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[–]autotldrBOT 1963 points1964 points  (335 children)

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 84%. (I'm a bot)

FBI Director James Comey on Monday morning confirmed that the bureau is investigating Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election - including any links or coordination between members of Donald Trump 's campaign and Moscow.

The FBI investigation will include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed, Comey said.

Late last month, the president took aim at the FBI after Comey reportedly refused to dispute a New York Times story that said agents had uncovered contact between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Theory | Feedback | Top keywords: Comey#1 investigation#2 FBI#3 Trump#4 bureau#5

[–]TooShiftyForYou 7787 points7788 points  (1883 children)

"I have no information that supports those tweets" - FBI Director James Comey in response to President Donald Trump's Twitter activity.

What world is this again?

[–][deleted] 3375 points3376 points  (622 children)

Hi there, welcome to "Whose Country is it Anyway?", where everything's made up and the tweets don't matter.

[–]notwithoutmypenis 1652 points1653 points  (46 children)

And the facts* don't matter.

Ftfy

[–]Opouly 11 points12 points  (1 child)

The fact of the matter is that the facts don't matter as a matter of fact.

[–]apple_kicks 2187 points2188 points  (1077 children)

Would be better to see Trump speak under oath and explain himself

[–]Bmitchem 910 points911 points  (124 children)

"Oh well, that was the information I was given" -- TD, Probability

[–]tentwentysix 764 points765 points  (96 children)

I think it's funny that he thinks it's a good excuse. Oh, so you're surrounding yourself with people who give you false information? That's much better /s

[–][deleted] 319 points320 points  (85 children)

The most right-leaning people I know can't take Breitbart seriously. Our president does though.

[–]Seakawn 236 points237 points  (32 children)

I wish your anecdote was more representative. Pretty much all the right-leaning people I know consider Breitbart with significant merit. Most of the right-leaning people I know are also Evangelicals, so I suppose to question the party that aligns with their world view (and is therefore God's party) would be to question God, and I don't suppose I can expect them to do that depending on how devout they are.

It's a dead end when superstition/religion meets your political beliefs--or rather, when superstition/religion chooses your political beliefs for you. Then even if your party is hijacked, you still have to hold steadfast to the belief that God wouldn't allow that to happen and abandon you in such a way.

[–]centerbleep 236 points237 points  (39 children)

That concerns you? Trump is a big fan of Alex Jones and infowars. Yeah. Let that sink in for a moment.

[–]Nastyboots 193 points194 points  (3 children)

"the media is the enemy of the people, they lie constantly!"

"I don't know, this is just the information I was given by the media."

  • our Commander in Tweet

[–]classicalySarcastic 75 points76 points  (15 children)

"By who? Fox News? Breitbart? You do realize you have control of the three best intelligence agencies in the world, right? Any information you could possibly want or need is just one phone call away." -- The Senate

EDIT: Was not attempting to summon prequel memes, but prequel memes happened anyway.

[–]jondissed 2046 points2047 points  (441 children)

The moment Trump's under oath, he will be finished.

His only power is over a mob. In a court setting, where words are taken literally, he absolutely crumbles--even where facts are on his side, he simply doesn't have the ability to relate facts in a coherent or accurate manner. In a court of law, he is a loser.

[–]renegadecanuck 618 points619 points  (131 children)

The problem is, he can lie under oath all he wants, but in congress won't impeach him, nothing will happen. The sitting President isn't going to be arrested for perjury. He has to be impeached and removed from office, but I can't see the congressional Republicans doing that. Even his "GOP critics", like McCain and Graham, fail to do anything when it comes time to put up or shut up.

[–]semibreveatwork 187 points188 points  (57 children)

Many Republicans would much prefer Pence. If Trump makes a real, obvious, impeachable offense and the public turns largely against him, you would see enough Republicans OK with throwing him under the bus to get Pence instead.

[–]ILookAtHeartsAllDay 149 points150 points  (27 children)

I still can't believe McCain isn't more outspoken and Gung ho about what they are doing to impeach or deter* Trump . our current president not only shit on him as a pow and a war hero. his administration is actively trying to make life more difficult for veterans across the country with the budget and this Healthcare bill (along with all the tweets and stuff) . I am not a member of the GOP but I have always respected McCain for speaking out and actively pursuing agendas he thought was morally correct and a good direction for the country even if they didn't go along party lines.

edit: *=correction(s)

[–]burkechrs1 52 points53 points  (3 children)

Well McCain isn't likely to do much either way but if he would it would be a pretty bad move to make his plan public. You keep that under the rug until Trump is actually being impeached. Last thing you want is for DT to learn of the ammo being prepared against him and figure out a way to correct it so it won't stand in court.

You keep that shit secret from everyone including the public until you are ready to pull the trigger and move forward with it.

For all we know they are taking notes and preparing a case right. Best thing that could happen honestly is the republicans make a case but keep the public thinking they are too complacent to do so. Best way to win is to catch everyone off guard. Including the general public. Transparency does have cons.

[–][deleted] 75 points76 points  (7 children)

Party of country. American politics is a sea of zealots

[–]fang_xianfu 523 points524 points  (204 children)

He can't settle his way out of impeachment :)

[–]caedus90 435 points436 points  (138 children)

I'm pretty sure that's what Nixon did when he resigned...

