reputable sources.

I was unaware that the Post wasn't a legitimate news outlet, especially given the allegations of the 51-spook letter that turned out to be false (let me know if you'd like additional sources for this). In fact, it seems a tad ironic to call it out as a bogus outlet given the details of story itself.

Do you think that the Post is lying about Mike Morrell's contention that the letter was devised by the Biden campaign & Blinken? Or do you believe that Morrell himself was lying? Or that the Post's committee source was lying?

Is there a list of acceptable news sources somewhere for this forum? And are there particular aspects of the Post stories, or allegations therein, that you'd like me to track from other sources as the stories develop?

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:53

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Here's a Newsweek story saying the same thing as the Post stories:

quote:

Biden Team Sparked Effort to Kill Hunter Laptop Story: Ex-CIA Boss

Hunter Biden has become the center of renewed political controversy after it emerged former acting CIA director Mike Morell helped organize a letter by 50 intelligence community figures, ahead of the 2020 presidential election, suggesting leaked emails from Hunter's laptop were Russian disinformation.

Morrell made the confession in private sworn testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, saying he acted after speaking to Antony Blinken, then part of the Biden campaign and now secretary of state, because he wanted Joe Biden to "win the election."

In response to the claims, the White House told Newsweek that House Republicans are "weaponizing their power to go after" opponents and "re-litigate the 2020 election with misleading claims."

Allegations of Russian collusion sparked major controversy after the 2016 presidential election, when embarrassing emails from the Democratic National Committee were revealed by Wikileaks. An investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller later concluded the hack was conducted by Russian military intelligence officers, in an effort to boost then-Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Just weeks before the 2020 election the New York Post published what it said were emails from Hunter Biden's laptop, recovered by a computer repair shop owner, which they claimed showed improper business relationships. In response more than 50 former intelligence officials, including ex-CIA chiefs John Brennan and Mike Hayden, signed an open letter suggesting "the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue."

John Ratcliffe, then Director of National Intelligence, contested this assessment. During an interview with Fox Business he said: "We shared no intelligence with Chairman [Adam] Schiff or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden's laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign."

Schiff, a Democrat, was then chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

In March 2022 analysis by The Washington Post concluded thousands of the emails were "authentic communications," and no evidence has been found of any Russian role in their release.

Appearing before the House Judiciary Committee Morell said he was contacted by Blinken "on or before" October 17, 2020, which "triggered...that intent" leading him to organize the letter, which was provided to Politico.

Morell admitted he acted because "I wanted him [Biden] to win the election."

He added that Biden campaign chairman Steve Ricchetti later called to "thank me for putting the statement out."

Speaking to Newsweek White House spokesperson Ian Sams commented: "Instead of working with President Biden on the issues that matter most to the American people like lowering costs or tackling gun violence, House Republicans are weaponizing their power to go after their political opponents and re-litigate the 2020 election with misleading claims. This is all happening as they move ahead on a dangerous plan to push America into default and an economic crisis.

"The American people see these House GOP attacks for what they are: political stunts intended to hurt President Biden, and House Republicans would be wise to instead focus on doing their job, raising the debt ceiling to avoid an economic catastrophe, and working together with the President to make actual progress on important issues"

Newsweek has contacted Hunter Biden's legal representative for comment, and the Judiciary Committee staff requesting a full transcript of Morell's remarks.

Separately, an IRS U.S. tax special agent has said he's prepared to testify before Congress that a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden's business dealings was impacted by "political considerations."

The claim was made by the agent's lawyer, Mark Lytle, during an interview with CBS News.

He said the agent has seen "preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions" impact the inquiry into Hunter Biden.

Lytle also claimed his client "wants to come forward to Congress" if given "the proper legal protections."

In a statement sent to Newsweek White House spokesperson Ian Sams said: "Since he took office and consistent with his campaign promise that he would restore the independence of the Justice Department when it comes to decision-making in criminal investigations, President Biden has made clear that this matter would be handled independently by the Justice Department, under the leadership of a U.S. Attorney appointed by former President Trump, free from any political interference by the White House. He has upheld that commitment."

