from the will-no-one-rid-me-of-this-turbulent-priest^W-Attorney-General? dept.
We had two Soylentils submit stories about Attorney General Jeff Sessions:
Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46132348
"US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been fired by President Donald Trump.
[...] Mr Trump said Mr Sessions will be temporarily replaced by his chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, who has criticised the Russia inquiry.
[...] In a resignation letter, Mr Sessions - a former Alabama senator who was an early supporter of Mr Trump - made clear the decision to go was not his own.
[...] The president cannot directly fire the special counsel, whose investigation Mr Trump has repeatedly decried as a witch hunt. But Mr Sessions' replacement will have the power to fire Mr Mueller or end the inquiry.
[...] Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he looks forward to 'working with President Trump to find a confirmable, worthy successor so that we can start a new chapter at the Department of Justice'.
Mr Graham, of South Carolina, had said last year there would be 'holy hell to pay' if Mr Sessions was ever fired."
[...] House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said: "It is impossible to read Attorney General Sessions' firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by President Trump to undermine & end Special Counsel Mueller's investigation."
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions Resigns
Jeff Sessions is out. The new Acting Attorney General is Matthew G. Whitaker:
President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "At your request I am submitting my resignation," Sessions wrote in a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly.
Matthew Whitaker will take over as acting attorney general, the President said. Whitaker is expected to take charge of the Russia investigation and special counsel Robert Mueller from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Whitaker has been openly critical of Mueller and the investigation and Democrats immediately called on him to recuse himself, just as Sessions had.
See also: New acting A.G. criticized Mueller probe several times
What does Jeff Sessions's firing mean for Mueller and the Trump-Russia inquiry?
Greatest Hits:
The US Surveillance State is Poised to Become Even More Powerful
Trump and Sessions Plan to Restrict H-1B Workers. Hyderabad Says to Bring It On.
Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions Backs Crypto Backdoors
Washington State Will Resist Federal Crackdown on Cannabis
DoJ Reverses Plans to Reduce the Use of Private Prisons
New Attorney General Claims Legal Weed Drives Violent Crime; Statistics be Damned
Trump Administration's War on Science Reaches DoJ
4/20: The Third Time's Not the Charm
Jeff Sessions Reboots the Drug War
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions Will Rescind the Cole Memo
President Trump Backed Off from Ordering Special Counsel Mueller Fired
President Trump Promises to Support State Legalization of Cannabis; Boehner Evolves
Related Stories
The US surveillance state is poised to grow more powerful under a Trump administration.
Though President-elect Donald Trump still has nearly two months until he's sworn in, his picks for Attorney General and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency are a sign that many surveillance reforms could be overturned or changed, such as the NSA's collection of telephone metadata on all Americans — a program that was reformed after it was exposed by Edward Snowden.
Trump recently appointed Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, and Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA Director. Both have advocated for the increased domestic spying that was implemented by former President George W. Bush after 9/11, according to Bloomberg.
"Congress should pass a law re-establishing collection of all metadata, and combining it with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database," Pompeo wrote with coauthor David Rivkin, Jr. in a Wall Street Journal editorial in January.
For the new political order taking shape in Washington, however, H-1Bs aren't quite welcome. Amid promises of sweeping changes to immigration policy, President-elect Donald Trump and his choice for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), have tabbed the program for a major overhaul, and might even scrap it altogether. In the House, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is on the same wavelength.
Trump has described H-1Bs as a "cheap labor program" subject to "widespread, rampant" abuse. Sessions co-sponsored legislation last year with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) to effectively gut the program; Issa, a congressman with Trump's ear, released a statement Wednesday saying he was reintroducing similar legislation called the Protect and Grow American Jobs Act.
Sessions and Issa's legislation primarily targets large outsourcing companies, such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, that receive the vast majority of H-1B visas and use them to deploy workers to American companies seeking to cut costs. In 2015, the top 10 recipients of H-1B visas were outsourcing firms. As recently as 2013, the Justice Department, which Sessions stands to take over, settled with Infosys for $34 million in a visa fraud case.
If they were smart they'd change the program to maximize brain-drain from other countries by making H-1B a fast-track to citizenship instead of the 6+ year wait for a green-card that it now is. Bring in the best of them rather than the cheapest of them and let them compete on equal footing rather than the indentured servitude of the current H-1B program.
Like other politicians and government officials, President Trump's nominee for the position of Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, wants to have it both ways when it comes to encryption:
At his confirmation hearing, Sessions was largely non-committal. But in his written responses to questions posed by Sen. Patrick Leahy, however, he took a much clearer position:
Question: Do you agree with NSA Director Rogers, Secretary of Defense Carter, and other national security experts that strong encryption helps protect this country from cyberattack and is beneficial to the American people's' digital security?
Response: Encryption serves many valuable and important purposes. It is also critical, however, that national security and criminal investigators be able to overcome encryption, under lawful authority, when necessary to the furtherance of national-security and criminal investigations.
Despite Sessions' "on the one hand, on the other" phrasing, this answer is a clear endorsement of backdooring the security we all rely on. It's simply not feasible for encryption to serve what Sessions concedes are its "many valuable and important purposes" and still be "overcome" when the government wants access to plaintext. As we saw last year with Sens. Burr and Feinstein's draft Compliance with Court Orders Act, the only way to give the government this kind of access is to break the Internet and outlaw industry best practices, and even then it would only reach the minority of encryption products made in the USA.
Related: Presidential Candidates' Tech Stances: Not Great
The State of Washington's Attorney General says he will resist federal efforts to undermine his state's legalized cannabis laws:
With White House press secretary Sean Spicer suggesting Thursday that the Trump administration would crack down on states that have legal recreational marijuana, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson vowed to defend Washington state's legal pot law. "I will resist any efforts by the Trump administration to undermine the will of the voters in Washington state," Ferguson said in an interview. Spicer said during a press briefing Thursday that the issue rests with the Justice Department. But he said, "I do believe that you'll see greater enforcement of it."
