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Hugo Stiglitz

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Posts posted by Hugo Stiglitz

  1. This underlying algorithmic tyranny issue is a bigger problem than the Russian influence.

    With the Russians, they’re kinda sloppy, easy to spot if you know what to look for, and relatively new at harnessing the sophisticated technologies in the West.

    Based on the way I see the tech guys respond to this issue, I’m really pessimistic on the future of democracy and society in general.  They seem to work under this philosophy of humans existing to be manipulated for profit/power, any regulatory approach is quickly disregarded as not practical or overreaching, and there is no real problem.

    I’m not optimistic unless there’s widespread ethical change within the tech community to police themselves and frankly, I don’t see it happening.

    Sucks.

     

  2. 8 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

    how many cabinet members have we gone through by now?

    Four by my count.

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    Six if you count National Security Advisor as a Cabinet Member which they’re on that level.

  3. It is not a coincidence that this wave of veterans is hitting at a moment when a five-time draft-deferringpresident occupies the White House and toxic partisanship has ground Capitol Hill to a virtual halt. The candidates are presenting themselves both as a moral rebuke to what they see as Donald Trump’s self-promoting divisiveness and also as a practical solution to the failure of the nation’s highest legislative body to get anything done. In short, the reputation of the national institution with by far the highest approval rating, the military, is being offered as an antidote to the woes of a schismatic president and a Congress whose approval ratings have never been worse.

     

     

    “They’re all people who served the country without worrying about who’s a Democrat and who’s a Republican—let’s just get the damn thing done,” longtime national Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said in an interview. “In this Washington, in this divisive, chaotic cycle, you have these people who’ve proven they can rise above party and actually accomplish a mission.”

    And out on the campaign trail, many of them have versions of Max Rose’s experience with opening doors, I heard in conversations with a dozen of these kinds of candidates.

    Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor running in New Jersey’s Republican-leaning but open 11th District, sees it when she stops in at diners. It usually happens with older men. “I’ll go up and say, ‘Hi, my name’s Mikie Sherrill and I’m running for Congress,‘” she told me, and she’ll gauge mostly disinterest. “And I’ll say, ‘Yeah, you know, I was a Navy helicopter pilot and a federal prosecutor,’ and then I kind of start to walk away—and they go, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute …’”

    In California’s 50th District, made up mostly of San Diego suburbs and held by embattled GOP Representative Duncan Hunter, Josh Butner gets it when he introduces himself as a former Navy SEAL—who’s a Democrat. “That usually gets the conversation started,” he said. “They say something to the effect of, ‘Yeah, we need more Democrats like you.’ We need more people willing to put the country ahead of political parties. We need more folks willing to work with the other side.’”

    Here in New York’s 11th, Rose is running in the most concentrated pocket of Trump Country in a very blue city. All of Staten Island and a slice of southern Brooklyn, it’s the only congressional district in the president’s hometown that voted for him. On Staten Island, voting rolls show five Democrats for every three Republicans, but its elected officials (state and local) are split in favor of the GOP. Whiter and more socially conservative than the rest of the city, Staten Island is home to firefighters, police officers, teachers and people who take the ferry to Manhattan. Five miles from the heart of the city, the people here have a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude, according to Kevin Elkins, a lifelong Staten Islander and Rose’s campaign manager, boiling down to: “Screw the system, because they screwed us.” In that way, it resembles the country as a whole—and explains why 56.9 percent of Staten Island voters picked Trump.

  4. A federal judge ruled that the District of Columbia and Maryland may proceed with an unprecedented lawsuit against President Trump alleging that Trump’s business dealings have violated the Constitution’s ban on receiving improper “emoluments,” or payments, from individual states and foreign governments.

    The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte in Maryland, marks the first time that a lawsuit of this kind has cleared the initial legal hurdle — a finding that the plaintiffs have legal standing to sue the president in the first place.

    In this case, Messitte found that D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) and Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) have legal standing to sue Trump over the business of the Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington. 

