All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Tami]

Millions in U.S. Lost Someone Who Couldn't Afford Treatment

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 13% of American adults -- or about 34 million people -- report knowing of at least one friend or family member in the past five years who died after not receiving needed medical treatment because they were unable to pay for it, based on a new study by Gallup and West Health. Nonwhites, those in lower-income households, those younger than 45, and political independents and Democrats are all more likely to know someone who has died under these circumstances.

[worstblogever]

Republicans shrug off growing evidence, stand with Trump against impeachment

Republicans are standing with Trump more out of fear than loyalty, knowing full well he can end their careers with one vindictive tweet, and everyone knows it too. The simple truth is that if Trump goes down, the GOP goes down with him, and saving their necks is more important to the party than the country or the Constitution. I find it laughingly ironic that the GOP continues supporting a man who is loyal only to himself, and would shove the whole of the party under the nearest Greyhound in a New York minute if it would save his own skin, yet, there they are, dutifully circling the wagons for Trump. Pathetic!

I read a list of witnesses the GOP House are going to call during the public impeachment hearings... it's Hunter Biden, Bruce Ohr's wife, and anyone linked to any conspiracy theory peddled about the Bidens and Ukraine, or anyone who participated in Fusion GPS' investigation into Russian evidence in 2016.

It's the party of Trump. They're following King Lemming off the cliff, and they're going to embarrass the f*** out of themselves going into the 2020 elections, across the board as a party. Absolute dips***s.

[Tendrin]

There’s a jarring passage in the testimony of Christopher Anderson, which was released yesterday by the House Intelligence Committee. Anderson is a Foreign Service Officer who was serving as a special advisor to Kurt Volker while he was the US Special Envoy on Ukraine.
In January of this year, the US Navy was sending a naval vessel into the Black Sea and specifically through the Kerch Strait. Without going too deep into the geography, this is a narrow passageway through which Russia can limit maritime access to parts of Ukraine because Russia now controls Crimea. Here the Navy was asserting its right to unfettered transit to support Ukraine. It’s referred to as a “freedom of navigation operation.”
President Trump saw a CNN report about the mission, thought it was a challenge to Russia and called John Bolton at home one night ordering him to cancel the mission.

Reported on TPM's front page.

The only guiding light in Trump's foreign policy is deference to Russia.

[PwrdOn]

This is more fair minded for sure.

It'd be a lot easier for me to be sympathetic had he not started down the dictator track.

We've seen this story play out so many times in Latin America already though. Left wing governments in the third world are rarely paragons of efficiency by Western standards, they tend to be overly bureaucratic, corrupt, and dictatorial, and they usually manage to piss off the United States which reduces opportunities for trade and investment. However, they do by and large manage to improve the living standards of their people, particularly for poor and marginalized communities, often through dramatic and controversial redistributive policies which of course clash with American business interests. Compare that with the track record of right wing governments, which are often blatantly murderous, racist, and fascist, yet often enjoy the full backing of the US just because we hate anything even vaguely socialist. That kind of liberal democratic center that we love to hold up as the ideal just doesn't really exist in countries where prosperity and stability aren't something to be taken for granted, and the history of regime change in Latin America plainly shows that once the populist leader is ousted, some military junta is sure to follow.

Just look at Brazil for the latest example, there were certainly legitimate concerns with Dilma and the PT and I'm sure the protesters genuinely wanted more transparency and accountability and all that nice sounding stuff, but after they impeached her the country was basically stuck in a quagmire of uncertainty and instability where it was basically impossible for anyone to govern at all, which was the perfect climate for someone like Bolsonaro to step in and take power. This is Bolivia's inevitable fate now, and once the new government wrecks their economy then the country will devolve into real chaos.

[Dalak]

Looks like Rick Gates' testimony included a little tidbit that indicates Trump lied under oath.

https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/stat...81788916555776

[Malvolio]

https://threader.app/thread/1193485967010803714



This is who we have to count on to oppose the Republicans.

Jesus, we are doomed.

I like Schumer, but I am disappointed with him here. Fortunately, he's not the only one we have to count on to oppose Republicans. We have AOC, we have Bernie Sanders, we have Elizabeth Warren, we have Ilhan Omar. The Democratic bench is growing more and more progressive each year.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Supreme Court refuses to block lawsuit against gun manufacturer brought by Sandy Hook families

The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to shield a major arms manufacturer from potential liability in the 2012 school shooting that left 26 students and educators dead in Newtown, Conn.

