19 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 30

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Tags: politics.usa, usa, 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.

22 comments

  1. [2]
    patience_limited
    Link
    Celebrating a small but important win... NPR and PBS Win Injunction Against Trump Order to End Funding

    Celebrating a small but important win...

    NPR and PBS Win Injunction Against Trump Order to End Funding

    14 votes
    1. hobbes64
      Link Parent
      He can't. But he did. It's a bit of a pattern.

      The executive order is unconstitutional because the president can’t use governmental power to direct federal agencies to bar grants in “retaliation for saying things that he does not like,” Judge Randolph D. Moss of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said. His order grants the plaintiffs a permanent injunction from the government implementing or enforcing the executive order’s instruction to cease funding NPR and PBS.

      He can't. But he did. It's a bit of a pattern.

      11 votes
  2. [8]
    kfwyre
    Link
    Trump to Iran: "Open the Fuckin' Strait" or face bombing Tuesday I saw a screencap of his message, and I reflexively assumed it was fake. I hate that I was wrong.

    Trump to Iran: "Open the Fuckin' Strait" or face bombing Tuesday

    I saw a screencap of his message, and I reflexively assumed it was fake. I hate that I was wrong.

    9 votes
    1. [3]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      He also praised Allah (I assume sarcastically) on Easter Sunday. Wtf timeline is this?

      He also praised Allah (I assume sarcastically) on Easter Sunday.

      Wtf timeline is this?

      7 votes
      1. [2]
        TheRtRevKaiser
        Link Parent
        People I grew up with in evangelical churches would have been - earnestly, literally - calling for blood if Obama had posted this on Easter (or probably any other day). It is mind-blowing to me...

        People I grew up with in evangelical churches would have been - earnestly, literally - calling for blood if Obama had posted this on Easter (or probably any other day). It is mind-blowing to me that those folks are, presumably, fine with this shit.

        5 votes
        1. DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          People are accusing comparing Mamdani to the 9/11 attackers for simply being Muslim. I just cannot even imagine how we're here at this point.

          People are accusing comparing Mamdani to the 9/11 attackers for simply being Muslim.

          I just cannot even imagine how we're here at this point.

          3 votes
    2. [3]
      hobbes64
      Link Parent
      It doesn't sound like him. I think it was posted by someone else. I mean the grammar. The hateful message is on brand in that it's tasteless, unbecoming of the office, and tactically dumb. He's...

      It doesn't sound like him. I think it was posted by someone else.

      I mean the grammar. The hateful message is on brand in that it's tasteless, unbecoming of the office, and tactically dumb. He's responsible regardless.

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        balooga
        Link Parent
        Nonsensical capitalization, triple exclamation marks, all caps stinger, “public DM” WWE-style smack talk format, superlative claims, performative machismo, threats of violence, unhinged blasphemy…...

        Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah

        Nonsensical capitalization, triple exclamation marks, all caps stinger, “public DM” WWE-style smack talk format, superlative claims, performative machismo, threats of violence, unhinged blasphemy… seems to tick all the boxes. What about that doesn’t sound like him, in your estimation?

        2 votes
        1. MimicSquid
          Link Parent
          To me, the use of the work "fuck". I've been involuntarily exposed to a lot of his writing, and I don't recall him basically ever swearing?

          To me, the use of the work "fuck". I've been involuntarily exposed to a lot of his writing, and I don't recall him basically ever swearing?

          1 vote
    3. patience_limited
      Link Parent
      He persists in making the 25th Amendment not worth the paper it's printed on.

      He persists in making the 25th Amendment not worth the paper it's printed on.

      3 votes
  3. hobbes64
    Link
    America Is Now a Rogue Superpower Washington’s conduct in the Iran war is accelerating global chaos and deepening America’s dangerous isolation. ...

    America Is Now a Rogue Superpower
    Washington’s conduct in the Iran war is accelerating global chaos and deepening America’s dangerous isolation.

    Whenever and however America’s war with Iran ends, it has both exposed and exacerbated the dangers of our new, fractured, multipolar reality—driving deeper wedges between the United States and former friends and allies; strengthening the hands of the expansionist great powers, Russia and China; accelerating global political and economic chaos; and leaving the United States weaker and more isolated than at any time since the 1930s. Even success against Iran will be hollow if it hastens the collapse of the alliance system that for eight decades has been the true source of America’s power, influence, and security.

    ...

    Americans were not unerring stewards of world affairs. They could be selfish, self-righteous, paranoid, aggressive, and blundering, as well as indifferent and ignorant. They could be too confident about the scope of their power, and then too pessimistic about the possibilities of its use—in other words, Americans were not exceptional, even if their nation’s geopolitical circumstances were. Yet throughout the Cold War and for nearly four decades after it, allies and partners across the globe clung to the American order through thick and thin. It survived unpopular wars in Vietnam and Iraq. It survived made-in-America global economic calamities, such as the 2008 financial crisis. It even survived America’s relative economic and military decline. In fact, America’s great power was more than tolerated and forgiven: Other nations encouraged it, abetted it, and, with surprising frequency, legitimized it through multilateral institutions such as NATO and the United Nations, as well as in less formal coalitions. This, more than raw might, was what made the United States the most influential power in history.