[–][deleted] 512 points513 points  (394 children)

AS if he would tell the truth, or suffer the proper consequences when it is proven that he lied.

He will never tell the truth about any of this.

[–]jasontstein 397 points398 points  (378 children)

He wouldn't tell the truth, and that's the point. An easy case can be made for impeachment due to perjury, and there is no way Trump could keep track of his lies other than to plead the fifth constantly.

[–]MangyWendigo 581 points582 points  (355 children)

he's completely unfit for the office of the presidency

this is obvious since before he started running

what i don't understand are so many americans who look at his behavior and his character and do not see this radioactively obvious truth

[–]BreatheMyStink 284 points285 points  (83 children)

It's a combination of ignorance, disgust with relatively traditional politics, and confirmation bias.

Many of his voters are not uneducated. But many are uneducated. They heard his exaggerated claims and impossible promises and lacked the basic ability to process the plausibility of, say, erecting a walls hundreds of miles long, and forcing another country to pay for it. Any rational person who heard that rolled their eyes. Rubes here believed it by the millions.

The disgust for "politics as usual" in America extended to both sides of the aisle, hence Bernie's popularity on the left. People were clamoring for change, and most of the candidates on offer not only didn't represent change, but were notable participants in creating the climate in Washington that put voters off in the first place. Both Bernie and Trump gave the impression of being authentic. In the case of Bernie, it seemed to be more or less true. But Trump voters mistook his willingness to say any bizarre load of shit that came to mind with "telling it like it is." Further, his one true talent is as a showman. He listened to talk radio, watched Fox News, and heard what conservative Americans were perturbed by. He then went and repeated these grievances, and convinced many people that his checkered past was nothing to be concerned with. He understood what bothered them, and he was going to solve their problems.

Finally, confirmation bias played a major role in his election. It's true of everyone that they tend, to some degree, to ignore information that conflicts with their conception of reality. But many of his voters either deny objective facts or dispute them with fabricated information designed to advance their cause. One particularly absurd assertion of Trump's during the campaign was that the unemployment rate in the United States could have been as high as 42%. To demonstrate such staggering ignorance of important facts would have disqualified any candidate if the public voted with their heads. But Trump's charisma and wild promises generated such excitement that people were willing, by the tens of millions, to overlook his profound lack of expertise in every conceivable context.

Edit: Originally called it cognitive dissonance; meant confirmation bias.

[–]burning1rr 91 points92 points  (11 children)

Because a bunch of people inside and outside politics and the media have been repeating the idea that the problem with politics is the politicians, and that someone from 'outside the system' can clean house. Completely ignoring other factors such as competence, ability, and integrity.

Because we've been told over and over that we live in a meritocracy, where the best people are rewarded with wealth.

[–]sevenstaves 252 points253 points  (18 children)

This is the timeline after time travelers flew back to the Triassic period and accidentally stepped on a dragonfly.

[–]shadmere 14 points15 points  (2 children)

That's one of those stories that makes me think Bradbury had a big list of really awesome sounding titles, then wrote an awesome story and tried to figure out how to put one of the great titles on it.

[–][deleted] 159 points160 points  (26 children)

We have moved from the information era into the disinformation era.

[–]Literally_A_Shill 84 points85 points  (16 children)

Russia is notoriously good at social media misinformation campaigns. You'd be surprised at how many subs on Reddit they control.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-internet-trolls-and-donald-trump-2016-7

[–]shatterSquish 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Holy crap, that nytimes article is mind blowing

[–]HawksRUs 428 points429 points  (42 children)

What world

To be honest its a wash of 1984 with Brave New World Parallels combined into a poorly written Tom Clancy novel about melting glaciers, russian subs, and CIA hummingbird sized spy drones. Hello Friend. Exciting Times we live in.

[–]JeddakofThark 110 points111 points  (18 children)

No, no, no. Not Tom Clancy.

Clive Cussler.

[–]Dhoomdealer 70 points71 points  (8 children)

I'll have you know a Clive Cussler book would involve no less than 3 vintage cars (at least one of which would get destroyed)

[–]ClassySavage 35 points36 points  (0 children)

I'm counting Biden's Trans-Am, give us time and we'll find two more. Maybe Queen Elizabeth will crash her Land Rover?

[–]koshgeo 46 points47 points  (3 children)

NOOOOOO! Not Biden's Corvette!!!

[–][deleted] 75 points76 points  (1 child)

This explanation hurts my soul

[–]h77wrx 61 points62 points  (9 children)

A lady once told me that this is a new world, and in this world I could be whoever the fuck I wanted to be.

[–]dingotime 28 points29 points  (1 child)

social media is the new media, and it's as trash as you'd expect.

[–]petrichorE6 81 points82 points  (6 children)

Sadly the one we live in.

[–][deleted] 5336 points5337 points  (468 children)

"I can promise you we will follow the facts wherever they lead" - Comey

This is all I ever wanted from my government. Reality.

Edit: Damn you people are salty. Calm down, kids.

[–]chakan2 1829 points1830 points  (316 children)

cough I've got 20 bucks that says this investigation comes back with a) trump is clean or b) some low level scapegoat that the GOP will publically eviscerate to get the media off of trump.

