All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Shining Trapezohedron]

Iowa Bill Would Force Universities to Consider Political Affiliation in Faculty Hiring



I thought that was illegal, it most certainly is unethical.

The various Republican run states are coming out with a lot of illegal stuff, I think...

Arizona Senate votes to seize assets of those who plan, participate in protests that turn violent

Claiming people are being paid to riot, Republican state senators voted Wednesday to give police new power to arrest anyone who is involved in a peaceful demonstration that may turn bad — even before anything actually happened.
SB1142 expands the state’s racketeering laws, now aimed at organized crime, to also include rioting. And it redefines what constitutes rioting to include actions that result in damage to the property of others.

But the real heart of the legislation is what Democrats say is the guilt by association — and giving the government the right to criminally prosecute and seize the assets of everyone who planned a protest and everyone who participated. And what’s worse, said Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, is that the person who may have broken a window, triggering the claim there was a riot, might actually not be a member of the group but someone from the other side.

There’s something else: By including rioting in racketeering laws, it actually permits police to arrest those who are planning events. And Kavanagh, a former police officer, said if there are organized groups, “I should certainly hope that our law enforcement people have some undercover people there.’’

http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2017/...n-on-protests/

You don't even need to be responsible for damage.

If this isn't an attempt to silence dissent, I don't know what is.

"Be quiet, or we take everything you have."

Republicans don't even try to hide the fascist streak anymore.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Report: House measure forcing release of info on Trump conflicts likely to die in committee





If this happens, the these Republican's careers might also die. At least I hope so.

If this measure is deep sixed, it'll show once and for all how Republicans have sold their collective souls to keep Trump, and themselves in power by any means necessary.

The various Republican run states are coming out with a lot of illegal stuff, I think...

Arizona Senate votes to seize assets of those who plan, participate in protests that turn violent




http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2017/...n-on-protests/

You don't even need to be responsible for damage.

If this isn't an attempt to silence dissent, I don't know what is.

"Be quiet, or we take everything you have."

Republicans don't even try to hide the fascist streak anymore.

Incredible, isn't it? And if this blatantly fascist measure is greenlighted, every state that's Republican controlled will follow through and enact similar bills. To call this a dangerous precedent that threatens our right to assemble and exercise free speech, just because it's putting Republican panties in a bunch would be stating the painfully obvious.

[Tami]

Exclusive: Listen to Controversial White House Terrorism Adviser Sebastian Gorka’s Angry Call to a Critic

Updated | An embattled White House terrorism advisor whose academic credentials have come under widespread fire telephoned one of his main critics at home Tuesday night and threatened legal action against him, Newsweek has learned.

Sebastian Gorka, whose views on Islam have been widely labeled extremist, called noted terrorism expert Michael E. Smith II in South Carolina and expressed dismay that Smith had been criticizing him on Twitter, according to a recording of the call provided to Newsweek.

“I was like a deer in the headlights,” Smith, a Republican who has advised congressional committees on the use of social media by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and al-Qaeda, tells Newsweek. “I thought it was a prank. He began by threatening me with a lawsuit.”

Gorka apparently used his personal cell phone, with a northern Virgina area code, rather than making the call from his White House office or government-issued cell phone, where it would be officially logged, Smith says. The terrorism expert says he suspected Gorka “was trying to conceal the call.”

Smith says he did not begin recording the call until after Gorka allegedly threatened to sue Smith. In an email to Newsweek, Smith said that, “Gorka asserted my tweets about him merited examination by the White House legal counsel. In effect, he was threatening to entangle me in a legal battle for voicing my concerns on Twitter that he does not possess expertise sufficient to assist the president of the United States with formulating and guiding national security policies.”

Another new name popping up, how many crazy 'advisors' does Trump have?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Exclusive: Listen to Controversial White House Terrorism Adviser Sebastian Gorka’s Angry Call to a Critic





Another new name popping up, how many crazy 'advisors' does Trump have?

As many as Trump could dig up. Who knows how many more are waiting in the wings. And this Gorka buffoon sounds like yet another arrogant ******* who thinks he's above reproach, never mind the law because of his association with Mango Mussolini.

