***Official Political Discussion Thread***

[ksteezy]

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/melania-trumps-coat-reminds-us-we-live-in-an-oligarchy-vgtrn

But her emails and what about Ben Ghazi?????

But the Wall Street speeches!?!?!

They out there wearing the equivalent of a US household annual income on their shoulders while cutting social programs for the needy, the veterans, the sick, and the elderly.

That's trash.

They should be addressed with the same contempt they are showing the rest of the country.

I'll play devils advocate here, Hillary was dipped on some wild expensive designer garments herself during the campaign...this isn't exclusive to Melania...but I see your point

 

[gry60]

I know politicians don't shop at Old Navy and I'm not asking them to. It's just the optics of it that piss me off. Hillary and Michelle weren't out there trying to create child beggars while rocking ostentatious designer ****.

 

[hipstermike]

I'll tell you why: the people in those jobs are comfortable and they can't see past tomorrow, let alone a couple of years. There is a widespread assumption that things will stay the same until they die, mostly because in many manufacturing plants, the non-management workforce is completely isolated from the daily measures taken by the corporate side of companies to increase efficiency.

Efficiency is what drives the corporate world and many workers just don't get it.

We deal with it all the time at work. Stuff I've done here has easily saved at least the cost of two full time accountants. Tech gets better and requires less people. Reports and analysis can be automated and made refreshable in real time.

At the same time though, we have been abandoning whole areas of the country over time. People move to the big cities and then no innovation goes home. What makes me happy are places like Detroit that are going through a renaissance right now and rebuilding through tech.

 

[wballz]

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/melania-trumps-coat-reminds-us-we-live-in-an-oligarchy-vgtrn

But her emails and what about Ben Ghazi?????

But the Wall Street speeches!?!?!

They out there wearing the equivalent of a US household annual income on their shoulders while cutting social programs for the needy, the veterans, the sick, and the elderly.

That's trash.

They should be addressed with the same contempt they are showing the rest of the country.

I'll play devils advocate here, Hillary was dipped on some wild expensive designer garments herself during the campaign...this isn't exclusive to Melania...but I see your point

This is NT, we overpay for shoes that are low quality. So meh....

 

[Mark Antony]

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/melania-trumps-coat-reminds-us-we-live-in-an-oligarchy-vgtrn

But her emails and what about Ben Ghazi?????

But the Wall Street speeches!?!?!

They out there wearing the equivalent of a US household annual income on their shoulders while cutting social programs for the needy, the veterans, the sick, and the elderly.

That's trash.

They should be addressed with the same contempt they are showing the rest of the country.

I'll play devils advocate here, Hillary was dipped on some wild expensive designer garments herself during the campaign...this isn't exclusive to Melania...but I see your point

Nah, they wanted to crucify Michelle for wearing something that was like 1% of that cost, if that.

 

[rolaholic]

@washingtonpost:
Explanations for Kushner’s meeting with head of Kremlin-linked bank don’t match up

https://t.co/HKAgthyYAT

So the WH is saying one thing while the Russian bank says another,heh...

 

[Belgium]

Nah, they wanted to crucify Michelle for wearing something that was like 1% of that cost, if that.

They practically wanted to hang Obama for wearing a tan suit

Ideally I don't think it should be a big deal for anyone. If you're rich then you're rich. Whatever a rich person wears is nothing compared to what's in their bank accounts, it's just more obvious. 

 

[gry60]

I'll tell you why: the people in those jobs are comfortable and they can't see past tomorrow, let alone a couple of years. There is a widespread assumption that things will stay the same until they die, mostly because in many manufacturing plants, the non-management workforce is completely isolated from the daily measures taken by the corporate side of companies to increase efficiency.


Efficiency is what drives the corporate world and many workers just don't get it.

We deal with it all the time at work. Stuff I've done here has easily saved at least the cost of two full time accountants. Tech gets better and requires less people. Reports and analysis can be automated and made refreshable in real time.

At the same time though, we have been abandoning whole areas of the country over time. People move to the big cities and then no innovation goes home. What makes me happy are places like Detroit that are going through a renaissance right now and rebuilding through tech.

I agree with you that young people need to move back to the countryside and bring the innovation there. The problem is that the locals are not always as open to new ideas as city folks. Many people would rather go where their creativity is encouraged, especially if they have to start without much local enthusiasm.

