The Neverending Thread for Political Shit

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Fuck March Madness, it's time for MUELLER MADNESS!!
https://nypost.com/2019/03/25/mueller-m ... ost-wrong/

What a riot!!!

Max Boot a 2-seed?

8-seed Natasha Bertrand is my Cinderella pick..... in this and ANY bracket in which she's seeded

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

If you ned another reason to hate Duke, I got it right here:

Duke Whistleblower Gets More Than $33 Million In Research Fraud Settlement

The case has also had repercussions in the broader academic world, because according to the lawsuit, the allegedly faked research was used for more than meeting federal guidelines. It also helped Potts-Kant co-author and publish 38 articles in scholarly journals with her fellow Duke researchers — which were, in turn, cited in 417 other articles when the suit was filed in 2013.

As the website Retraction Watch notes, there have now been 17 retractions of scientific papers related to Potts-Kant's work.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/0 ... wsuit.html

The suit claims the faked research was conducted by former research technician Erin Potts-Kant, who was supervised by pulmonary medicine researcher William Michael Foster. Foster's lab experimented with mice

Mice? C'mon, you know it was rats

[Cole Younger]

This cracked me up.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Dropping a little sanity into the toilet bowl of madness which is Current Events:

Democrats Need to Learn From Their Al Franken Mistake
The country lost an opportunity to model how fair procedures can work in a #MeToo case.

The Franken situation became a test case for the parameters of #MeToo. It raised important questions, and produced disturbing answers: What kind of misbehavior deserves a professional death penalty? Any. How much proof is necessary? Accusations suffice. What investigative and adjudicative processes are the accused owed? None.

...Of course, sexual misconduct is not acceptable. But in every other realm of life, we differentiate between offenses that are major and minor and mete out punishment on a sliding scale—such differentiation is built into our criminal-justice system. Our punitive culture, with its ever-expanding promise of “zero tolerance,” however, is broadening the definition of what won’t be tolerated beyond reason and imposing harsh penalties on those whose offenses don’t merit it.

I particularly appreciate Emily Yoffe calling out The Atlantic, which published her article, for having also published this one:

The final accusation, lodged by Tina Dupuy, for example, was that at a January 2009 Barack Obama inaugural party, she saw Franken, and asked to have a photo taken with him. (He was in the midst of a contested Senate election, and was eventually seated in July.) She wrote, “We posed for the shot. He immediately put his hand on my waist, grabbing a handful of flesh. I froze. Then he squeezed. At least twice.” Dupuy had an encounter that was uncomfortable for her, but I don’t think she’s describing what an objective person would see as a sexual violation. I think The Atlantic should not have published it.

I asked Dupuy about her account. “I was clarifying he was a creep. I didn’t say what happened to me was horrible. I don’t feel secure about my body and I don’t want people touching me without permission,” she said. (In the photo, she has her arm across Franken’s back; his hand is not visible.) She added that she wanted to speak out on behalf of the other accusers. “I would have never said anything, but I was the corroborating witness for seven other women.”

I read Dupuy's account very closely. Given that it was published by The Atlantic, I took Dupuy's description very seriously. It had to pass through the editorial process. I assume it accurately reflected Dupuy's best account of what happened. I tried to find a way to do what she said Franken did, and after spending a long time trying, I decided her emotions and her reactions were real and her account was bullshit. If you ask someone for a picture and put your arm around him to pose, you have no goddam right to complain when he puts his arm around you. Given that, and given this statement from Dupuy's account--"Al Franken’s familiarity was inappropriate and unwanted. It was also quick; he knew exactly what he was doing...He wanted to cop a feel and he demonstrated he didn’t need my permission."--she has no credibility backtracking. And what she says just before, about her dad "Noting that I had an interest in politics and in grandstanding", kind of jumps out.

Loosening up the rule of law as we've done when something involves pleasure--think of how the right to be secure in your person, your home, and your mind was corroded by the War On Some Drug Users--is very much Modern America. It claws out actual motes just as it does stars in the eyes, while standing on a big old beam at some deconstruction site for tearing people down. Live! In real time! Darling, let us go to the banquet hall! There will be a great feast tonight!

And, you know, like, fuck that shit, from anyone who cares to produce it.

[beantownbubba]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

[John A Arkansawyer]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

He's trying, with some success, to distract people from a report which he really doesn't want released, no matter what lies he tells to the contrary.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

Overconfidence. Feeling his oats after the Mueller win. Should sink him for good if the Dems play it right.

[Zip City]

Cutting funding for Special Olympics especially feels like a giant “fuck you, we won, suck my dick!” move. Or it’s just pure veil, take your pick. The entire SO budget is equivalent to 5 trips to Mar-a-lago

[Cole Younger]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

Did I dream that the individual mandate was done away with already? Why does he even care about Obamacare if it has been?

