- ComradeCosmobot
- Dec 4, 2004
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USPOL July
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The USPOL thread! Freshly refurbished for your argumentative needs!
And boy howdy is there plenty to argue about, what with everything that’s happening from the craziness that the Republican 2016 race is shaping up to look like (only the top ten make it to Fox News!), troubles with PATRIOT Act renewals, and the specter that is haunting America, the specter of welfare and human services… Thanks to Stoltus Maximus for the thread title.
114th Congress Bingo Card
Every month it's worth taking a look at what the 114th Congress is up to because there is always more and it is always worse.
- Obamacare: In Congress, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has finally done something useful, by proposing a Republican wishlist to replace Obamacare (as expected, the plan includes killing the individual mandate, allowing people to buy insurance across state lines, repealing minimum coverage provisions, but, kindly, extending subsidies until
a Republican is elected Obama leaves office. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has a similar plan. Also, following last month’s attempt to force Florida to expand Medicaid because of the end of the Low Income Pool program Florida had been using to fund it, Florida, Kansas and Texas have all sued the Obama administration to force them to continue the LIP program rather than expand Medicaid. Texas has also decided to give Obamacare beneficiaries a scarlet letter. Meanwhile, while we wait for the Supreme Court to (quite possibly) kill subsidies on the federal exchanges, several insurers on the exchanges have asked to jack up premiums by as much as 50% next year.
- Banking and Finance: Sen. Richard Shelby (R) has introduced legislation to exempt banks with less than $10 billion in assets from the Volcker rule, and would give the Executive Branch (led by a future Republican president, of course) the right to exercise discretion and selectively exempt firms with between $50 billion and $500 billion in assets from “systemically important” status. (Only JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank would be unable to seek an exemption under this rule. The next biggest, U.S. Bank, has only $400 billion in assets.)
- Budget and Appropriations: Not much exciting going on yet. The first appropriations bills are starting to work their way through the pipeline, including bills for the Commerce, Justice and Science departments (cutting, among other things, funding for NASA to do Earth Science… More on that later), Transportation and Housing (cutting Amtrak funding), and Defense spending (using the Overseas Contingency Operations budget to work around the sequester to boost that, of course). The real fun should begin in the summer.
- Trade: After the Senate passed Fast-Track provisions on TPP, the battle has moved to the House. Meanwhile, The Guardian recently looked into which corporations may have bought passage of TPP fast track.
- Cybersecurity and Telecommunications: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has announced that the House is looking into defunding all activity that seeks to enforce the FCC’s new net neutrality regulations. ISPs, for their part, are claiming they have a First Amendment right to control speech on their networks. There hasn’t been much movement on cybersecurity bills in Congress, on the other hand, but the Obama administration has begun looking into making the “export” of software vulnerabilities illegal under the Wassenaar Arrangement (treating them like bombs, chemical and biological agents, and nuclear power equipment.
- Gun Control: Pressure is building to make the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act law. And in addition to Kansas and South Carolina, mentioned last month, Maine is now moving forward with permitting permit-less concealed carry as well, while Texas passed open carry (while still letting police harass
African Americans suspicious individuals about carrying openly)
- Environment: The Union of Concerned Scientists and a former White House Science advisor have come out in opposition to the House’s bills seeking to hamstring the use of science in pushing forward regulations. Meanwhile, the EPA continues to be on a roll, proposing pesticide-free zones to help protect honeybee populations expanding the applicability of the Clean Water Act and the agency is expected to propose regulations on greenhouse emissions from long-haul trucks this week. Don’t worry though, The House is moving forward with bills to let states opt out of abiding by greenhouse gas regulations on power plants until all lawsuits have been resolved, and has been pushing back on the new water regulations as well.
- Immigration: Unsurprisingly, the Fifth Circuit panel (featuring two Republican appointees) refused to lift the stay on Obama’s executive amnesty. The Obama administration has decided to not fight the stay, but instead fight on the merits. Unfortunately, this means that executive amnesty will probably not be able to be put into place until right before Obama leaves office (since Obama’s best chance is at SCOTUS), making it a dead letter regulation, as Republicans have wanted.