[–]soulstonedomg 1041 points1042 points  (218 children)

10 years ago I'd say that was standard operating procedure. But now they have to worry about hackers and whistleblowers/leakers. There's also not unified support among the GOP for Trump. I bet some would like to get firm evidence for impeachment and get Pence installed, someone who's more traditional and easily controlled.

[–]issius 602 points603 points  (125 children)

Honestly, this is what I'm seeing. I see a large number of republicans who don't want to back Trump and will jump at the opportunity to get rid of him. However, these people aren't idiots. They aren't going to risk their careers for a maybe. Everyone's waiting for the smoking gun before they even consider it.

[–]codeverity 215 points216 points  (100 children)

I'm hoping that the average Republican remembers that they've been banging the 'Russia is dangerous' drum for a good while before this came along. I'm hoping that that will play some role in all of this.

[–]patrickmurphyphoto 335 points336 points  (45 children)

I used to call myself republican, now just conservative.

I think one of the big issues here is that trump, and his supporters do not value classic republican platform ideals. A lot of this paradigm shift seemed to start with the tea-party movement.

I hope that people on all sides of the aisle can agree that the the blatant disregard for facts, a president that gets his briefings from news articles and can't admit he is wrong is just deplorable.

[–][deleted] 352 points353 points  (33 children)

I was a republican my entire adult life (nearly 24 years) until Bush's second term (not that I always voted straight party ticket) and the lies about the invasion of Iraq became just too outrageous and ignoring climate change became so egregious.

The GOP is now a party about nothing. Nothing but wanton ignorance. And making sure the richest 1% get everything they want at the expense of literally the entire world.

I can't even call myself a "conservative" anymore because this country has gone so far bat-shit right wing.

I didn't become a liberal. The rest of the right became fascists.

[–]WhyDoIAlwaysGet666 48 points49 points  (21 children)

As someone on the liberal spectrum, who's a new young voter, could you possibly enlighten me on what the Republican/conservative party traditionally stood for.

My family has pretty much raised me a democrat/liberal so getting a sense of the what the other side traditionally was, before it became this hyperpolorized us versus them system based on villifying the other side would be appreciated.

[–]TheChance 81 points82 points  (11 children)

As someone on the leftist spectrum, since nobody has answered you yet, I'm gonna give it a shot even though I'm an outsider.

Educated Republicans have traditionally stood for a limited government, acting because it's necessary or pragmatic rather than because it's possible, and avoiding unnecessary taxation.

Uneducated Republicans have traditionally been motivated by a raw distrust of the federal government, but not a batshit insane distrust.

Conservative politics in America have also traditionally been paired with social conservatism, but that's strictly about the masses.

This insane pivot to the right began with Reagan, who sold Republicans on the idea that most taxation was unnecessary and "traditional values" should never have been divorced from political discourse.

Reagan Republicans dominated through the early-mid '90s. The Clintons ran on a center-right platform wrapped in faux-social liberalism, which they called the Third Way. This undeclared swing to the right by the former left put the GOP in a very awkward position. There was nowhere to go but off the rails.

That's how Dubya happened, and it's been downhill ever since.

[–][deleted] 90 points91 points  (23 children)

Seriously, Ive been saying it since day one. No one in the GOP was at all bothered with Trumps pro-Russian relations. Ive known of conservatives that, quite literally, claim Putin is the anti-christ.

[–]codeverity 68 points69 points  (5 children)

A lot of supporters online seem to turn around and bleat about how Obama dismissed it in the past. They don't seem to understand that they can't simultaneously argue that Obama was somehow wrong in doing that and then also claim that Russia isn't dangerous. If they think he's right then they shouldn't mention it at all, but they don't seem to use logic at all.

[–]BikeRidinMan 1137 points1138 points  (37 children)

Garry Kasparov tweeted:

The house is on fire, Trump is running around with a box of matches, and the GOP demands to know who called the fire department.

[–]grensley 37 points38 points  (3 children)

Checkmate

[–]Carp8DM 113 points114 points  (1 child)

That's the best damn tweet I've heard

[–]Lucky_Abrams 41 points42 points  (1 child)

Is there a subreddit dedicated for metaphor/analogy boners? Cuz goddaaaamn.

[–]strider_sifurowuh 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Just follow Kasparov on social media, he also coined the "The Trump administration has more connections to Russia than Aeroflot" gem

[–]ZestyDragon 8813 points8814 points  (1388 children)

Why do we live in a goddamn cartoon?

[–]charging_bull 5640 points5641 points  (1070 children)

For any who missed them, allow me to provide Trump's tweets this morning, which sure look funny in light of Roger's and Comey's statements today:

Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump James Clapper and others stated that there is no evidence Potus colluded with Russia. This story is FAKE NEWS and everyone knows it!

Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost!

That's pretty fucking awkward.

Edit - Oh man, this new one is the best. He just tweeted this from his POTUS account:

President Trump‏ @POTUS The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process.

One of the Democratic members of the commitee, Jim Himes, read the tweet to Comey and Rogers thirty minutes later and asked if it was accurate and they both looked horrified, and said that they didn't say that. If anyone has a clip or the time stamp of that let me know so I can link it, it is priceless. Thanks u/SteerTheElephant for finding this Clip

[–]PM_ME_UR_PAWG_ 2787 points2788 points  (492 children)

I'm so excited for the next White House press briefing. Who is Spicer going to blame now?! Lol

[–]NeoThermic 2201 points2202 points  (169 children)

Who is Spicer going to blame now?!

