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Tuco

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Everything posted by Tuco

  1. How long do you want your road closed for construction?
  2. I don't disagree, unless I believe differently.
  3. Yeah, my guess is that they are trying to avoid bias in the question, or even the appearance of push-polling. But sometimes they just overthink it.
  4. I think that would disproportionately affect the Trumpsters. Actually, I do think the question is confusing. It asks a yes or no question, but asks it both ways.
  5. Years ago, I asked about the "National Museum of the American Indian" when talking to a Native friend of mine. He didn't really care one or the other, because both terms reflect European designations of his people, neither of which is accurate. He was pretty chill about most things, but active in his tribe (Ponca). I've since met quite a few Native folks in political settings - who tend to be less chill. They generally use the actual tribe/nation name when describing themselves, or "Native" or "Indigenous" when describing all of the nations. It can be confusing as hell, but then I realize it's because our ancestors nearly destroyed their identity, and I figure I can learn and adjust. I'm guessing someone else wrote the tweet.
  6. The MSN poll is just one of many, and one that I don't believe is included in RCP or 538. The RCP average has actually moved in the negative direction (anti-impeachment). But, realistically, the minor movement in the polls, pro or anti, isn't going to do shit. And even the anti-impeachment results are coupled with a general belief that Trump broke the law. For example, one of the more anti-impeach results - the Quinnepac poll - shows a 45/51 result against impeachment. But... This poll also shows Trump at a -9 approval delta (43/52). It's kind of staggering really. One of the most anti-impeachment recent polls out there still indicates that a majority of people think the President abused the power of his office. They just don't feel like he should be impeached for it. Some of that may be because we are close enough to the election. But some of it may just reflect the success of conservative media and their "both sides" narrative that sets the bar so low. Democracy is going to have a hell of a time in an environment where the public doesn't hold the government accountable.
  7. My understanding is that the US dairy industry would last about 5 minutes without government intervention, particularly around trade policy. We have allowed "unfair" trade policies in other markets as a concession to push advantages for dairy farmers. No one should have puckered up nearly as much as a dairy farmer when Trump was talking about shuffling the deck on trade policy. But, they had other trade concessions they wanted, and, there was that brown people thing, so they voted for the asshole. Fuck em. In the end, dairy substitutes and changing eating habits will do more damage than trade policy. Mother Jones old article NYT old article
  8. Well, here's a thought: stop doing illegal shit. I should be a Presidential adviser.
  9. I, for one, am happy for Rudy to be the face of the anti-BDS movement.
  10. They aren't suppose to coordinate with the campaign. They are intended to issue based, that just happen to always support the same candidates. So, if you set up a "Make America Great Again" PAC, I don't know how it would be illegal to start running anti-Trump ads. What a great test of a fucked up system. Flip the technicality on its head and watch the assholes complain about it.
  11. I've been saying it for a while, but the Ukrainian side of the scandal is much more interesting than the American. Not only is it easier to understand the motivations of the various Ukrainian actors once you look at that side for a bit, you get a much better appreciation of how much the Trump is willing to fuck up a country for his own personal gain. We're not just talking 50-100 Ukrainian soldiers who may have died in battle. Ukraine is at a cross-roads, and this administration does not give a fuck if it drives right back into Russian controlled kleptocracy, as long as it helps Trump.
  12. This is a really good article that ties together Naftogaz, Firtash, Lev/Igor, and Marie Yovanovitch. Cast of characters, refresher for some: Lev/Igor - Ukrainian/Americans who worked for Firtash and who hired Rudy. Firtash - Ukrainian who got rich by Putin giving him a sweetheart deal on selling Russian gas to Ukraine. Kobolyev - CEO of Naftogaz Favorov - #2 at Naftogaz; Lev/Igor introduced him to Seargent in Houston in the middle of March, to discuss LNG deals.
  13. So the White House officially initiated the hold 90 minutes after a perfect phone call. It’s almost like Donald didn’t hear something he wanted to hear in the call.