This is where government action is necessary: by promoting and incentivizing innovation in rural/small town America, they keep those areas that are home to dying - or dead - industries economically alive and it helps diversify those areas that are home to one or two major employers only. That's one of the reasons I supported Hillary's economic message regarding green energy in coal country. Somehow, the GOP has convinced that segment of the population that "government-sponsored economic growth is a handout and handouts are bad"

 

[rolaholic]

@ReutersPolitics:
Trump to decide whether to block Comey testimony: White House adviser
https://t.co/9eHXyn4HBh

Oh boy...I DARE this dude to go through with that

There'd be nothing more damning

 

[gry60]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/25/new...-argentina/index.html?iid=surge-story-summary

Farmers mad at having to compete against Argentine lemons. Ban lifted by Trump even though that variety is prone to carrying diseases that can contaminate nearby crops. How many building permits has he gotten in exchange for this?

 

[Armada]

 

@ReutersPolitics:
Trump to decide whether to block Comey testimony: White House adviser
https://t.co/9eHXyn4HBh

Oh boy...I DARE this dude to go through with that

There'd be nothing more damning

I would say there is no way the fool is dumb enough to do it but he did fire him in the first place so....who knows

 

[AEA18]

@washingtonpost:
Explanations for Kushner’s meeting with head of Kremlin-linked bank don’t match up

https://t.co/HKAgthyYAT

So the WH is saying one thing while the Russian bank says another,heh...

If only they could have setup that secret channel of communications with Russia so they could get their story straight.

 

[Belgium]

Oh boy...I DARE this dude to go through with that

There'd be nothing more damning

Honestly I'm not even surprised, after all this is coming from probably the dumbest president in history.

The man is going from shooting himself in the foot repeatedly to dropping nukes on them, metaphorically. 

 

[AEA18]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/25/new...-argentina/index.html?iid=surge-story-summary

Farmers mad at having to compete against Argentine lemons. Ban lifted by Trump even though that variety is prone to carrying diseases that can contaminate nearby crops. How many building permits has he gotten in exchange for this?

First he deports their employees and then he adds foreign competition

 

[Armada]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/...gNews&contentID=65382243&pgtype=Homepage&_r=0

But he will stick to the withdrawal process laid out in the Paris agreement, which President Barack Obama joined and most of the world has already ratified. That could take nearly four years to complete, meaning a final decision would be up to the American voters in the next presidential election.
 

Important to note

 

[rolaholic]

^^I really hope he does block him from peaking,would be the most incriminating thing he's done since firing dude

@thehill:
White House telling federal agencies to ignore Dem oversight requests: report http://hill.cm/4bZhS0v

Imagine Obama doing something like this and basically saying to hell with checks and balances? The GOP would rain hell :x

Glad that the heads of those agencies more than likely have much more sense than the manbaby in chief

 

[Belgium]

http://www.npr.org/2017/06/01/53101...ign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170601

Making hurricanes great again 

Disaster Agency To Weather Hurricane Season With No Leader, Proposed Cuts

Forecasters say the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins Thursday, could bring "above-normal" storm activity. Residents along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are making sure they have supplies and plans in place if a storm hits.

But this year there are concerns that the federal agencies in charge of dealing with disasters — from providing emergency relief to rebuilding homes — may be less prepared than usual and could be hampered by proposed budget cuts.

Last year provided a reminder of why many say federal assistance is vital. In October, Matthew slammed into Haiti as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, killing more than 500. After that, it swept up the U.S. Atlantic coast, pounding communities like St. Augustine, Fla., where beaches were washed away and much of the downtown was underwater.

Eight months after the storm, St. Augustine and surrounding communities are still recovering, spending millions to rebuild the coastline. The emergency manager of St. John's County, Linda Stoughton, says federal support for that effort is vital. "We understand disasters are local," Stoughton says. "We responded. But we are going to need federal funding to make St. John's County back to where it was."

This year, key federal agencies that state and local governments and the public depend on still don't have leaders. Nearly five months after Donald Trump was sworn in as president, NOAA, the agency that oversees the government's weather forecasting, is still without an administrator, as is the agency that responds to disasters, FEMA.

At least in the case of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a nomination is pending. The Trump administration has named the former head of Alabama's emergency management agency, Brock Long, to the position.

FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security. After touring the National Hurricane Center in Miami Thursday, DHS Secretary John Kelly said Long should be confirmed as early as next week and that he is not concerned about FEMA's ability to respond to disasters. "We are ready to assist any state, any catastrophe, certainly in the case of Florida, hurricanes," he said. "So we're ready to go with it. FEMA is ready, leaning forward."

