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 What a crazy month July was! Between various shootings and political conventions on this side of the Atlantic and a whirlwind of coups, terrorist attacks, and leadership transitions on the other, you could hardly be faulted for wanting to take a breather for a while (hell, everything in this post is just the tip of the iceberg when it came to news this month, and I probably forgot a lot). But you can be sure that August only promises to be even crazier, so you might as well sit down and settle in for USPOL August 2016!  114th Congress Bingo Card Congress was in session for 8 days this month, and will be off all of August (by law!), so there’s not much to say on this end…
 Other News With the news focusing so strongly on the presidential and other election races over the next few months, I’ve pulled some of this out to highlight separately from the rest of the news.
In other news…
Talk to other goons (why would you want to do that?) Remember that we have an IRC channel at synirc in #poligoon for livesteaming stuff. Goon Recommendations Documentaries
Talks Long pieces
Books
Twitter feeds
Related threads "US Politics" is an incredibly broad topic, as A) the country is freaking huge and B) given our role in international events pretty much everything impacts us. So there are other subthreads 2016 Presidential Primary 2016 US Senate Elections SCOTUS thread Right Wing Media There are also regional subthreads that are usually pretty slow, but sometimes cross-pollinate with this thread when something important is happening. Pacific Northwest Illinois Texas California Kansas 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 08:39 on Aug 1, 2016 |
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Aug 1, 2016 08:01
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A Bag of Milk posted:Did the last thread talk about how Roger Stone called Mr. Khan a Muslim Brotherhood agent hired by Hillary? Boy this election sure is wacky. No, but I did include a link in the OP. You did accidentally jog my memory that I somehow completely forgot to mention that Roger Ailes was booted last month. I will rectify this.
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Aug 1, 2016 08:38
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You know who's really bought and sold by Russia? That's right!
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Aug 1, 2016 16:15
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Trump is a mess. Trump is a waste.
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Aug 1, 2016 20:42
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AriadneThread posted:why did earmarks stop anyway? the red wave of the tea party right? So how would you go about resuming the practice, considering how many of those guys are still sitting safe? Get a Democratic majority in the House. As long as Republicans are in charge there will be no earmarks.
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Aug 1, 2016 20:51
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And so the scene is set for endless patriot movements after Hillary is elected.
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Aug 1, 2016 21:01
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Jill Stein is working very hard to make me regret not voting for Rocky Anderson in 2012.
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Aug 2, 2016 00:02
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zoux posted:DE Supreme Court just ruled that the state's death penalty is unconstitutional. Meanwhile, Texas is preparing to execute an innocent man.
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Aug 2, 2016 20:46
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Andrew Cuomo fights the good fight.
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Aug 3, 2016 00:49
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Pakled posted:It's not a primary source, but do yourself a favor and read "Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus" by Rick Perlstein. Politics in the 60's were amazing and the '64 campaign was a glorious mess. Then read Nixonland to get a glimpse of our future. 
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Aug 3, 2016 02:55
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Please tell me someone has a screenshot of CNN right now EDIT: Khan was on, blasting Trump's Purple Heart comments. ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Aug 3, 2016 |
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Aug 3, 2016 05:45
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Night10194 posted:What's happening? Trump's gaffes are literally multiplying.
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Aug 3, 2016 05:55
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Tibeerius posted:One correction. The Americans who were "ransomed" in this story were not the sailors, they were a Washington Post reporter, a former U.S. Marine, a pastor, and one other person. The same reason that putting actual figures to the previously-known loosening of the Iranian nuclear deal after year 10 counted as "news" a few weeks ago.
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Aug 3, 2016 18:09
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For all the doom and glooming the Republican Party has been doing about the economy growing slowly, one sector continues to do well.
