Breotan wrote:

 kronk wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

I just threw up in my mouth.

fething communist.

#NotMyPresident #GTFO #WellDoneSteakIsMurder #I'dRatherWatchHockeyThanSomeoneEatASteakWithKetchup

Did you know most brands of steak sauce are just fancy (dark) ketchup? True story.

 whembly wrote:
Yup... IDNLT is on the money.

GOP may not go down in the midterm (2018), but in 2020... they're fethed.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
The thing is, the Democrats had that. It was the Republicans who didn't have a robust economic plan.

 Just Tony wrote:
Because his heart was beating at 18 days. I'm well aware that if born at 18 days, he would not have survived, but to classify that as unviable tissue and not a life

Mentioning the 2 year old was taking the thought of abortion as a matter of convenience and extrapolating it out to the point of ridiculousness. But it did showcase the problem. deciding when someone accepts something as life.

Now here's a thought, how far in the womb does a baby have to be to be considered developed? 2 trimester births have a survival rating from 0-70%, depending on the week of birth. Week 24 gives a 40-70% rating according to The March of Dimes.

 jasper76 wrote:
and to the extent that the Democrats play into the "feth white man patriarchy narrative", they'll continue to receive strong opposition.

 jasper76 wrote:
I agree with you as well that economics tend to be the most important issue people vote on. On this issue, the Democrats are on a losing foot as well IME, because they are perceived to be the party of over-regulation and globalism at the expense of American labor. The Republicans shared the last bit until Trump came along with his America First message.

 Frazzled wrote:
Alternatively, the Balkans and the Tutsi / Hutu conflict are the ultimate expressions of identity politics.

 jasper76 wrote:
I'd think it would be a safe bet to assert that the majority of people who voted for Trump are actually happy that he's doing the things he said he'd do.

BREAKING: BULLET POINTS OF TRUMP’S CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESS GIVEN TO INFOWARS
Preview of the president’s address to a joint session of Congress

It should be noted this was not a leak, but was given directly to Infowars

 whembly wrote:

 thekingofkings wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Not me. I voted for the dopehead. Blame your selves.

Gary Johnson! voted same.

Guys... guys... it's still our fault since we didn't for Hillary.

Or, something...

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
This is how empires decline and die.

America, you haven't lasted as long as previous empires, but you had a good run. The high water mark was unquestionably the 1990s, when the Cold War had been won, and the Soviet Union had been vanquished.

You'll still be rich, and powerful, and have influence, much like Britain after WW1, and nobody will mess with you, but Pax Americana is over...

I speak with some authority on this, a student of history, and of course, I live in a nation that lost its own empire to you guys.

I know the signs and symptoms. Trump is a symptom, but not THE symptom. That is complex and took root long before Trump.

But here we are...POTUS leaking a speech to infowars...

US President Donald Trump has said he believes his predecessor, Barack Obama, is behind the protests over his planned travel ban and national security leaks.
He told Fox News: "I think President Obama's behind it because his people are certainly behind it", but added: "I also think it's just politics".
Mr Trump advanced no evidence for his claims; his predecessor in the White House has not commented.
Mr Trump also spoke about his budget plans and other issues.
In his wide-ranging interview with Fox News and Friends, he said:
He gave himself a "C" on getting his message out but an A for achievement.
His plans to boost defence spending by $54bn would be paid for by a "revved up economy"
He would be a "hypocrite" if he attended the White House Correspondents Dinner in light of "fake news"

Mr Trump advanced no evidence for his claims;

229 House Republicans just voted to keep Trump’s tax returns secret

 Mr. Burning wrote:
Its an A for achievement.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39113446

