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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Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

The Biden White House has been announcing some great progressive actions today - it's exactly the kind of thing that should hopefully help remind folks why we want a Democrat in the White House in the first place.

First off, Biden unveiled plans to organize a CCC-inspired Climate Corps, run under the umbrella of the AmeriCorps program. While Republicans blocked plans to include a super-sized program with 300,000 jobs in the Inflation Reduction Act, the White House put together the funding for a smaller 20,000 job program to get the ball rolling:

quote:

The White House on Wednesday unveiled a new climate jobs training program that it says could put 20,000 people to work in its first year on projects like restoring land, improving communities' resilience to natural disasters and deploying clean energy.

The American Climate Corps is modeled after a program that put millions to work during the Great Depression. President Biden's climate policy adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters that the program has broader goals beyond addressing the climate crisis.

"We're opening up pathways to good-paying careers, lifetimes of being involved in the work of making our communities more fair, more sustainable, more resilient," Zaidi said.

The program will pay participants, and most positions will not require previous experience. The administration is also proposing new regulations aimed at making it easier for participants to enter the federal public service after the program.

The announcement has been in the works for some time
Biden first called for the government to find a way to establish a "civilian climate corps" in an executive order during his first week in office. The president said that he hoped the corps would "mobilize the next generation of conservation and resilience workers and maximize the creation of accessible training opportunities and good jobs."

The idea of a climate corps began with progressive environmental activist groups, including the youth-led Sunrise Movement.

"We need millions of people, especially young people, employed to do the essential work of averting climate catastrophe and building a fair and equitable new economy," said Varshini Prakash, the group's executive director, who has advised the White House on climate issues.

"I am thrilled to say that the White House has been responsive to our generation's demand for a Climate Corps and that President Biden acknowledges that this is just the beginning of building the climate workforce of the future," Prakash told reporters.

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/20/1200483937/biden-climate-corps-job-training

Secondly, Biden announced plans to resume distribution of free COVID test kits via the USPS, in advance of the expected wave of flu and covid cases this fall. These tests will be available beginning Sept. 25th via the USPS website: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/At-Home-COVID-19-Test-Kits

quote:

The Biden administration is preparing to resume taking orders for free at-home COVID-19 tests starting September 25, officials announced Wednesday. The administration is also planning a new infusion of money to boost domestic manufacturing of the test kits.

How to order free COVID tests

Four free tests will be available for each household to request through the government's COVIDTests.gov portal beginning on Monday, Sept. 25

Tests will be shipped through the U.S. Postal Service, and would not be directly affected by a potential government shutdown if Congress fails to pass a funding bill by the end of the month.

"We have been looking at what we've seen before in the increase in cases. We think being able to make tests available is just an important tool that we have and can make available," said Dawn O'Connell, head of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which oversees the federal stockpile of tests.

The government previously offered free test kits last winter, but shipments through the website have been on pause since May to conserve supplies of the tests.

However, officials have stressed that other free testing options have remained available to many communities through efforts like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Increasing Community Access to Testing program at retail drug stores.

"We've had these stockpiled. We'd rather folks have these tests in their medicine cabinets that they can use now, than sitting in a stockpile somewhere. So we really think it's just been an important tool, and we made an active decision to make it available now," said O'Connell.

Four free antigen tests

The four at-home tests that will be shipped are coming out of a supply that will remain usable through at least the end of the year, under expiration date extensions greenlighted by the Food and Drug Administration.

Authorities have said that COVID tests are continuing to work as well as they did with other recent variants, for the latest strains on the rise. That includes the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant that has been spotted around the world and in several U.S. states.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/free-covid-tests-how-to-order-online/

# ? Sep 20, 2023 20:42

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 25, 2024 08:42

fischtick: Jul 9, 2001; CORGO, THE DESTROYER; Fun Shoe

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Also, FYI: You can get free Covid tests again starting September 25th at https://www.covid.gov/tests

This is great but also not nearly enough. Tests at the local Rite-Aid are about $12/test, sold in 2-packs. On amazon, they're $6 a pop. I think our health care reimburses us for tests, or it used to; got a pile of receipts just in case. $24 is a lot to ask someone to shell out when that's a multiple of their hourly rate.