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Aug 5, 2016 07:06
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The Firearms Policy Coalition is funding a lawsuit against California Legislative Counsel Diane Boyer-Vine claiming that their first amendment right to free speech was violated when Boyer-Vine's office notified WordPress that a post containing the home addresses of California state senators and Assembly members violated state law which prohibits the publication of such.quote:On July 5, a blogger who goes by the alias “The Real Right Winger” wrote a post characterizing the legislators as “tyrants” and “legisexuals” for passing laws that the author criticized for thwarting the rights of gun owners. Among them is a law creating a registry to track ammunition sales throughout the state. 
ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Aug 7, 2016 |
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Aug 7, 2016 03:10
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Finally, the hot take we've all been waiting for: https://mobile.twitter.com/edzitron/status/762385644827979776
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Aug 7, 2016 22:00
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OhFunny posted:One can hope. It's worth remembering that a narrow Republican majority gives the Freedom Caucus a considerable amount of power thanks to the Hastert Rule and the inevitable RINO hunting that will commence in spring 2018, so this ironically becomes more likely the better Hillary does in downticket races (barring an actual Democratic majority)
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Aug 9, 2016 07:15
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zoux posted:English degree havers: I challenge you to diagram this sentence. Slate has an open challenge about exactly this.
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Aug 9, 2016 17:21
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Mr Hootington posted:Do not worry. The This is what one of my likely-Trump-voter relatives has said. 40% of America cannot be convinced because they literally refuse to believe Trump is saying anything he actually says. 40% of America literally is falling for the Big Lie.
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Aug 9, 2016 20:52
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Mr Hootington posted:It isn't a "Big Lie." It is "The Hard Truth About How It Really Is." For some people yes. For other people like this relative, Trump doesn't really intend to build a wall. That's just political rhetoric. No, he REALLY means e-Verify, which just so happens to be what this relative really wants. Nevermind the fact that Trump has given hyperbolic facts about the size of the wall, its cost, and how it will be paid for. That's all just pandering to voters and anyone who believe it will happen is stupid and doesn't know how campaigning is based on lies to attract voters. It's so ridiculous, how could that possibly be what Trump means? No, no. He really just means an electronic wall, I assure you.
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Aug 9, 2016 21:02
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So that murder claim from Assange? He's now hinting that the murder was deliberately done by Hillary in retribution for the DNC leaks.
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Aug 10, 2016 02:43
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The 7th Circuit appears to have issued a stay regarding the recent holding regarding Wisconsin's voter ID affidavits. Don't have a link yet.
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Aug 10, 2016 17:00
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The 6th Circuit has ruled in favor of Tennessee and North Carolina's rights to restrict the expansion of public high-speed internet utilities.
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Aug 11, 2016 04:50
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EwokEntourage posted:You're an idiot. It has nothing to do with the FCC decision, but how much power congress granted to the Fcc when it passed the 1996 telecommunications act. Even if we concede that the "clear statement rule" applies, the argument laid out for why the states should be allowed to block public infrastructure investment is purestrain libertarian bullshit: quote:“Remove barriers to infrastructure investment” is unclear regarding whether it applies to public and private infrastructure investment or only private infrastructure investment. “Infrastructure,” by itself, is not specific to the public sphere. Furthermore, nowhere in the general charge to “promote competition in the telecommunications market” is a directive to do so by preempting a state’s allocation of powers between itself and its subdivisions. Although preemption authority does not have to be explicit, see Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 453, 467 (1991), the authority to preempt such allocations must be delegated by way of a clear statement. In applying the clear statement rule, the federal statute “should be treated with great skepticism[] and read in a way that preserves a State’s chosen disposition of its own power, in the absence of the plain statement that Gregory requires.” Nixon, 541 U.S. at 141. Because § 706 cannot be read to limit a state’s ability to trump a municipality’s exercise of discretion otherwise permitted by FCC regulations, § 706 cannot be read to authorize such preemption. By literally rules lawyering on the fact that Congress didn't explicitly say "barriers to public or private infrastructure investment" the 6th Circuit claimed that the statement was unclear enough to justify declaring the laws presumably valid. That said, the controlling precedent from 2004, Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League, isn't getting overturned (8-1 with only Stevens dissenting), so I wouldn't hold my breath for a good outcome.
