All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Tami]

Exclusive: Phrase ‘White Nationalists’ Cut From Measure To Screen Military Enlistees

It’s not clear who approved the language change or why. Senators on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, including Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), did not respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment on the language.

After the House and Senate each passed their own versions of the NDAA, lawmakers from both chambers met to reconcile differences between the two. The final NDAA was then approved by both chambers.

Aguilar said the fact that the final NDAA does not mention “white nationalism” indicates the Senate may not be taking white nationalism seriously.

In a statement to HuffPost, he noted that white nationalists have “successfully enlisted in our military in order to gain access to combat training and weaponry.”

To prevent more white nationalist violence, Aguilar said, “we cannot turn a blind eye to this growing problem which puts our national security and the safety of the brave men and women serving our country in jeopardy.”

“It’s disappointing that Senate Republicans disagree,” he added.

[kidfresh512]

It's getting to the point where actual news headlines are indistinguishable from The Onion.

I saw some posts saying Rudy was on his way to force them to give up dirt on Joe Biden. I giggled

[SquirrelMan]

This is a joke, right?

Yes, she is.

[Kirby101]

Yes, she is.

True that!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Exclusive: Phrase ‘White Nationalists’ Cut From Measure To Screen Military Enlistees

My uneducated guess: the change in language, removing the phrase “white nationalist” was a directive that came down from the White House itself, no doubt from Stephen Miller, a.k.a. Kid Jackboot. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that was the case.

[Tami]

Why Trump is more likely than ever to seek foreign interference

If Donald Trump were a different president, he might react to being impeached for coercing a foreign government into aiding his campaign by saying, “I’m certainly not going to do that again.”

Even notwithstanding the almost inevitable acquittal in the Senate, now that he knows how much attention will be paid to this question in 2020, his behavior would be constrained. You don’t skate on a bank robbery charge because of a technicality, then walk out the courthouse and head right down the street to rob another bank.

Unless you’re Trump, because that’s exactly what he’s going to do. In fact, impeachment not only won’t constrain him from trying to get foreign help for his reelection, it will make him more likely to do it.

The most fundamental fact of Trump’s life is that he does what he wants and nobody can tell him what he can and can’t do. In his mind, becoming president has only expanded his immunity from constraint.

As Trump himself has put it: “I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president."

Some have suggested that when he gets acquitted, he’ll feel emboldened to commit more misdeeds. While that makes some intuitive sense, I think it misreads the motivations at work. It’s not that he will at that point be convinced he’s free to act as he pleases, since he always thought that. He’ll do it to show them and himself how free he has always been. It’ll be a combination of narcissism and spite. You think you Democrats are going to stop me? I’ll show you.

So: help from Russia? Of course, that’s a given. North Korea? Why not? China? They can lend a hand. If you want to hack Democratic systems, or wage a disinformation campaign on Trump’s behalf, or meddle in some other way we haven’t even considered yet, Trump is waiting for your assistance. Come one, come all.

[JCAll]

I walked into a store today, asked where the Christmas ornaments were, and was literally told "Just walk under the Trump flag and turn left".
Just big blue Trump banners hanging from the ceiling, because that's normal and not creepy. I'm in Hell.
I should have wiped my nose on the thing as a passed by, but that would be a crime and I'm not above the law like some people.

[Kirby101]

I walked into a store today, asked where the Christmas ornaments were, and was literally told "Just walk under the Trump flag and turn left".
Just big blue Trump banners hanging from the ceiling, because that's normal and not creepy. I'm in Hell.
I should have wiped my nose on the thing as a passed by, but that would be a crime and I'm not above the law like some people.

Did you have to shop there?

[JCAll]

Did you have to shop there?

One downside of small town living, there really aren't other places to shop.

[Tami]

Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced the president’s views on Ukraine and 2016 campaign

One former senior White House official said Trump even stated so explicitly at one point, saying he knew Ukraine was the real culprit because “Putin told me.”

Two other former officials said the senior White House official described Trump’s comment to them.

The Ukraine theory that has consumed Trump’s attention has now been taken up by Republicans in Congress who are defending the president against impeachment. Top GOP lawmakers have demanded investigations of Ukrainian interference for which senior U.S. officials, including the director of the FBI, say there is no evidence.

Allegations about Ukraine’s role in the 2016 race have been promoted by an array of figures, including right-wing journalists whose work the president avidly consumes, as well as Rudolph W. Giuliani, his personal lawyer. But U.S. intelligence officials told lawmakers and their staff members this past fall that Russian security services played a major role in spreading false claims of Ukrainian complicity, said people familiar with the assessments.

[numberthirty]

Not when his supporters are constantly attacking the lead Democratic candidates and the integrity of the party as a whole.

And not when said supporters are demanding platform shifts that can't even win Democratic primaries, much less national elections.

One other quick thing about this...

If you have Booker and Castro pointing out that the current Democratic Party debate rules and the order that the Party has laid out for state primaries are an issue, it's not just "His Supporters" who are pointing out the issues with the party as a whole.

Never mind that folks in this very thread have pointed out that the order that Democratic Party primaries happen in needs to change.

Sometimes, someone isn't "Attacking..." the integrity of a party. They are simply pointing out that the party has some glaring issues when it comes to integrity.

[numberthirty]

You want to know why folks don't think Sanders is going to fold or sell out?

He just told you. He was against NAFTA when there was right around "Zero..." benefit in being against it.

[numberthirty]

While I don't agree with where he is on nuclear, Yang had that answer right in his back pocket.

[Tendrin]

Oh my god @endlesscreaming

former kentucky governor matt bevin is defending his pardon of a child abuser by claiming a nine year old couldn’t have been raped because she had an intact hymen

[Theleviathan]

Sometimes, someone isn't "Attacking..." the integrity of a party. They are simply pointing out that the party has some glaring issues when it comes to integrity.

Considering how many Bernie supporters still frame 2016 as Bernie being "screwed out of the nomination", I don't believe the phrase "simply pointing out" is at all an accurate descriptor.