When someone in our family of 3 got the 'roni, they needed three negative tests to go back to work: two antigens within 48 hours and a PCR test. Meanwhile, the other two people in the house were testing every 2 days. That's a shitload of long Q-tips.

# ? Sep 20, 2023 20:43

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

Unfortunately, Republicans decided to block Biden's proposal to include an additional $22.5 billion in funding for COVID vaccination and testing efforts, and instead demanded to claw back more than $30 billion in COVID relief funding that had already been passed. If we want more funding for public health, we need to give Democrats the seats in Congress that they need to pass legislation.

# ? Sep 20, 2023 20:54

Presto: Nov 22, 2002; Keep calm and Harry on.

I appreciate that Fetterman used the term "jagoffs", which is a very Pittsburgh thing.

# ? Sep 20, 2023 21:49

cat botherer: Jan 6, 2022; I am interested in most phases of data processing.

Clive Barker, step aside:

Ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani groped her on January 6
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/20/rudy-giuliani-grope-cassidy-hutchinson-claim-january-6-trump-aide

quote:

I feel his frozen fingers trail up my thigh,� she writes. �He tilts his chin up. The whites of his eyes look jaundiced. My eyes dart to [Trump adviser] John Eastman, who flashes a leering grin.

�I fight against the tension in my muscles and recoil from Rudy�s grip �

# ? Sep 20, 2023 22:22

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

Raenir Salazar posted:

Yeah in my experience the amateur homeowner landlord has always been a massive disgrace to humanity. Incompetent, lazy, miserly, and distrustful of their own contractors in a way that makes me instinctively think it's projection (refuses to agree to suggestions because he thinks they're stealing from him).

The corporate landlord company while constantly raised the rent at least took care of poo poo promptly and without issue. My landlord drags poo poo out for up to several months and blames his contractor because he refuses to hire whoever is available to do the job but waits for a specific guy who is the cheapest to be available and this takes months.

I'm at the point I just threaten to do it myself and take compensation out of the rent to expedite things. (in my city this is legal)

We had a wonderful landlady for 15 years, we were paying about 60% of the going rate, then she passed away about 2 months ago.

Before her body reached room temperature, the heirs decided to sell the 12 or so homes she had owned (Carlsbad, CA) and told us we would have 3 months to clear out. My wife just had shoulder surgery and other issues, so I hired a lawyer to make the case that the nebulous "Ellis Act" applied to us and we should be given a year.

Well, the rising interest rates and a soft market made the homes they could sell, just sit on the market and that (plus the lawyer) ended up with "they can stay as long as they need."

VideoGameVet fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Sep 20, 2023

# ? Sep 20, 2023 22:30

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Can't post for 2 hours!

PT6A posted:

You need some landlords because some people will need to rent, always. Even if the government buys up a bunch of housing and provides rental below market, they are still an institutional landlord in practice. The real question is: how do you constrain them to make rents affordable and provide rights to tenants?

Not sure, but a decent place to start might be a regulatory property value vs rent ratio maybe? Not sure how varying property taxes and wild insurance rates might affect that but it's a start. The other thing might be to maybe clamp down on Air B&B somehow.

What I'm saying is we're hosed.

Push El Burrito posted:

Don't allow corporations to rent out homes.

Also this

World Famous W posted:

-

page 420, someone hit us with weed news

I'm about to smoke some weed and play Xbox. Film at 11.

# ? Sep 20, 2023 23:21

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

BiggerBoat posted:

Not sure, but a decent place to start might be a regulatory property value vs rent ratio maybe?

Jesus Christ, no. Holy gently caress, the only reason rents are as remotely affordable as they are right now is that landlords are often willing to go cashflow-negative based on the idea that property value will increase.

# ? Sep 20, 2023 23:43

Moktaro: Aug 3, 2007; I value call my nuts.

haveblue posted:

That's an extremely Steve Jobs story, except that Jobs would do that sort of thing to product designers and programmers and not managers of physical assets, and also he was right more often than not

Bluesky is independent (for now). Meta's twitter killer is Threads

Yeah what Jobs did was different. Musk would tell Scotty that you can in fact change the laws of physics.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 01:15

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

Moktaro posted:

Musk would tell Scotty that you can in fact change the laws of physics.