- War on Terror: Boehner has demanded that Obama send a new, open-ended AUMF for tackling ISIS.
- The Torture Report and the NSA: After passing the House, the Senate voted against the USA Freedom Act, failing by two votes. It then proceeded to vote against McConnell’s blanket extension as well, with Rand Paul blocking unanimous consent to amend to even a one-day extension of the PATRIOT Act. In the end, McConnell caved and decided to move on the USA Freedom Act again at the last minute, though not early enough to technically end those provisions for a few days. This comes as the FBI once again reminds everyone that the snooping provisions in the PATRIOT Act haven’t actually been useful.
- Foreign Policy: Talks have resumed on the Iran deal, after the Senate overwhelming passed its Iran deal review bill earlier in the month.
- Abortion: The House finally moved on its 20-week abortion ban bill after “lightening up” restrictions on rape victims. Now they only have to contact a doctor other than an abortion doctor and then wait 48 hours before they are exempt. There is also some speculation that SCOTUS may take up the issue of abortion again, even though recent cases like a review of Idaho’s 20-week ban and Arkansas’s 12-week ban have generally come down on the side of abortion rights. Meanwhile, in lighter news, Planned Parenthood has requested that Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) reflect for 24 hours before signing the Floridian bill to require mothers to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion.
- Pee-pee doo-doo Obama is a bad president: Remember that lawsuit filed by the house? Well, the (Republican) judge sure sounded skeptical of Obama’s attempts to dismiss the lawsuit out of hand, preferring instead to hear the facts, even during the dismissal hearing.
Other News, featuring the Clinton Corner
This month, the Clinton Corner has been focusing very strongly on the Clinton Foundation story all month (including the fact that George Stephanopoulos donated to her, so how can he be impartial!), but rest assured that that’s not the only thing weighing on Clinton! Perhaps we should instead look at how Bill Clinton had a shell corporation to handle payments for consulting work so that his speeches were not subject to personal disclosure requirements. While this was perfectly legal, it certainly skirts the intent of the law, so this obviously means you should definitely not vote for Hillary!
As for other news…
- Yet more presidential contenders to list: Lincoln Chafee and Martin O’Malley have announced on the Democratic side, and Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, George Pataki, and Mike Huckabee all announced on the Republican side. Lindsay Graham and Rick Perry are expected to announce early in the month as well. While discussions about such news in the USPol thread is inevitable, please remember that we do have a 2016 Presidential Primary thread and a 2016 Senate elections thread, too.
- Lots of fun from the SCOTUS has been queued up for next term, including re-evaluating one-person-one-vote and potentially re-legalizing striking black people from juries.
- In a surprising move, Nebraska’s legislature has overridden vetos on the death penality, giving driver’s licenses to individuals on DACA, and a gas tax hike.
- The six police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray were indicted.
- On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal suggests that maybe Black Lives Don’t Matter. After all, Michael Brelo was acquitted of shooting Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams in 2012 and is now suing Cleveland citing racial discrimination in how white-cop-on-black-victim cases are handled.
- Following an okay jobs report at the beginning of the month, the government revised its Q1 GDP estimates to an annualized drop of 0.7% (one of the largest in recent history) which has some people starting to ask questions.
- Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was given the death sentence for his role in the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. He will be officially sentenced later this month.
- The IMF came out with a pair of interesting reports recently, including one which suggests that Wall Street costs the US 2% of GDP growth each year and another which calculated the cost of carbon subsidies (including externalities like pollution) at $5.3 trillion a year.
- The US has finally done something useful in its role as the World’s Policeman, by indicting 14 people involved with corruption at FIFA.
- Arizona has moved to place a lifetime cap on welfare benefits of 12 months.
- A bunch of terrorists shot up an Muhammed cartoon contest so a bunch of bikers decided to do another one in Phoenix.