[...] Ferguson and Gov. Jay Inslee sent a letter to U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions, dated Feb. 15 that laid out arguments for Washington's state-regulated pot industry. They said illegal dealing is being displaced by a tightly regulated industry that is projected to pay $272 million in taxes this fiscal year. That frees up law-enforcement officers to protect communities facing more pressing threats. They also noted that legal pot entrepreneurs must undergo criminal and financial background checks.
California's Attorney General is also on board:
Private prisons are making a comeback:
The Trump administration is rolling back an Obama-era plan to phase out the federal government's use of private prisons. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a memo Thursday to the Bureau of Prisons rescinding the Obama administration's Aug. 16 order advising the bureau not to renew any contracts with private prisons, according to a copy of the letter. Then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates had instructed officials to either not renew private prison contracts or substantially reduce the scope of such contracts to ultimately end the department's use of privately operated prisons altogether.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions's four-sentence memo rescinding Justice Department guidance to reduce the use of private prisons sent stock soaring for the two companies that dominate the industry, Geo Group and CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America). That's not necessarily because the memo will lead to a ramp-up in Geo- or CoreCivic-run federal prisons. As of December 2015, about 12 percent of all inmates in federal prisons were housed in private facilities, representing only 22,660 inmates. That certainly won't decline under Sessions, but he didn't promise to increase it substantially. "I direct the [Bureau of Prisons] to return to its previous approach," Sessions wrote. Anyway, DoJ renewed a pair of contracts with CoreCivic despite the now-scuttled order, so it's unclear if the status quo ever stopped.
Also at CNN Money.
Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Monitoring of Contract Prisons (August 2016).
The Center for American Progress reports
On [February 27], days after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters to expect stricter enforcement of federal pot law, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recycled discredited drug war talking points in remarks of his own.
"I believe it's an unhealthy practice, and current levels of THC in marijuana are very high compared to what they were a few years ago, and we're seeing real violence around that", Sessions said. "Experts are telling me there's more violence around marijuana than one would think and there's big money involved."
In reality, violent crime rates tend to decrease where marijuana is legalized.
Denver saw a 2.2 percent drop in violent crime rates in the year after the first legal recreational cannabis sales in Colorado. Overall property crime dropped by 8.9 percent [PDF] in the same period there, according to figures from the Drug Policy Alliance. In Washington, violent crime rates dropped by 10 percent [PDF] from 2011 to 2014. Voters legalized recreational marijuana there in 2012.
Medical marijuana laws, which have a longer track record for academics than recreational pot legalization, are also associated with stable or falling violent crime rates. In one 2014 study of the 11 states that legalized medical pot from 1990 to 2006, there was no increase in the seven major categories of violent crime and "some evidence of decreasing rates of some types of violent crime, namely homicide and assault."
[...] Elsewhere in his remarks, Sessions unwittingly made the case against treating pot activity like serious crime. "You can't sue somebody for drug debt". he said. "The only way to get your money is through strong-arm tactics, and violence tends to follow that."
Legalizing, regulating, and taxing the sale of marijuana is the surest way to remedying that exact tendency for pot commerce to trigger violent score-settling. Legalization invites pot business into the light, granting cannabusinesses at least partial access to official modes of recourse when they are defrauded.
8 states and the District of Columbia have legalised marijuana for recreational use.
Ever see anyone use cannabis and become more aggressive rather than more mellow?
Note: ThinkProgress redirects all accesses of their pages and will attach tracking numbers. I have made sure that those are not in the URLs.
What's up, Soylenteers? I've got to write another one of these? #420TooMainstream.
Legalization Status
Timeline of cannabis laws in the United States
Timeline of cannabis lawSince this time last year, Ohio, Florida, North Dakota, and Arkansas legalized medical cannabis, Illinois decriminalized it, and California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts legalized recreational cannabis. An attempt to legalize recreational cannabis in Arizona narrowly failed.
29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical use, although restrictions vary widely from state to state.
Germany's medical cannabis law was approved in January and came into effect in March. Poland has also legalized medical cannabis, and Georgia's Supreme Court has ruled that imprisonment for possession of small amounts of cannabis is unconstitutional.
🍁 Cannada: Not So Fast 🍁
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled (archive) legislation (archive) that would make Canada the first major Western country to legalize recreational cannabis (the only country to legalize it to date is Uruguay, although implementation has taken years), dealing a serious blow to the crumbling United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. However, the Liberal Party of Canada intends to wait more than a year to act on its campaign promise, during which time Canadians can still face prosecution for possession of the drug:
True to form, this government has written down a series of talking points, in this case, trying to make it sound like it's cracking down on pot rather than legalizing it. And Justin Trudeau's ministers are sticking to the messaging from party central like a child reciting Dr. Seuss.
Not once in that As It Happens interview did [Justice Minister Jody] Wilson-Raybould explain why the government intends to keep on criminalizing Canadians so unfairly (see the Liberal party's website statement) for another year. Instead, literally every second time she opened her mouth, she re-spouted the line about "strictly regulating and restricting access." Off asked eight questions. Four times, Wilson-Raybould robotically reverted to the same phrase.
Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, a parliamentary lifer who mastered the art of repetitive dronetalk sometime back in the last millennium, was out peddling more or less the same line, but with an added warning: Not only will the government continue to criminalize Canadians for what it considers a trifling offence, enforcement will be vigorous. "Existing laws prohibiting possession and use of cannabis remain in place, and they need to be respected," Goodale declared. "This must be an orderly transition. It is not a free-for-all." Why the government cannot simply decide to invoke prosecutorial and police discretion, and cease enforcing the cannabis laws it considers unjust, was not explained. Why that would necessarily be a "free for all" also went unexplained.
The Liberal Party of Canada has taken pains to remind everyone that the Conservative Party will "do everything they can to stop real change and protect a failed status quo". Unfortunately, they did not get the memo that "marijuana" is a term with racist origins.
Make like a tree and legalize it, Cannadia... Cannibinoidia.