I honestly think this is what's going through his head, or something like it. It's such a common trope in pop media, the idea of the nerdy egghead telling the big, brave, smart, and sexy protagonist that something's not possible, and the protagonist telling them to do it anyway and they pull off a miracle. And sure it makes for an exciting story, but it's not how the real world works. Musk thinks that it is, he thinks that he knows better than anyone else, and he can just pull a miracle out of his rear end to solve everything and save the day.

See also the idiots that got crushed in a submarine made of cheap parts, despite everyone telling them what a terrible idea it was.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 02:06

Shooting Blanks: Jun 6, 2007; Real bullets mess up how cool this thing looks.

-Blade

Fister Roboto posted:

I honestly think this is what's going through his head, or something like it. It's such a common trope in pop media, the idea of the nerdy egghead telling the big, brave, smart, and sexy protagonist that something's not possible, and the protagonist telling them to do it anyway and they pull off a miracle. And sure it makes for an exciting story, but it's not how the real world works. Musk thinks that it is, he thinks that he knows better than anyone else, and he can just pull a miracle out of his rear end to solve everything and save the day.

See also the idiots that got crushed in a submarine made of cheap parts, despite everyone telling them what a terrible idea it was.

Musk has always been ahead of his time though! He also invented a submarine that would have killed people, except nobody ever tried to use it.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 02:14

Sephyr: Aug 28, 2012

Moktaro posted:

Yeah what Jobs did was different. Musk would tell Scotty that you can in fact change the laws of physics.

Reminds me of a movie/episode that leans on that trope.

Captain: "Ok, how long until it's fixed?"

Engineer: "Three days."

Captain: "You have 24 hours."

Engineer: "Then it will take TWO WEEKS because it's going to gently caress up and we'll be down there forever figuring out just how our desperate rushjob went wrong and possibly exploded the station!"

# ? Sep 21, 2023 02:17

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

There�s a different episode in which Scotty admits he always vastly inflates the initial estimate so when Kirk orders him to do it in 1/3 the time it�s actually feasible

# ? Sep 21, 2023 02:22

Happiness Commando: Feb 1, 2002; $$ joy at gunpoint $$

Scotty teaches Geordi that in the TNG episode Relics. And then in DS9, Sisko tells OBrien he has less time to pull something off than OBrien said it would take and OBrien lays into him and tells him that's not possible because he's a professional and he gave a good estimate.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 02:51

Trivia: Feb 8, 2006; I'm an obtuse man,
so I'll try to be oblique.

Lower Decks also brings up "buffer time" and it's importance to a well running Starfleet

# ? Sep 21, 2023 03:20

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

Shooting Blanks posted:

Musk has always been ahead of his time though! He also invented a submarine that would have killed people, except nobody ever tried to use it.

Strong "we both built shells for the Nazis, but mine worked, dammit!" energy, to be sure.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 04:19

I AM GRANDO: Aug 20, 2006

cat botherer posted:

Clive Barker, step aside:

Ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani groped her on January 6
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/20/rudy-giuliani-grope-cassidy-hutchinson-claim-january-6-trump-aide

It�s kind of wild that someone who graduated high school in 2016 could be basically working for the president by 2020. The right-wing machine really hustles people through. Partially because it�s full of monsters who abuse and rape and need a supply of fresh victims, but it�s still pretty wild how far you can move if you just swear loyalty to them.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 05:07

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

I AM GRANDO posted:

It�s kind of wild that someone who graduated high school in 2016 could be basically working for the president by 2020. The right-wing machine really hustles people through. Partially because it�s full of monsters who abuse and rape and need a supply of fresh victims, but it�s still pretty wild how far you can move if you just swear loyalty to them.

Looks play a role in that world too.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 06:05

PhazonLink: Jul 17, 2010

regressive have their own pipeline for peons. like Bible U's to regressive thinktanks/orgs.

like even during the Obama prez years, there was a soft blacklist for Bible U grads or regressive org interns.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 07:06

AlternateNu: May 5, 2005; ドーナツダメ！

PhazonLink posted:

regressive have their own pipeline for peons. like Bible U's to regressive thinktanks/orgs.

like even during the Obama prez years, there was a soft blacklist for Bible U grads or regressive org interns.