Willa Rogers fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Apr 21, 2023

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:58

BonoMan: Feb 20, 2002; Jade Ear Joe

I think Newsweek has the same level of credibility as the Post.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:00

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Who do you think is doing the lying in this instance: the former CIA director, or someone else?

Dang, I need an updated list of legit sources that qualify for dnd excerpts, especially given the outlets that were so eager to publish the 51-spook letter in 2020.

eta: It's coming from the House committee horses' mouths, although it is a GOP-led committee, heh, so I'm unsure whether that passes muster as a source.

Willa Rogers fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Apr 21, 2023

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:02

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The NY Post is not a great source and Newsweek was bought out by a click farm that posts fake things all the time years ago. But, I don't think the article is actually false. They are quoting the guy and he has not publicly denied it.

I think the NYP is framing it as a bit of a bigger deal than it really was. The Biden campaign were the ones who pushed it and released it. They published it on their campaign website. It's not super surprising that they were looking for people who would agree to sign it.

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Apr 21, 2023

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:08

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

I mean, the interesting thing to me was the censorship aspect & getting most of the country's media on the same page that the NYP story in 2020 was bogus & the laptop a fictional creation by the Russkies.

I don't even think the laptop would've made a whit of difference in the election had the story broken openly instead of being buried, as I've said.

But it's fascinating that the campaign got just about every mainstream media outlet--including the ones that I would reckon most people in dnd would consider as "legit"--to marginalize the story as Russian disinfo.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:13

Madkal: Feb 11, 2008; Fallen Rib

The laptop was on par with "but her emails" and honestly nipping it in the bud instead of letting it spread with idiots was a smart call.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:16

Mellow Seas: Oct 9, 2012; Can't post for 10 years!

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

The NY Post is not a great source and Newsweek was bought out by a click farm that posts fake things all the time years abo. But, I don't think the article is actually false. They are quoting the guy and he has not publicly denied it.

I think the NYP is framing it as a bit of a bigger deal than it really was. The Biden campaign were the ones who pushed it and released it. They published it on their campaign website. It's not super surprising that they were looking for people who would agree to sign it.

Yeah the letter (link) was PR for the Biden campaign. (It also clearly says that it is speculation, not a conclusion.) It wasn't any secret that much of the intelligence community loathed Trump. I'm not sure why Blinken instigating the letter's creation would be a scandal - although I guess I should strap in for people to pretend it is for the next 19 months.

As for the laptop, no evidence of tampering with the contents has been found. So it seems the spooks were mistaken (I doubt they knew they were incorrect at the time of its publication.) But then, it seems there's also not really anything damning in there regarding Mr. Dad President, considering the vagueness of the Greatest Hits the right wing has cited.

Anyway, I'm glad it's being investigated and that he may be held accountable for anything he may have done wrong.

Mellow Seas fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Apr 21, 2023

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:33

plogo: Jan 20, 2009

That letter was only one of several reasons why the mainstream media clamped down on the story for a couple days. Remember- it came from rudy giuliani (lol), they got a huge amount of poo poo for the emails thing in 2016 from liberals, some of the post reporters didn't sign on, other outlets were denied access to the source material initially, etc.

This is more an attempt to by partisan republicans to retroactively elevate the role of that letter at that time period.

Here is a new york times article from October 20, 2020

https://web.archive.org/web/20201022234605/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/us/politics/hunter-biden-laptop.html

The below excerpt is what it had to say about russian disinfo:

NY Times posted:

What about concerns over Russian disinformation?
No concrete evidence has emerged that the laptop contains Russian disinformation.

With pressure mounting on the F.B.I. to respond to questions from Congress about the laptop, the bureau wrote to one of the president�s staunchest allies in Congress, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, suggesting that it had not found any Russian disinformation on the laptop.

John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, also told Fox Business Network that the �laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign.� But Mr. Ratcliffe, who has been criticized for embracing the president�s political agenda in a traditionally apolitical job, did not make clear whether the intelligence agencies or the F.B.I. authenticated the laptop�s contents or whether he was simply saying that they had not gathered evidence that Russia altered any of the material.