US President Donald Trump has said he believes his predecessor, Barack Obama, is behind the protests over his planned travel ban and national security leaks.
He told Fox News: "I think President Obama's behind it because his people are certainly behind it", but added: "I also think it's just politics".
Mr Trump advanced no evidence for his claims; his predecessor in the White House has not commented.
Mr Trump also spoke about his budget plans and other issues.
In his wide-ranging interview with Fox News and Friends, he said:
He gave himself a "C" on getting his message out but an A for achievement.
His plans to boost defence spending by $54bn would be paid for by a "revved up economy"
He would be a "hypocrite" if he attended the White House Correspondents Dinner in light of "fake news"

The Trump administration is seeking to loosen some security requirements for hiring Border Patrol agents in order to meet a dramatic surge in immigration enforcement, according to internal memos obtained by Foreign Policy and analyzed by five current and former officials in the Department of Homeland Security.

Customs and Border Protection, part of DHS, is seeking approval to relax some stringent standards that have made it difficult for the agency to meet recruitment targets in recent years. That includes a request to potentially loosen congressionally-mandated requirements such as a polygraph, as well as an entrance exam and background check.

According to the five-page, Feb. 17 memo from CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, changes to hiring standards are urgently needed if the agency is to expand as now planned from 19,627 Border Patrol agents to about 26,370. One former DHS official said the current requirements, especially the lie-detector test, are “insanely cumbersome,” and a big reason the agency has trouble recruiting compared with other law-enforcement agencies and even other immigration bodies within DHS, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We do face headwinds,” McAleenan allowed, in an interview with Foreign Policy on Saturday. While declining to discuss internal planning documents, he emphasized, “Secretary Kelly has made it absolutely clear we are not going to lower standards to speed up our hiring.”

The memo estimates that even with the measures to accelerate hiring, it will take five years and cost about $2.2 billion to help fill out CBP’s ranks to meet President Trump’s quota.
“The taxpayer demonstrated in the November election very clearly that border security is a very important issue for them,” McAleenan told FP. “The investments are justified to protect our communities.”

But some former officials said the plan, despite bland bureaucratic language, clearly suggests loosening requirements in order to ramp up hiring.

“Most of the measures are worded in terms that look neutral on their face,” Stephen Legomsky, former senior counsel to the Secretary of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Barack Obama, told FP after reviewing the memos.

“But because all of that is prefaced with how they need to make changes for the express purpose of enhancing their hiring ability, then obviously these things are meant to loosen those standards, not to tighten them,” he said.

And some current and former DHS officials and outside experts are concerned that lowering standards could allow the influx of less-qualified candidates who may be susceptible to corruption. CBP is uniquely targeted by drug-trafficking and other transnational organizations seeking out agents they can bribe — with money or sexual favors — to allow drugs, undocumented immigrants, or other contraband across the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We actually lived through this,” said Jay Ahern, a deputy CBP commissioner under George W. Bush, when the agency doubled in size. When reviewing tens of thousands of applicants, he said, mistakes are inevitable.

“If you start lowering standards, the organization pays for it for the next decade, two, or three,” Ahern said. (He did not review the memos.)

McAleenan’s memo is part of CBP’s effort to figure out how to meet the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement. In one of his first acts as president, Trump issued an executive order that mandated building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and beefing up enforcement by adding 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents, and 10,000 additional ICE officers, tripling their number. DHS Secretary John Kelly expanded upon the executive order with directives released on Feb. 21 that dramatically expand the pool of immigrants subject to deportation.

“CBP has insufficient agents/officers to effectively detect, track, and apprehend all aliens illegally entering the United States,” Kelly wrote in the directives, released three days after the internal CBP memo was stamped. He directed DHS department heads, such as McAleenan, to immediately begin the process of hiring, “while ensuring consistency in training and standards” and “subject to the availability of resources.”

In the memo, McAleenan described some of the changes CBP is considering — waiving the polygraph for some applicants such as police in good standing, making background investigations less stringent, and easing the entrance exam — as making CBP “more competitive.”