Are you implying there isn�t one now? Because I would imagine Biden and his staff would be even more antagonistic towards the whole regressive qualification pipeline.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 12:45

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Can't post for 2 hours!

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/20/politics/takeaways-merrick-garland-hunter-biden-hearing-impeachment/index.html

Takeaways from the combative House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General Merrick Garland

quote:

House Republicans and Attorney General Merrick Garland clashed Wednesday at a testy hearing that offered a preview of the coming Republican impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden focused on allegations surrounding his son, Hunter Biden.

Judiciary Committee Republicans peppered Garland with questions about the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden, charging that Garland and the special counsel investigating the case, David Weiss, were doing the bidding of the Bidens by offering Hunter Biden a plea deal that fell apart amid scrutiny from a judge.

Garland forcefully pushed back against the criticisms, saying he did not interfere in the investigation and that Weiss was given all the resources he asked for in the probe. He repeatedly declined to engage on specifics of the probe, however, frustrating the Republicans.

He also didn�t engage in GOP attacks against special counsel Jack Smith�s investigations into former President Donald Trump.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 12:56

Cranappleberry: Jan 27, 2009

Happiness Commando posted:

Scotty teaches Geordi that in the TNG episode Relics. And then in DS9, Sisko tells OBrien he has less time to pull something off than OBrien said it would take and OBrien lays into him and tells him that's not possible because he's a professional and he gave a good estimate.

I wouldn't want to be caught out without a second backup.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 13:24

Gort: Aug 18, 2003; Good day what ho cup of tea

haveblue posted:

There�s a different episode in which Scotty admits he always vastly inflates the initial estimate so when Kirk orders him to do it in 1/3 the time it�s actually feasible

You wonder how many dumbasses like Elon Musk use poo poo like that episode to come to the conclusion they can just demand the impossible because engineers always overestimate what's required

# ? Sep 21, 2023 14:27

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

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The House Impeachment Leaders just announced that the first impeachment hearing is scheduled for exactly one week from now - September 28th.

- It will focus on "constitutional and legal questions" regarding Hunter Biden.

Specifically, on whether Joe Biden was indirectly taking bribes from China, Russia, and Kazakhstan through Hunter's work and what official acts were promised or done in exchange for the bribes.

The only specific allegation they are going to discuss is the long-debunked claim that Biden had the original Ukrainian national prosecutor (who was NOT prosecuting Burisma and was clouded in corruption scandals) to protect Hunter and Burisma. Joe Biden is a savvy operator who managed to go back in time to convince the Bush administration, all of the E.U., and the President of Ukraine that this was a good idea. But, he is apparently very bad at executing his plans, because as soon as they replaced him with the new prosecutor backed by the Ukrainian President, E.U., U.N., and U.S., that prosecutor started investigating Burisma.

They are also subpoenaing Hunter Biden and James Biden's bank records to look for more evidence of something.

https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-oversight-republicans-impeachment-6f454b9ea2d38468a848c495bda0b5bf

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Sep 21, 2023

# ? Sep 21, 2023 14:30

I AM GRANDO: Aug 20, 2006

Happiness Commando posted:

Scotty teaches Geordi that in the TNG episode Relics. And then in DS9, Sisko tells OBrien he has less time to pull something off than OBrien said it would take and OBrien lays into him and tells him that's not possible because he's a professional and he gave a good estimate.

Everyone in the original series is just kind of improvising everything and loving around, while every role in tng is completely professionalized and everyone is very serious about following the rules. One of the fun bits of that episode is that Geordie is annoyed that a senior engineer on an important ship would be so lax and indifferent to the rules and is offended that he would assume Geordie is the same way.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 14:43

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

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Menendez dodged prison once thanks to the Supreme Court.

He's under investigation by the DOJ again. This time it is over... hamburgers and a reference call.

https://twitter.com/Tom_Winter/status/1704642555722256787

The reference call might have never happened and the person who was close to Menendez was recused from the case as well, so he is probably clear there unless there is some tape of him saying something sinister somewhere.

quote:

Sources familiar with the matter say federal prosecutors have been asking if Menendez offered to help support Daibes with his criminal case by contacting Justice Department officials about the case. If the senator did offer to act in exchange for expensive gifts, legal experts say that could be a crime.