FEMA's last director, Craig Fugate, who stepped down in January, says day-to-day operations at the agency are in good hands, so he is not concerned about a temporary vacuum at the top. He says, "The bigger challenge is longer term, is setting the tone and direction of the agency; being able to represent the agency in the policy discussions at the highest level of government."

With no permanent administrator in place for those discussions, FEMA is one of the agencies that have been targeted for significant cuts under the budget the president submitted to Congress. Under that budget, a program that helps states and communities take long-term measures to reduce losses from disasters, the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program, has been cut by more than 60 percent. The budget also eliminates funding for an ongoing effort to improve and redraw the nation's flood maps.

"This is a very harmful approach that's essentially saying that states are on their own, communities are on their own in terms of responding and recovering from these disasters," says Rachel Cleetus, a climate policy expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists. "And the reality is, states just don't have the budgets."

For states and communities hit by floods, tornadoes, wildfires and other disasters, the Trump budget slashes another important source of recovery funds. The Department of Housing and Urban Development provides money that helps communities rebuild after a disaster, after FEMA has moved on. The Trump budget cuts that $3 billion fund to zero. Cleetus says the HUD funding has been a lifesaver to communities around the country. "It was certainly used after Katrina," she says. "It was used after Sandy. Most recently it was used last year, after Hurricane Matthew." St. John's County received more than $48 million from HUD after Matthew, money that is helping rebuild roads and some of the 1,400 homes affected by the storm.

Asked about the proposed budget cuts for FEMA, Kelly said tersely, "We'll make do." And, as alarming as she finds it, Cleetus acknowledges that Trump's budget is unlikely to be adopted. Congress, not the president, determines how money is allocated to federal agencies. Fugate says FEMA has enjoyed stable funding since 2011 under a formula developed by Congress and the White House after Hurricane Irene. So despite the cuts to his former agency, Fugate says, "I don't get too excited when the president submits their budget. I wait until I start seeing what the appropriations chairs have to work with and what their initial marks are. Because that's a better indicator of what ultimately will get funded or not get funded."

FEMA, like many other federal agencies, is likely to be squeezed, Fugate says. But the agency, its mission and its funding have broad bipartisan support among members of Congress — especially those from communities where FEMA has helped pick up the pieces.

 

[hipstermike]

 
http://www.npr.org/2017/06/01/53101...ign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170601

Making hurricanes great again 

Well, you need to defund FEMA cause that's the source for all the big takeover of the US by the top elite right? The FEMA camps for people after the militaristic elite and powerful finally step in to oppress the masses of woke individuals. ILLUMINATI BEYONCE TIME

 

[gry60]

http://fox6now.com/2017/05/23/going...will-cut-300-jobs-right-before-christmas/amp/

You're welcome.

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/05...use-admits-trump-lied-bringing-coal-jobs.html

(I know it's old, but I couldn't help posting it again)

 

[handullz]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/25/new...-argentina/index.html?iid=surge-story-summary

Farmers mad at having to compete against Argentine lemons. Ban lifted by Trump even though that variety is prone to carrying diseases that can contaminate nearby crops. How many building permits has he gotten in exchange for this?

 

[dreamer23]

only the best people....

Trump Sought Reassurance From Fox News Before He Dumped Climate Pact

Kimberly Guilfoyle, co-host of Fox’s nightly news program “The Five,” revealed on air Thursday that the president called her at 8 a.m. to discuss “climate change” — and taxes.

“I think he did the brave and courageous thing, and in fact I told him that this morning ... when he called,” said Guilfoyle, referring to the president’s controversial decision to back out of the Paris Agreement. “I spoke to him about it, and this was something very much so on his mind.”

 

[Belgium]

 
Well, you need to defund FEMA cause that's the source for all the big takeover of the US by the top elite right? The FEMA camps for people after the militaristic elite and powerful finally step in to oppress the masses of woke individuals. ILLUMINATI BEYONCE TIME

It's only a matter of time now before da deep state puts the antichrist Obama in charge again so he can finally enact his sharia agenda and impose martial law. Da real Americans been woke. He couldn't do it in 8 years but a wicked devil does not give up. I have it on good authority, just watch this scientific study by #woke Alex Jones and join the enlightenment b

 

 

[Belgium]

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-white-house-secret-efforts-lift-russia-sanctions-putin-619508

With multiple named sources.