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Aug 11, 2016 07:02
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The Glumslinger posted:They have to be or they would get all of their funding cut, and do you want to listen to pledge drives every week when you're just trying to listen to Car Talk? Who the hell still wants to listen to Car Talk in TYOOL 2016, a show that ended 4 years ago? I can't wait for it to be 2035 and, still, we're hearing about someone's 1987 Toyota Camry.
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Aug 11, 2016 17:27
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dromer posted:And while we're at it we might as well try all those journalists since they're all so unpatriotic. Lock them up! Lock them up! https://mobile.twitter.com/NoahGrayCNN/status/763535971010879488
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Aug 12, 2016 16:28
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sean10mm posted:I don't have strong feelings about the guy or his show, but his tone of voice when he says that is the platonic ideal of sounding like a colossal douchebag. You should listen to Living on Earth some time. Steve Curwood's voice is pretty close to the platonic ideal of the voice of a barely-concealed better-than-thou environmentalist.
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Aug 12, 2016 16:35
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John Dingell would like to remind all visitors to USPOL to please keep a proper sense of perspective. https://mobile.twitter.com/JohnDingell/status/764141623949271041
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Aug 12, 2016 17:54
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Gallup finds that Trump supporters aren't disproportionately affected by trade or immigration and are not disproportionately poor or unemployed compared to non-Trump supporters. I guess we'll never know what drives their support for him! (they're racist)
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Aug 12, 2016 21:03
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Guccifer 2.0 has finally unmasked the individuals responsible for our RIGGED political system so that YOU can let YOUR voice be heard! (  Trump )
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Aug 13, 2016 03:15
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:But boy howdy will they be tweeting and Facebooking up a storm! And voting in the 2018 primaries. 
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Aug 13, 2016 03:54
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Shimrra Jamaane posted:Oh My God Remind me who was president between 2001 and 2009? I just can't seem to remember. It can't have been a Republican because we got attacked by terrorists and they would never let that happen. Must have been Obama.
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Aug 13, 2016 19:06
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Sounds like the Silent Majority is letting their displeasure about the rigged electoral system be known. 
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Aug 13, 2016 22:45
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happyhippy posted:
Step 1: Say the magic words "radical Islamic terrorism" Step 2: ??? Step 3: Terrorism is defeated forever
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Aug 14, 2016 18:19
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Trump to give speech on Islamic State in Ohio
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A specter is haunting the world: the specter of illiberal democracy. Yascha Mounk over at Slate has a long-form piece that paints a pretty dire picture of the future of left-wing governance around the world based on the awfulness that was July in world news.
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Aug 15, 2016 05:17
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Air is lava! posted:You mean this? No no no. You seem to be mistaken. You think "radical" is a qualifier of Islam when in reality it's intended to be a descriptor of Islam. Rest assured that we'll be at war with Iran, too.
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Aug 15, 2016 16:11
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TheBigAristotle posted:Would you say this is Drudge arzying? Quoth The Donald, "Arzy more."
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Aug 15, 2016 16:43
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You know who really cares about the gays? That's right!Milo posted:Trump’s plan is to introduce a screening process for prospective immigrants to the U.S., testing their ideological commitment to western values like women’s rights, gay rights, and religious pluralism. It’s a brilliant plan. I’m especially inclined to say it’s brilliant because it may have been partly inspired by me. Jesus Christ, Milo is a loving rear end in a top hat.
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Aug 16, 2016 04:43
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fosborb posted:For 2014, North Carolina is the most gerrymandered state I've found so far, with 3 Representatives that almost certainly would have been Dems. The Stanford Law Review article shows that Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Indiana were biased 1 or more seats in favor of Republicans based on 2012 results. Illinois was biased 1 seat in favor of Democrats, and Texas and Arizona were also outliers in favor of Democrats (but subject to mixed control).
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Aug 16, 2016 06:40
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