[Shining Trapezohedron]

If this measure is deep sixed, it'll show once and for all how Republicans have sold their collective souls to keep Trump, and themselves in power by any means necessary.



Incredible, isn't it? And if this blatantly fascist measure is greenlighted, every state that's Republican controlled will follow through and enact similar bills. To call this a dangerous precedent that threatens our right to assemble and exercise free speech, just because it's putting Republican panties in a bunch would be stating the painfully obvious.

And with the Republicans soon having another man in the Supreme Court, there is no one to stop them...

[Tami]

Obamacare replacement plans: See detailed side-by-side comparisons

Ought to be amusing.

Compare Proposals to Replace The Affordable Care Act

[Tami]

Assault Weapons Not Protected by Second Amendment, Federal Appeals Court Rules

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland's ban on 45 kinds of assault weapons and its 10-round limit on gun magazines were upheld Tuesday by a federal appeals court in a decision that met with a strongly worded dissent.

In a 10-4 ruling, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the guns banned under Maryland's law aren't protected by the Second Amendment.

"Put simply, we have no power to extend Second Amendment protections to weapons of war," Judge Robert King wrote for the court, adding that the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller explicitly excluded such coverage.

One victory.

[Tami]

I Was a Muslim in Trump's White House

When President Obama left, I stayed on at the National Security Council in order to serve my country. I lasted eight days.

In 2011, I was hired, straight out of college, to work at the White House and eventually the National Security Council. My job there was to promote and protect the best of what my country stands for. I am a hijab-wearing Muslim woman––I was the only hijabi in the West Wing––and the Obama administration always made me feel welcome and included.

Like most of my fellow American Muslims, I spent much of 2016 watching with consternation as Donald Trump vilified our community. Despite this––or because of it––I thought I should try to stay on the NSC staff during the Trump Administration, in order to give the new president and his aides, a more nuanced view of Islam, and of America's Muslim citizens.

I lasted eight days.

When Trump issued a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all Syrian refugees, I knew I could no longer stay and work for an administration that saw me and people like me not as fellow citizens, but as a threat.

Recommended reading.

[Shining Trapezohedron]

A little bit of sunshine...

NASA exoplanet discovery: Scientists could find out if alien life exists on new planets in just 10 years

Scientists could know if alien life exists on at least three planets in a newly-discovered solar system in just ten years.

Astronomers have detected no less than seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting a cool dwarf star known as TRAPPIST-1, located in the constellation Aquarius.

Three of these planets lie within the star's "habitable zone" where surface temperatures range from nought to 100 degrees centigrade.

All seven planets could have liquid water – key to life as we know it – under the right atmospheric conditions, but the chances are highest with the three in the habitable zone.

"This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

"Answering the question 'are we alone' is a top science priority and finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable step forward toward that goal."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/exop...d-find-9901145



Forty Lightyears, my friends.
It's virtually around the corner.

We need this. We need to go out there.

“Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.”

[Mister Mets]

A little bit of sunshine...




http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/exop...d-find-9901145



Forty Lightyears, my friends.
It's virtually around the corner.

We need this. We need to go out there.

“Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.”

https://twitter.com/SammyAlbon/statu...78063292116992

[ImprobableQuestion]

Report: House measure forcing release of info on Trump conflicts likely to die in committee





If this happens, the these Republican's careers might also die. At least I hope so.

I'm gonna love whatever bullshit our Batman-Centric users have to defend this move with.

We are powerless.

[ImprobableQuestion]

We need this. We need to go out there.

“Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.”

I can think of no greater threat to the universe than putting humans in more places in it.

[GreenLanternRanger]

I can think of no greater threat to the universe than putting humans in more places in it.

Agreed. Humans are a virus that needs to be contained, not spread to countless more worlds! We live & die in the graves we dig for ourselves by our own hands with our own evil. The rest of the universe should be spared from Man's corruption!

[jeanvaljean]

You're a psychologist? Trump must be really making you nervous about the direction of things!

I barely slept for a couple of weeks after the elections.

[JCAll]

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! That sounds like the plot to a terrible 80's action flick.

Only Cheech and Chong can save us now!