2020 Political Thread (4 Viewers)

[Jacob]

Several of my conservative right wing friends still believe Trump's legal teams will prove election fraud in the court system and that the results will be overturned and DJT will remain the president for 4 more years. These people get their facts from Newsmax and OAN and believe every word that is broadcast on those stations

Anybody that takes anything they hear word for word on any news station in 2020 is a dunce.

 

[ghost]

I guess it’s no longer a crime to willfully lie to the FBI

 

[Mike S]

I guess it’s no longer a crime to willfully lie to the FBI

A President pardoning a criminal is not anything new

 

[gangstonc]

A President pardoning a criminal is not anything new

Everybody they pardon is a criminal!

 

[gangstonc]

Several of my conservative right wing friends still believe Trump's legal teams will prove election fraud in the court system and that the results will be overturned and DJT will remain the president for 4 more years. These people get their facts from Newsmax and OAN and believe every word that is broadcast on those stations

A lady at the barber shop today was telling me about “the kraken” and how hunter Biden’s laptop had pics of him torturing babies. But CNN is fake news.

 

[gangstonc]

I have been saying for years the NRA is a corrupt organization.

NRA says it's aware of 'significant diversion of its assets' in tax filing

The National Rifle Association says in a tax filing that it became aware of a "significant diversion" of its assets in 2019 and previous years, and that its current president has paid back nearly $300,000 plus interest in funds for the expenses, according to the filings.

www.cnn.com

 

[Evan]

President-Elect Joe Biden is making a mistake in selecting a recently retired general to helm DoD. I greatly respect General Austin, but I hold the same objection to his appointment that I held when General Mattis was appointed to DoD.

A true civilian must be the one who in charge of DoD.

 

[ghost]

President-Elect Joe Biden is making a mistake in selecting a recently retired general to helm DoD. I greatly respect General Austin, but I hold the same objection to his appointment that I held when General Mattis was appointed to DoD.

A true civilian must be the one who in charge of DoD.

Just curious to why you feel that way?

 

[maroonedinhsv]

Just curious to why you feel that way?

I’m not speaking for Evan, but this article makes a pretty good argument:

Opinion | Sorry, Gen. Lloyd Austin. A Recently Retired General Should Not Be Secretary of Defense. (Published 2020)

After a tumultuous four years, we need civilian leadership and a return to normalcy.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Evan]

I’m not speaking for Evan, but this article makes a pretty good argument:

Opinion | Sorry, Gen. Lloyd Austin. A Recently Retired General Should Not Be Secretary of Defense. (Published 2020)

After a tumultuous four years, we need civilian leadership and a return to normalcy.

www.nytimes.com

Been out-of-pocket, but I agree with much of what is stated in that op-ed. Ultimately, I think it is important for DoD and the Executive branch to follow historic norms. Mattis was a special case and shouldn't be seen as the new norm -- he was an exception during an exceptional time. Even then, I was against his initial appointment for the same reasons I'm expressing now.

We need civilian control of DoD. The requirement used to be out of the military for 10 years but Congress shortened it to 7 years. There's no reason to be granting waivers -- they've already cut down on the required "time as a civilian."

It's just a perplexing decision especially since Michelle Flournoy would've been a perfect fit and she's highly-qualified. No offense to General Austin, but Flournoy is the better qualified candidate and has more experience leading at DoD than he does.

A lot of people saw this article as listing all the negatives of Flournoy, but in my view the vast majority of the negatives are actually positives

I seriously can't believe people knocked Flournoy for being respected and having a strong familiarity with DoD's modus operandi. I'll admit I haven't been in the defense world perhaps as long as others here, but in my experience, thus far, having someone who is widely-respected by the defense community, seen as extremely competent, and deeply understands the complexity and culture at the Pentagon is quite rare.

Won't go into specifics, but I can think of one Under Secretary for Defense who is a complete embarrassment to anyone with even half-a-clue, and it's obvious that person will be gone very soon after Biden is inaugurated. They have no business being where they are at DoD. Flournoy is the opposite of that. I'm sure General Austin will be competent, but I won't be surprised if his time at the Pentagon is rather short. Just my opinion

 

[Evan]

A truly despicable and disgusting action by this administration. The Catholic church should indefinitely deny communion to William Barr. The death penalty is morally incompatible with Christianity.

 

[ghost]

Looks like my Representative for Dist 5 (Mo Brooks) is preparing to pull a stunt on January 6 that will seal his fate with me ever voting for him again.

 

[Mike S]

Looks like my Representative for Dist 5 (Mo Brooks) is preparing to pull a stunt on January 6 that will seal his fate with me ever voting for him again.

I already stopped voting for him. I wrote in @maroonedinhsv because Mo was unopposed. He is an embarrassment to Alabama.

 

[ghost]

I'm seeing a lot of right wing net chatter about the Dems tacking on to the Covid stimulus bill, large amounts of money to foreign countries...
$135M to Burma
$85M to Cambodia
$1.4B to an Asian Initiative
$700M to Sudan
$25M to gender programs in Pakistan
and other foreign pork expenditures

Does anyone know if this is correct? I haven't been able to confirm with any news org yet except Gateway Pundit

 

[gangstonc]

I'm seeing a lot of right wing net chatter about the Dems tacking on to the Covid stimulus bill, large amounts of money to foreign countries...
$135M to Burma
$85M to Cambodia
$1.4B to an Asian Initiative
$700M to Sudan
$25M to gender programs in Pakistan
and other foreign pork expenditures

Does anyone know if this is correct? I haven't been able to confirm with any news org yet except Gateway Pundit

Lots of stuff. There is $500,000,000 for Israel. Also stuff about horse racing integrity.

I’m not sure who put what in there. The fact is, both sides agreed at some level that it was more important to send that money to foreign countries than to the US.

Im not saying the foreign aid is wrong, if our economy is going to improve, we need to ensure that other countries are in good enough shape to do business with us. However, it’s not a good look for sure.

I think foreign aid should have been in a different bill.

edit: I forgot this bill also contained the continuing resolution. It would be expected the foreign aid would be in that.

 

[ghost]

Lots of stuff. There is $500,000,000 for Israel. Also stuff about horse racing integrity.

I’m not sure who put what in there. The fact is, both sides agreed at some level that it was more important to send that money to foreign countries than to the US.

Im not saying the foreign aid is wrong, if our economy is going to improve, we need to ensure that other countries are in good enough shape to do business with us. However, it’s not a good look for sure.

I think foreign aid should have been in a different bill.

edit: I forgot this bill also contained the continuing resolution. It would be expected the foreign aid would be in that.

Where can I find a link to the bill and all it's non covid relief line items?

 

[gangstonc]

Where can I find a link to the bill and all it's non covid relief line items?

It’s pretty long. I had to piece it together. Remember, is also a CR, not just a Covid relief bill, but also a budget extension.

 

[ghost]

It’s pretty long. I had to piece it together. Remember, is also a CR, not just a Covid relief bill, but also a budget extension.

I wish they would divide it up into separate individual bills.. but that would mean more work for our poor stressed out politicians

 

[ghost]

In the last 24 hrs.... Pence turns on Trump... Graham turns on McConnell... Happy New Year GOP!