  14. Something tells me it takes more money to run for President than Indiana State Treasurer. And, a lot happens in 9 years. Did you give a shit how Obama was raising cash in 2012? A foolish Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
  15. They told me my fear of clowns was irrational. They lied.
  16. FWIW, I think the VA Choice thing is pretty controversial among veterans. The older veterans tend to prefer the traditional VA arrangement and are concerned that the Choice is pulling dollars away from it. (Like school vouchers.) There have been issues with funding (running out of money in 2018) and changes in administration. If Trump wants to take credit for it, go for it. To me, it's one of those things that probably isn't going to make anybody happy enough to make them vote for you, but definitely pisses off enough people that might drive them away. And those people who might get pissed off are probably more likely to lean Trump. The original act did need changes, so I am guessing Trump does have a signing photo associated with it.
  17. This is something often missed. Trumpicans defend him by saying, well, they didn't open investigation, so there was no bribery. What is forgotten is the Trump did get the Prosecutor General to publicly announce the investigations and shortly after Trump gave the PG something they wanted - the removal of Marie Yovanovitch. The embassy had been confrontational with the PG's office, due to its ineffectiveness and corruption. That goes back a long way, including to the Obama administration pushing Ukraine to open up the NABU (an anti-corruption division, independent of the PG office.) Marie Yovanovitch, and the rest of State, continued the pressure to reform the PG office and implement other reforms. In August 2018, Lev and Igor hire Rudy, paying him $500k. One of the things that becomes apparent, is they want Yovanovitch removed. After giving Sessions 300k earlier in the year, Sessions lobbied Trump to have Yovanovitch removed. They were working Rudy to have her removed, and Rudy was working them to get the investigations set up. In late 2018, they set up meetings with Rudy and Shokin (old PG that Biden had pushed out) and Lutshenko (current PG). Rudy is pushing for investigations. It's in this time frame that Lev and Parnas get face time with Trump, and, according to Parnas's attorneys, Trump asks Parnas to push for investigations. Nunes gets involved in pushing for investigations. In January of 2019, Rudy meets with Lutshenko in New York, and then meets with him again in Warsaw in February. In late February, Parnas tells President Poroshenko that investigations would result in a White House visit. This would have been a huge political score for Poroshenko, as he is underwater in the polls. In March, Rudy, Parnas, John Solomon (Hill "reporter" who writes Republican hit pieces), Toensing & diGenova, Havery (Nunes' aid) would meet at the Trump Hotel to work on the investigation. March 5, 2019 - Yovanovitch delivers a speech which specifically calls out a PG deputy that should be replaced March 19, 2019 - Lutshenko publicly announces he is reopening the investigation into Burisma and Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election. This includes investigating the NABU and Manafort's black ledger. March 20 - Solomon writes article, in which Lutshenko claims Yovanovitch gave him a do-not-prosecute list. March 26 - For another article that Solomon is writing, he runs the draft passed Toensing, diGenova, and Parnas. April 1 - Solomon publishes piece that indicates Shokin had been planning on investigating Burisma, but the case was transferred to NABU. April 21 - Zelenksy is elected April 24 - Yovanovitch is removed from office. April 25 - Trump states that Barr is dealing with big news regarding the leaking of Manafort's ledger. May 9 - NYT reports Rudy is planning trip to Ukraine May 11 - Rudy calls off trip May 13 - Trump tells Pence to cancel his planned visit to Z's inauguration. Instead Perry leads visit. May 16 - Lutsenko states there was no evidence of wrong doing by the Bidens
  18. And suddenly EMAW feels smarter.
  19. Oh look, another Trumpster victim taking no responsibility for his stupidity. Who would of thunk it?
  20. That does nothing to mitigate your stupidity.
  21. I don't give a shit who you support or why. All I know is you are blasting your bullshit across a thread on impeachment. Start your own fucking thread about whatever nonsense you want to discuss, but stop clogging up this one.
  22. I did not know that Mike Pence was a radical left non-believer who wants to take my religion and guns. I mean, I had my suspicions, but wasn't really sure until Saint Donald tweeted it.
