drewpey
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Everything posted by drewpey
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Trump has gone through significant efforts to undue anything Obama did...TPP, environmental protections, banking regulations, chilling of our longest and closest allies, undermining Obamacare, Paris accord, JCPOA just to name a few specifics. From a more general standpoint I think many are concerned about the extreme polarization of politics, the balance of power and strength of our democracy, the demonization of experts, and the total disregard for truth.
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Yeah, Obama is only fooling himself when he says he didn't have scandals. Additionally any liberal who thinks his positions were without fault wasn't paying attention. He was fairly centrist in his positions and if you asked the left about some of his policies they would most certainly object to some of them given how the party is shifting. I think the author's position to blame the media is ridiculous. The media on both sides of the aisles reported on these, with their own biases as they do. The government is established as three branches that have checks and balances against each other to establish a kalman filter of sorts for the entire country. If you aren't happy with what the country is doing you don't blame someone who has only the power of the pen. His complaints fall squarely onto the shoulders of congress to hold people accountable if and when there is wrongdoing...previous and current. Things are different now because a lot of folks who were skipped the politics section of the news over the last 8+ years are now tuned in because of the drastic change in direction we've undertaken. It drives more viewers which drives more reporting on politics. The right looks negatively upon this and whips out the victim card, but ultimately I applaud citizens waking up and participating in the public debate of politics. I hope it's a trend that continues well into the future.
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For a "distraction" there sure are a lot of indictments and broken laws. Without resorting to "whataboutism" do you care if laws were broken by members of the Trump campaign? The "Russian conspiracy thing" is a big deal, and all sides have interest in the investigation running its course unimpeded. America needs to be reassured the current administration is free from foreign influence, and then we can get on with business. The video is cute...a bit rambling for my tastes though. I noticed lots of cherry picked events, but several missing things you can't simply label as a "hoax" to paint the left as mentally deranged over the Russian issue. I know it's fun now to spread the chasm between the left and right, but ultimately there will be a time when Trump is no longer president, and both sides will have to actually start listening to each other to do their job and make their country work. You can't govern along the party lines forever.
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I looked through the links, and again no evidence...all just conjecture and very weak linking two things together to make a straw man argument. The level of mental gymnastics you need to actually believe they were used to take down Trump is astounding. Why wouldn't Obama just tell the FBI to kill the email investigation earlier? Why not tell them to hold reopening it until after the elections? Why not publically bring up Russian contacts and meddling prior to the election? Why would the FBI privately warn the Trump campaign of possible Russian meddling? Why would Obama warn Trump against hiring Flynn? Sabotage doesn't make any sense no matter which direction you look at it. If they wanted to sabotage Trump they could have a million ways, but they didn't. The administration kept quiet and now we are finding Russians behind every rock despite repeated denials the campaign had ANY involvement with Russians. You are right...things are starting to stink. I honestly hope government entities are used to root out any foreign tampering in our elections regardless of party. Particularly when there are suggestions of nefarious intent. You can stick your head in the sand all you'd like, but ultimately there has been no evidence presented that suggests illegal activity on the government's behalf, and they have uncovered intentional illegal activity. Even the republicans who were shown the information behind closed doors quickly walked away from the "spygate" charges.
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Opinion columns do not equal journalism. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and let's unpack what she has to offer us: 8 signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump's campaign 1. They had a code name--what? 2. Lots of claims of surveillance against Trump people - buried lede...all were either under surveillance for Russian contacts and/or crimes being committed. 3. References national security letter abuse...from 11 years ago--somehow that shows laws were broken against Trump??? 4. Unmasking--gov't officials used the system lawfully to intercept communications with monitored foreign individuals...again buried lede...you don't just say "i want to unmask all trump associated convos"...you say "this sounds nefarious...who is discussing X with Y?". What were those conversations about? Can you judge the unmasking without understanding the intent behind it? You assume nefarious intent of the requester, but in reality you should be assuming nefarious intent of the people in conversation. 5. Unmasking again! It's on the list twice...that makes it super bad! 6. Media deep state! 7. LEAKS! The administration leaking to the media is the media's fault! They are trying to destroy trump! Also confounding claims the dossier was "leaked" like it was a gov't secret. 8. The FBI uses informants, so they can't be trusted! No facts to support the conspiracy theory there was a CI op against Trump. He was warned against Russian motives early on, ignored the advice and the Ruskies continued courting just about every aspect of the campaign and everyone lied about it. The FBI kept a close eye on it, and as it turned out everyone had their hands in the honey pot, and now people are mad they got caught. Why should someone go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?
