The Match Cut 2017 Political Thread (or: The Lord of the Leaks: The Trump Towers)

[Irish]

Gotta get those sources.

LOL, yeah. Sure. He has to get those sources.

[D_Davis]

Meant vet those sources.

[number8]

Cold.

[Dead & Messed Up]

John McCain, once again.

[D_Davis]

This morning Trump tweets RUSSIA IS FAKE NEWS!

A few hours later....

https://apnews.com/cb8a753a9b0948589cc372a3c037a567

[Dead & Messed Up]

Love that last line: "Trump won the election and calls the Russia story a hoax."

"Despite epistemic proof of error, Trump refuses to consider alternative perspective."

[D_Davis]

With the amount of credible, sourced, actual news coming out, especially the past week, it is beginning to look like Russia did a whole hell of a lot to influence the election.

[Dukefrukem]

So N. Korea thinks the US declared war on them based on a Trump tweet. Awesome.

[D_Davis]

"President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them,not nonsense," Trump tweeted on October 8, 2013.

[Dead & Messed Up]

New version of Graham-Cassidy Bill provides explicit benefits for Maine and Alaska to shore up support from Collins and Murkowski (who torpedoed the "skinny repeal" bill with McCain).

Called Murkowski last week, will call Collins this week.

McCain and Paul are still saying they'll vote no. McCain is trustworthy on this, but Paul could be swayed.

[D_Davis]

Roy Moore's win proves one thing, that Christian Nationalism is the single most dangerous force threatening America today. If we don't stop this now, we will, in the very near future, have our own Taliban. Only it will be much, much worse, because our Taliban will have the complete backing by the US Government, the police force, and the military.

"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

[D_Davis]

How far the Republican party has fallen.


"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."




-----

"I must make it clear that I don't condemn these groups for what they believe. I happen to share many of the values emphasized by these organizations.

I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in "A," "B," "C" and "D." Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me?

And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of "conservatism."

This unrelenting obsession with a particular goal destroys the perspective of many decent people. They have become easy prey to manipulation and misjudgment."


-Barry Goldwater

[number8]

Huh. The dude who created all those fake news sites last year for clicks and made up that Craigslist ad looking for paid protesters (remember that?) was just found dead. Accidental pill overdose, apparently.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41422827

[Irish]

Obvs a Clintonian revenge killing. But who ordered the hit? Mama Hillary or Sister Chelsea?

[D_Davis]

How many of you were familiar with Aleksandr Dugin before 2016? I had a friend who, along with his dad, were super into modern Russian politics, and they constantly talked about Russia as a sleeping tiger, a power waiting to pounce. No country has patience like Russia. The destabilization of the west has been their goal since the fall of the wall and the Soviet Union.

Remember how people laughed at Romney when he claimed that Russia was still our biggest enemy? We all thought he was completely out of touch, just another Reagan-era Republican beating the anti-Russia drum. Ha. Joke was on us.

Point by point, Dugin's Foundation of Geopolitics is being followed. It's astounding to see it happening.

"Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founda...of_Geopolitics

Russia is winning WWIII, and they haven't even fired a single shot at us, or dropped a single bomb on us.

[Lazlo]

How many of you were familiar with Aleksandr Dugin before 2016? I had a friend who, along with his dad, were super into modern Russian politics, and they constantly talked about Russia as a sleeping tiger, a power waiting to pounce. No country has patience like Russia. The destabilization of the west has been their goal since the fall of the wall and the Soviet Union.

Remember how people laughed at Romney when he claimed that Russia was still our biggest enemy? We all thought he was completely out of touch, just another Reagan-era Republican beating the anti-Russia drum. Ha. Joke was on us.

Point by point, Dugin's Foundation of Geopolitics is being followed. It's astounding to see it happening.

"Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founda...of_Geopolitics

Russia is winning WWIII, and they haven't even fired a single shot at us, or dropped a single bomb on us.

Fascinating and bothersome. Thanks for sharing.

[D_Davis]

The scariest thing is that 1/2 of our Government and citizenship thinks this is a non-issue, and a portion of that 1/2 actually embraces Russia because of their extreme Right views.

We have Congressmen like Dana Rohrabacher who are actively working on behalf of Russian interested in the United States.

[D_Davis]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, our president:

"[Puerto Rico] is an island. Surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water."

[Spinal]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, our president:

"[Puerto Rico] is an island. Surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water."

To be fair, he's probably repeating verbatim what his advisers explained to him.

[Spinal]

It's also fun to imagine as one half of a dialogue:

"You know, I've been hearing a lot about Puerto Rico lately. What is Puerto Rico anyway?"
"Puerto Rico is an island."
"OK, so it's like near water?"
"Surrounded by water."
"I see, but what kind of water?"
"Big water. Ocean water."
"Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh."

[D_Davis]

To be fair, he's probably repeating verbatim what his advisers explained to him.

That's exactly what is happening. He's Michael Scott, without the heart and charisma.

[Skitch]

I assumed it was like this:

[D_Davis]

"Is all that blue from the hurricane?"

[Irish]

The destabilization of the west has been their goal since the fall of the wall and the Soviet Union.

I shouldn't get into this, because you seem overly earnest in your beliefs --- but dude. C'mon. Enough already.

Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S."

Uh, yeah. Because in a melting pot with 300 million people and a colonialist past, those things wouldn't happen on their own?

People tend to give foreign government and three-letter-acronyms too much credits. Most of the people running the show are barely competent enough to stay out of jail.

[D_Davis]

Editing.

My original reply was dismissive and not constructive. I apologize.

If you don't think it's an issue, then I hope you're right.