[Cole Younger]

Cutting funding for Special Olympics especially feels like a giant “fuck you, we won, suck my dick!” move. Or it’s just pure veil, take your pick. The entire SO budget is equivalent to 5 trips to Mar-a-lago

Yeah that's about as wrong as it gets.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

Cutting funding for Special Olympics especially feels like a giant “fuck you, we won, suck my dick!” move. Or it’s just pure veil, take your pick. The entire SO budget is equivalent to 5 trips to Mar-a-lago

Yeah that's about as wrong as it gets.

Devos is certainly a 1-seed for Guillotine Day

[Flea]

Cutting funding for Special Olympics especially feels like a giant “fuck you, we won, suck my dick!” move. Or it’s just pure veil, take your pick. The entire SO budget is equivalent to 5 trips to Mar-a-lago

Yeah that's about as wrong as it gets.

Devos is certainly a 1-seed for Guillotine Day

I like the way you talk. Mmm hmmm.

[LBRod]

I don't understand why the DOE is funding the special olympics, but whatever.
Truth be told, I don't know why the DOE exists.

[Iowan]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

Overconfidence. Feeling his oats after the Mueller win. Should sink him for good if the Dems play it right.

(Arrested Development narrator): They didn’t

[John A Arkansawyer]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

Did I dream that the individual mandate was done away with already? Why does he even care about Obamacare if it has been?

It helps too many people he'd wants to hurt, and he doesn't particularly care about the people he wants to help except to keep them on his side. If some of them are damaged in the process, there are more where they came from.

[beantownbubba]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

Did I dream that the individual mandate was done away with already? Why does he even care about Obamacare if it has been?

It helps too many people he'd wants to hurt, and he doesn't particularly care about the people he wants to help except to keep them on his side. If some of them are damaged in the process, there are more where they came from.

Wouldn't deny any of this but I can't help thinking that part of the explanation is Trump's personal Obama Derangement Syndrome. It seems bizarre to say but so much of what Trump does seems to be geared to wiping evidence of Obama's presidency from the books.

[beantownbubba]

Should sink him for good if the Dems play it right.

Odds?

[beantownbubba]

I don't understand why the DOE is funding the special olympics, but whatever.
Truth be told, I don't know why the DOE exists.

Me neither.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Anybody understand why Trump is choosing to pick a fight over healthcare right now? I could almost sort of understand it if he had an alternative to offer but he doesn't, so what's he trying to do?

Did I dream that the individual mandate was done away with already? Why does he even care about Obamacare if it has been?

It helps too many people he'd wants to hurt, and he doesn't particularly care about the people he wants to help except to keep them on his side. If some of them are damaged in the process, there are more where they came from.

Wouldn't deny any of this but I can't help thinking that part of the explanation is Trump's personal Obama Derangement Syndrome. It seems bizarre to say but so much of what Trump does seems to be geared to wiping evidence of Obama's presidency from the books.

That, too. He's a pos-def post-mod. And he's got a long record of active hatred toward black people. Kind of a family tradition. Check out this breaking news:

Trump Announces FBI And DOJ Probe Into Jussie Smollett

Rahm Emmanuel will love this, which is irony on top of irony. I won't mind seeing that bastard squirm over which direction in which to disgrace himeself. And it's not like Smollett doesn't have something coming, if he really was trying to get a salary hike for a week's work from more than I make in a year. But I've got a five-dollar bill that says Trump will link dropping the Smollett charges to Obama being from Chicago before he's done. Any takers?

But I still think the bottom line is that Trump is trying to distract from a report which, if released, would damage him, possibly fatally. This is worth your reading in full:

Mitch McConnell, perhaps the craftiest and most cynical man ever to head up the US Senate (think about that for a second), says the Mueller Report proves President Obama didn’t do enough to protect the country from Russian subversion.

In other words, the Mueller Report is a game-changing blockbuster of such gravity that we will apparently never be allowed to see it in any other than a few dozen carefully chosen words or further summaries.

And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about. And by Christmas, I mean Hell.

[Zip City]

Wouldn't deny any of this but I can't help thinking that part of the explanation is Trump's personal Obama Derangement Syndrome. It seems bizarre to say but so much of what Trump does seems to be geared to wiping evidence of Obama's presidency from the books.

Obama roasted him at the White House correspondents dinner several years back, and that just won't do.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Wouldn't deny any of this but I can't help thinking that part of the explanation is Trump's personal Obama Derangement Syndrome. It seems bizarre to say but so much of what Trump does seems to be geared to wiping evidence of Obama's presidency from the books.

Obama roasted him at the White House correspondents dinner several years back, and that just won't do.

If that were the primary motivation, then Trump would be going after Seth Meyers instead of Jimmy Kimmel and SNL, but I bet it plays at least a small part. But I figure Trump's long history of racism is at the heart of it.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I thought about this story, and here's what I posted on Facebook about it:

Trump Announces FBI And DOJ Probe Into Jussie Smollett

When someone mentions this, the appropriate answer is:

"How interesting. Let's see the Mueller report."