The laptop prompted concerns about Russian disinformation because the intelligence community has warned for months about Russian attempts to influence the election, including by spreading disinformation about the Biden family. Russia has conducted a hacking campaign to find information damaging to the Biden campaign, most notably through a hack on Burisma.

Intelligence officials have also warned the White House that Russian intelligence officers were using Mr. Giuliani, who provided the hard drive copy to the tabloid, as a conduit for disinformation aimed at undermining Mr. Biden�s presidential run.

Certainty, the most partisan types were screaming about russian disinfo, but that was not the major thrust of the mainstream media at the time for holding off on the story for a couple days.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:40

Killer robot: Sep 6, 2010; I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it!; Pillbug

Madkal posted:

The laptop was on par with "but her emails" and honestly nipping it in the bud instead of letting it spread with idiots was a smart call.

Even that gives too much to the right-wing framing of events since Buttery Mails was at least about Hillary's actions (like receiving NYT excerpts in emails from private friends outside of government, granted.) The Hunter story was much more akin to the Billy Carter scandals. The hilarious part is that Peter Thiel (via the Gawker lawsuit) did more to make Hunter's dick pic leak too radioactive for the media than anyone in the Biden camp could have.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 21:41

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

I.R.S. Official Is Said to Assert Political Meddling in Hunter Biden Inquiry (NYT story that should be able to pass scrutiny):

quote:

As Justice Department officials weigh whether to indict Hunter Biden, the investigator overseeing the Internal Revenue Service�s portion of the case has come forward with allegations of political favoritism in the inquiry that stand to add to the already fraught circumstances facing the department.

Congressional leaders learned of the investigator�s allegations on Wednesday when a lawyer sent them a letter asking for whistle-blower protections for his client. The letter stated that the unnamed client, identified as an �I.R.S. criminal supervisory special agent who has been overseeing� an ongoing and sensitive case, had knowledge of an array of misconduct including political meddling, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The New York Times.

While the letter from the lawyer, Mark D. Lytle, did not name Hunter Biden, Senate and House Republicans put out statements specifying that it was referring to him. The disclosure fed claims by congressional Republicans that a Justice Department run by the president�s political appointees could not be trusted to make a decision about his son based on the facts and law.

The letter said the client had information that would contradict sworn testimony to Congress from a senior political appointee, an apparent reference to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, who has offered assurances that the U.S. attorney in Delaware, David C. Weiss, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, would be free to run the investigation.

In response, Hunter Biden�s criminal defense lawyer, Christopher Clark, fired back on Thursday, claiming that the I.R.S. supervisor broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information and called on the Justice Department to investigate the supervisor. Mr. Clark said that the only way it was known that the supervisor�s complaints could be linked to the Hunter Biden investigation would be if the supervisor or his lawyer disclosed it, either of which, he said, would have been improper.

�It is a felony for an I.R.S. agent to improperly disclose information about an ongoing tax investigation,� said Mr. Clark, of the firm Clark Smith Villazor L.L.P.

�The I.R.S. has incredible power, and abusing that power by targeting, embarrassing or disclosing information about a private citizen�s tax matters undermines Americans� faith in the federal government,� Mr. Clark continued. �Unfortunately, that is what has happened and is happening here in an attempt to harm my client. It appears this I.R.S. agent has committed a crime, and had denied my client protections that are his right.�

The Justice Department has been weighing whether to charge Hunter Biden over two separate issues. One is his failure to meet filing deadlines for his 2016 and 2017 tax returns, and questions about whether he falsely claimed at least $30,000 in deductions for business expenses.

The other is whether he lied on a U.S. government form that he filled out to purchase a handgun in 2018. On the form, he answered that he was not using drugs � an assertion that prosecutors might be able to challenge based on his erratic behavior and possible witness accounts of his drug use around that period.

Legal experts said Congress and the executive branch � mainly the Justice Department � were likely to have vastly different views about whether the disclosure that the case in question involved Hunter Biden was legally problematic.