 [h1]TRUMP WHITE HOUSE MADE SECRET EFFORTS TO REMOVE RUSSIA SANCTIONS[/h1]
President Donald Trump’s administration moved quickly to try and lift economic sanctions on Russia and other punishments former President Barack Obama had put in place as soon as it took office in January, according to multiple sources who have spoken with Yahoo News.

“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” according to Dan Fried, who retired in February as Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department.

Fried told veteran investigative journalist Michael Isikoff, a former national investigative correspondent for NBC News and Newsweek  alumnus, that in the early weeks of the administration he got several “panicky” calls from U.S. officials. They asked: “Please, my God, can’t you stop this?”

The sanctions in question included those imposed by Obama for Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and others inflicted late last year to punish Moscow for its suspected efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. The plans Trump’s administration considered early on included returning diplomatic compounds seized from Russia in late 2016—recent reports say Trump is currently working  to put this plan into action.

Lifting the sanctions “would have been a win-win for Moscow,” according to Tom Malinowski who served as assistant secretary of state for democracy until inauguration day. Malinowski told Yahoo News that he heard the administration was working on a “grand bargain” with Russia.

In April, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said clearly  that the U.S. would not lift sanctions on Russia until President Vladimir Putin hands Crimea back to Ukraine.

But Fried and Malinowski heard differently at the beginning of the administration. Both joined efforts to lobby Congress to bring in bipartisan legislation to prevent the rollback of sanctions.

At the beginning of this year senators Ben Cardin, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, moved to table legislation  which would codify the sanctions and give Congress control of rescinding them. That bill stalled  in early May after Republican Senator Bob Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposed it.

This week the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Banking Committee proposedtheir own bill to increase sanctions on Russia, hitting the country’s mining and railway industries.

In its early days, the Trump administration sought to strike a deal with Russia by seeking cooperation against the Islamic State militant group in Syria in return, two former officials said. This came in the form of a “tasking” order at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs within the State Department. The order asked officials to draw up a list of options, including sanctions relief and the return of the seized diplomatic buildings in Maryland and New York.

The Washington Post  reported  on May 26 that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then chief foreign policy adviser, Michael Flynn, met with Russia’s ambassador to Washington during the presidency’s transition period. Kushner reportedly attempted to set up a communications back channel with Moscow from Russian diplomatic facilities. The plan was rejected, but picked up by American intelligence in communications between Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and his superiors.

According to leaked intelligence reports, Flynn reportedly indicated to Kislyak during a phone call during the transition that Russia could expect a review of the sanctions under the Trump administration.

“We’ve been reviewing all the sanctions—and this is not exclusive to Russia,” a senior White House official told Yahoo News. “All the sanctions regimes have mechanisms built in to alleviate them.” they said, adding they hoped “the Russians would take advantage of that” by returning Crimea to Ukraine.

 

[flyeed]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/25/new...-argentina/index.html?iid=surge-story-summary

Farmers mad at having to compete against Argentine lemons. Ban lifted by Trump even though that variety is prone to carrying diseases that can contaminate nearby crops. How many building permits has he gotten in exchange for this?

Now US citrus farmers are crying foul. They say jobs and farmland are at risk. They thought Trump was on their side.

I'm sorry, but who do ALL these ***wipes think they are?

To think that a billionaire, who was born rich, is greedy as ****, and the epitome of an NYC fat cat, gives a F**K about them?!

Keeping up with the ****ery of this administration is mentally exhausting. This dude needs to get the F out the paint already.

 

[frshstunna]

On a kinda unrelated note, I'm in Shanghai and their infrastructure is ****** great compared to Los Angeles or NYC.

One thing I've heard from everyone I know who has traveled to the US is that the public transport infrastructure is generally pretty terrible. 

It's by design.

Deliberately calculated decisions from centuries past.

Same in Atlanta and why MARTA is so small and our public transit is **** it was setup that way on purpose because they didn't want certain people(guess who) to be able to move easily around for opportunities (jobs housing etc)

Racist decisions of decades past is the reason we have terrible public transit and terrible traffic today in this city

Aint even the past decades, the residents in the white burbs are STILL against expanding public transportation in the ATL metro to this day ...u basically useless without a car in this country outside of a few cities, uber n such were starting to help but they been steadily raising prices and changing rules on the low

And it was a wrap for public transportation in the USA once white flight and Eisenhower got that highway system booming ...we need progressive leaders and a continued flow of ppl coming back to cities to get the transportation issues right