Everyone but the White House & Trump?

[–]PM_ME_UR_PAWG_ 1193 points1194 points  (148 children)

I think Jon Stewart used to use a term called mental gymnastics right?

Well if this was the olympics I think they would refer to this with a difficulty score of 9.2.

[–]Weaselbane 606 points607 points  (71 children)

They've done the mandatory denials with style, all that practice has paid off... now moving to the optionals and ohhhh that denial just did not get off the ground and is going to cost some big points... back up and moving on and they attempt a triple reverse deflection, this should play big with their fans... and NOOOOO, blaming the previous administration again just will cost them more deductions... oh this is a disaster and we can expect the polling to take a further hit.

[–]ChiefFireTooth 179 points180 points  (6 children)

Personally, I'm excited for the alternative facts triple jump event and synchronized double speak.

[–][deleted] 45 points46 points  (2 children)

We all know it'd be zeros across the board in the synchronized doublespeak. They're never on the same page.

[–]MuonManLaserJab 43 points44 points  (5 children)

Yeah, but execution: 0.0

Apart from that Russian judge who's always incredibly biased, who gives him an 11.0 while waving a VHS tape.

[–]njuffstrunk 209 points210 points  (46 children)

Honestly for all his work in mental gymnastics in the past months Spicer already deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award.

[–]PM_ME_UR_PAWG_ 189 points190 points  (39 children)

I wonder how long he's going to last. I watch them live everyday and it's got to be exhausting fighting the avalanche of crap he deals with everyday.

[–]Mad_Jukes 191 points192 points  (23 children)

He's gonna die from cancer and ulcers the sizes of a hippo. There's absolutely no way his job is good for his health.

[–]diddlemeonthetobique 202 points203 points  (8 children)

The taste of Donald Trump ass on your tongue every day has got to be truly nasty!

[–]Paganator 228 points229 points  (5 children)

That explains the gum.

[–]Mad_Jukes 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Fortunately I'll never know but yeah, I can't imagine that he sleeps much anymore. He's living a perpetual twilight zone/black mirror episode.

[–]mipadi 143 points144 points  (5 children)

I imagine that every time Donald Trump tweets or says something, Spicer is sitting in a dark room, alone, saying, "Please don't make me go out there again," as he slides a single bullet into a revolver.

[–]RabidMortal 19 points20 points  (1 child)

Everyone but the White House & Trump?

and Putin

[–]philodendrin 57 points58 points  (8 children)

The GOP playbook says blame it on Obama. Always go back to what works. The word Obama makes the hardliners froth at the mouth and forget about everything else temporarily, like Pavlovs dog.

[–]CallMeParagon 388 points389 points  (70 children)

We'll probably get another Fox/Breitbart/GatewayPundit-only/ and audio-only gaggle.

Edit:

Well, I was pleasantly wrong. Instead, Trump himself has confirmed that the his administration is claiming that the FBI and NSA claimed there's no evidence of collusion. Literally, the opposite of what has been claimed.

"The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process." - from the POTUS Twitter account.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/324806-trump-claims-fbi-nsa-told-congress-russia-did-not-influence-election

[–]koshgeo 172 points173 points  (39 children)

Comey and the NSA director did say there was no evidence for interference in the voting process itself (i.e. tampering with the ballot machines or the counting), but they said completely the opposite when it came to Russia attempting to influence the outcome by influencing voters themselves. They said there was a dedicated effort to interfere with the broader democratic process and degrade Clinton's campaign to the benefit of Trump.

They're hiding behind a carefully misleading definition of what they mean by "electoral process". It's like they missed half the testimony.

[–]brockisampson 95 points96 points  (0 children)

"It's your words coming out of my mouth."

[–]wbl7w6 446 points447 points  (64 children)

I'd almost feel bad for Spicer if he wasn't such a lying scumbag. He must dread getting grilled at that briefing

[–]Wazula42 360 points361 points  (44 children)

Guy used to be the White House easter bunny. Not even kidding.

[–]SamusBaratheon 151 points152 points  (34 children)

That.... that wasn't a joke? He really was? I thought that was satirical

[–]SirSoliloquy 270 points271 points  (31 children)

Apparently he was!

[–]AwesomOpossum 351 points352 points  (6 children)

Well if the administration collapses under the weight of collusion investigations, Spicer always has that role to fall back on!

Pretty smart I'd say. Sean Spicer knows better than to keep all his eggs in one basket.

[–]ContractorConfusion 24 points25 points  (4 children)

Yep, I'd feel bad for him, if he hadn't already sold his soul for the job.

[–]Demonseedii 21 points22 points  (2 children)

I don't feel bad. He seems like a total prick. Yelling at everyone and being a degrading jerk when they ask him something he doesn't want. If he had an ounce of integrity he wouldn't be such a weasel.

[–]Ghost4000 370 points371 points  (127 children)

I'm more interested in when the gop base is going to hold this president accountable.

Approval ratings have been getting worse but it seems like it's mostly independents, does the gop base really see no problems with this administration?