    Those days are now over and will not soon return. Nations that once bandwagoned with the United States will now remain aloof or align against it—not because they want to, but because the United States leaves them no choice, because it will neither protect them nor refrain from exploiting them. Welcome to the era of the rogue American superpower. It will be lonely and dangerous.

    8 votes
  4. nic
    Link
    The People Trump Pardoned Are on a Crime Spree

    The People Trump Pardoned Are on a Crime Spree

    On March 5, a court in Florida sentenced Andrew Paul Johnson to life in prison for molesting a 12-year-old boy and a girl of the same age. To keep the children quiet, Mr. Johnson is said to have promised to bequeath to them part of a Jan. 6 restitution payment from the federal government that he claimed he would receive. He used the online gaming platforms Discord and Roblox to reach out to the children after Mr. Trump freed him from prison. On Jan. 6, Mr. Johnson entered the Capitol through a broken window and accosted police officers.

    8 votes
  5. nic
    Link
    Trump Could Take Classified Documents and Never Return Them Under DOJ's Unconstitutional Ruling Trump fired Bondi Trump replaced Bondi with his own personal criminal lawyer Trumps own criminal...

    Trump Could Take Classified Documents and Never Return Them Under DOJ's Unconstitutional Ruling

    1. Trump fired Bondi
    2. Trump replaced Bondi with his own personal criminal lawyer
    3. Trumps own criminal lawyer says the presidential records act is unconstitutional.

    Whats next? The Foreign Gifts and Foreign Emoluments Clause are unconstitutional?

    8 votes
  6. [3]
    kfwyre
    Link
    Trump signs order directing creation of a national voter list and restricting mail-in voting

    Trump signs order directing creation of a national voter list and restricting mail-in voting

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting, a move that swiftly drew legal threats from state Democratic officials as the president demands further limitations on voting ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

    The order, which voting law experts say violates the Constitution by attempting to seize the power to run elections from states, is the latest in a torrent of efforts from Trump to interfere with the way Americans vote based on his false allegations of fraud. The president has repeatedly lied about the outcome of the 2020 presidential campaign and the integrity of state-run elections, asserting again Tuesday that he won “three times” and continuing to cite accusations of voter fraud that numerous audits, investigations and courts have debunked.

    The order signed Tuesday calls on the Department of Homeland Security, working in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, to make the list of eligible voters in each state. It also seeks to bar the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on each state’s approved list, although the president likely lacks the power to mandate what the Postal Service does.

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      hobbes64
      Link Parent
      Well that's a plainer way to say it than we often see in news stories. I'm used to euphemisms about his lying.

      The president has repeatedly lied about the outcome of the 2020 presidential

      Well that's a plainer way to say it than we often see in news stories. I'm used to euphemisms about his lying.

      11 votes
      1. cutmetal
        Link Parent
        Usually the AP calls a spade a spade, even when it's Trump's lies. It's refreshing.

        Usually the AP calls a spade a spade, even when it's Trump's lies. It's refreshing.

        6 votes
  7. [3]
    steezyaspie
    Link
    Trump Fires Pam Bondi as Attorney General

    Trump Fires Pam Bondi as Attorney General

    6 votes
    1. balooga
      Link Parent
      Well let's hope that's because her amateur coverup skills were responsible for some new Epstein bombshell he knows is about to break... Happy to see her out of there either way, but after...

      Well let's hope that's because her amateur coverup skills were responsible for some new Epstein bombshell he knows is about to break...

      Happy to see her out of there either way, but after Markwayne I'm not super jazzed about whoever her replacement might be.

      3 votes
  8. [3]
    Raspcoffee
    Link
    Normally, anything the Cheetolino says should be taken with a grain of salt nor worth a post in a thread but still. This one is yet another big blow to the transatlantic alliance: Trump says he’s...

    Normally, anything the Cheetolino says should be taken with a grain of salt nor worth a post in a thread but still. This one is yet another big blow to the transatlantic alliance:

    Trump says he’s considering pulling out of NATO

    Pretty sure it's the first time he's said it this explicitly. Though it's not surprising given his attitude to NATO as a whole.

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      MimicSquid
      Link Parent
      He can't. A law was passed by the Republicans that require the consent of the Senate to back out of NATO.

      He can't. A law was passed by the Republicans that require the consent of the Senate to back out of NATO.

      5 votes
      1. Raspcoffee
        Link Parent
        Yeah this is probably going in the folder of him throwing a tantrum because of not getting what he wants and causing a lot of pain in other ways instead. Unless the rule of law crumbles even more...

        Yeah this is probably going in the folder of him throwing a tantrum because of not getting what he wants and causing a lot of pain in other ways instead. Unless the rule of law crumbles even more which would have other consequences than 'just' NATO of course.

        3 votes