- Looks like the FBI has been making errors in their DNA tests over the past 15 years. Whoops.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has decided to send the Texas State Guard to monitor a US military training exercise this summer following concerns from conspiracy theorist constituents.
- Impeach
Rahm Emanuel Fried Chicken‽‽
Talk to other goons (why would you want to do that?)
Remember that we have an IRC channel at synirc in #poligoon for livesteaming stuff.
Goon Recommendations
Documentaries
Talks
Long pieces
Books
Twitter feeds
- @costareports (Robert Costa, Washington Post, formerly National Review): Conservative-leaning journalist to whom Republican sources often leak backroom stories (Republican retreats, Presidential campaigns, etc.)
- @daveweigel (Dave Weigel, Bloomberg Politics, formerly Slate): "Idiosyncratic libertarian" journalist who is second only to Robert Costa in connections/interviews with Republican officials. Contrary to popular belief, not D&D superstar Joementum.
- @BruceBartlett (Bruce Bartlett, ex-Reagan/Bush official): "Lifelong conservative who now thinks the GOP panders to fools, whom he calls wankers. My tweets should not always be taken seriously."
- The following are semi-random selections from a list offered by Rygar201 and may be good or bad.
- @owillis (Olivier Willis, research fellow, Media Matters)
- @mattyglesias (Matt Yglesias, executive editor, Vox)
- @JuddLegum (Judd Legum, Editor-in-Chief, Think Progress)
- @dick_nixon "37th President of the United States. Messages from the President are unsigned, others from Ronald Ziegler. "
- @EricBoehlert (Eric Boehlert, Media Matters)
- @JamilSmith (Jamil Smith, senior editor, The New Republic)
- @jonathanchait (Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine)
- @nielslesniewski (Neils Lesniewski, Senate coverage, Roll Call)
- @abwhite7 (Abraham White, former comms for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY))
- @DSenFloor (Senate D Floor Watch): "Live floor updates from the Senate Democrats"
- @billmon1 (Billmon)
- @ebruenig (Elizabeth Bruenig, The New Republic)
Related threads
"US Politics" is an incredibly broad topic, as A) the country is freaking huge and B) given our role in international events pretty much everything impacts us. So there are other subthreads
2016 Presidential Primary
2016 US Senate Elections
SCOTUS thread
Right Wing Media
There are also regional subthreads that are usually pretty slow, but sometimes cross-pollinate with this thread when something important is happening.
Pacific Northwest
Illinois
Texas
California
There was a South thread, too, but it's been dead since last July.
Lifted the rest of the above from FriedChicken. As before post suggestions for adding to the above and I'll edit them in if I see them.
And remember folks, drink chat goes in D&D chat thread. Drink responsibly. Your liver will thank you.
ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Jun 22, 2015
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Jun 1, 2015 08:00
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 5, 2024 18:59
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- Filthy Hans
- Jun 27, 2008
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by Fluffdaddy(and can't post for 10 years!)
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great OP, might want to add the FIFA prosecution in there
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Jun 1, 2015 08:12
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- Aurubin
- Mar 17, 2011
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And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Sanders, and Socialism followed him.
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Jun 1, 2015 08:15
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- ComradeCosmobot
- Dec 4, 2004
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USPOL July
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great OP, might want to add the FIFA prosecution in there
Already ahead of you on that one:
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Jun 1, 2015 08:15
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- Filthy Hans
- Jun 27, 2008
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by Fluffdaddy(and can't post for 10 years!)
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Already ahead of you on that one:
Time for me to quote Rick Perry again: "oops"
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Jun 1, 2015 08:19
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- Bob James
- Nov 15, 2005
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by Lowtax
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Ultra Carp
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ym0EY849Y4
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Jun 1, 2015 08:24
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- Grouchio
- Aug 31, 2014
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Is Net Neutrality still holding up with it's recent legislation?
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Jun 1, 2015 08:25
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- ComradeCosmobot
- Dec 4, 2004
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USPOL July
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Is Net Neutrality still holding up with it's recent legislation?