President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Backtrack to April 20th, 2016. Bernie Sanders still seemingly had a shot at becoming the President of the United States. Sanders, as well as Hillary Clinton (though begrudgingly), supported decriminalization of cannabis, medical use, and the continuation of states making decisions about recreational use. The #2 Republican candidate Ted Cruz also had a "let the states sort it out" stance.
One contender stood out, and he went on to become the @POTUS to #MAGA. The widely predicted "third term" was prevented, and that outcome may greatly affect a burgeoning semi-legal cannabis industry. One recent casualty are Amsterdam-style "cannabis clubs" (think: brewpubs). Colorado's legislature has backed off on a bill that would have allowed on-site consumption of cannabis at dispensaries due to the uncertain future of federal enforcement of cannabis prohibition.
Trump's position on cannabis has been ill-defined, although he supports medical use and has indicated that states should handle the issue. But the same can't be said of his Attorney General, former Senator Jeff Sessions. Here are some quotes about the drug from Mr. Sessions:
I thought those guys were OK until I learned they smoked pot. [Source. Context: Sessions later testified that the comment was a joke.]
We need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not to be minimized, that it's in fact a very real danger.
I think one of [President Obama's] great failures, it's obvious to me, is his lax treatment in comments on marijuana... It reverses 20 years almost of hostility to drugs that began really when Nancy Reagan started 'Just Say No.
You can't have the President of the United States of America talking about marijuana like it is no different than taking a drink... It is different... It is already causing a disturbance in the states that have made it legal.
Good people don't smoke marijuana.
Cannabis advocates are becoming increasingly paranoid about the federal government's stance towards the states (and a certain District) that have legalized cannabis. And this is following an Obama administration that was criticized for conducting raids in states with legalization. It is too early to tell how the Trump administration will choose to deal with cannabis, but there are signs that harsher policies and greater enforcement could be coming:
On Wednesday, [April 5th,] Jeff Sessions directed Justice Department lawyers to evaluate marijuana enforcement policy and send him recommendations. And some state officials are worried. This week the governors of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington wrote the attorney general. They asked Sessions and the new Treasury secretary to consult with them before making any changes to regulations or enforcement.
At the White House, press secretary Sean Spicer said recently that the president is sympathetic to people who use marijuana for medical reasons. He pointed out that Congress has acted to bar the Justice Department from using federal money to interfere in state medical cannabis programs. But Spicer took a harsh view of recreational marijuana. "When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we need to be doing is encouraging people. There is still a federal law we need to abide by," Spicer said.
Really, Spicer? Recreational cannabis use shouldn't be encouraged during an opioid addiction crisis? Read on.
Politics nexus unavailable for comment.
The Opioid Crisis Drags On (it's relevant)
Heroin use has become more dangerous as dealers have increasingly added other substances that massively increase potency without affecting the size of a dose significantly. Carfentanil, which is used as an elephant tranquilizer, has led to hundreds of deaths over very short timespans. It is impossible for the average user to predict the potency and potential danger of street heroin. While there have been international responses to these compounds, new chemical analogues are being created all the time:
Chinese labs producing the synthetic opiates play hide-and-seek with authorities. On their websites, they list fake addresses in derelict shopping centers or shuttered factories, and use third-party sales agents to conduct transactions that are hard to trace. The drugs themselves are easy to find with a Google search and to buy with a few mouse clicks. A recent check found more than a dozen Chinese sites advertising fentanyl, carfentanil, and other derivatives, often labeled as "research chemicals," for sale through direct mail shipments to the United States. On one website, carfentanil goes for $361 for 50 grams: tens of thousands of lethal doses.
The cat-and-mouse game extends to chemistry, as the makers tinker with fentanyl itself. Minor modifications like adding an oxygen atom or shifting a methyl group can be enough to create whole new entities that are no longer on the list of sanctioned compounds. Carfentanil itself was, until recently, unregulated in China.
2016 saw the addition of kratom to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in the U.S. Advocates for the tree leaf drug, which was formerly classified as a supplement, believe that its painkiller effects and low risk factors make it a useful replacement for the oft-deadly opioids that millions of Americans are addicted to. Kratom users have treated their pain and opioid withdrawal symptoms using the formerly "legal high". The DEA has refused to acknowledge this application and points out the "skyrocketing" number of calls to the Poison Control Center regarding kratom in recent years. One skeptic of kratom, Dr. Josh Bloom of the American Council on Science and Health, has looked at the same evidence and concluded that the trail of bodies left by substances like fentanyl and the scarce number of deaths (perhaps wrongly) attributed to kratom make it clear that the substance is the better "poison". He also notes that:
The number of calls to poison control centers is not reliable for determining how many poisonings actually occurred. It is a crude approximation at best.
Much like kratom, medical cannabis has been touted as a solution to the opioid crisis. States with legalized medical cannabis have seen a reduction in reported instances of opioid dependence [DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.01.006] [DX] So it is puzzling that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer would use opioids as a bludgeon against cannabis legalization while AG Sessions expresses astonishment over the suggestion of using cannabis as a "cure" for the opioid crisis.
Bonus: Here's a video (2m14s) of a woman getting administered Narcan/naloxone. Here's an alternate video (2m39s) in which a man who overdosed on heroin is able to sit up in about a minute after being administered naloxone.
⚚ The Slow March for Science ⚕
While the Drug Enforcement Agency has refused to reclassify cannabis from its current Schedule I status, citing the supposedly rigorous conclusions reached by the Food and Drug Administration, it will allow more than one institution to grow cannabis for research purposes, ending the monopoly held by the University of Mississippi. However, the Schedule I status of cannabis remains an impediment to further research:
[...] DEA's decision not to reschedule marijuana presents a Catch-22. By ruling that there is not enough evidence of "currently accepted medical use"—a key distinction between the highly restrictive Schedule I classification and the less restrictive Schedule II—the administration essentially makes it harder to gather such evidence.
"They're setting a standard that can't be met," says David Bradford, a health economist at the University of Georgia, Athens. "That level of proof is never going to be forthcoming in the current environment because it requires doing a really extensive clinical trial series, and given that a pharmaceutical company can't patent whole plant marijuana, it's in no company's interest to do that."