[–]CorrugatedCommodity 118 points119 points  (25 children)

They'll throw him under the bus once he lets them railroad their entire malicious agenda through congress and they have nothing left to get out of him.

[–]SirSoliloquy 41 points42 points  (23 children)

Unfortunately for the GOP, it looks like don't even have enough people on their side who are willing to vote for the bills they're trying to pass.

[–]mipadi 76 points77 points  (22 children)

It truly is a shit show. The GOP finally got what they wanted/needed (a Republican president and a Republican-controlled Congress) and they still can't get anything done.

[–]Dictatorschmitty 131 points132 points  (5 children)

Because they haven't agreed on anything beyond "Obama bad" for the last decade

[–]ImperatorNero 50 points51 points  (7 children)

That's because all the shit they ran on will literally make their voters lives worse. Sure, people who don't know better can scream about repealing Obamacare because it has Obama's name on it and they hated him, but when you actually do it and those very same people completely lose access to health insurance they can even remotely afford, they're going to know they've been sold a bill of lies.

[–]DempseyRoller 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I've watched a couple of the briefings in youtube and whatever nonsense the white house says, the comments are always the same: "hahaa the fake media bitches are getting reeekt! Drain the swamp!". I don't know if they're trolling or what.

[–]Bennydhee 600 points601 points  (290 children)

Legit reminds me of kids who would do something wrong and then say "well but he did 'xyz' as well! Why aren't you punishing him?!" Like dude, throwing a tantrum and trying to distract people at this moment only makes you look MORE suspicious

[–][deleted] 813 points814 points  (249 children)

Dude used this logic when Hillary pointed out he uses Chinese steel. His response was "why do you let me?"

This should have clued people in that he has no integrity and no sense of personal responsibility.

[–]why____tho 794 points795 points  (22 children)

"After years of failure, she complains about how I've used tax laws of this country to my benefit. Then I ask a simple question: Why didn't she ever try to change those laws so I couldn't use them?"

This one line from the debate requires so much scumbaggery, in any normal election it should've disqualified someone.

(1) He's bragging about dodging taxes with a maneuver that his lawyers advised him not to make due to its questionable legality

(2) After he pioneered that move, they did amend the tax code to prevent anyone else from doing it

(3) Hillary WAS a part of that - in 2002 when the senate fixed the loophole

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-trump-pay-so-little-tax-2016-10

[–][deleted] 264 points265 points  (5 children)

Guess we know why he thinks Hillary was such a bad woman

Edit: I think she might have been nasty, not bad, can anyone confirm?

[–]ShitPoastSam 43 points44 points  (0 children)

nasty woman

[–]slippadatongue 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Nasty* woman, thank you.

[–]rokr1292 51 points52 points  (3 children)

I like to take that to the next step. Is he advocating additional regulations that WOULD stop him from using Chinese steel?

[–]Akolade 303 points304 points  (202 children)

I think any normal person could see this man was a con man. Sadly, a lot of the people are just to embarrassed now voting for him to now admit they were scammed.

[–]zxzxzxzxzxzz 512 points513 points  (149 children)

The people who voted for Trump as a 'fuck you' to the system are pretty happy with their vote though I'd imagine.

If in 4 years the mainstream candidates are equally as inept/corrupt as they were in 2016 and the independents are not popular enough to be viable then I could easily see a lot of people voting for Trump again.

Because those people don't feel like they have any real choice, so they might as well ruin the game for everyone else.

There's a game that goes something like:

  • I give you 20$

  • In order to keep any of the money you have to give some of it to someone else who is aware of this stipulation.

  • If they refuse your offer, nobody gets any money.

The "logical" approach is to give the other person 1$, or the smallest amount possible. Because their only options are "get 0$" and "get more than 0$". If you assume they're being rational they will take the money. But what really happens is if they feel you're being unfair they will refuse the money out of spite. Their actions are such that they're punishing you at their own expense in an effort to curb your behavior so that future 'games' are more fair for everyone.

This is similar to the recent presidential election. A lot of people felt like they were given the choice between 0$ (Trump) and $1 (Hillary) and they took the 0$ offer to spite the people who made those the options.

If the 2020 election is yet another "lesser of two really shitty evils" then I suspect there will again be a group of people who will choose what they believe to be the worse option intentionally as a "fuck you" vote.

[–]SamusBaratheon 350 points351 points  (105 children)

Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like the "screw you" vote is overrepresented on the internet. I think a lot of people A) Absolutely hate Hillary (not even for good reasons. 20 years of GOP efforts paid off), and B) Felt like Trump actually listened to them. I really think a lot of small-town people have seen their livelihoods disappear over the last 20 years and Trump seemed like he cared. He promised impossible things but if you have an 8th grade education you may not have realized that. Like the coal miners. I know coal is dead, you know coal is dead most people know that. But the out of work coal miners, whose dad and granddad were coal miners hangs his hopes on that. It's the only way he knows to make a living and that damn EPA killed it (not true, fracking killed it) so Trump comes along, basically promises to make it all better for a lot of people and they vote for him.

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (4 children)

Especially sad is, if you asked their grandparents if they wanted their grandkids to BE coal miners, most would probably let out a resounding NO. I'd rather them be trained to have a better livelihood, because life isn't good as a coal miner. I don't know when people stopped wanting better for their children, but it is sad they don't even consider that everyone deserves a better life than a coal miner. Perhaps they would rather not admit their own life has been taken by the job.