Congress, the experts said, has often taken the position that its oversight authority allows it to hear from whomever it wants about whatever it wants. On the other hand, the Justice Department was likely to see it as a potentially illegal disclosure about a continuing investigation. If Hunter Biden is indicted, the experts said, his lawyers could move to question the supervisor about whether he disclosed details about the investigation.

In a number of televised interviews, Mr. Lytle, the lawyer for the I.R.S. supervisor, declined to confirm that Hunter Biden was the subject of the investigation. Neither Mr. Lytle nor another lawyer representing the I.R.S. supervisor, Tristan Leavitt, responded to messages seeking comment about Mr. Clark�s assertions.

In a post on Twitter, Mr. Leavitt said, �Our client has an exemplary record and is making his disclosures to Congress the right way and for the right reasons.�

In any high-profile investigation, particularly those involving politically connected individuals, there are often disputes between agents, prosecutors, supervisors and senior Justice Department officials in Washington about how to conduct the inquiry and whether to bring charges.

I.R.S. and F.B.I. agents have complained for months that they have enough evidence to bring a case against Hunter Biden but that their superiors, who have to weigh factors like whether a less prominent person would be charged with a crime in the same circumstances, have yet to make decisions. Some tax lawyers at the Justice Department are said to be skeptical that there is enough evidence to bring a tax case.

Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which has been pursuing an investigation into the Bidens� business dealings, publicly said that the letter was about Hunter Biden, although Mr. Comer did not say how he knew that.

Mr. Comer said House Republicans would work to �hold accountable anyone in the Biden administration who may be covering up this criminal activity.�

�It�s deeply concerning that the Biden administration may be obstructing justice by blocking efforts to charge Hunter Biden for tax violations,� he said.

Mr. Comer and members of his committee this week have been reviewing reports that banks are required to file to the Treasury Department on any transaction that could potentially be a red flag for money laundering, including any cash transaction of more than $10,000.

The Treasury Department notes that such reports are �preliminary and unverified tip-and-lead information� that could result in a serious investigation or prove innocuous. Justice Department investigators have also examined a wide range of Hunter Biden�s business and financial dealings around the world but do not appear to be weighing charges related to those activities.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:03

lil poopendorfer: Nov 13, 2014; by the sex ghost

Jaxyon posted:

I don't know where you're getting this from but competitive advantage is the main argument for current transphboes and TERFS.

The argument is the classic "we must protect the children" from the impending domination of female sports by AMAB athletes, that girls sports are under threat.

EDIT:

The other big argument from the phobes is "protecting the children" from parents who want to railroad them into transitioning out of excessive wokeness.

I�m getting it from the conservative people I talk to IRL, I don�t stay up on the current talking points for �transphobes and TERFs�. The issue of fair sports competition is one I�ve only seen talked about on the internet, the people i know who I would expect to care about it don�t mention it at all

Maybe your experiences are different from mine, that�s fully possible.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:07

Jaxyon: Mar 7, 2016; I’m just saying I would like to see a man beat a woman in a cage. Just to be sure.

lil poopendorfer posted:

I�m getting it from the conservative people I talk to IRL, I don�t stay up on the current talking points for �transphobes and TERFs�. The issue of fair sports competition is one I�ve only seen talked about on the internet, the people i know who I would expect to care about it don�t mention it at all

Maybe your experiences are different from mine, that�s fully possible.

All the conservatives I've encountered with strong opinions about this issue have fallen into the "fairness" argument.

Some, for sure, I guess are concerned their daughter might see a penis but they never bring up transgender boys for some reason

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:13

Mellow Seas: Oct 9, 2012; Can't post for 10 years!

Yeah I feel like the locker room argument was a lot more common a few years back. The pivot to fairness in sports suggests that it was relatively ineffective - probably because there are a shitton of places trans people can use gender appropriate facilities and it hasn't been a problem.

Maybe the fairness thing is just how liberals (among whom there is disagreement) are discussing the issue while in conservative circles they're still kinda stuck on "ew penis"?

