Politics And Current Events

[Troy Loney]

I still can't believe that the media is just taking these executive privilege claims at face value. More "both sides" disease.

"The democrats are conducting oversight hearings, and the WH is refusing to allow anyone who was employed at the WH at any time from cooperating, I guess that's just partisan politics these days"

- Jake Tapper probably

[tifosi77]

That depends. There are a lot of areas where there is absolutely zero legitimate assertion privilege - anything related to the campaign, for example. Then again, she's a private citizen now, and I've seen people argue that she's not covered by executive privilege on anything at this stage.

It depends on how she voluntarily responds to an asserted claim. It is interesting to me that she, of all people, is going to be the first fact witness before Congress on matters covered by the Mueller probe. She is a very loyal Trumper. But she's got her own legal bills now, and as we saw last year that was enough to get Michael Cohen to flip. And she herself might face some exposure for the whole "those emails will never get out" comment re the Trump Tower meeting that was totally not in and of itself evidence of willingness to work with a foreign power to get elected.

I'm not expecting today to offer much useful information, but you never know.

[tifosi77]

Ah, didn't see the Politico article TL shared. There you go.

[Troy Loney]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/cramer- ... chief.html

Cramer is going to cause a crisis by saying dumb **** like this.

[Troy Loney]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/p ... e=Homepage

Administration officials are briefing Congress on what they say are ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, prompting skeptical reactions and concern on Capitol Hill that the White House could invoke the war authorization passed in 2001 as legal cover for military action against Tehran.

That whole shia vs sunni thing, that's not really a thing you see. They're all terrorists and we have to go to war with the terrorists.

[Morkle]

It's actually interesting watching people turn on Pelosi and the democrats for the obvious reason of drawing this out politically. They don't want to impeach for fear for Senate giving Trump a clear pass, and they are bothering the masses by continually talking about this, and not really acting.

I still think you Impeach for the good of the country, even if that means Senate says, lol no.

[tifosi77]

Meet the New York couple donating millions to the anti-vax movement

A wealthy Manhattan couple has emerged as significant financiers of the anti-vaccine movement, contributing more than $3 million in recent years to groups that stoke fears about immunizations online and at live events — including two forums this year at the epicenter of measles outbreaks in New York’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

Hedge fund manager and philanthropist Bernard Selz and his wife, Lisa, have long donated to organizations focused on the arts, culture, education and the environment. But seven years ago, their private foundation embraced a very different cause: groups that question the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

How the Selzes came to support anti-vaccine ideas is unknown, but their financial impact has been enormous. Their money has gone to a handful of determined individuals who have played an outsize role in spreading doubt and misinformation about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. The groups’ false claims linking vaccines to autism and other ailments, while downplaying the risks of measles, have led growing numbers of parents to shun the shots. As a result, health officials have said, the potentially deadly disease has surged to at least 1,044 cases this year, the highest number in nearly three decades.

The Selz Foundation provides roughly three-fourths of the funding for the Informed Consent Action Network, a three-year-old charity that describes its mission as promoting drug and vaccine safety and parental choice in vaccine decisions.

Lisa Selz serves as the group’s president, but its public face and chief executive is Del Bigtree, a former daytime television show producer who draws big crowds to public events. Bigtree has no medical credentials but holds himself out as an expert on vaccine safety and promotes the idea that government officials have colluded with the pharmaceutical industry to cover up grievous harms from the drugs. In recent weeks, Bigtree has headlined forums in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and Rockland County, N.Y., both areas confronting large measles outbreaks.

“They should be allowed to have the measles if they want the measles,” Bigtree told reporters outside the Brooklyn meeting on June 4. “It’s crazy that there’s this level of intensity around a trivial childhood illness.”

Launch these people directly into the sun with all haste.

[Beveridge]

These are the type of people we should inject measles into and then see what they say after the fact.

[Troy Loney]

Seems like there's a strong positive correlation between being strongly religious and being dumb as hell.

[Morkle]

Seems like there's a strong positive correlation between being strongly religious and being dumb as hell.

Quoted for emphasis.

[tifosi77]

I still think you Impeach for the good of the country, even if that means Senate says, lol no.