Schedule I status presents obstacles for clinical researchers because of restrictions on how the drugs must be stored and handled, Bradford says. Perhaps more significant, that listing may evoke skittishness at funding agencies and on the institutional review boards that must sign off on research involving human subjects.
Researchers have disparaged the quality and potency as well as the appearance and odor of the University of Mississippi's cannabis products:
"It doesn't resemble cannabis. It doesn't smell like cannabis," Sisley told PBS NewsHour last week.
Jake Browne, a cannabis critic for the Denver Post's Cannabist marijuana news site, agrees. "That is, flat out, not a usable form of cannabis," he said. Browne should know: He's reviewed dozens of strains professionally and is running a sophisticated marijuana growing competition called the Grow-Off.
"In two decades of smoking weed, I've never seen anything that looks like that," Browne said. "People typically smoke the flower of the plant, but here you can clearly see stems and leaves in there as well, parts that should be discarded. Inhaling that would be like eating an apple, including the seeds inside it and the branch it grew on."
Research on cannabinoids and psychedelics is proceeding, slowly. One study published yesterday (74 years after the first LSD trip) came to an astounding conclusion: Psychedelics can induce a "heightened state of consciousness":
Healthy volunteers who received LSD, ketamine or psilocybin, a compound found in magic mushrooms, were found to have more random brain activity than normal while under the influence, according to a study into the effects of the drugs. The shift in brain activity accompanied a host of peculiar sensations that the participants said ranged from floating and finding inner peace, to distortions in time and a conviction that the self was disintegrating.
[...] What we find is that under each of these psychedelic compounds, this specific measure of global conscious level goes up, so it moves in the other direction. The neural activity becomes more unpredictable," said Anil Seth, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Sussex. "Until now, we've only ever seen decreases compared to the baseline of the normal waking state."
Inconceivable!
Increased spontaneous MEG signal diversity for psychoactive doses of ketamine, LSD and psilocybin (open, DOI: 10.1038/srep46421) (DX)
♯ Ending on High Notes ♯
And now to scrape the bottom of the barrel:
- Americans Don't Care If Their Parents Know They Smoke Weed, Survey Says
- California Today: At Newspapers, Covering Pot Like Wine (archive)
- Nation's first public needle vending machine for drug users debuts in Las Vegas
- GRiZ Won the Celebrity Weed Game Without Selling Out
- Secret A.T.F. Account Paid for $21,000 Nascar Suite and Las Vegas Trip (archive)
- Legal Marijuana Ends at Airport Security, Even if It's Rarely Stopped (archive)
- Anti-Heroin Video From a Florida Sheriff Appalls Critics but Impresses Constituents (archive)
Common Dreams reports
The Trump administration's anti-science bent has reached the Department of Justice (DOJ), with Attorney General Jeff Sessions saying [April 10] that the department is ending the National Commission on Forensic Science.
The 30-member panel was described by ThinkProgress as "a group of scientists, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other experts tasked by the Obama administration in 2013 with raising standards for the use of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings".
In its place, a senior forensic advisor will be appointed "to interface with forensic science stakeholders and advise department leadership", Sessions' statement said.
[...] "The reliance of law enforcement on questionable science and the overstatement of the reliability of that science has been a leading cause of the wrongful conviction of innocent people", said National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) president Barry Pollack on Monday. "The reason the National Commission on Forensic Science has been so important is that it includes leading independent scientists, allowing an unbiased expert evaluation of which techniques are scientifically valid and which are not. NACDL is terribly disappointed that even while acknowledging the crucial role played by the National Commission on Forensic Science, the Attorney General has chosen to disband it."
Additional Coverage:
Previous: Forensic Hair Matches: More Junk Science from the FBI
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday that he has directed his federal prosecutors to pursue the most severe penalties possible, including mandatory minimum sentences, in his first step toward a return to the war on drugs of the 1980s and 1990s that resulted in long sentences for many minority defendants and packed U.S. prisons.
[...] In the later years of the Obama administration, a bipartisan consensus emerged on Capitol Hill for sentencing reform legislation, which Sessions opposed and successfully worked to derail.
In a two-page memo to federal prosecutors across the country, Sessions overturned former attorney general Eric H. Holder's sweeping criminal charging policy that instructed his prosecutors to avoid charging certain defendants with offenses that would trigger long mandatory minimum sentences. In its place, Sessions told his more than 5,000 assistant U.S. attorneys to charge defendants with the most serious crimes, carrying the toughest penalties.
More at Washington Post, Fox News, Huffington Post, The Hill
Memorandum on Department Charging and Sentencing Policy - US Department of Justice PDF
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will reportedly rescind the Cole Memo (DoJ), effectively ending the moratorium on enforcing cannabis prohibition in states where it has been legalized:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will roll back an Obama-era policy that gave states leeway to allow marijuana for recreational purposes.
Two sources with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Hill that Sessions will rescind the so-called Cole memo, which ordered U.S. attorneys in states where marijuana has been legalized to deprioritize prosecution of marijuana-related cases.
The Associated Press first reported the decision.
Sessions, a vocal critic of marijuana legalization, has hinted for months that he would move to crack down on the growing cannabis market.
Republican Senator Cory Gardner says he will hold up the confirmation process for DoJ nominees:
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) threatened on Thursday to start holding up the confirmation process for White House Justice Department nominees unless Attorney General Jeff Sessions reverses a decision to roll back a policy allowing legalized recreational use of marijuana in some states.
Gardner said in a series of tweets that Sessions had told him before he was confirmed by the Senate that he would not change an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecutors from pursuing marijuana-related offenses in states where the substance had been legalized. Colorado is one of those states.
[...] The Justice Department's reversal of the Cole memo on Thursday came three days after California's new law allowing recreational marijuana use went into effect.
Other politicians have reacted strongly to the news.