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:22

Gumball Gumption: Jan 7, 2012

There's literally a fox news article about this exact thing published today. It's all of the grievances all of the time.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trans-woman-showered-four-wisconsin-high-school-girls-violated-their-privacy-letter-district-claims.amp

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:25

Jaxyon: Mar 7, 2016; I’m just saying I would like to see a man beat a woman in a cage. Just to be sure.

Gumball Gumption posted:

There's literally a fox news article about this exact thing published today. It's all of the grievances all of the time.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trans-woman-showered-four-wisconsin-high-school-girls-violated-their-privacy-letter-district-claims.amp

Yeah but there's also a "trans athletes are a threat to our girls" article from today.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/high-school-volleyball-player-says-suffered-concussion-being-injured-trans-athlete-calls-ban

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:37

koolkal: Oct 21, 2008; this thread maybe doesnt have room for 2 green xbox one avs

Willa Rogers posted:

I.R.S. Official Is Said to Assert Political Meddling in Hunter Biden Inquiry (NYT story that should be able to pass scrutiny):

I for one hope he gets charged for both issues because the idea of Republicans coming out against dodging taxes and buying a gun would be pretty funny.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:39

Queering Wheel: Jun 18, 2011

Jaxyon posted:

Yeah but there's also a "trans athletes are a threat to our girls" article from today.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/high-school-volleyball-player-says-suffered-concussion-being-injured-trans-athlete-calls-ban

Oh my god the clip is great :lol:

https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1648892612709953537?s=20

loving owned

Maybe stop complaining because you suck at volleyball you loving loser

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:39

XboxPants: Jan 30, 2006; Steven doesn't want me watching him sleep anymore.

Gumball Gumption posted:

There's literally a fox news article about this exact thing published today. It's all of the grievances all of the time.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trans-woman-showered-four-wisconsin-high-school-girls-violated-their-privacy-letter-district-claims.amp

Yeah if you spend time looking at terf spaces it's a common talking point/meme. I would embed a couple but they're so awful... but for the sake of backing up the argument that this is something people are still talking about, here's a couple that I found within just a couple minutes.
1 2

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:45

Gumball Gumption: Jan 7, 2012

Jaxyon posted:

Yeah but there's also a "trans athletes are a threat to our girls" article from today.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/high-school-volleyball-player-says-suffered-concussion-being-injured-trans-athlete-calls-ban

Yes, it's all the grievances all the time

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:47

Gyges: Aug 4, 2004; NOW NO ONE
RECOGNIZE HULK

Gumball Gumption posted:

There's literally a fox news article about this exact thing published today. It's all of the grievances all of the time.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trans-woman-showered-four-wisconsin-high-school-girls-violated-their-privacy-letter-district-claims.amp

People actually use the gym showers at school? I think the entire time I was in Middle and High School the only people I ever hear of showering at the school was a handful of athletes after games. Nobody had the time, let alone the inclination, to shower between classes.

Edit:

Queering Wheel posted:

Oh my god the clip is great

https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1648892612709953537?s=20

loving owned

Maybe stop complaining because you suck at volleyball you loving loser

Yes, as we all know "biological females" are physically incapable of spiking a volleyball into another player's face. A quick google search of volleyball spike in face will definitely not return any results of women's volleyball before this tragic incident.

How do you take your take your movement seriously when you insist of using terminology that makes you sound like a Ferengi?

Gyges fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Apr 21, 2023

# ? Apr 21, 2023 22:54

Jaxyon: Mar 7, 2016; I’m just saying I would like to see a man beat a woman in a cage. Just to be sure.

Gyges posted:

Yes, as we all know "biological females" are physically incapable of spiking a volleyball into another player's face. A quick google search of volleyball spike in face will definitely not return any results of women's volleyball before this tragic incident.

How do you take your take your movement seriously when you insist of using terminology that makes you sound like a Ferengi?

This reasoning has also been used against transgender boxers, as if getting hit in the face isn't already likely to cause an injury.

I say "boxer[s]" but honestly I don't think there's more than a few.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:13

Queering Wheel: Jun 18, 2011

Jaxyon posted:

This reasoning has also been used against transgender boxers, as if getting hit in the face isn't already likely to cause an injury.

