[Tiste Simeon]

Rosenstein resigns

BBC News - US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein quits
https://www.bbc.co.u...canada-48100665

Dunno much about him by at times he seemed like the only one stopping Trump from during Mueller (definitely the actions of an innocent man btw 🙄) so I assume he's got a tiny bit of basic decency and integrity at least.

Can someone who knows a bit more postulate on what this might mean?

[Malankazooie]

Samantha Bee did her 'Not the White House Correspondents' special, because Trump is too much of a pussy to attend the real one. Anyway this should probably be posted to the Trump funnies thread in the Inn, but ima post it here because there's this shying away, for some reason, to calling Trump what he is, by journalists - a racist. So this is also an important discussion topic, imo.

[Maark Abbott]

Macros, on 26 April 2019 - 12:42 PM, said:

I cry laugh at hard brexiteers. The EU didn't privatise BT, the power, the trains, water services or hard fuck the NHS, the wankers who championed the Brexit campaign did.

This is why I call them breklets. A portmanteau of Brexit and brainlet.

[QuickTidal]

Barr lied to the House twice....in front of them today. Is he in trouble, perjury-wise?

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 01 May 2019 - 02:08 PM

[QuickTidal]

Lindsey Graham is a little weasel....jesus christ.

[QuickTidal]

And Graham thinks that because there might not be an underlying crime in the investigation (there is) that Trump can't be obstructing justice...

What the ever loving fuck? How are these people skirting the rule of law so hard when they are the party that usually SCREAMS about rule of law.

This is a fucking circus.

Also how is Graham the goddamn chairman?

[QuickTidal]

This MFer is tap-dancing...

Also, it's now clear that the thrust of the defense of Trump is "He didn't full on say DO THIS....he just eluded to it....he can't help if people too that as a directive"

Fuck. This is some mob shit right here...

[QuickTidal]

"I did not exonerate him" - AG Barr

Wow. Well, you just played yourself homey.

Blumenthal with the perfect 'lawyer speak' pincer move.

I'm waiting patiently for Harris to question him.

[worry]

QuickTidal, on 01 May 2019 - 02:53 PM, said:

And Graham thinks that because there might not be an underlying crime in the investigation (there is) that Trump can't be obstructing justice...

I haven't been watching, but this is pretty telling. There are thousands of people (I'll let you guess their proportional demographic makeup yourself) who get charged with obstruction or even 'resisting arrest' with no other (or generated post-hoc) 'underlying' charges. And you better believe Lindsey Graham ain't worried about them.

This post has been edited by worry: 01 May 2019 - 06:32 PM

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 01 May 2019 - 06:28 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 01 May 2019 - 02:53 PM, said:

And Graham thinks that because there might not be an underlying crime in the investigation (there is) that Trump can't be obstructing justice...

I haven't been watching, but this is pretty telling. There are thousands of people (I'll let you guess their proportional demographic makeup yourself) who get charged with obstruction or even 'resisting arrest' with no other (or generated post-hoc) 'underlying' charges. And you better believe Lindsey Graham ain't worried about them.

Yes, I was reading some lawyers talking about that comment and they all said that you definitely don't need an underlying crime to have obstruction of justice...the obstruction is in itself a crime, regardless of whether an underlying crime is proven.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 01 May 2019 - 06:50 PM

[worry]

Cool beans.

[Maark Abbott]

QuickTidal, on 01 May 2019 - 06:49 PM, said:

worry, on 01 May 2019 - 06:28 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 01 May 2019 - 02:53 PM, said:

And Graham thinks that because there might not be an underlying crime in the investigation (there is) that Trump can't be obstructing justice...

I haven't been watching, but this is pretty telling. There are thousands of people (I'll let you guess their proportional demographic makeup yourself) who get charged with obstruction or even 'resisting arrest' with no other (or generated post-hoc) 'underlying' charges. And you better believe Lindsey Graham ain't worried about them.