Most of the action happened the month before last. At least seven lawsuits have been filed (it came out last month that AT&T in particular plans on using First Amendment grounds to defend its right to control traffic (i.e. speech) on its network), and as noted in the OP, the House is currently investigating defunding all enforcement efforts to enact de-facto repeal of the policy.
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Jun 1, 2015 08:27
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- staticman
- Sep 12, 2008
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Be gay
Death to America
Suck my dick Israel
Mess with Texas
and remember to lmao
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Shameless repost, but some more of John McCain's shenanigans. In this episode, McCain sells Apache land to a Rio Tinto affiliate like it's the goddamn loving 19th century. This was done by sneaking in a provision to the NDAA last minute.
quote:Tucson
ABOUT an hour east of Phoenix, near a mining town called Superior, men, women and children of the San Carlos Apache tribe have been camped out at a place called Oak Flat for more than three months, protesting the latest assault on their culture.
Three hundred people, mostly Apache, marched 44 miles from tribal headquarters to begin this occupation on Feb. 9. The campground lies at the core of an ancient Apache holy place, where coming-of-age ceremonies, especially for girls, have been performed for many generations, along with traditional acorn gathering. It belongs to the public, under the multiple-use mandate of the Forest Service, and has had special protections since 1955, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower decreed the area closed to mining — which, like cattle grazing, is otherwise common in national forests — because of its cultural and natural value. President Richard M. Nixon’s Interior Department in 1971 renewed this ban.
Despite these protections, in December 2014, Congress promised to hand the title for Oak Flat over to a private, Australian-British mining concern. A fine-print rider trading away the Indian holy land was added at the last minute to the must-pass military spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. By doing this, Congress has handed over a sacred Native American site to a foreign-owned company for what may be the first time in our nation’s history.
The Apache are occupying Oak Flat to protest this action — to them, a sacrilegious and craven sell-off of a place “where Apaches go to pray,” in the words of the San Carlos Apache tribal chairman, Terry Rambler. The site will doubtless be destroyed for any purpose other than mining; Resolution Copper Mining will hollow out a vast chamber that, when it caves in, will leave a two-mile-wide, 1,000-foot-deep pit. The company itself has likened the result of its planned mining at Oak Flat to that of a nearby meteor crater.
The land grab was sneakily anti-democratic even by congressional standards. For more than a decade, the parcel containing Oak Flat has been coveted by Rio Tinto, Resolution’s parent company — which already mines on its own private land in the surrounding area — for the high-value ores beneath it.
The swap — which will trade 5,300 acres of private parcels owned by the company to the Forest Service and give 2,400 acres including Oak Flat to Resolution so that it can mine the land without oversight — had been attempted multiple times by Arizona members of Congress on behalf of the company. (Among those involved was Rick Renzi, a former Republican representative who was sent to federal prison in February for three years for corruption related to earlier versions of the land-transfer deal.) It always failed in Congress because of lack of support. But this time was different. This time, the giveaway language was slipped onto the defense bill by Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona at the 11th hour. The tactic was successful only because, like most last-minute riders, it bypassed public scrutiny.
It’s worth noting that Rio Tinto affiliates have been McCain campaign contributors, and that Mr. Flake, before he made it to Congress, was a paid lobbyist for Rio Tinto Rössing Uranium (a huge uranium mine in Namibia). Mr. McCain and others assert that the mining project will be a boost to the local economy, though it’s unclear how many of the 1,400 promised jobs would be local; a Superior-area miners’ group, in fact, opposes the swap on the basis that it won’t help the local people or economy. Rio Tinto, incidentally, has been called out in the past for environmental devastation.
“Why is this place sacred?” said Wendsler Nosie Sr., a former chairman of the San Carlos Apache, in a recent interview with Cronkite News. “No difference to Mount Sinai. How the holy spirit came to be.” If you don’t want to take his word for it, the archaeological record at Oak Flat contains abundant evidence that the Apache have been here “since well before recorded history,” according to congressional testimony by the Society for American Archaeology.
