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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49800181
(Note: emphasis in original.)
Why is this important?
Mr Trump's most ardent critics accuse him of using the powers of the presidency to bully Ukraine into digging up damaging information on a political rival, Democrat Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump and his supporters the former vice-president abused his power to pressure Ukraine to back away from a criminal investigation that could implicate his son, Hunter.
Mr Biden is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination to take on Mr Trump next year.
In other words, it is nothing less than the White House at stake.
[...] What happened to the whistleblower's complaint?
After receiving the [whistleblower] complaint, the inspector general informed Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, and said the matter was "urgent". The intelligence community whistleblower law says the director has seven days to pass the complaint along to congressional intelligence committees.
That didn't happen.
Instead, Mr Maguire spoke to a lawyer who told him the issue was not "urgent", at least according to legal standards, according to [T]he New York Times.
As a result, Mr Maguire decided that the members of the congressional oversight committees did not need to see it.
On 9 September, the inspector general informed Congress about the complaint's existence, but not the details. Democrats in Congress have since clamoured for more information - including a transcript of Mr Trump's call - but the administration has refused to co-operate.
And that's where things currently stand.
[...] Did Mr Trump commit an impeachable offence?
The constitutional process for handling a president who committed illegal and-or unethical acts is impeachment by a majority of the House of Representatives and conviction and removal by a two-thirds majority of the US Senate.
The US constitution outlines the grounds for impeachment as "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". When it comes down to it, an "impeachable offense" is whatever a majority of the House says it is.
Inspector General of the Intelligence Community Letters to Congressional Intelligence Committees
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @05:14AM (16 children)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/opinion/democrats-republicans.html [nytimes.com]
(Score: 2, Troll) by EJ on Tuesday September 24 2019, @05:51AM (15 children)
The scary thing is that people who write stories like that probably actually BELIEVE it.
I'm not saying Republicans are perfect. Many Republicans fall into the same traps.
My own personal definition of a bad politician is: Anyone who wants to be a politician.
The thing about my Republican friends is that they tolerate Democrats while the Democrats I know want to exterminate all Republicans.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Tuesday September 24 2019, @06:05AM
Same experience. The Dems seem to be going for a pure power play, where compromise and understanding is eschewed for the sledgehammer. Maybe they're taking their cues from the recent twitter-lynching phenomenon and feel it is going to work out for them without backlash or consequences. I sure hope not -- that isn't the type of Democrat I grew up with in the 70s and 80s -- that's some authoritarian bullshit that makes me think of modern day Democrats as the equivalent of the freedom hating 80s and 90s evangelical Republicans.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @06:06AM (10 children)
Most of the Republicans I know are relatively reasonable people. Most of the Democrats I know are relatively reasonable people. Most of the other Americans (myself included) I know believe that we have much more in common than we do differences.
What's more just about *everyone* I know wants to make the US a better place for all of us.
The only places I hear crap like:
Is coming from holes like twitter, reddit and the like. Well, and from you.
Listening to the small minority of loud assholes and thinking that's what *everyone* thinks is naive in the extreme. Believing that your neighbors, co-workers, fellow PTA members and the guy filling up his car at the next pump want to murder those (including you?) who disagree with them is more than a little paranoid and doesn't reflect reality.
Perhaps you might want to think about that. Just a crazy thought.
Or you could just keep looking over your shoulder ("That girl over there. I bet she's a Democrat. Better take the safety off my Glock in case she tries to bash my brains in!"). Please.
(Score: 3, Offtopic) by EJ on Tuesday September 24 2019, @07:42AM (3 children)
I don't read Twitter or Reddit. I just live in an area surrounded by three extremely liberal colleges. My county is bluer than the sky at noon on a clear day. You would not believe how hateful and hostile most of the people here are, even to other Democrats. They just seem to hate everyone who isn't them. It's crazy how hostile they are, driving, in grocery stores, and everywhere else. It boggles my mind. Maybe that's just tainted my views on Democrats, but media figures like Maddow help to reinforce that.
For all I know, there are Republican media figures who are just as bad as Maddow, but I wouldn't know because I don't watch any of it. I only get forwarded links of stupid crap Maddow said that annoyed my friends.
My original hometown was predominantly Republican Christians, and everyone was just so much more polite to each other. The schools I went to had no race issues. We were all friends. When we studied the Civil Rights movements, it was a little surreal to us because none of us could relate to that kind of thinking. In my current liberal city, you would think we're living in 1960 the way people talk.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @08:10AM
What's the difference? Your lily white hometown didn't have to deal with impoverished blacks like many big cities do. Out of sight, out of mind.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @08:23AM
To which I'll respond
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @04:06PM
What I find crazy is how you can tell party affiliation by someone's driving or just by looking at them in the grocery store or "everywhere else" for that matter. Well, I suppose you might be able to pick up on clues from the bumper stickers on the car, but still, I think your powers of perceiving political affiliation are vastly overestimated. Just sayin'.
Indeed.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @08:22AM (2 children)
If this is actually the case (dubious), then those people are Democrats. They may not have actually changed their registration yet, but definitely Democrats. The Democratic party has have so many refugees, it makes the Syrian debacle look like nothing. The only things left are Trump-spawn, Guliani, MarySueKellyanneConmyway, and that person who is not a Huckabee, Hallejujah!
So, to push back against your agitprop disinformation, you do not know that the Republicans you know are relatively reasonable, because, if they were, they would not be Republicans, and, even if they were, they would not be Republicans.
I now treat Republicans as I do Nazis: if I come across one, I punch them in the face. Entertains onlookers, does no damage to the Republican, since they have not soul or moral compass to begin with. ("Why did you punch me?" Because you are the source of all evil in the Senate. "Oh, now, can all us demons go back to Kentucky now? I don't blame you." Yes, but no more bewitching turtles! )
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @08:26AM
You've now forfeited one Oreo.
Better eat the other one before you put your foot back in your mouth.
(Score: 3, Funny) by hemocyanin on Tuesday September 24 2019, @08:35AM
You are either a troll or a democrat. Hard to tell the difference these days.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @12:41PM (1 child)
Glock doesn't have a safety.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday September 24 2019, @02:13PM
Do tell. [glock.com] And here I thought they just didn't have a conventional slide-or-lever-or-button safety. Wonder why they call it a "trigger safety" then???
Now the vast majority of revolvers... they don't have manual safeties. (Although like virtually every modern pistol like Glock and other semis they have drop safeties).
You are welcome
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Tuesday September 24 2019, @07:54PM
If a person speaks out in a manner contrary to GOP dogma, is their economic life typically put up on the guillotine?
If a person speaks out in a manner country to DNC dogma, what is the result? One example: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-rommelmann-me-too-portland-20190222-story.html [latimes.com] Nancy Rommelman is life long lefty and yet when she spoke her mind, the mob came for her husband's business and destroyed it. These things happen on a frequent basis, but it isn't the GOP I see trying to kill people's ability to make a living, it is Democrats. If you disagree with them and dare speak it out loud under your true name, they're going to destroy you. It's violence plain and simple.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @06:13AM (2 children)
> people who write stories like that probably actually BELIEVE it
Did you read that? I did. It doesn't mean rank and file Republicans when it specifically lists Republican presidencies. It means the Republican party. The author quotes Republican policy, not R-on-the-street, eg.:
The piece is flamebait for sure, but if one looks past the scare-raising, what is there to debate? I guess the meaning of "patriotic" but that's a stupid road to go down. The Republican political party is well documented for doing nasty political things for political gain. Calling those out is the right thing to do and would be the right thing regardless of perpetrator. In this case a pendulum has swung and it happens to be one camp, and so of course an opposing camp would be the only opposing force able to fight in the same field, and try to improve things. Doensn't make D>R, just means right now D can help with R's failings.
Oh yeah? The Republicans I know include a "burn the world down please" prepper, guys who literally say whole-heartedly "Hillary should be shot", and others. I know childlike Democrats too but most of them grow out of the ideological hate-fight by their mid-20s. I don't think your sample is representative of a nation.
(Score: 5, Funny) by EJ on Tuesday September 24 2019, @07:30AM (1 child)
You must not know a lot of Republicans then. The Democrats I know are in their 40s and 50s. They act like they're 12. Each day they come into work after some "breaking story" the previous night, they have this "I just ate a lemon" look on their face as they start yapping at each other about whatever random thing Rachel Maddow was blabbering about, then go off on how they think Trump should be tossed in prison along with all of his supporters (i.e. Republican voters).
That's why I think politics is completely ridiculous. No politician cares about anyone beyond what is necessary to get a vote. They are ALL bought and paid for.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @03:31PM
It is almost like you can't grasp that we have the most criminal president ever and people are upset about it. You are so brainwashed and ignorant you thinks it is all TDS. Ah well, just more rock solid evidence of how damaged most of the SN community is. Trying to pretend they are the reasonable centrists while being far to the right.
From an outside perspectice it is pretty amazing to watch people deny reality and spew so much hate because of it.