Previously: New Attorney General Claims Legal Weed Drives Violent Crime; Statistics be Damned
4/20: The Third Time's Not the Charm
Jeff Sessions Reboots the Drug War
According to Gallup, American Support for Cannabis Legalization is at an All-Time High
Opioid Commission Drops the Ball, Demonizes Cannabis
Recreational Cannabis Goes on Sale in California
Related: Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions Backs Crypto Backdoors
The New York Times reports "Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit":
President Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, according to four people told of the matter, but ultimately backed down after the White House counsel threatened to resign rather than carry out the directive.
Previously:
Mueller Investigation: Three Former Trump Aides Charged
Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying to the F.B.I.
UK Election Results; Fired FBI Director's Testimony on Trump; Trump Nominates New FBI Director
President Trump has promised Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado that he will support states that choose to legalize cannabis, despite rescinding the Cole Memo earlier in the year. In exchange, Gardner will stop holding up the confirmation of Trump's Department of Justice nominees:
"Since the campaign, President Trump has consistently supported states' rights to decide for themselves how best to approach marijuana," Gardner said in a statement. "Late Wednesday, I received a commitment from the President that the Department of Justice's rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado's legal marijuana industry. Because of these commitments, I have informed the Administration that I will be lifting my remaining holds on Department of Justice nominees," Gardner added.
The Washington Post first reported the development, and the White House confirmed on Friday Gardner's statement was accurate.
In January, Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked the Cole Memo, Obama-era guidance designed to discourage prosecutors from targeting states that have legalized marijuana. The move provoked an outcry from marijuana friendly states, including Gardner's Colorado, in which the marijuana industry has flourished since 2000. Angry that Sessions had reneged on his pledge to leave marijuana states alone, Gardner promised to block all DOJ nominations, pending a resolution. Since then, he has held up about 20 Justice nominations, the Washington Post reported.
The news caused a surge in the stocks of some cannabis companies.
Meanwhile, former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who was "unalterably opposed" to legalization of cannabis back in 2011, has now evolved and is seeing green. Boehner announced that he has joined a board of advisers for Acreage Holdings, a cannabis corporation operating in 11 states. Is it a "watershed moment" for the industry?
(Score: 2, Funny) by c0lo on Thursday November 08 2018, @10:39AM (4 children)
The dramatic tension already existed but "... is a valid observation in literally any situation" makes it still on topic.
(large grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @10:48AM (2 children)
It was shocking to see. It was nothing short of shocking to see a grown man curled up on a sidewalk, bawling like a baby. Yet, that is exactly what dozens of people were witnessing. What tragic event could render a man into such a sad state? A nearby police officer ran to the scene to find out.
The officer bent over and asked the man what the problem was. In response, the man whispered something to the officer and pointed in a certain direction. The officer looked in the direction the man had pointed and began running towards the source of the problem. Once he arrived in front of the perpetrator lying on the ground, the veteran police officer took out his instrument of justice and began utilizing it.
Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! The policeman's baton rained down endlessly onto the naked woman's defenseless body. With a look of pure fury on his face, it would not be an exaggeration to call the officer a war god. What could the woman have done to earn such wrath? She said no.
"No." It was a word that women and children should never utter to men. Yet, when that poor man was on top of her, enjoying her body through force, she said it. Impossible. Impossible, impossible, impossible! This cannot be allowed! For a man to even so much as glance in a woman's direction was a joyous occasion for her. A man utilizing a woman's body was the greatest gift he could bestow upon her! Yet, she had rejected his kindness! This injustice cannot stand! No, the officer would never let it stand!
Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam! The woman quickly turned into a lump of lifeless meat in the face of absolute brutality. However, the officer was not done yet, oh no. He took out his gun and riddled the woman's worthless body with holes until he was out of ammunition. Then, he set the corpse ablaze so that none would have to look upon it any longer. It was over, and justice had been wrought.
Cheering. The crowd, having been silent until now, suddenly erupted into a cheer. To see justice unfold before their very eyes, they were fortunate indeed. Everyone present congratulated the officer for his heroism, which he gladly accepted. But, what about the victim? Everyone turned to face a certain man with looks of pity on their faces.
How would he recover? Was it even possible? The crowd had such thoughts while looking at the man whose rights had been violated by that monster. However, the man's expression made it clear that such thoughts were erroneous.
On his face was a smile. It was a smile as bright as the sun.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @11:55AM (1 child)
geez, girl, soylent isnt a substitute for your full diary.
go and buy a new one already ...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @04:50PM
She's just frustrated because we haven't implemented the Exterminate Men Angelic Contract System yet.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @10:53AM
A clown stood in front of a group of six kids and a woman in an ordinary fenced-in backyard. If one were to observe the backyard, they would see balloons of various colors, party hats, cake, and toys. Yes, this was a small birthday party. The clown - who was clearly very passionate about his work - began performing his routine with practiced precision.
However, nothing happened. No one was reacting. The clown was using his best jokes and tricks, but no one laughed or gasped. In fact, no one made any sounds at all; the yard was deathly silent. The clown - whose name was Boboson - began to sweat; he had never seen such a tough crowd. Boboson thought and thought, but he could not fathom why no one was reacting to anything. "Oh! That's right!" Boboson exclaimed. Yes, he remembered the real reason why this place was so silent; it was all too simple.
Not a single hair on the heads of the children or woman moved even a millimeter. Why was this? It was simple: Boboson had played with the children and mother before he began his act. To be more precise, he had forced them to play 'privates' with him. And, as what usually happened when he played that game, he had accidentally gotten a bit too playful. Yes, he was too playful, and so their necks snapped. "Damnit! Why does this always happen!?" the clown yelled in frustration, as he lamented the fact that women and children were so fragile. Then, as Boboson was thinking this, he recalled that he had another children's party to get to. It was time to depart.
The happy-go-lucky clown giggled and bid the inhabitants of the backyard his farewell. Boboson then got into his little car in the most showy way possible and drove off to his next destination. The things in that backyard - the naked corpses of the woman and children - were left behind to slowly decay and rot away. But at least they had played with Boboson.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by canopic jug on Thursday November 08 2018, @11:00AM (1 child)
It's been pointed out that the resignation letter was submitted apparently without a date [emptywheel.net], meaning that it could have been on file for many months. Indeed, the content is generic enough that it can have been written any time during this current regime's reign. Someone on staff might have been planning ahead.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Thursday November 08 2018, @06:32PM
I have always assumed that the prelude to being nominated to this type of position was giving the President an undated, but signed resignation letter so that he can "resign" you at any time.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @11:59AM (2 children)
see! this is what happens when the rigid and solid bars of reality TV cannot contain: it bleeds into reality and everybody is in danger of drowning in soap bubbles ..