If Oak Flat were a Christian holy site, or for that matter Jewish or Muslim, no senator who wished to remain in office would dare to sneak a backdoor deal for its destruction into a spending bill — no matter what mining-company profits or jobs might result. But this is Indian religion. Clearly the Arizona congressional delegation isn’t afraid of a couple of million conquered natives.
The truth is that for Mr. McCain, Mr. Flake and others who would allow this precious public land to be destroyed, it’s not only the Indians who are invisible. The rest of us are also ghosts, remnants of a quaint idea of democracy.
Oak Flat may still be saved, albeit with difficulty, since the bill’s language stipulates quite simply that 60 days after the federal “environmental impact statement” is complete, the land will belong to Resolution — in other words, that the swap will occur no matter what the environmental study says. But, like all laws and pieces of laws, it can be reversed by new legislative language.
The deal is an impressive new low in congressional corruption, unworthy of our country’s ideals no matter what side of the aisle you’re on. It’s exactly the kind of cynical maneuvering that has taught the electorate to disrespect politicians — a disdain for government that hurts everyone. If ever there was a time for Congress to prove its moral mettle to the public, this is that time. The rider should be repealed.
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Jun 1, 2015 08:50
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- radical meme
- Apr 17, 2009
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by Fluffdaddy
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Holy loving poo poo; queer eye for the straight guy needs to do a makeover on Rand.
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Jun 1, 2015 09:22
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- SnakePlissken
- Dec 31, 2009
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by zen death robot
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I like this one. Nice OP. Impeach Comrade Cosmonaut!
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Jun 1, 2015 11:16
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- Sir Tonk
- Apr 18, 2006
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Young Orc
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Yeah but think of all the jobs they create!
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Jun 1, 2015 13:33
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- Gin and Juche
- Apr 3, 2008
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The Highest Judge of Paradise
Shiki Eiki
YAMAXANADU
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Speaking of Bundy, it's pretty disappointing that the FBI hasn't arrested him by now
Is he still holed out in his compound or has everybody just lost interest?
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Jun 1, 2015 14:33
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- Sir Tonk
- Apr 18, 2006
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Young Orc
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Is he still holed out in his compound or has everybody just lost interest?
Both.
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Jun 1, 2015 14:53
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- Joementum
- May 23, 2004
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jesus christ
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Quote of the morning, "Well, the successes clearly are protecting the homeland." ~ Jeb Bush, on his brother's accomplishments as President.
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Jun 1, 2015 15:13
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- sexpig by night
- Sep 8, 2011
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by Azathoth
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Quote of the morning, "Well, the successes clearly are protecting the homeland." ~ Jeb Bush, on his brother's accomplishments as President.
Look every president gets one mulligan
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Jun 1, 2015 15:16
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- Gin and Juche
- Apr 3, 2008
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The Highest Judge of Paradise
Shiki Eiki
YAMAXANADU
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Quote of the morning, "Well, the successes clearly are protecting the homeland." ~ Jeb Bush, on his brother's accomplishments as President.
You missed the best part.
quote:"Because of the war and because of the focus on protecting the homeland, I think he let the Republican Congress get a little out of control in terms of the spending," Bush said.
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Jun 1, 2015 15:16
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- BI NOW GAY LATER
- Jan 17, 2008
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So people stop asking, the "Bi" in my username is a reference to my love for the two greatest collegiate sports programs in the world, the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Marshall Thundering Herd.
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Quote of the morning, "Well, the successes clearly are protecting the homeland." ~ Jeb Bush, on his brother's accomplishments as President.
I really want Jeb to win so the 2016 election can just be the re-litigation of the Bush presidenc(ies)y
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Jun 1, 2015 15:25
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- Zeroisanumber
- Oct 23, 2010
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Nap Ghost
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I really want Jeb to win so the 2016 election can just be the re-litigation of the Bush presidenc(ies)y
He almost certainly will be their guy this year, mostly because he has almost all of the money. I like to hope that it'll be the shitshow of 2012 all over again, with the base having one week long honeymoons with every candidate on the docket before finally, resignedly, accepting the inevitable.
