"“I expect for the FBI to tell me what is going on, and they better have a good answer,” said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is conducting a review of Russian activities to influence the election. “The big problem I see here is that you have an American citizen who had his phone calls recorded.”"
Seriously, that is the funniest thing I have read in ages. I’m not even being snarky, I genuinely got a belly laugh out of that…
That is what I am pilling my hair about. Whistleblowers ring silenced is something Obama was guilty of right? I kept seeing articles on how the Obama administration cracked down on whistleblowing.
Score easy points mister trump. Welcome those brave souls speaking up over abuses.
Oh… Right… That kind of would mean everyone is narcing on your cronies.
Clearly you stop at Mattis, who actually seems to be a decent and competent human.
But, yea.
Hot take: The US Constitution really isn’t that good.
I mean, sure it was a good effort. Top of the line democracy tech for 1789. Actually shockingly good, considering that it is such an early model.
But it has numerous gaps that have been filled in with custom and decorum - both of which break down now and then, and it is now now and bits that have simply stretched too far over 230 years. It has far too many veto points. Its balance of power is complicated enough that voters can easily fail to understand it through inattention or misunderstand it through confirmation bias. Its representation has grown steadily worse.
We could rebuild it. Better, faster than before.
With a parliamentary executive and a unicameral legislature reducing veto points so that voters can clearly see who is running the place. With some kind of ranked choice multi-seat advanced voting setup for at least some of the representatives so that gerrymandering is drastically weakened, far fewer voters ending up unrepresented, but candidates can still win seats by marketing themselves to self-assembling constituencies.
I know it worked out fine with Washington and Eisenhower, but putting a career military man in charge of the executive branch just doesn’t sit well with me.
[quote=“jeff_fisher, post:68, topic:95011”]
Clearly you stop at Mattis, who actually seems to be a decent and competent human.[/quote]
On the board of Theranos, ordered the Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre. And, most crucially, was willing to voluntarily join the Trump administration.
The Flynn episode is just the latest and most high-profile case in which the Trump administration has been forced to reverse course because of leaks to journalists. The New York Times reported on Sunday night that “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was exploring whether the Navy could intercept and board an Iranian ship to look for contraband weapons possibly headed to Houthi fighters in Yemen,” a policy which many people would consider both incredibly dangerous and potentially illegal—and could have been considered an act of war.
But the Times reported that “Mr. Mattis ultimately decided to set the operation aside, at least for now. White House officials said that was because news of the impending operation leaked.” Whoever leaked those plans was likely committing a crime, but also potentially staved off a huge international controversy that could have led to yet another military incursion in the Middle East.
Crucially, the op was dropped not because it’s a batshit fucking loco idea, but because somebody blabbed about it to the press. Can we lower the bar any further?
It’s the wrong question, and I think that the “bad situation” is much worse than that.
I don’t believe that there is the slightest chance that the GOP will impeach Trump. If they had the courage and integrity required for that, they would have quit the GOP in disgust years ago.
I think that if you allow TrumpGOP to remain in power for more than a few months they’re going to fuck with voting rights to such an extent that their hold on the current red states is unassailable. They’re openly flagging their intentions to do so:
