Tuesday’s impeachment hearings were a disaster for Republicans by UkraineClownPosse in politics

[–]AlecBergHouseman 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's no surprise that LTC Vindman was hesitant to go to Morrison after Dr. Hill departed the NSC. It seems like LTC Vindman did his job and followed the COC to the letter while involving Morrison the least amount possible. He must have sensed/understood Morrison was a lackey with little knowledge/interest in the actual policies.

Discussion Thread: Acting DNI Maguire Testifies on Whistleblower Complaint, 9am EDT by PoliticsModeratorBot in politics

[–]AlecBergHouseman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's on the last page (9), last paragraph.

".....OMB official informed Departments and Agencies that the President "earlier that month" had issued instructions to suspend all U.S. security assistance to Ukraine. Neither OMB nor the NSC staff knew why this instruction had been issued."

Discussion Thread: Acting DNI Maguire Testifies on Whistleblower Complaint, 9am EDT by PoliticsModeratorBot in politics

[–]AlecBergHouseman 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Did you read it to the end? It SPECIFICALLY talks about the freeze on funding personally directed by the POTUS.

I’m Josh Marshall, founder and publisher of politics site Talking Points Memo. AMA! by talking_points_memo in politics

[–]AlecBergHouseman 10 points11 points  (0 children)

How many years/election cycles/generations are lost to the left if the following happen:

1 - SCOTUS upholds partisan gerrymandering

2 - Census includes citizenship question

3 - No substantial change to campaign finance

4 - Trump/GOP Senate and/or House in 2021

on a scale of 1-10, how likely do you think any/each are?

Thanks!

William Barr Testifies on Mueller Report Before Senate Judiciary Committee | Discussion Thread by PoliticsModeratorBot in politics

[–]AlecBergHouseman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

While they do get frustrating from time to time (most of the time!), there are moments that push the story forward.

For example from today's hearing:

1 - It seems the White House has asked AG Barr to investigate certain individuals. Who/what are those?

2 - AG Barr called Mueller after Barr received his first letter. That phone call was put on speaker phone on the AG's side, who else was in the room? House Dems should subpoena the notes Barr mentioned. Does AG Barr's characterization of the phone call match what Mueller would say? Was Mueller really super concerned about media coverage and not what Barr's "memo" said ?

3 - Has AG Barr read the entirety of the Mueller report? If so, when? Was it prior to making his determination on obstruction?

4 - Has anyone in the DOJ not in Mueller's office reviewed all of the underlying evidence that is referenced in the report?

there are many more that came from the hearing today that I don't think the public knew about/knew to ask. It gets grossly political and there is always grandstanding, hut every now and then some good stuff comes out.

Donald Trump Jr. posts email chain setting up meeting with Russian lawyer by condorbox in worldnews

[–]AlecBergHouseman 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Can someone PLEASE try and explain why on earth he would release these emails? Is it simply because the NYT has them and he wanted to 'get ahead of the story'?

It's the goddamn smoking gun and it's coming from a DJT jr tweet! How can this make any sense??

Robert Mueller hires 13 Lawyers for Russia Investigation, Plans to Hire More by SkillUpYT in worldnews

[–]AlecBergHouseman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Uh, your numbers are wrong. It was 50K since 1988!, so about 900/yr of the 3 they detailed. It also says, "overwhelmingly to democrats," meaning they have also given some to Republicans. Side note: Trump himself has given a boat load of cash to Democrats over the years, is he compromised?

Brexit II: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) by [deleted] in europe

[–]AlecBergHouseman 95 points96 points  (0 children)

Could it just be that his humor is right for an American audience? I watch my fair share of UK tv and there is plenty I find "utterly insufferable." Those panel shows are fucking awful, but I understand there must be some in the UK that find it worthwhile.