Yes, I was reading some lawyers talking about that comment and they all said that you definitely don't need an underlying crime to have obstruction of justice...the obstruction is in itself a crime, regardless of whether an underlying crime is proven.

It's either an obstruction of justice, or if the crime is proven, perverting the course of justice.

[QuickTidal]

So Barr is refusing to go before the House today. And Nadler will reportedly subpoena him. Trump said that his people (this includes Barr; who has seemingly forgotten he's not Trump's personal lawyer) will ignore that. So the test would be if the Sergeant at Arms would/will go arrest him.

These people should have listened to Michael Cohen (of all people!). He said flatly that these people are doing what Cohen did for years and protecting Trump...and look where it got him.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 02 May 2019 - 12:52 PM

[worry]

[worry]

Dang. I just fainted from reading this news.

[Vengeance]

worry, on 03 May 2019 - 08:47 PM, said:

Dang. I just fainted from reading this news.

One would think that by now you would have better mental resilancy.

[Tsundoku]

A brief interesting article about the surge in populism and right wing authoritarianism in formerly (fairly) safe democracies.

https://www.news.com...96732ca38ccb0f5

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 04 May 2019 - 12:26 PM

[Silencer]

Tsundoku, on 04 May 2019 - 12:25 PM, said:

A brief interesting article about the surge in populism and right wing authoritarianism in formerly (fairly) safe democracies.

https://www.news.com...96732ca38ccb0f5

Probably also needs to consider that it's comparatively easy to have a functioning democracy when people feel comfortable.

And I don't just mean economically, which is a factor addressed in the article.

Its much harder to get away with lies, radicalized statements, and power consolidation when your population likes the status quo.

The rise of Donald Trump, and the Brexit nonsense, along with other populists in Europe, is largely reactionary in nature. Not for the candidates themselves, not for the economic climate that lends them legitimate arguments, but for the voters.
A lot of people, whether on this forum, or elsewhere, claim that the people voting for Trump and his ilk are not racist. And while that is likely true for a decent percentage of the swing voters and the passive voters, it's not true for his base.
The reactionary voting I'm talking about is specifically from people who no longer feel like they are in the majority in their country. They feel like that because of social progress (whether that is gender equality, marriage equality, or racial equality), and so it drives a distaste for the status quo.

These would-be dictators play on that. "Make America Great Again" is a simple example, of course, but the same undertones were seen during Brexit. The phrases, slogans, and language being used are specifically designed to appeal to people who feel like their country is no longer the way they want it. And the truth is, with the exception of economic fuckery (which as the article linked points out, these candidates are the least likely to fix, given their excessive pre-existing corruption) very little has changed in the early 21st century that people could reasonably complain about being bad for their nation (speaking strictly of the "West", here).

Couple that with the aforementioned genuine economic pressures as the perfect leverage point and facade, and a disengaged and uninterested voter populace who are used to two parties trading places, and the angry -ist voting bloc becomes the only thing that matters. Worse in America where gerrymandering and years of dog whistling mean that Trump is barely even an extreme any more.

The destabilization of democracies like this is fairly inevitable due to a functional democracy tending to break down social power structures over time. It inevitably leads to a resurgence in authoritarian voting habits as the traditional power holders begin to feel threatened.
The only real question is when does that reaction gain traction - the answer to which will determine whether it will be resolved peacefully with the democracy intact or lead to violence/a detour into dictatorship.

In other words: strap in, because the answer as to whether enough old people have died to see democracy survive intact around the world after a brief last gasp of racist/homophobic/misogynistic tendencies has yet to be answered.
(Not to say those things will cease to exist or be a problem after this round of populism but this should be one of the last chances for the old power structures to return without significant external factors involved.)

[worry]

Meanwhile, this is the leading opposition. If this guy doesn't crater, we're all lost.

[Aptorian]

Or he'd help you find a middle where Politicians could again work across the aisle rather than hide in their trenches.