Some officials said the steps outlined are long overdue to reduce unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and meet the staffing shortfalls at CBP; it is still 1,600 agents shy of its authorized strength, and turnover is prevalent. In the last budget cycle, CBP requested funding for 300 fewer officers than the prior year, preferring to upgrade old equipment than chase “unrealistic” hiring expectations.

In addition to the lie-detector test, CBP applicants undergo cognitive, fitness, and medical exams, as well as fingerprinting, financial disclosure, drug testing and background checks. Even veterans with security clearances have to undergo an additional security screening to be hired at CBP, the former DHS official pointed out.

McAleenan said Saturday CBP is also looking at better pay equity, incentivizing remote locations, opening up more opportunities for veterans, and continuing to streamline the hiring process. In the last two years, McAleenan said, CBP has reduced its hiring timeline from 400 days to 170.

But social changes, he added, have added to the hiring difficulty. “We’re dealing with an environment around law enforcement that’s challenging in our society right now,” he said. And marijuana legalization in some states “makes it challenging for young people to meet our standards.”

Yet the polygraph has become the biggest hurdle, officials and experts say. Two out of three CBP applicants fail — more than double the average rate for eight other law enforcement agencies, according to the Associated Press.

McAleenan observed in the memo that the lie-detector test “has been identified as both a significant deterrent and point of failure.” ICE, he noted, does not require a polygraph test, and that agency’s own drive to hire 10,000 more agents will “greatly hinder” CBP’s own staffing.

The polygraph “helps us insure our integrity,” and has helped identify cartel lackeys trying to infiltrate CBP, McAleenan said Saturday. But he’s looking for ways to ensure it’s not being used “as an investigative tool,” and to allow some applicants — such as former members of the military or other law enforcement agencies — to skip it.

“We’d like to have the flexibility to make those decisions, instead of having every single person who applies be subject to the polygraph,” McAleenan said. “But we’re going to make those decisions very carefully in balancing the risk against the benefits.”

Yet those tough standards, including a mandatory polygraph, were put into place by Congress in 2010, after Customs and Border Protection suffered acute growing pains during the Bush administration, when CBP doubled in size. Some Border Patrol agents didn’t complete background checks before they deployed to the frontlines, officials reported, and the agency saw an increase in cases of internal corruption, and questions over its use-of-force training following a spate of deadly incidents.

And problems have persisted. According to rights group Southern Border Communities Coalition, between 2010 and 2015, media reported 40 deadly incidents involving CBP, and only one agent was prosecuted. The former head of internal affairs at CBP, James Tomsheck, who declined to comment for this story, claims he was pushed out in 2014 because he fought against a “paramilitary” mindset and a culture of evading accountability for abuses. This week, the Supreme Court is hearing a case to determine whether parents of a Mexican teenager shot and killed by a CBP agent can sue.

The administration’s rush to beef up border security comes as illegal crossings into the United States from Mexico have sunk to their lowest levels in four decades; among Mexican immigrants, the flow has in fact reversed since 2009. Still, “we have not reached the level where we have more people than we need for the crossings,” McAleenan said.

The additional agents would primarily be placed in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where the bulk of border traffic is today, as well as the Tucson and Yuma sectors in Arizona, but also at the northern border with Canada.

“In many ways, you know, the border is more secure than it’s ever been, we have fewer people trying to cross,” McAleenan said of the southern line. “But we still have significant risks, and we need to address them across the entire border.”

The moves, especially the staffing plans, have made Mexico nervous, even beyond the public pronouncements of President Enrique Peña Nieto and other officials, who rejected the new directives as “unilateral” and “inappropriate.”

The Mexican government reached out to CBP immediately after Trump’s Jan. 25 executive order with a number of questions over how carefully the agency selects, recruits, and trains agents, according to a separate series of emails obtained by FP.

While some former officials said Mexican and American counterparts frequently communicate over new directives, others described the correspondence as atypical, and indicative of increased tensions between the U.S. and Mexico over Trump’s rhetoric.