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @12:33PM (1 child)
Aren't soap bubbles supposed to be clean, though?
'cause what I see resembles more the froth on top of a fermenting pond of pig manure. Similar stench too.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @01:06PM
dunno. never been to a politics farm ...
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @12:51PM (10 children)
> [...] Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he looks forward to 'working with President Trump to find a confirmable, worthy successor so that we can start a new chapter at the Department of Justice'.
>
> Mr Graham, of South Carolina, had said last year there would be 'holy hell to pay' if Mr Sessions was ever fired."
Much like the Israeli settlements in Palestine (real estate developers in action), there are slow but inexorable changes coming to South Carolina. When I was there a few years ago (in the northern part, not far from Charlotte NC), I saw a lot of new building and most of the houses would qualify as starter castles. Michelin, BMW and other multinationals are bringing population diversity to the state that fired the first shots of the Civil War. Hard to tell how long this civilizing process might take, but the writing is on the wall for the redneck population as gentrification and suburbia creep across SC.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @01:00PM (4 children)
That and the hurricanes
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @03:53PM (3 children)
Vote Hurricanes: 2020
(Score: 3, Funny) by fustakrakich on Thursday November 08 2018, @04:24PM (2 children)
Hurricanes vs. Giant Meteor [geekologie.com]
Now that's a tough choice!
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:44PM (1 child)
Rock you like a hurricane.... or rock you like a giant rock. Hmm....
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @06:54PM
Rock you like Hurriganes!
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Sulla on Thursday November 08 2018, @10:15PM (4 children)
What the Dems did during the Kavanaugh hearing seemed to really change Senator Graham, he has been out for blood ever since.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Friday November 09 2018, @05:12AM (3 children)
You could not possibly have watched any part of that testimony either with sound or without [cnn.com] and still come to the conclusion that Kavanaugh was fit for any federal position let alone as a judge. The guy clearly has more than just a screw loose. The "Dems" did not do anything "to" anyone but appeared to be acting for the best interest of the nation. I see now why the Republicans got rid of civics classes from the schools decades ago and how they are (mis)using that ignorance. Regardless of party, the politicians are supposed to be about running the country and making it go forward not tearing it apart or engaging in open sedition.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Friday November 09 2018, @03:25PM
I watched the entire thing including the parts by Ford. How exactly do you expect a person to ask when they are being wrongly accused of the worst crime in America today? He acted better than Thomas did, and Thomas turned out to be a good judge. Either way he was fucked, and defending himself Thomas style worked where as Bork's style did not.
Boats in Road Island Guy - admitted he lied
Taxi car rape girl - admitted she lied
Avanatti claims - withdrawn
The democrats sat on claims that they knew were iffy until the last minute and then dragged kav's name through the dirt for a political win. Kav wasnt just fighting for himself but for Bork and Thomas who were also wrongly accused. They would have done the same thing with any other judge the republicans put forward.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Friday November 09 2018, @03:35PM (1 child)
Specifically ralated to Graham. Graham was told by Obama that the cost of losing an election was that the executive gets judges of their choice, Graham for the sake of unity worked to block any attempts by the republicans to look too deeply into Kagan or Sotomayor feeling that they should only be looked at based on their judicial record. He followed this up by voting for both, this is a big part of why he turned so far to the right. He realizied that bipartisanism is a scam to get republicans to agree with democrats when its a democrat issue but democrats to block anything thats a republican issue.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Saturday November 10 2018, @05:25AM
He was DQ'd by his junior year of high school. Politics aside, which should be the case since the judges are supposed to be impartial [washingtonpost.com], he demonstrated neither composure nor good judgement. Rather, he not only actively demonstrated the opposite but made it clear that his lack of either was both uncommonly strong and extended back to even his teen years.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by RandomFactor on Thursday November 08 2018, @01:01PM (27 children)
That isn't the AG Trump wants and the AG serves at his pleasure. I've never understood the view that because folks don't like the president he can't actually use his legal authority (and arguably obligation) to staff with more appropriate (from his view) personnel.
.
Sessions made the calculation that avoiding the whole Mueller affair was his best path, attempting to preserve job viability with both parties. Anyone who thought that would be a long term recipe for success with Trump is an idiot. Additionally he has achieved the perception of enabling forces opposed to his employer through inaction. This generally leads to similar results anywhere, and typically much more quickly.
.
Had he discouraged scope creep and kept the "Russia Collusion" investigation within bounds the calculus would likely have been different, but he would have also burned potential bridges into future non-Trump administrations also.
I don't know if he did the right thing for himself , his future, or his principles. I just know the results shouldn't surprise anyone.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 5, Insightful) by PiMuNu on Thursday November 08 2018, @02:40PM (11 children)
> Sessions made the calculation that avoiding the whole Mueller affair was his best path, attempting to preserve job viability with both parties.
The Trump administration seems to be so incredibly cynical that a statement like this is appropriate.
> This generally leads to similar results anywhere
Only if your boss is a sociopath.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Phoenix666 on Thursday November 08 2018, @03:01PM (10 children)
I've never had a boss who wasn't a sociopath.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Thursday November 08 2018, @04:14PM (8 children)
> I've never had a boss who wasn't a sociopath.
Don't give Trump excuses.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Thursday November 08 2018, @06:03PM (7 children)
Don't act like that's a special state of affairs.
Sociopaths belong in a leper colony in the South Pacific, not running our banks, companies, or governments.