  23. Another impeachment poll - NBC/WSJ Overall, I'd say this is a poll that tends to poll at about the average for anti-Trump sentiment, showing him 10 points underwater in approval, compared to the RCP average that is currently -7.5. (Question 5). For supporting impeachment and removal (Q21), it is a tie at 48/48. For some of the details though: Q20 - based on what you know today about Trump's call and actions...do you approve of the impeachment inquiry being conducted by Congress..? 53% approve/45% disapprove. On the "how closely are you following the impeachment" question. I've heard people state that no one really cares about this impeachment, as compared to previous ones. The polling would not support this. Q19"...can you please tell me if you have followed this news story." - 36% very closely, 37% somewhat closely, 17% not too closely, 10% not closely at all. That compares to 32/38/19/10 to a similar question Pew had in 1998 for Clinton. As far as potential fallout - Q22 "if your member of Congress supported impeaching and removing...would this make you more likely to vote for them..." 30% more likely, 33% less likely, 34% would make no difference Q23 "if your member of Congress opposed impeaching and removing..." 23% more likely, 37% less likely, 38 % no difference. So, it's showing more a negative for voting against, rather than for, but the numbers aren't that strong either way. As has been suggested on this poll, it seems unlikely that someone who would vote for a Democrat normally, would suddenly decide not to if they voted to impeach. And vice-versa. Q24 - "Which of the following comes close to how you feel..." 25% Trump has done nothing wrong 22% Trump may have done something wrong, but it does not rise to the level of impeachment 8% Trump's actions in the situation with Ukraine is the first thing he's done to warrant being impeached 44% Trump's previous actions before the situation were already grounds for impeachment. To me, those numbers strongly support the Dem's decision to impeach. Only 25% of the country think the phone call was perfect. 52% of the country feels there has been impeachable offenses, even if only 48% support impeachment and removal. (I'm guessing the "too close to the election" or nervousness about potential blowback would explain the discrepancy.) So, even if folks aren't agreeing with the practical aspects of impeaching, they agree with the underlying guilt.
  24. Not only was Biden advancing US policy, US policy was actually noble. Addressing corruption was the cornerstone of it. A corrupt Ukraine is one that can be controlled by Russia. Reducing corruption allows for more democratic reforms, more western investments, more basic westernizing of Ukraine. This is not simply a policy disagreement. This is a question of advancing American interests and American ideals. So many times, those are at odds. But now we are reduced to advancing Trumpian interests, which are devoid of ideals. I don't think this is just about investigating Biden. I think that is just the carrot that Rudy used at the behest of foreign interests who were paying him. There is a lot of money to be made in a corrupt Ukraine. Some additional timeline items, much of it pulled from here. April 2014 - British officials freeze Zlochevsky bank accounts. (Zlochevsky is the Burisma founder at the heart of the corruption charges. There were questions of embezzlement and self-dealing licenses, as he was also a government official from 2010-2012.) August 5, 2014 Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yarema opens investigation into Burisma. October 14, 2014 - Parliament passes law to establish and independent organization (NABU) for pursuing corruption. This was something anti-corruption activists had been pushing for. The Prosecutor General's wields a lot of power, and is not trusted. The formation of NABU was major rebuke. January 2015 - British officials had to release the freeze, because Ukrainian officials would not respond to requests for documentation to prove their case. They had to release due to lack of evidence. February 2015 - George Kent travels to Kiev to scold Yarema's deputy for failing to pursue criminal case against Zlockevsky. February 10, 2015 - Shokin appointed April 2015, Shokin claims that pre-Maiden files were removed from his office, making it impossible to prosecute the murder of protesters during Maiden, as well as numerous regular corruption cases. September 24, 2015 Ambassador Pryatt gives speech critical of Prosecutor General's office for failing to pursue corruption cases. "We want to work with Prosecutor General Shokin so the PGO is leading the fight against corruption." He also said this: 12/8/15 Biden, in a speech to Ukraine's Rada: February 2016 :Shokin's deputy prosecutor resigns in protest of corruption in the office. March 2016 - Shokin raids the ngo Anti-Corruption Action Center offices, which was a frequent critic of his. This results in protests. March 29 2016 - Ukraine's parliament removes Shokin.
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