20 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 12

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Tags: usa, politics, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

18 comments

  1. DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    Vance says Trump wouldn't ban the abortion pill, after Trump says he'd be open to banning it. I think this is just damage control from the GOP because they can control Vance and not Trump. But I...

    Vance says Trump wouldn't ban the abortion pill, after Trump says he'd be open to banning it.

    I think this is just damage control from the GOP because they can control Vance and not Trump.

    But I prefer to listen to both the candidate himself and the party who have called it murder for far too long for me to believe now there's some moderation.

    16 votes
  3. patience_limited
    Link
    Broadcast news and major papers failed to cover report of possible Egyptian bribery involving Trump I can see that there might be an impetus to say, "Another Trump corruption allegation <yawn>"....

    Broadcast news and major papers failed to cover report of possible Egyptian bribery involving Trump

    Broadcast news and several top newspapers ignored reporting on an investigation by the Department of Justice into former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for allegedly receiving $10 million from Egypt in the days before the 2016 election, a move which would have violated a federal law that bans U.S. candidates from taking foreign funds. Since the initial report on August 2, there have only been 4 unique articles about the probe in 5 of the top national papers, and broadcast news networks have completely failed to cover it.

    I can see that there might be an impetus to say, "Another Trump corruption allegation <yawn>". This one has some uglier facets, particularly William Barr's interference in the investigation. Since the payment and concealment took place before Trump assumed the Presidency, he wouldn't be immunized by the recent Supreme Court decision.

    Honestly, the deference and bias shown by most media sources when it comes to Trump is infuriating.

    14 votes
  4. [4]
    PantsEnvy
    Link
    Trump's interview with Musk hit by tech issues

    Trump's interview with Musk hit by tech issues

    It's now past 20:00 EDT and the feed on X/Twitter is off to a glitchy start.

    Some users - including those in our newsroom - have recieved error messages while trying to log on.

    It seems reminiscent of the announcement by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who used his chat with Musk on Twitter to announce his presidential campaign.

    That event was also plagued by technological errors.

    10 votes
    1. [3]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      They swore they were fine this time.

      They swore they were fine this time.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        PantsEnvy
        Link Parent
        They tested with 8 million concurrent users. Perhaps they didn't test with 8 million concurrent users furiously hitting the reload button?

        They tested with 8 million concurrent users.

        Perhaps they didn't test with 8 million concurrent users furiously hitting the reload button?

        6 votes
        1. DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          And a bunch of bots from people who think it's funny to crash it. (Me I think it's funny, but not my bots because I don't have those.) Anything that stops the headline being "interviewed by a...

          And a bunch of bots from people who think it's funny to crash it. (Me I think it's funny, but not my bots because I don't have those.)

          Anything that stops the headline being "interviewed by a white supremacist" I guess.

          7 votes
  5. [2]
    entitled-entilde
    Link
    Why newsrooms haven’t published leaked Trump campaign documents There’s some talk about the ethics of releasing stolen material here, but the crux is I find this story rather frustrating. So...

    Why newsrooms haven’t published leaked Trump campaign documents

    There’s some talk about the ethics of releasing stolen material here, but the crux is

    The decision for newsrooms to not publish the Vance materials — a compilation of publicly available records and statements, including Vance’s past criticisms of Trump — appeared to be more straightforward because they also didn’t reach a high level of public interest.
    “In the end, it didn’t seem fresh or new enough,” Murray said.

    I find this story rather frustrating. So “Iran” hacks Trump, and all they can get is a dossier on Vance? And somehow they’re stymied by only asking a few news well credentialed organizations to publish it? And conveniently this happens right as propublica leaks project 2025 videos based on a source inside the Trump campaign.

    It seems like nothing but good for Trump as he can say “Iran is out to get me”.

    (Just as after the shooting he also got a lot of “extra security because of Iran” stories…)

    9 votes
    1. DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      Yeah it's striking to me that all that's in there is public info. I'd have found their commentary or private information both newsworthy. But perhaps the real story is that their vetting process...

      Yeah it's striking to me that all that's in there is public info. I'd have found their commentary or private information both newsworthy. But perhaps the real story is that their vetting process is actually garbage.

      Didn't the extra security happen before the shooting due to Iran? Afterwards it was because of the assassination attempt?

      8 votes
  6. [3]
    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    seven states have abortion on the ballot this year

    seven states have abortion on the ballot this year

    9 votes
    1. [2]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      I have this conversation with my partner regularly - abortion rights are popular at the polls. He, though he supports abortion rights, is stuck in the mindset that abortion is something you...

      I have this conversation with my partner regularly - abortion rights are popular at the polls. He, though he supports abortion rights, is stuck in the mindset that abortion is something you shouldn't campaign on because it'll lose votes.

      The multiple states where the people have overturned or are now trying to overturn a government that didn't listen to them is great.

      11 votes
      1. boxer_dogs_dance
        Link Parent
        I listened to a Harris Walz rally. I love Walz bluntly saying 'mind your own damned business' and 'maga voters think the government should get between me and my doctor in the exam room' and 'trust...

        I listened to a Harris Walz rally. I love Walz bluntly saying 'mind your own damned business' and 'maga voters think the government should get between me and my doctor in the exam room' and 'trust your neighbors to make their own choices even if they are not yours'.

        Harris of course came up with 'We are not going back' which is a great counter to maga and a powerful statement that I hope will drive this campaign to a win.

        12 votes
  8. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      Yeah but it did that after he was off the board. Shit as I think he is, this one is weak IMO

      Yeah but it did that after he was off the board. Shit as I think he is, this one is weak IMO

      3 votes
  9. [2]
    moocow1452
    Link
    Why the new left is largely leaderless from the New York Times

    Why the new left is largely leaderless from the New York Times

    2 votes
    1. MimicSquid
      Link Parent
      Yeah... If you don't select leaders to represent you then your opposition will highlight members they claim represent you to your detriment.

      Yeah... If you don't select leaders to represent you then your opposition will highlight members they claim represent you to your detriment.

      5 votes
  11. patience_limited
    Link
    The crypto scammers continue to buy themselves grace: Democrats Complete the Big Crypto Reset. There's got to be a pony under there somewhere.

    The crypto scammers continue to buy themselves grace: Democrats Complete the Big Crypto Reset. There's got to be a pony under there somewhere.

    2 votes