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Jun 1, 2015 15:33
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- BI NOW GAY LATER
- Jan 17, 2008
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So people stop asking, the "Bi" in my username is a reference to my love for the two greatest collegiate sports programs in the world, the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Marshall Thundering Herd.
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He almost certainly will be their guy this year, mostly because he has almost all of the money. I like to hope that it'll be the shitshow of 2012 all over again, with the base having one week long honeymoons with every candidate on the docket before finally, resignedly, accepting the inevitable.
The only thing better would be for one of the actual crazies to win.
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Jun 1, 2015 15:34
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- ComradeCosmobot
- Dec 4, 2004
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USPOL July
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Is he still holed out in his compound or has everybody just lost interest?
Think Progress has a small write up on that account. Apparently they pushed for an unconstitutional land grab of public lands by the state of Nevada earlier this year, which was voted down in the Nevada legislature, 8-34. More on that bill here.
There was almost a similar event in Josephine County, Oregon this April, but the guy who called in the Oath Keepers changed his mind as locals protested their presence. They did not stand down until the Feds did, last month.
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Jun 1, 2015 15:53
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- A Shitty Reporter
- Oct 29, 2012
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Dinosaur Gum
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Got a broken tag in the Immigration section, Chicken.
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Jun 1, 2015 15:55
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- Fried Chicken
- Jan 9, 2011
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Don't fry me, I'm no chicken!
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Man, between the Patriot Act being lapsed and Elonis v USA, today is a great day to be an rear end in a top hat online
Viva la cloaca!
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Jun 1, 2015 15:58
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- ComradeCosmobot
- Dec 4, 2004
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USPOL July
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Got a broken tag in the Immigration section, Chicken.
Got it. Didn't have as much time to review the post because my computer crashed at 11:55 and was saved only by auto-save.
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Jun 1, 2015 16:13
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- Islam is the Lite Rock FM
- Jul 27, 2007
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by exmarx
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Holy loving poo poo; queer eye for the straight guy needs to do a makeover on Rand.
I wore business attire that looked like that for a while. It was back when I lost 80lbs and didn't realize how dorky I looked with baggy pants.
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Jun 1, 2015 16:14
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- BI NOW GAY LATER
- Jan 17, 2008
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So people stop asking, the "Bi" in my username is a reference to my love for the two greatest collegiate sports programs in the world, the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Marshall Thundering Herd.
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Would be nice to see a repeat of the '64 election.
Hillary *was* a Goldwater Girl.
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Jun 1, 2015 16:29
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- Warcabbit
- Apr 26, 2008
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Wedge Regret
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He almost certainly will be their guy this year, mostly because he has almost all of the money.
No, I think it's really shaping up to be Walker.
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Jun 1, 2015 17:10
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- baw
- Nov 5, 2008
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RESIDENT: LAISSEZ FAIR-SNEZHNEVSKY INSTITUTE FOR FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY
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Why is rand paul so terrible at dressing himself. holy poo poo
At this rate I wouldn't be surprised to find out he owns white socks
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Jun 1, 2015 17:13
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- Ghost of Reagan Past
- Oct 7, 2003
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rock and roll fun
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No, I think it's really shaping up to be Walker.
I think this is likely.
Walker, while boring as all hell, is basically the platonic ideal of the Republican establishment candidate. He's a blank slate, does what he's told, and is boring. He comes with the union-bustin' and university-hatin' credentials they love, too. Also, will not remind people of George Bush.
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Jun 1, 2015 17:23
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- Islam is the Lite Rock FM
- Jul 27, 2007
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by exmarx
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Why is rand paul so terrible at everything but riling up fedora owners. holy poo poo
At this rate I wouldn't be surprised to find out he owns white socks
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Jun 1, 2015 17:23
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 5, 2024 18:59
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