"For purposes of the Federal Extortion Act, it makes no difference if the senator took an official act so long as he accepted the money and there was knowledge the money was in exchange for that official influence, even if he never carried out what he had promised he would do," NBC Legal Analyst Danny Cevallos said.

Menendez disclosed his family received the gold bars back in 2020 -- but he disclosed that asset only after the federal criminal investigation was underway.

Daibes faced more than a dozen counts of bank fraud for lying about a $1.8 million loan from Mariner's Bank where he served as chairman.

Last year, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to let Daibes plead guilty to one count and serve probation, saying the fraudulent loan was paid back and Daibes had no criminal past.

Sources told News 4 there is no indication U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger or his office were ever contacted by the senator -- but the two men had been close, with Sellinger appointed to the position with the senator's support, and Sellinger previously serving as a campaign fundraiser for Menendez.

The meat situation has more direct evidence, but could also be a coincidence or something that is suspicious, but doesn't count as bribery under current law.

quote:

officials are also looking into whether Menendez or his now wife improperly took gifts, including use of a Mercedes and a luxury D.C. apartment from the owners of a New Jersey business. That business, IS EG Halal, won an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to perform all Halal meat inspection for the county, even though the firm had no prior experience.

Investigators want to know if Menendez used his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees billions in aid to Egypt, to help that New Jersey firm get the contract in exchange for gifts.

quote:

Did Sen. Bob Menendez and wife improperly take gold bars from corrupt bank exec?

Federal prosecutors are looking into whether an admitted felon helped arrange to give gold bars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez or his wife in exchange for help, sources familiar with the matter tell News 4.

Investigators want to know if Menendez, a Democrat, offered to contact the Justice Department to try to help that man who was accused of banking crimes. Those questions are now before a federal grand jury in Manhattan that is considering whether to hand up corruption charges against the senior senator from New Jersey.

Sources say witnesses are now testifying before that federal grand jury. Part of the investigation centers on the senator's ties to Fred Daibes, a New Jersey developer and one-time bank chairman. Officials with the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation want to know if Daibes or his associates gave gold bars to the senator's wife, Nadine Arslanian -- gold bars worth as much as $400,000.

At the time of the gift handoff, Daibes was facing federal bank fraud charges that could have landed him up to a decade in federal prison.

Sources familiar with the matter say federal prosecutors have been asking if Menendez offered to help support Daibes with his criminal case by contacting Justice Department officials about the case. If the senator did offer to act in exchange for expensive gifts, legal experts say that could be a crime.

"For purposes of the Federal Extortion Act, it makes no difference if the senator took an official act so long as he accepted the money and there was knowledge the money was in exchange for that official influence, even if he never carried out what he had promised he would do," NBC Legal Analyst Danny Cevallos said.

Menendez disclosed his family received the gold bars back in 2020 -- but he disclosed that asset only after the federal criminal investigation was underway.

Daibes faced more than a dozen counts of bank fraud for lying about a $1.8 million loan from Mariner's Bank where he served as chairman.

Last year, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to let Daibes plead guilty to one count and serve probation, saying the fraudulent loan was paid back and Daibes had no criminal past.

Sources told News 4 there is no indication U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger or his office were ever contacted by the senator -- but the two men had been close, with Sellinger appointed to the position with the senator's support, and Sellinger previously serving as a campaign fundraiser for Menendez.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office said, "U.S. Attorney Sellinger was recused from the Daibes matter and all activity by the office related to that matter was handled appropriately, according to the principles of federal prosecution."

Federal Judge Susan Wigeton has delayed the bank fraud sentencing for Daibes three times in the last year. Daibes' lawyer has issued denials that he is cooperating against Menendez.

"Of course the government would much rather have a cooperator take the stand raise their right hand and point at the defendant in the courtroom," Cevallos said.

The Democratic senator's spokespeople and his attorney did not respond to phone and email requests for comment. Attorneys for Daibes also declined to comment.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who is leading the investigation, declined to take questions about the investigation during an unrelated news conference on Tuesday. His spokesperson Nick Biase also declined to comment.

Spokespeople for the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation also declined comment.