I say "boxer[s]" but honestly I don't think there's more than a few.

There is actually at least one AFAB trans boxer named Patricio Manuel. He has been struggling to get people to fight him because other male boxers are cowards that don't want to risk losing to a trans man. There is a really good ESPN article about him.

https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/31662608/boxer-patricio-manuel-transgender-pioneer-looking-next-fight

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:23

Gyges: Aug 4, 2004; NOW NO ONE
RECOGNIZE HULK

Jaxyon posted:

This reasoning has also been used against transgender boxers, as if getting hit in the face isn't already likely to cause an injury.

I say "boxer[s]" but honestly I don't think there's more than a few.

It's worse in the various fighting sports because they insist on either stating or implying that the trans fighter is a hulking brute staring down at their opponent. Of all sports, fighting would have the least difference since it's divided up by weight class and there's no way to have such a disparity. All their dumb "what if a 6'5" 300lb bearded Viking decided tomorrow he was going to be a woman" horseshit is even less applicable than normal.

Unless trans athletes are gifted with magical weight cutting abilities, that lets them cut 3 times the water weight and suffer 3 times less side effects of a cut of their cis opponent.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:25

Professor Beetus: Apr 12, 2007; They can fight us
But they'll never Beetus

Gyges posted:

People actually use the gym showers at school? I think the entire time I was in Middle and High School the only people I ever hear of showering at the school was a handful of athletes after games. Nobody had the time, let alone the inclination, to shower between classes.

Edit:

Yes, as we all know "biological females" are physically incapable of spiking a volleyball into another player's face. A quick google search of volleyball spike in face will definitely not return any results of women's volleyball before this tragic incident.

How do you take your take your movement seriously when you insist of using terminology that makes you sound like a Ferengi?

I'm sorry but the Ferengi would absolutely say trans rights because trans people spend latinum as well as anyone else.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:37

Failed Imagineer: Sep 22, 2018

Professor Beetus posted:

I'm sorry but the Ferengi would absolutely say trans rights because trans people spend latinum as well as anyone else.

???

They didn't even allow females to wear clothes or work until the new Nagus shook things up. If they were willing to pass up that economic activity due to prejudice, I reckon they're gonna need a few more like Rom or Ishka before they get to trans acceptance

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:41

Kalli: Jun 2, 2001

Supreme Court issued a stay on the mifepristone ruling. Nothing happens until they rule on it. Thomas and Alito dissented.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:43

Main Paineframe: Oct 27, 2010

Professor Beetus posted:

I'm sorry but the Ferengi would absolutely say trans rights because trans people spend latinum as well as anyone else.

Much like the real-life capitalists they were meant to satirize, the Ferengi were happy to prioritize bigotry over profit. In particular, they were heavily misogynistic.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:45

Jaxyon: Mar 7, 2016; I’m just saying I would like to see a man beat a woman in a cage. Just to be sure.

Main Paineframe posted:

Much like the real-life capitalists they were meant to satirize, the Ferengi were happy to prioritize bigotry over profit. In particular, they were heavily misogynistic.

Yeah Quark's mom was making cash and he got mad

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:47

James Garfield: May 5, 2012; Am I a manipulative abuser in real life, or do I just roleplay one on the Internet for fun? You decide!

Queering Wheel posted:

Oh my god the clip is great

https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1648892612709953537?s=20

loving owned

Maybe stop complaining because you suck at volleyball you loving loser

Riley Gaines tied for 5th place with Lia Thomas and still gets to tell right wing media her championship was STOLEN because Ron Desantis proclaimed a completely different athlete (Emma Weyant, who seems not to be involved in the anti trans movement) the real champion.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:48

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 21:44

Cimber: Feb 3, 2014

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/politics/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone/index.html

quote:

The Supreme Court on Friday protected access to a widely used abortion drug by freezing lower-court rulings that placed restrictions on its usage.

As a result, the US Food and Drug Administration�s approval of the drug mifepristone and subsequent actions that made it more easily accessible will remain in place while appeals play out � potentially for months to come.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 23:48

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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