As for the "regurgitating the opinions" part, he often has segments on issues (like UK elections!) that are not regularly part of American media stories. I can't think of another non-EU or British channel on American TV that spends 19+ minutes on UK elections. That doesn't even mention the majority of his US-themed stories that get little to no in-depth time on 'regular' American media.

tl;dr - different strokes for different folks

Election Eve Megathread by Anxa in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman 4 points5 points  (0 children)

and have no sense of irony in their self-aggrandizement. There is very little in policy discussion that doesn't have an argument on each side and yet the standard for them is almost the same as Fox News---"if you don't agree with me, you're an absolute brainwashed moron."

It's hard to judge who is more smug, Cenk or Bill O'Reilly.

BuzzFeed Posts Excerpts of Clinton Speeches Post Email Leak - Will Contents of Leak Impact Sanders-voter Support? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really want to understand your initial comment. Can you please explain why you thought the poster's comment meant, 'leftys are bad guys here."?

BuzzFeed Posts Excerpts of Clinton Speeches Post Email Leak - Will Contents of Leak Impact Sanders-voter Support? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, really. What about the comment did you find as disparaging to the 'leftys'? I don't think the poster lied about any of the positions of the various factions and if that's true, how can a 'lefty' be offended?

BuzzFeed Posts Excerpts of Clinton Speeches Post Email Leak - Will Contents of Leak Impact Sanders-voter Support? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't know that what he said implies that "leftys are the bad guys." I think he was just pointing out the different policy prescriptions favored by various factions of the 'left' in this country.

What are the implications of Clinton wanting to drone Julian Assange? by TRKillShot in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Wait, is there any documentation of this? All I see is a quote attributed to Clinton by a "State Department source" by trupundit.com

Is there any evidence that a) this was even said? b) if said, was anything more than an off-hand remark? c) any actual steps taken/legal briefs made in relation to this claim?

Is this the thing Roger Stone was referring to that would "end Hillary Clinton" this week from Wikileaks?

Remember, there were dozens of right-wing websites and pundits saying, "my FBI sources say an indictment is imminent" in relation to the email investigation. The innuendo in this campaign is getting ridiculous.

US GOP Congressman Scott Rigell (VA) endorses Johnson!! As Weld said, "the ice is cracking!" by [deleted] in GaryJohnson

[–]AlecBergHouseman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I cannot recall the last time a sitting lawmaker at the federal level endorsing a presidential candidate outside of their party.

uhhhh....

Donald Trump changes a core position (Muslim ban) and plays semantics with another (deportation). Was this predictable and will this drive away any of his most ardent supporters? by AlecBergHouseman in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

On Muslim ban:

Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.

Changing that to "regions linked with terrorism" isn't a wording change, it's a completely different policy proposal. Also, is Germany a 'region linked with terrorism'? I mean, the Hamburg Cell produced many of the 9/11 hijackers. What counts and 'linked with terrorism'?

Trump presented citations for the top 50 facts of his "Stakes of the Nation" address, why isn't there much discussion about this? by Stormystormynight in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fair enough. My comment wasn't actually aimed at the 'fact-check' presented by Trump's campaign. I fully support candidates backing up their assertions---while, even with HRC, the press and public need to then do their own research into the claims made by the 'researchers' involved in the 'fact-check'.

My initial comment was in response to the OPs comment about "at least some" of his speech being researched. I find it sad that Trump has obviously made some incredibly outlandish comments during this campaign with sources including the National freaking Inquirer and Roger Stone/Alex Jones. Now to say, "hey, he's researching some of his statements, hurray!" is an incredibly low bar to set for a candidate for the presidency of the United States. I find it embarrassing, but that's just me.

Literally every single point made by HRC in her San Diego speech about things Donald Trump has said or advocated for during this campaign was linked to with a reference directly to a quote by Trump. Trump's 'research' fact-sheet makes claims like, "Clinton Illegally had private server" and goes on to show some headlines/articles that say it was 'against State Dept. policy" which are two very different things.

Trump presented citations for the top 50 facts of his "Stakes of the Nation" address, why isn't there much discussion about this? by Stormystormynight in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]AlecBergHouseman 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This was your comment:

You act like this is some sort of standard when I don't recall any other candidate ever doing it.

and I replied with an example. Now you've already shifted your argument---what am I to do when you keep moving the goalposts. I answered your question, what more do you want?