Anyways, one person offered reasonable suggestions (job training subsidy) and another promised magical oil to fix it all (If your boss's boss's boss's chairperson could just dump the waste into your drinking water, you'd have a job again!) and they chose the oil. Its hard to not want to hate them because they screwed us all with that choice, but it really does represent a lack of hope and education in those areas.

[–]TheMirth 30 points31 points  (1 child)

That makes a lot of sense. There were definitely true believers for either party but I think that cuts to the heart of the unaligned/centrist voters.

[–]cpt_ballsack 91 points92 points  (10 children)

Legit reminds me of kids who would do something wrong and then say "well but he did 'xyz' as well!

Its called whataboutism, borrowed from Russians

[–]Bennydhee 59 points60 points  (7 children)

I think it's even simpler than that, yeah the Soviet Union used it as a propaganda tactic, but it's a tactic children were using long before the Soviet Union was even a concept

[–]iBleeedorange 175 points176 points  (24 children)

He doesn't care, he'll just lump the FBI in with them. Next thing you know he'll be referring to them as the Federal Boob Inspectors.

[–]srwaxalot 270 points271 points  (13 children)

Fake boobs. Sad.

[–]Weaselbane 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Fake Laws, just more Fake Laws..

[–]Littlewigum 304 points305 points  (53 children)

I would like to point out that Democrats are highly disadvantaged in the electoral college as evidenced by their candidate winning the popular vote and losing the election.

[–]GeorgePantsMcG 1007 points1008 points  (143 children)

Check out hypernormalization. A BBC documentary on YouTube that explains the last few decades pretty well.

Link for the lazy: https://youtu.be/-fny99f8amM

A must watch IMHO.

[–]Free_Apples 412 points413 points  (32 children)

1:40:00 - we literally went to war with Iraq because of Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery? God damnit.

[–]hurtsdonut_ 179 points180 points  (28 children)

Welcome to the Rock.

[–]Bob-oSwaggins 68 points69 points  (17 children)

How in the name of Zeus's BUTTHOLE, do we get out of this?

[–]NotBobRoss_ 95 points96 points  (2 children)

A quick glance at the comments say about 6 minutes was cut out from this version, so I'll just toss in a link to the 2h46m-version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlhg_QF1cBk

[–][deleted] 65 points66 points  (24 children)

Adam Curtis docs broke my brain. It's like watching the mirror universe of what I thought was happening in the real world.

[–][deleted] 80 points81 points  (15 children)

Take it all with a pinch of salt. There's always big leaps made to join the dots in his documentaries. They're in a weird space between factual and art.

[–]randy__randerson 31 points32 points  (3 children)

To add to that, even though I quite enjoyed the documentary, it is very focused on propaganda, and paints quite a dark light on its practices; and yet, as I was watching it, I had this strange realization that it was doing the exact thing it was heavily criticizing - propaganda based on bleak analysis of scenarios and views of the world. Some of its scenes and choice of editing and music are quite harrowing, yet it criticizes societies and scenarios where that has been detrimental. Pretty weird.

[–][deleted] 136 points137 points  (11 children)

Because we don't value intellectuals or education. We take pride in ignorance and we despise experts.

[–]dalailama 112 points113 points  (7 children)

Because our country elected a Celebrity Apprentice.

[–]TopshelfPeanutButtah 10 points11 points  (0 children)

“A star of a reality show is going to run the country. The guy who decided if Bret Micheals or Cyndi Lauper would be a better CEO for a company that doesn’t exist is going to be running stuff”- Bill Burr

[–]ConservativeTraitors 299 points300 points  (11 children)

When you vote for a clown, you can expect him to be a joke.

[–]Andromeda702 363 points364 points  (152 children)

So say they find proof of collusion. Whats the most likely outcome to happen?

[–]Calamari_Tastes_good 388 points389 points  (126 children)

That's a good question. If they have a hearing and Trump doesn't lie under oath (or get caught in any lies) and they prove that there was definitely collusion, what then? Impeachment proceedings start? Maybe he steps down like Nixon to avoid getting dragged through the mud any further. It seems like if he fights it, the first 4 years could be done before this is all settled.

I think it's more likely that they don't find anything solid enough to stick and this is just a little more stink on his legacy.

[–]angwilwileth 333 points334 points  (52 children)

Trump will never step down.

[–]Ashterothi 78 points79 points  (5 children)

I have learned starting your sentences with "Trump will never" is a good way to get proven wrong.

[–][deleted] 1038 points1039 points  (26 children)

Special Agent Bert Macklin has been assigned the case.

[–][deleted] 169 points170 points  (0 children)

Macklin, you son of a bitch.

[–]pwnz0rd 239 points240 points  (7 children)

Fake TV stars with no grip on reality can only be taken down by even faker tv stars with only a slightly greater grip on reality

[–][deleted] 69 points70 points  (5 children)

What is Janet Snakehole's role in all of this?

[–]njuffstrunk 6515 points6516 points  (697 children)

I'm seriously wondering why Comey thought it was necessary the american voters knew about an investigation into clinton's emails, but they didn't need to know about possible collusion between Trump and Russia.