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12S's are eligible. They expect it to be a quick fill once it's announced. Can always give them a call to see if you can put your name on a list though. Anyone have any quality of life gouge on KAIA? Good grub? Good gym? Roomates? Communal bathrooms? Skypable internet speeds? The public welcome site has some info, but was hoping it was outdated or different for folks on a 365.
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My earlier comment about Papadop was aimed at what I guessed was the NYT article you mentioned, but it was actually a WSJ (R) article. I had to hunt it down after POTUS mentioned it. It's behind a paywall though, but I don't see a lot of other news outlets picking it up which makes me question if its just speculation or actual reporting. Anyways...I agree there has been a lot of lying under oath to congress lately and it pisses me off. Congress needs to get off their ass and start punishing those that do. They are a complete joke, and the people going to speak to them know it and use it to their advantage. Again, no proof the leaked memo was classified from Comey. This is a lie that the right keeps pushing. He classified the memos...after he was kicked to the curb the FBI upgraded the classification, but that was later disputed as improperly done. As far as the NIE thing, I'll have to read up on this is the first time I'm hearing about it and can't speak to it.
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No credible claim has been provided to claim these people are "partisan democrats". Do I need to parade all the Republicans praising the selection of Mueller one year ago? He was universally welcomed to sort out this mess, until he started asking tough questions. I agree the left has some ridiculous conspiracy theories as well, but in general everyone should want to see the results of the investigation, and assess the validity of the investigation on the underlying facts. Everyone wants to jump to conclusions about where this is going and to be honest only the Special Counsel knows because they run a very tight ship, and we only hear about where they've been 6 months after the fact. The right needs to cool it trying to discredit the investigation, and the left needs to cool it thinking Mueller is some super hero savior that will save america. He's just a law officer doing his job. America needs to sort itself out.
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You are always entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. The facts as they are made aware to us at this moment show that the unmasking was legal, Comey did not "leak" any classified information at the time he released the information, and the FISA warrant was approved on legal and straightforward grounds. If you come to different conclusions regarding the information we've been provided then you are likely not reading news, but rather sensationalized "entertainment" or "fake news" as they say. That's not to say these facts as we know them today aren't misleading, but no evidence has been produced by anyone to prove your conspiracy theories. That's the thing about conspiracy theories...they rely on the evidence of absence, not the evidence of facts.
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365s
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The article explicitly says "just a coffee boy" Papadop was the leaker, and initiated this whole thing. He was totally involved, but we knew this months ago. Also the (R) claim that the FBI was colluding against Trump is ridiculous. The Clinton investigation was leaking like a sieve and was dominating the news cycle with negative headlines, while the Trump investigation wasn't even discussed until after the election was over. If you were going to weaponize the FBI, or the intel gained from this type of investigation that's got to be the dumbest possible way to do it...wait until you've been shot to pull out your gun. Believe me I know the DNC can be completely incompetent at times, but this is beyond the pale. Can you educate me on the "espionage" aspect of the Hillary investigation you mention? Are you against unmasking if the contents of the communications involve crimes of conspiracy against the united states? Do you have a citation for the FBI director leaking information that was classified at the time of the "leak"? Evidence is evidence, regardless of the source. The investigators have to convince a judge for a FISA warrant, and they did. If you want to complain about the FISA warrants, complain to your congressman about the process, not about those that followed the process lawfully and came to a result you didn't like.
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I'm hot and looking for info on the AC-208 to weigh my options.
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https://theaviationist.com/2018/04/14/everything-we-know-and-no-one-has-said-so-far-about-the-first-waves-of-air-strikes-on-syria/
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Again, even investigators are allowed to have opinions, politically or personally. In all likelihood he was removed just because he brought extra baggage to the investigation through his affair and his political opinions which would eventually come to light. He likely wasn't necessary for the investigation, so it's best to cut and run. To be honest if you read the texts they had plenty of shade to throw around to pretty much every politician they spoke of...and what they said about Trump was relatively tame for 2016 election standards. In fact most of what he said about Trump I know I've said about my own party leaders from time to time. Sure Trumps no murderer, but he has provided enough material so just about anyone from any walk of life has a very understandable reason to have a strong dislike of him. He's an "Equal opportunity offender", which ironically is part of what his base loves so much about him..."telling it like it is" as they say. Strzok and Page are making news today as Rand Paul is aghast that they still have security clearances. The base is quite riled up over it as well. Do you think they should have had their security clearances stripped?
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"For the Air Force, the majority of the Class C mishap increases came from cargo aircraft such as the C-130H Hercules and C-17A Globemaster, particularly from physical injuries when airmen were conducting maintenance or loading or unloading the aircraft." Sweaties! I knew it! Remember folks...don't lift with your back...always lift with your E's!