As sociopaths go, however, this particular sociopath (accepting the premise that he is a sociopath, for the sake of argument) has done more of what he promised than any other sociopath I've ever seen in government. He did kill the TPP. That is still worth the price of all the rest. He has levied tariffs against China and others who have been taking advantage of lopsided trade agreements for years. He has tried to use the bully pulpit to bring manufacturing back to America. Nobody else has even tried for 30 years. He has taken measures to secure the borders and get tough on illegal immigration; now, that's not an issue I care about but it is something he promised to work on, and he has. He has been a staunch supporter of Israel (again, I couldn't care less about Israel but he promised he'd be a strong supporter and he has been). He promised to get tough on North Korea, and he did. He promised to get tough on Iran, and he did.
Maybe those things are desirable, and maybe they aren't, but he did promise to do something about them, and he has.
Personally, I am disgruntled he has not made good on his promise to put Hillary in jail or to drain the Swamp.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:55PM
Wow, so you built up the online-persona just for these time period? I had a feeling you'd turn this way, but wow it still surprises.
I wasn't sad to see the TPP go, but now it seems likely that all it will do is cut the US out of a variety of trade deals and harm us economically in the long run. I could excuse that ONE item, but then you go on about trump trying to bring back jobs?
My bet is on you being yet another fake user account. Using the background of a seriously disgruntled Democrat who was personally hurt by the Clintons was a good move. You could vent your true feelings while pretending to be something else.
You liars should ashamed of yourselves, but hey you probably don't even realize YOU are on of the sociopaths.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @08:04PM (1 child)
I had a post written up that disproved every single point you made while adding additional things Drumpf fucked up during his first 2 years in office but soylentnews took a dump. So rather than waste another 10 minutes I'll just point out the obvious: You're a fucking idiot if you actually believe your own shit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @10:54PM
Yup, he suffers from CDS and Trump won him over with his "lock her up" chants.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @08:15PM
So he did everything he promised to do, except the things of merit.
Of as the doctors say, the operation was a success but the patient has died.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @08:23PM
Provisions from the TPP are actually being inserted into the USMCA. So much for that.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday November 09 2018, @01:27AM
Yeah, about that.. Trump’s Tariffs Have Fully Kicked In—Yet China’s Exports Grow [wsj.com]
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 09 2018, @04:35AM
> He has levied tariffs against China and others who have been taking advantage of lopsided trade agreements for years. He has tried to use the bully pulpit to bring manufacturing back to America.
Unfortunately, some of the manufacturing that has come back to USA (before Trump) relies on Asian-made parts. The tariffs have been hell on these small companies.
Here's one, a rugged-ized tablet assembler, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/1/buffalo-tablet-maker-bak-usa-suddenly-shuts-ak-usa/ [washingtontimes.com]
Not Foxconn, but not nothing either, they were training people that have often been given up on. Longer story in Buffalo News, but couldn't find it easily.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday November 09 2018, @04:51AM
I'll note that I never had that problem with bosses though I've had a couple who were moderately delusional. What makes your life experiences any more relevant than mine?
As to the original couple of postings in this thread, it doesn't take sociopathy to fire someone who is actively and deliberately undermining a work environment. This one-sided psychoanalysis of boss-employee relations really needs an overhaul.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @03:53PM (4 children)
"Sessions made the calculation that avoiding the whole Mueller affair was his best path, attempting to preserve job viability with both parties."
Why do you think that was his main concern?
Sessions certainly has not admitted as much and you, yourself, admit that his actions are inconsistent with that goal. IIRC his stated position was something along the lines of [1] not being willing to compromise his professional ethics and [2] trusting that his subordinates don't need to be micromanaged.
"I've never understood the view that because folks don't like the president he can't actually use his legal authority (and arguably obligation) to staff with more appropriate (from his view) personnel."
The main answer is that people who don't like Trump will be appalled at his actions no matter what.
Another answer is that the president should be held to a higher moral standard for their behavior instead of just what they can legally get away with.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by slinches on Thursday November 08 2018, @04:50PM (3 children)
When was the last time that was actually true rather than just the facade of it? Certainly every president in the last 30 years has only given lip service to the notion that Presidents should be held to the highest ethical standards.
It's not an excuse, but lifting the veil of pretense doesn't really change what's going on, just who is aware of it.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:27PM (2 children)
The opposition party typically takes great pleasure in pointing out these questionably ethical decisions and it probably contributes to the motivation of the opposition party to vote and discourages the encombant party from voting.
The lack of support and general distaste for Trump and Clinton, within their own party, had more to do with their character and less to do with their policies. While I wouldn't consider this accountability adequate (as it doesn't outweigh party tribalism), it still counts for something.
Nevertheless, I'd say it is reasonable to try to impose higher ethical standards (beyond just what is legal) on the behavior of elected leaders.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:37PM
What would we peons have to talk about then? Just weather and sports? Please, give that idea a break - or six. Just shatter it, alright?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by slinches on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:55PM
I agree with that. I was just pointing out that the lack of accountability (from both party members and the voting public in general) has been an issue for a long time. Maybe by dropping that pretense and exposing the ugliness of the process openly, the Trump administration will unintentionally make it clear how unacceptable this sort of behavior really is. I'm hoping it will help the electorate be able to respect genuine honesty and integrity that will override the tribalistic party loyalties and we can get some politicians into office who are actually good people.
Though, for that to happen, we will need some help from the media and non-political public figures to stop the escalation of the conflicts that are feeding the divisive nature of current political discourse.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by tibman on Thursday November 08 2018, @04:49PM (4 children)
Yes, the AG serves at the President's pleasure but the AG also serves the United States. If you were forced to choose loyalty to your Country or to your Boss, which do you pick? Looks to me like Jeff was fired for doing his job and not doing what Trump wanted.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:43PM
All AG's please the president. Some when they come in the door, others when they exit through the same door.
(Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:34PM (2 children)
False dichotomy. If his perspective was preemptively that loyalty to his country and his president were opposing, then removing him was the right thing to do.
It's unfortunate because he was very much not a bad AG or bad person and extremely competent. But he is not what Trump wanted in that position.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 2) by tibman on Friday November 09 2018, @12:45AM (1 child)
What Trump wants changes between every TV commercial.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Sunday November 11 2018, @12:35AM
Yeah, I doubt even his most ardent supporters would argue that Trump would not benefit from sanitizing his data inputs (and outputs) a bit.