The justices' action allows a lawsuit filed by parents of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims to move forward at the state level, on the allegation that Remington Arms marketed the military-style rifle used in the mass shooting "for use in assaults against human beings."

The case tests the reach of a 2005 law passed by Congress to protect firearms manufacturers from being held liable for crimes committed by gun purchasers. That law was hailed by the National Rifle Association, but it included exceptions, including one for violating rules related to marketing and advertising.

Well now, that was certainly a surprise, coming from a Supreme Court with two right leaning Trump appointees, including Kegger Kavanaugh.

[Tami]

Looks like Rick Gates' testimony included a little tidbit that indicates Trump lied under oath.

https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/stat...81788916555776

The pieces are falling into place.

[worstblogever]

The pieces are falling into place.

Public hearings on impeachment start tomorrow... on Ukraine.

This is Mueller investigation revelations. Like...

It's no longer a question of if Trump is guilty. It's of how many crimes over how much time.

[Tami]

Public hearings on impeachment start tomorrow... on Ukraine.

This is Mueller investigation revelations. Like...

It's no longer a question of if Trump is guilty. It's of how many crimes over how much time.

And Republicans are going to continue with the "There is no defense defense", or the "He does this all the time, get over it" defense.

[kidfresh512]

Senior Trump official embellished résumé, had face on fake Time cover

WASHINGTON — A senior Trump administration official has embellished her résumé with misleading claims about her professional background — even creating a fake Time magazine cover with her face on it — raising questions about her qualifications to hold a top position at the State Department.

An NBC News investigation found that Mina Chang, the deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations, has inflated her educational achievements — like claiming, falsely, to be a Harvard grad — and exaggerated the scope of her nonprofit's work.

Whatever her qualifications, Chang had a key connection in the Trump administration. Brian Bulatao, a top figure in the State Department and longtime friend of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, attended a fundraiser for her nonprofit in Dallas and once donated $5,500 to her charity, according to a former colleague of Chang's.

Chang, who assumed her post in April, also invented a role on a U.N. panel, claimed she had addressed both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, and implied she had testified before Congress.

She was being considered for an even bigger government job, one with a budget of more than $1 billion, until Congress started asking questions about her résumé.

The gap between Chang's actual qualifications and her claims appears to be the latest example of lax vetting by the Trump administration, which has become known for its many job vacancies and appointments made without thorough screening.

"It does seem that this administration has not been doing the same depth of vetting as previous administrations," said James Pfiffner, a George Mason University professor and expert on the executive branch who once worked in the government's Office of Personnel Management, which does vetting.

LOL I mean there is embellishing a resume and then what she is doing. Good lord

[Tami]

Senior Trump official embellished résumé, had face on fake Time cover





LOL I mean there is embellishing a resume and then what she is doing. Good lord

I checked something out, it's very easy to put your image on a 'Time magazine' cover. There are templates and generators that all anyone with even basic graphics skills to do it. No one should be gullible enough to fall for that, still she sold it as if it was real and she embellished her resume so bad she'd be fired from any other job. ASAP.

Just made this one as an example

Fake-Time-Cover.jpg

[Jack Dracula]

The world’s largest trade deal could be signed in 2020 — and the US isn’t in it

This does not bode well for American trade inerests in Asia.
China has been building a massive shipping network over the last few years and will likely become the country with the most influence over trade in that region of the world.
We can kiss the likelyhood of cleaning up the Pacific Ocean goodbye as well.
Thanks Trump!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

And Republicans are going to continue with the "There is no defense defense", or the "He does this all the time, get over it" defense.

Don't forget the "Trump is too stupid to know better" defense. I've heard that one's a real favorite in the Oval Office.

[Tami]

How Russia Meddles Abroad for Profit: Cash, Trolls and a Cult Leader

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — The Russians were hard to miss. They appeared suddenly last year in Madagascar’s traffic-snarled capital, carrying backpacks stuffed with cash and campaign swag decorated with the name of Madagascar’s president.

It was one of Russia’s most overt attempts at election interference to date. Working from their headquarters in a resort hotel, the Russians published their own newspaper in the local language and hired students to write fawning articles about the president to help him win another term. Skirting electoral laws, they bought airtime on television stations and blanketed the country with billboards.

They paid young people to attend rallies and journalists to cover them. They showed up with armed bodyguards at campaign offices to bribe challengers to drop out of the race to clear their candidate’s path.

At Madagascar’s election commission, officials were alarmed.

“We all recall what the Russians did in the United States during the election,” said Thierry Rakotonarivo, the commission’s vice president. “We were truly afraid.”