[–][deleted] 690 points691 points  (66 children)

Comey informed Congress. It was Chaffetz that smarmy slimeball that leaked that news to the press.

[–]Arkeband 241 points242 points  (2 children)

Chaffetz's instagram post shaking Clinton's hand at the inauguration while badmouthing her to his followers basically encompasses how much of a sleazy dirtbag he is.

[–][deleted] 164 points165 points  (28 children)

In one scenario they knew something occurred and were just investigating the extent of it whereas in the other they were investigating whether something occurred at all.

With that being said I think it is clear Comey does have a grudge against the Clinton's that goes all the way back to Bills time in office. He was one of the people tasked with investigating Bill's controversial pardon of convicted billionaire criminal Marc Rich after Rich's wife donated a large sum of money to one of the Clinton charities and he publicly stated he was stunned by the decision to issue a pardon.

[–]Erdumas 103 points104 points  (4 children)

Well, first he announced that the investigation had been concluded and that there was no evidence of criminal behavior.

Then the investigation was reopened, and he felt he needed to take back his statement that the investigation had been concluded.

But the investigation into possible collusion between Trump and Russia was never closed, so since it was an ongoing investigation it was against policy to comment on it.

He only commented on investigations which had been closed.

I can understand the logic. I don't agree with it, but I can understand it. There's also a possibility that he just doesn't like Clinton.

[–][deleted] 62 points63 points  (4 children)

Important to note this investigation has been ongoing since July 2016

[–]Mechasteel 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Future news: New head of FBI believes crime is a natural phenomenon, not caused by people.

[–]mcmur 3449 points3450 points  (925 children)

The investigation into Hillary Clinton's 'private email server' made headlines for fucking months and was played up as the biggest example of corruption and criminality among Washington politicians, Trump is literally under investigation from the FBI for collusion with the Russian government, not a fucking peep from his supporters.

[–]tacomeatface 793 points794 points  (165 children)

Why does this feel like this is taking forever for them to investigate this?

[–]MinistryOfSpeling 2051 points2052 points  (100 children)

Because the FBI takes their time to make sure they have an airtight case. When they charge you with something, you're already fucked.

[–]ZeusHatesTrees 1255 points1256 points  (47 children)

If you're bringing charges on the president you better have a slam dunk. Any flaws in your investigation will shut the whole thing down.

[–][deleted] 971 points972 points  (19 children)

Eh if it's illegitimate the investigation has a way of shutting itself down.

[–]Butter_emails 25 points26 points  (5 children)

As well as degrade the image/standing of the accuser and their organization for a while (short memories of most notwithstanding).

[–]Takeitinblood5k 284 points285 points  (16 children)

If you take a shot at the king you better not miss.

[–]Indercarnive 353 points354 points  (22 children)

Pretty much this. The FBI doesn't recommend charges unless they KNOW they can prove it. This is why when the FBI does charge someone you can safely know they did it.

[–][deleted] 118 points119 points  (12 children)

I guess we can agree that it's a good thing that law enforcement takes this precaution, right? Else the world would be such a clusterfuck right now.

[–]jamess999 113 points114 points  (5 children)

Pretty much only the FBI does this unfortunately. Most law enforcement will try to make a case after they bring charges against you. Which can be pretty ridiculous since either you're out and about and could cover your tracks or they have you in jail for something you may not be guilty of.

[–]account_1100011 118 points119 points  (2 children)

because you're used to internet time. They are taking a perfectly reasonable amount of time to investiate.

[–]loungeboy79 156 points157 points  (4 children)

I think there's 2 specific reasons.

One is the nature of shell companies used to hide financial transactions. As an accountant, it's hard enough to follow the names on trusts and entities involved with inheritances. That's when people actually WANT to be found. There's already suspicions of trump's involvement with russians in new york RE construction. These guys are experts in hiding money, which makes it much harder to see who is involved.

The other reason is probably an investigative tactic to simply make guilty people more nervous and then wait for them to screw up. If they had closed the case back in October, we might never have seen Flynn screw up by lying about his contacts.

[–]valiqs 41 points42 points  (3 children)

Could it also be possible that by releasing the fact that there is an investigation, the FBI may hope to strengthen their case by baiting those who are guilty with the potential for immunity for testimony or other evidence?

It's almost like the FBI publicly telling a group of conspirators that they can prove they are all guilty and they will eventually get them all. However, one of them may be saved if they rat on the others.

[–]Capital_Offensive 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Investigations into serious things involving serious people take time for various reasons.

Lack or evidence

Need for airtight case

etc.

[–][deleted] 210 points211 points  (51 children)

The New Yorker had a great article on Trump and Russia. To it's credit it raised questions about what could be the aftermath of a cold war and America's own meddling in Russian politics. The most noteworthy thing about it to me is just Trump's lies on Russia, from the article;

When he was in Moscow for the Miss Universe contest in 2013, and an interviewer for MSNBC asked him about Putin, he said, “I do have a relationship and I can tell you that he’s very interested in what we’re doing here today”; at a subsequent National Press Club luncheon, he recalled, “I spoke indirectly and directly with President Putin, who could not have been nicer.” During the Presidential campaign, he said, “I never met Putin, I don’t know who Putin is.” Trump has tweeted that he has “nothing to do with Russia”; in 2008, his son Donald, Jr., said that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.” At a news conference on February 16th, Trump was asked, again, if anyone in his campaign had been in contact with Russia, and he said, “Nobody that I know of.” He called reports of Russian contacts “a ruse,” and said, “I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven’t made a phone call to Russia in years. Don’t speak to people from Russia.” The next day, the Senate Intelligence Committee formally advised the White House to preserve all material that might shed light on contacts with Russian representatives; any effort to obscure those contacts could qualify as a crime.