.
On the other hand a President that watches the same news sources as the public, and talks directly to them bypassing all the filters built up over the years to keep that from happening, is disruptive of business as usual in and of itself.
.
Trump isn't there because the people wanted another 8 years of rearranging the silverware. They wanted the table kicked over.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 3, Insightful) by urza9814 on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:36PM
Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's ethical, moral, or a good idea.
(Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:37PM (3 children)
That seems like a weird way to run a country.
Surely you guys have rule of law? Maybe the law does not apply to some people.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by RandomFactor on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:51PM (1 child)
The President can remove the AG at any time for any reason.
There are many positions like this in the world and government and also many that have more job security. If the implication is that this should not be the case for the AG then there is a legal process to change the law.
Noone is (correctly) saying the President cannot fire the AG. They are saying we don't want him to so we will make a stink.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday November 08 2018, @08:24PM
I understand that.
It also seems like the US public have become so desensitized to corruption that this just looks normal.
I mean even Spiro Agnew didn't go to jail, and he took bribes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 09 2018, @04:12AM
Yes. The laws here only apply to those without power and influence (money).
In the last half century (probably much longer), there isn't a president of the US that would not be behind bars (with most of his cabinet), if laws were fairly applied. E.g., the victims of a mass murderer in the white house, or corporate C-suite/board room are just as dead as the victims of today's* mass shooting spree. The body counts by Reagan, in Guatemala alone, make him a genocidal monster. Per UNICEF, Clinton killed half a million children under the age of 14 with his sanctions against the Iraqi people... Looks like Trump is out to kill Iranian children now.
* We are on track for an average of one per day for 2018 with 307 mass shootings in 2018 so far.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Thursday November 08 2018, @03:06PM (10 children)
There were Sessions boosters who insisted he was the "silent assassin" who was gonna finally bring justice to the land in one fell swoop. To everyone else it looked like a guy who preferred to use that nickname as an excuse to skate.
Trump could replace him with a real pit bull, but now that he doesn't have the House anymore he's going to have a tough time using him. Everything he does, whether plainly legal or not, is going to incite another House investigation.
It will all end in tears.
I would like, however, to see amid all that that the Clintons, Lloyd Blankfein, and Jamie Dimon go to jail for the rest of their lives.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @03:55PM
"silent assassin" sounds like someone farted on an elevator
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @04:31PM (2 children)
If you're mad at the clintons then you've been watching the news for as long as 10 years.
Not to say that I wouldn't mind all the crooked politicians to get the jail they deserve. But if the clintons are the standard then we won't have many people left in government.
Bu bu bu the emails!! The rapes!!
Hahahaha yes that is so normal that there is simply no way you pay attention to life. It wasn't like those sort of activities weren't covered in detail when other people did them and got away with it. You just didn't care.
A perfect servant for the real people who matter. They should make medals for you guys.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:19PM
And? I fail to see the problem.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:59PM
Phoenix666 is full of shit, just another RWNJ pretending to be an ex-Democrat in order to sell their shit. That account has hammered on Clinton non-stop, which is forgivable except he should be calling from Trump and a variety of others to go to jail as well. Up above he praises Trump!!! The POTUS that is lying every other sentence and trying to divide the country completely is getting praise from a supposed Democrat / independent?
What a load of crap
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:26PM (5 children)
I don't think there will be a House investigation, at least not a very serious one and nothing more than a bargaining chip to encourage Trump to step up aggression against Iran, China, and Russia. After midterm elections, Democrats call for bipartisan unity with Trump [wsws.org]:
US midterm vote: Democrats win control of House of Representatives [wsws.org]: "Trump reportedly called Pelosi shortly after her victory statement to congratulate her and discuss future relations between the White House and the Democratic-controlled House."
Report Says Russia-gaters Should Go Quietly in the Night [consortiumnews.com]:
(More on the support of the party of the "Deporter-in-Chief" for Trump's immigration crackdown: At White House press conference, Trump calls reporter an “enemy of the people” [wsws.org]. That one also has coverage of Sessions' departure.)
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:42PM (3 children)
Called Pelosi? He'd be safer french kissing a rabid bulldog. Or, sodomizing a king cobra. Or, being sodomized by a polar bear. Or, even standing on a street corner in Shitcago.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:30PM (2 children)
Yes, yes, yes. Because, as we all know, the one thing Republicans are deathly afraid of it is getting Democrat cooties by even being seen to talk to a Democrat in public. *Sigh* When will this country return to sanity?
(Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Thursday November 08 2018, @07:41PM (1 child)
If you know a path that leads there gracefully we'll all love to hear it :-p
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 09 2018, @02:10AM
I'd suggest lobotomies for Republicans, but clearly someone's beat me to it.
The action, not the suggestion.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday November 08 2018, @10:28PM
Acosta is the only person in the media who I think is actually an enemy of the people. Acosta was yelling at Kim in the middle of the negotiations because he wanted a soundbite and could have seriously f'd things up.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 4, Insightful) by VLM on Thursday November 08 2018, @08:37PM (1 child)
Comments not inspiring. Sessions had other issues beyond "Lets talk about Trump" and "Muh fake Russia story".
His weed law stuff was questionable. His civil asset forfeiture (legalized theft) was questionable.
On the other hand his policies against invaders were reasonable, as was his "Dear Colleague" letter situation.
His personal battle with Turkey was simply bizarre, like I don't know what to say. From memory some treasury dept officials spanked some individual Turkish leaders involved in making some missionary a political prisoner, so they responded by freezing some personal assets of Mr Sessions in Turkey, which is just weird.
He was kind of a mixed bag. Not entirely bad or good.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @09:24PM
No one is entirely good or bad, but Sessions was firmly in the realm of darkness.
Possibly not according to his personal beliefs, but compared to today's standards he is an evil fuck. So are you, but I do wonder why you suddenly started making more reasonable posts instead of your "globalist jews ermagerhd!" type shit?