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You have only provided evidence of someone with a political opinion. You then make the assumption that they are then compromised without facts to back it up. There is no evidence this compromised his ability to be on the investigation team. Regardless, Mueller removed him to eliminate any doubts...but that doesn't stop the (R) propaganda machine. Can you only be investigated by someone who views you favorably? Do drug dealers, murderers and sexual assaulters deserve a prosecutor that doesn't view them or their actions negatively? It blows my mind that Republicans think they are entitled to have a red-hatter investigate Trump and Co. Are YOU compromised from doing your job because of your opinions? Am I? Probably not. Just because people have political opinions doesn't suddenly make us incapable of doing the jobs we've taken an oath to do. The initial claim I requested a citation for was that Comey leaked classified memos. The citation you provided gives no proof he did, and actually suggests the opposite (unfounded). Faux News made that claim, and then actually had to retract the statement. It's been 11 months since Comey was dismissed and he provided his memo to be passed to the press. If it was in fact classified...then it was illegal. Why hasn't the DoJ gone after him for leaking? Seems like it would be a very quick open-and-shut case since they know what memo it was, and Comey admitted under oath that he did it. It would go over very well with his base. That would be the logical thing to do unless the facts don't support the claim. I guess we can always blame this "deep state" I keep hearing about for not going after Comey.
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[citation needed] [citation needed]
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I think most of the FBI are pretty good at resisting internal forces impacting their investigations. The appearance here is that there was external influence on the investigation which complicates things. We have to trust the system has worked as intended, until the details emerge and we can make our own educated decision...just like the Mueller investigation.
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So you honestly think that he did such a bad job they rushed an IG investigation to fire him 1 day prior to his retirement while he was burning his last bit of leave? Sure...nothing to see there. I'll wait until the dust settles, read the IG report and listen to what everyone has to say about this before making my own decision about it, but it smells of petty vindictiveness.
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Strzok was reassigned when the texts surfaced to Mueller, which was in August 2017. The texts didn't become public knowledge until December 2017. Sure appearances do matter, but so do facts. I do find it comical that after years of republican-led investigations into Hillary suddenly republicans feel they can only be investigated by someone who is "impartial" (which seems to be a constantly moving target itself). I'd love to read Gowdy's texts over the last few years to verify his "impartiality" against republican standards. These people are professional career lawmen with extensive experience in law enforcement, and not some part-time hack with a vendetta. It's their entire job to put aside their opinions and facilitate justice. Also I know the talking point of the investigation having no limits and no end is enticing, but in reality Rosenstein has oversight of Mueller, and has to approve lines of investigation to ensure they aren't just running down rabbit holes and it's all related to the core issue of Russian interference.
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I think it's less about being forced to sell a product but rather being forced to treat everyone fairly. Business owners usually reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, but their rights end when someone else's begin. People have the right to not be discriminated against if they are a member of a class of people identified as needing protection. This exact discussion occurred in the 60s and was part of the impetus for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which is why we have these protections. Laissez-faire doesn't always work.
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Age is a protected class, but it seems most of these laws were written to protect old vs young. That doesn't necessarily mean courts would interpret it that way. I was able to find an age discrimination case with the ACLU for a PFC Zinn filing a complaint against holiday Inn for not renting him a room before age 21...but looks like it may have been settled before the precedent was set. Step right up to be the next Dick Heller!
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In other news, AFSOC adds 40 GS positions to headquarters staff.
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I think many democrats were not motivated to get out and vote because they were lukewarm about Hillary and thought the election was decided. I think we will see record voting % in 2018 compared to recent years. The 2017 civics course was a wake-up call to many on the importance of elections and a government that exercises it's checks and balances to make a country function. It will be interesting if Parkland energises young voters, and to see how conservative the boomer generation stays if/when conservatives touch the social security/Medicare third rail.
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I think the FBI releasing the report late-summer is only going to feed into this "deep state" red-hat conspiracy theory going on and will make roughly 33% of the country reject any and all facts presented to them on the matter as simply political sabotage. Even worse it could lead to a "FBI purge" or whatever the right keeps hinting at. My personal opinion is Mueller should release the report when it's done, regardless of optics and political influence...which is most likely what he will do. Many see this report release as the democratic life support in 2018. Like we need it to prevent being faded into irrelevance. I don't think it's true at all...the democratic base is motivated to show up at the polls to kick our government back into action. With every policy announcement R's have done a better job than any democratic leader of stirring up democratic voters and chipping away at their base.