The issue of whether Menendez improperly accepted gold bars is just one part of the investigation.

As News 4 first reported, officials are also looking into whether Menendez or his now wife improperly took gifts, including use of a Mercedes and a luxury D.C. apartment from the owners of a New Jersey business. That business, IS EG Halal, won an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to perform all Halal meat inspection for the county, even though the firm had no prior experience.

Investigators want to know if Menendez used his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees billions in aid to Egypt, to help that New Jersey firm get the contract in exchange for gifts.

A spokesperson for IS EG Halal has issued a denial of ever giving the senator any gifts and said they won the Egyptian contact on their merits.

Menendez previously denied any wrongdoing back in May: "I'm sure it's going to end up in absolutely nothing."

# ? Sep 21, 2023 14:57

Sarcastro: Dec 28, 2000; Elite member of the Grammar Nazi Squad that

Fister Roboto posted:

I honestly think this is what's going through his head, or something like it. It's such a common trope in pop media, the idea of the nerdy egghead telling the big, brave, smart, and sexy protagonist that something's not possible, and the protagonist telling them to do it anyway and they pull off a miracle.

He's "The Core" personified.

Expert: "[specific thing] isn't possible!!!"
Other guy: "What if it was?"

(edit: "If the senator did offer to act in exchange for expensive gifts, legal experts say that could be a crime." Uh, yeah. Thanks for that incredible insight, legal experts.)

# ? Sep 21, 2023 14:59

plogo: Jan 20, 2009

The guy that kept Menendez out of prison, Abbe Lowell, is Hunter Biden' s lawyer now.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:10

selec: Sep 6, 2003

plogo posted:

The guy that kept Menendez out of prison, Abbe Lowell, is Hunter Biden' s lawyer now.

When you need a fixer, you go for somebody who fixes.

Smartest move the GOP has made is to say they�re going to look at the bank accounts. Follow the money, that�s where the good stuff is.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:13

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

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from News Corp.

His son Lachlan will be the sole chairman of all Fox News and News Corp properties.

https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1704843344457658436

plogo posted:

The guy that kept Menendez out of prison, Abbe Lowell, is Hunter Biden' s lawyer now.

Bob McDonnell was the guy who kept Menendez out of prison.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:15

aBagorn: Aug 26, 2004

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from News Corp.

His son Lachlan will be the sole chairman of all Fox News and News Corp properties.

So is Lachlan more of a Kendall or a Roman

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:21

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

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

aBagorn posted:

So is Lachlan more of a Kendall or a Roman

He's 100% a Kendall.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:25

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

It�s insane that Rupert ran Fox until he was 92! years old. What is with these psycho billionaires who don�t want to retire?

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:41

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from News Corp.

His son Lachlan will be the sole chairman of all Fox News and News Corp properties.

https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1704843344457658436

Bob McDonnell was the guy who kept Menendez out of prison.

I've seen this television show, he's still gonna be pulling strings.

FlamingLiberal posted:

It�s insane that Rupert ran Fox until he was 92! years old. What is with these psycho billionaires who don�t want to retire?

Kind of one of the conditions of being the type of person who can obtain and keep billions of dollars rather than merely inherit or steal it is that they are sociopathic workaholics.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:43

Lumpy: Apr 26, 2002; La! La! La! Laaaa!; College Slice

aBagorn posted:

So is Lachlan more of a Kendall or a Roman

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

He's 100% a Kendall.

Because I am an old person ( :corsair:

) what does this mean?

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:45

nerox: May 20, 2001

Lumpy posted:

Because I am an old person () what does this mean?

Characters from Succession, the TV show.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:48

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

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Lumpy posted:

Because I am an old person () what does this mean?

nerox posted:

Characters from Succession, the TV show.

Kendall is the character who has been groomed to be his father's replacement at the company since he was 7, but the dad keeps pushing back his retirement and denying it to him. Kendall simultaneously is in awe of his dad's ruthlessness and wants to be like him, but also resents his ruthlessness and lack of care shown to him.

He wants the outside world to see a moderate, in-control, and savvy tycoon who is learning from the best, but he is a wreck inside and never sure what to really do once he gets control. He tries to force his dad out a few times, but keeps failing and then his dad stays longer and gets meaner out of spite.