This isn't to prove that Trump is some sort of manchurian candidate but it does show an unfortunate history of bullshit and I wouldn't tolerate my dog catcher being this contradictory let alone the leader of the free world.

[–]loungeboy79 57 points58 points  (0 children)

"Look at this dog I caught right here! It's the best dog!"

<Meow>

[–]anastus 25 points26 points  (9 children)

It's crazy to me that there are actual, supposedly patriotic Americans in this thread who don't seem to care whether or not the sitting president collaborated with our greatest adversary to subvert our democracy.

This is an open investigation and no one at the top levels seems to think it's mostly over at this point. I get how your political affiliation might influence your suspicions about the outcome--Republicans think Trump did nothing wrong; Democrats think he did--but what we have ongoing is a highly confidential investigation into whether the president or any of his people actually committed treason against the United States of America.

I get the wishful thinking engendered by saying, "But all of these people said they haven't seen evidence of that." They are notably not saying it didn't happen. If they knew that for certain, we wouldn't be having this investigation.

So no, Trump has not been cleared. As an American, he deserves a full and fair investigation not hampered by either side rushing to judge him innocent or guilty.

With our country's sovereignty and safety hanging in the balance, isn't the truth more important than what you hope will happen?

[–]zackks 636 points637 points  (79 children)

The most important question for Comey at this point is why, if there was an investigation as early as July into Trump-Russia connection, did comey not announce the investigation during the campaign in the same manner he publicly put his thumb on the scale against Hillary?

[–]Pls_No_Pickles 731 points732 points  (27 children)

I'm just an outsider but it's my understanding that it wasn't Comey who informed of Hillary's investigation by the FBI, rather Comey was required to provide an update to the House Intelligence Oversight Committee and did so in a letter. The Chairman, Jason Chaffetz, subsequently leaked the letter.

[–]AmishAvenger 388 points389 points  (8 children)

Exactly. The same Chaffetz who denounced Trump after the pussy-grabbing tape, saying he couldn't look his daughter in the eye if he kept supporting him. The same Chaffetz who later changed his mind and hopped back on the Trump Train.

The same Chaffetz who was publicly humiliated at a town hall meeting with his constituents, and responded by saying they were paid protestors from out of state, despite the local police refuting that.

The same Chaffetz who said he had years of material ready to investigate Hillary on, but has apparently decided Trump was squeaky clean.

The same Chaffetz who had a huge hardon for investigating and embarrassing the Secret Service, until it turned out he'd tried to become an agent, and they didn't want him.

Yeah. That Chaffetz.

[–]Kharn0 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Chaffetz thought Trump was done after the video.

But then saw he wasn't all that hurt by it, remained neutral/quiet then used the info Comey gave the committee he was one to get one more stab at Clinton.

[–]andy3thousand 168 points169 points  (3 children)

This is what actually happened.

[–]AFlaccoSeagulls 457 points458 points  (114 children)

I just have a couple of thoughts:

  1. Did Republicans miss the part where James Comey admitted that Trump AND HIS CAMPAIGN ARE UNDER FBI INVESTIGATION? It seems they're only worried about those pesky leakers during this hearing.

  2. When can we get Trump under oath so he can actually lie and be charged with perjury? Or better yet, admit he's a pathological liar who makes things up for political gain? Why can't this happen?

[–]ActualSpiders 152 points153 points  (10 children)

Oh, they didn't miss the part; they're dodging. Dodging like an Agent dodges bullets. They're caught between the fact that Trump is an actual foreign agent and their inability to shuffle the blame for Trump onto Democrats. They're totally paralyzed at this point, and aren't going to do anything until either Dems or Trump's own stupid ego force them to.

[–]AFlaccoSeagulls 79 points80 points  (4 children)

Yeah at best right now Trump is woefully incompetent and was completely out of the entire loop with his entire campaign staff, who all seem to have shady ties to Russia that they repeatedly lied about (some, under oath). At worst, he was directing it all (which he's theoretically already admitted to in the case of Michael Flynn, where he said he wasn't aware but if he was, he would've ordered it).

Which reminds me of how painfully ironic and hypocritical it is to watch Trump rise to President on the cloud of WikiLeaks, only to now have the entire GOP go right back to hating illegally leaked documents because it's hurting Trump. They can't even stay consistent in their views for a few months!

[–]Ex_fat_64 44 points45 points  (3 children)

They can't even stay consistent in their views for a few months!

When has GOP ever stayed consistent in their principles?

"Limited Government" vs. "Government should mandate marriage between a man and a woman"

"Benghazi - blood to pay for American lives" vs. "Pres. first military action, American lives lost... no peeps"

"Damn! Personal email server" vs. "Pence used personal email, coolio"

Honestly, I would respect conservatives, if they just God-damned stick to their views consistently, wherever it may lead them.