    As part of that ruling, Messitte said he rejected an argument previously made by critics of the lawsuit — that, under the Constitution, only Congress may decide whether the president has violated the emoluments clauses.

    “In absence of Congressional approval, this Court holds that it may review the actions of the President to determine if they comply with the law,” Messitte wrote.

  5. 4 minutes ago, Captainant said:

    So here's the doomsday I'm worried about:

    1) they take the presidential pardon
    2) they refuse to comply with subpoenas
    3) they are found in contempt of court
    4) they are pardoned from the contempt charges
    5) repeat

    I have no doubt in my mind some shit like that is going to be tried by frump and co

    If Manafort gets pardoned somehow, I see him fleeing the country to avoid State prosecution.

  6. What about earning a living playing in the NFL at age 18 or 19? Because 99% of players can not.  Why is that? 

    I know it’s in the NFL CBA rules between the players and owners that a person must be three years removed from high school to be NFL eligible but why is that?

    I’ve been of the opinion if you’re good enough to earn a living playing football at age 18, you should be allowed to do so if you choose.

  7. The argument for smaller magazine capacity comes from the same rationale as prohibiting  the over-the-counter sale of fully automatic weapons.  

    You’re trying to reduce the amount of carnage someone can inflict in a very short period of time.

    • Like 1
  8. Lawyer was John Dowd

     

    WASHINGTON — A lawyer for President Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump pardoning two of his former top advisers, Michael T. Flynn and Paul Manafort, with their lawyers last year, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.

    The discussions came as the special counsel was building cases against both men, and they raise questions about whether the lawyer, John Dowd, was offering pardons to influence their decisions about whether to plead guilty and cooperate in the investigation.

    The talks suggest that Mr. Trump’s lawyers were concerned about what Mr. Flynn and Mr. Manafort might reveal were they to cut a deal with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, in exchange for leniency. Mr. Mueller’s team could investigate the prospect that Mr. Dowd made pardon offers to thwart the inquiry, although legal experts are divided about whether such offers might constitute obstruction of justice.

    Mr. Dowd’s conversation with Mr. Flynn’s lawyer, Robert K. Kelner, occurred sometime after Mr. Dowd took over last summer as the president’s personal lawyer, at a time when a grand jury was hearing evidence against Mr. Flynn on a range of potential crimes. Mr. Flynn, who served as Mr. Trump’s first national security adviser, agreed in late November to cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation. He pleaded guilty in December to lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations with the Russian ambassador and received favorable sentencing terms.

  9. I also wouldn’t be opposed to raising the age limit to 21 on all firearm sales.

    I understand my proposals are only nominal measures to reduce deaths from gun violence but I think they’re worth the cost, all things considered.

  10. Just now, udaydanceparty said:

    Why 15?  Is there any sort of evidence that a 15 round mag would lead to a lower number of fatalities?  Seem arbitrary. 

    Lives have been saved simply because a shooter had to reload, not complicated. 

    I picked 15 because I know that is a standard mag capacity for some handguns. 

  11. 7 minutes ago, bernorange said:

    "sensible legislation"  - You probably don't realize it, but that's a very loaded way to characterize a proposal.  There is an implication that if you don't agree with it, you aren't sensible. That's a bullshit way to discuss anything.  I would much prefer to discuss "legislation" on it's merits and we can all form our own opinions on whether or not it is "sensible".  What legislation are you favoring/championing?

    I already laid out what I'd like to see done but I'll fine tune it:

    Prohibit the sale of magazines over 15 rounds for handguns and rifles (15 so standard mags for some handguns are not affected.) Would be open to 10 rounds for rifles as well. 

    Expand background checks to apply to gun shows.  (I'm not sure on how to best approach the P2P sale issue but I'm open)

    I'd even be open to a nominal waiting period. 

     

  12. 1 minute ago, Aqua Buddha said:

    Does PP take foreign money and use it for domestic lobbying like the NRA does?  Why is the NRA taking money from Russia in the first place?

    The NRA has a very powerful media operation going on right now.

    Just youtube any firearm related instructional or review video and see what ads pop up...It's insane. 

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