It's like 95% a biography of Lachlan except that Rupert apparently likes Lachlan more than his other kids.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:54

Eric Cantonese: Dec 21, 2004; You should hear my accent.

Lumpy posted:

Because I am an old person () what does this mean?

nerox posted:

Characters from Succession, the TV show.

I don't know who the characters are either, but Lachlan is apparently the son who is a true believer (ideologically). He used to be the misfit, but Rupert took a better liking to him while former-favorite son James ended up becoming more of a Clintonian Democrat. James quit the family business back in 2020.

James was the more behaved and conventionally successful son growing up. Lachlan used to be the black sheep.

Think of Jeb versus George W.

Here's an older article going into the family dynamics a bit.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/03/magazine/james-murdoch-lachlan-succession.html

# ? Sep 21, 2023 15:54

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

FlamingLiberal posted:

It�s insane that Rupert ran Fox until he was 92! years old. What is with these psycho billionaires who don�t want to retire?

I mean it doesn't exactly take much effort to "work" as that sort of CEO. You put in your five hour work week by ordering people around and collecting your obscene check, then wander back to the country club.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 16:04

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# ? May 25, 2024 08:42

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

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The U.S. Court of Appeals has suspended a federal judge after nearly a year of erratic behavior and assumed mental decline. Judge Pauline Newman is 96 and refused to step down or take a reduced workload.

For the last year, she famously grew paranoid that people were hacking her computer when she couldn't find files, asked to speak with a judge who had been dead for over a decade, and became unpredictably irritable and angry over tiny things. She refused to step down or take a reduced workload when the court tried to get her to slow down. She also refused to take any medical or mental health screening.

The judge is still planning to fight the suspension and attempt to return to her duties. She wants to reform rules that allow judges at the same court to have the power to determine whether they can suspend another judge because it is not a neutral party.

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1704850701782847626

quote:

U.S. appeals judge, 96, suspended in rare clash over fitness

WASHINGTON � The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday suspended Judge Pauline Newman from hearing new cases amid a deepening clash over the 96-year-old jurist�s mental competence to serve on the bench.

A council of judges on the Washington, D.C., court unanimously said Newman had failed to cooperate with an investigation into her fitness and barred her from hearing new cases for at least one year or until she sits for court-ordered medical examinations.

�We are acutely aware that this is not a fitting capstone to Judge Newman�s exemplary and storied career,� the council said, but added it had no choice when �a judge of this Court is no longer capable of performing the duties of her judicial office.�

Such a public and contentious internal dispute over competency is highly unusual in the federal judiciary. Newman has defended her fitness, citing the opinions of two doctors, and filed a lawsuit in a separate Washington court seeking to move or halt the investigation.

Newman�s attorney Greg Dolin said the council was �ignoring data or information or opinions that are inconsistent with its predetermined goals and outcomes,� and that the judge would challenge the order and continue to press her claims in court.

A representative for the Federal Circuit declined to comment.

Newman, a highly-respected figure in patent law and a prominent dissenter, was appointed to the patent-focused Federal Circuit by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and is the oldest active U.S. federal judge.

Her case raises sensitive questions about America�s aging federal judiciary, whose members are appointed to the bench for life and can be impeached but not forced to retire.

The average age of federal judges recently reached a record high of 69, according to a 2020 study in the Ohio State Law Journal by Francis Shen of Harvard Medical School.

The Federal Circuit�s chief judge, Kimberly Moore, said in orders made public in April that Newman showed signs of cognitive and physical impairment and accused her of refusing to cooperate with inquiries into her mental health.

Court employees also described �memory loss, confusion, paranoia and angry rants� by Newman, according to documents released in August.

Newman�s attorneys have long argued that Newman�s own court should not preside over the competency probe. They said in a filing made public on Wednesday that the committee investigating her fitness was �interested in one thing and one thing only � keeping Judge Newman off the bench via the exercise of raw power.�

U.S. Circuit Judge Edith Jones, a friend of Newman�s on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, called the Federal Circuit tribunal �inherently biased� and said she hoped the �responsible parties in the Judicial Conference,� the judiciary�s national policymaking body, would intervene.

# ? Sep 21, 2023 16:08

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

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