That's the appropriate answer to anything Trump says and does. He is distracting you with this, with the Obamacare repeal, with everything stupid-looking he does. The response:

"Fascinating. Let's see the Mueller report."

If they are especially egregious, you can always escalate to:

"Bless your heart. Let's see the Mueller report."

But the key think is, always, every time, beginning with three or fewer bland words and ending with:

"Let's see the Mueller report."

Defending a famous guy who did stupid shit is way down on my list of priorities, but even if it were something I cared deeply about, or something I don't care about but which is consequential, like "Lock her up!", the answer is always:

"Okay. Let's see the Mueller report."

[Zip City]

Yes, let's see the Mueller Report. Trump supporters are using a 4 page summary from Trump's AG as proof that there was no wrong doing, yet there have been some intimations that there is a LOT of wrong doing laid out in the report, just not enough to press charges. So let's see it.

[Iowan]

Anyone else warming up to Pete Buttigieg? If he runs, I can't see myself caucusing for anyone else.

[tinnitus photography]

Anyone else warming up to Pete Buttigieg? If he runs, I can't see myself caucusing for anyone else.

yeah i like him a lot.

[Iowan]

Anyone else warming up to Pete Buttigieg? If he runs, I can't see myself caucusing for anyone else.

yeah i like him a lot.

I really hope he runs. His resume is almost perfect to punch back at Trump.

[pearlbeer]

Yes, let's see the Mueller Report. Trump supporters are using a 4 page summary from Trump's AG as proof that there was no wrong doing, yet there have been some intimations that there is a LOT of wrong doing laid out in the report, just not enough to press charges. So let's see it.

Remember that guy that offered $1,000,000 to see Obama's long form birth certificate? The money was offered because the summary proof wasn't enough for him. It has been a long time. Can't remember that dudes name. I do recall he was orange and had weird hair....

[RolanK]

I don't post in this forum often. Maybe never, come to think of it, but just to give you some comfort (not sure that really applies here), that the US is not the only place with fucked-up politics. Over here, the Minister of Justice has just resigned from Office. Below is a pretty good summary of the events leading up to this.

Norway's Justice Minister Tor Mikkel Wara resigned on Thursday after his partner was formally suspected of staging attacks against the couple to give the impression they were living under threat.

"This has been a difficult affair that I would gladly have done without," Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a joint press conference. "I am honestly saddened that things have come to this. We will miss his contribution to the government."

Wara, 53, had taken temporary leave from his position a fortnight ago after it emerged that the Norwegian security service PST was investigating his partner, Laila Anita Bertheussen. She was formally named a suspect on Thursday.

"The past few weeks have been hard on me and my family. The decision (to resign) was entirely my own," said Wara, of the right-wing populist Progress Party and who had held the job just under a year.

In late 2018, Bertheussen filed a complaint against a theatre troupe for showing pictures of the homes of several politicians -- including theirs -- as part of a play aimed at demonstrating who was profiting from a more segregated and racist Norway.

After that a series of attacks began against the couple.

Among other things, the couple's home was vandalised in December 2018 when a swastika and the word "racist" were drawn on their house and car, and their car was set ablaze outside their home in mid-March.

In an op-ed piece written in daily Verdens Gang, Bertheussen claimed the production was an invasion of her privacy.

Solberg had also criticised the theatre troupe.

Wara's party colleague Jon Georg Dale will take over as interim justice minister until a permanent replacement is appointed.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

I don't post in this forum often. Maybe never, come to think of it, but just to give you some comfort (not sure that really applies here), that the US is not the only place with fucked-up politics. Over here, the Minister of Justice has just resigned from Office. Below is a pretty good summary of the events leading up to this.

Norway's Justice Minister Tor Mikkel Wara resigned on Thursday after his partner was formally suspected of staging attacks against the couple to give the impression they were living under threat.

"This has been a difficult affair that I would gladly have done without," Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a joint press conference. "I am honestly saddened that things have come to this. We will miss his contribution to the government."

Wara, 53, had taken temporary leave from his position a fortnight ago after it emerged that the Norwegian security service PST was investigating his partner, Laila Anita Bertheussen. She was formally named a suspect on Thursday.

"The past few weeks have been hard on me and my family. The decision (to resign) was entirely my own," said Wara, of the right-wing populist Progress Party and who had held the job just under a year.

In late 2018, Bertheussen filed a complaint against a theatre troupe for showing pictures of the homes of several politicians -- including theirs -- as part of a play aimed at demonstrating who was profiting from a more segregated and racist Norway.

After that a series of attacks began against the couple.

Among other things, the couple's home was vandalised in December 2018 when a swastika and the word "racist" were drawn on their house and car, and their car was set ablaze outside their home in mid-March.

In an op-ed piece written in daily Verdens Gang, Bertheussen claimed the production was an invasion of her privacy.

Solberg had also criticised the theatre troupe.

Wara's party colleague Jon Georg Dale will take over as interim justice minister until a permanent replacement is appointed.

Of course there’s a theatre troupe