The kicker here is there is no Constitutional obligation or forcing mechanism that compels the Senate to even conduct the trial. Right now, it's merely governed by Senate rules that feature a lot of uses of the word 'shall'; but rules can be 'reinterpreted', and a reinterpretation of the rules only requires a majority approval of the full body, not a supermajority that an actual rule change necessitates.

Or the Senate could simply adjourn for the remainder of the session, which I believe is what they did in the Andrew Johnson impeachment.

[Factorial]

More obstruction of justice.

[Factorial]

Deutch added that the White House was not formally asserting executive privilege to block Hicks from answering certain questions; rather, the lawyer was referring to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone’s Tuesday letter claiming that Hicks was “absolutely immune” from discussing her tenure in the Trump administration.

but Shyster will probably chime in telling us what a brilliant legal strategy this is.

[Morkle]

If people are going to allow it to happen, it seems pretty smart.

[Troy Loney]

If people are going to allow it to happen, it seems pretty smart.

This is where I think the media has to take off their both sides glasses and call out the obstruction. Congress has no teeth to do anything here.

[Factorial]

If people are going to allow it to happen, it seems pretty smart.

There isn't much they can other than take it to the courts so, yeah they'll try to delay this as long as they can.

[Factorial]

Wasn't one of the articles of impeachment that were written up against Nixon include charges of obstruction of justice similar to what they are doing here?

[tifosi77]

Nixon and Clinton both.

[tifosi77]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/p ... e=Homepage

Administration officials are briefing Congress on what they say are ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, prompting skeptical reactions and concern on Capitol Hill that the White House could invoke the war authorization passed in 2001 as legal cover for military action against Tehran.

That whole shia vs sunni thing, that's not really a thing you see. They're all terrorists and we have to go to war with the terrorists.

This amazes me that they are trying to use al Qaeda AUMF to launch hostilities against Iran. Has a very pre-ordained feel.

[Troy Loney]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/p ... e=Homepage

Administration officials are briefing Congress on what they say are ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, prompting skeptical reactions and concern on Capitol Hill that the White House could invoke the war authorization passed in 2001 as legal cover for military action against Tehran.

That whole shia vs sunni thing, that's not really a thing you see. They're all terrorists and we have to go to war with the terrorists.

This amazes me that they are trying to use al Qaeda AUMF to launch hostilities against Iran. Has a very pre-ordained feel.

I just watched the 2000's episode about Bush, 9/11 and the Iraq war. It's amazing that it only takes a few people to want war, to then get enough people in line. I was 20 so I wasn't paying attention, but the effort those **** put into to starting that war is disturbing.

[Factorial]

I was 20 so I wasn't paying attention, but the effort those **** put into to starting that war is disturbing.

I was and it was absurd to see them do it. Limbaugh put on skits ridiculing Hans Blix and his search for "weapons of mass destruction" that didn't exist and ultimately, too many scared Democrats went along with the idea.

[Troy Loney]

I was 20 so I wasn't paying attention, but the effort those **** put into to starting that war is disturbing.

I was and it was absurd to see them do it. Limbaugh put on skits ridiculing Hans Blix and his search for "weapons of mass destruction" that didn't exist and ultimately, too many scared Democrats went along with the idea.

Yeah, it's amazing after that catastrophe we still have to hear BS like "dem's are terrorist/Muslim apologists".

[Gaucho]

Liz Cheney and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are both wrong on concentration camps

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/19/opin ... _term=link

[Shyster]

Deutch added that the White House was not formally asserting executive privilege to block Hicks from answering certain questions; rather, the lawyer was referring to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone’s Tuesday letter claiming that Hicks was “absolutely immune” from discussing her tenure in the Trump administration.

but Shyster will probably chime in telling us what a brilliant legal strategy this is.

Beats me. I have no idea whether the claim of privilege in this matter is valid or not or is a good strategy or not.

On the other hand, I am always supportive of people refusing to speak to Congress/law enforcement for any reason, so I cannot say I personally object to Ms. Hicks refusing to answer questions. No one should ever answer questions. I would refuse to answer a Congressional committee if they asked me the time. If you want me to answer questions, you can either grant me a blanket immunity deal that immunizes me from being prosecuted by anyone for anything, or you can go to court and get a court order to force me to talk. And I'm still not going to talk until I've exhausted any and all appeals of that order.

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/06 ... e-of-isis/

@shad