“It’s a bit unusual, but it’s a really unusual transition,” said David Martin, a former counsel for DHS and the Departments of State and Justice, and now a professor emeritus at the University of Virginia law school. “Particularly with the focus on immigration so early and so vehemently in the new administration.”

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
No-one is upset or up in arms. We're just laughing at him for being an idiot.

 Vash108 wrote:
https://thinkprogress.org/229-house-republicans-just-voted-to-keep-trumps-tax-returns-secret-a6843e9a6260#.ytquixl2p

229 House Republicans just voted to keep Trump’s tax returns secret

 timetowaste85 wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
No-one is upset or up in arms. We're just laughing at him for being an idiot.

Guess we're reading different articles. I'm reading from the news page I get by "swiping right" on my phone. And they're pretty upset he didn't try somewhere new, how childish he is over what he ordered, how he's only promoting his own places, etc etc. A man, even the president, should be allowed to eat whatever and wherever he likes. Even if the meal does sound awful to me too!

 timetowaste85 wrote:
I went to post about Trump's dinner and how stupid the media is, but somebody beat me to it. You know what though? Who flipping cares. The man went to a steakhouse he likes, and ordered the steak the way he likes it. I think it sounds terrible, but hey, the man ordered what he wanted. Everyone seems up in arms he didn't order a certain way, nor did he visit a new place. Next I suppose asshats will get upset if he puts his left arm through his shirt sleeve before his right arm. There is plenty he's doing to make waves and bristle people up. But eating his steak the way he likes it at a restaurant he likes is NOT something to get upset about (although poor, poor steak having ketchup added to mask the well-done [burnt] flavor).
But getting up in arms about this? Excessively petty. Anyone upset, here or in newspapers, should take a good long look at themselves. And be embarrassed.

 jmurph wrote:
So Trump's proposed budget jacks up military spending and guts the EPA and State Department. That sends a rather ominous message, considering even Mattis advocated for adequate State Department spending as it is our primary diplomatic arm.

But maybe Trump is jealous we don't have this: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/28/asia/north-korea-officials-executed/index.html

 Kilkrazy wrote:
Personally I admire Trump's determination to pretend to be a "man of the people" by ordering a low quality meal with a plebeian sauce when as a billionaire he could afford anything he wanted.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 jmurph wrote:
So Trump's proposed budget jacks up military spending and guts the EPA and State Department. That sends a rather ominous message, considering even Mattis advocated for adequate State Department spending as it is our primary diplomatic arm.

But maybe Trump is jealous we don't have this: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/28/asia/north-korea-officials-executed/index.html

Increased military spending makes no sense for a nation that spends more than anybody else anyway.

Many a dakka member has told stories about the colossal amount of waste that occurs in the US military on a daily basis. The use it or lose it mentality.

Perhaps 'better' spending and a crack down on waste would be a better approach?

Are tanks still needed in this day and age? The US military still has a few.

The Army and the Marine Corps currently have about 9,000 Abrams tanks in their inventories. The tank debate between the Army and Congress goes back to 2012 when Odierno testified that the Army doesn't need more tanks.

Odierno lost then too. Congress voted for another $183 million for tanks despite Odierno's argument that the Army was seeking to become a lighter force.

 Frazzled wrote:


Non citizens disenfranchising Americans by voting in Ohio:
http://kxan.com/2017/02/27/investigation-found-385-non-us-citizens-registered-to-vote-82-cast-illegal-ballots-in-ohio/

 Vaktathi wrote:
There's a lot of waste in the military itself aside from congress as well, often stuff like spare parts. For example, when armories need stocks of new parts for guns, they don't just go back to the original manufacturer, but they put it out for competitive bid and go with the lowest bidder out of dozens of random machine shops. Well, then they come in out of spec or poorly heat treated or whatnot, and don't work or break or wear out way too early and cause additional failures and expenses and weapons fatigue. From AR15 bolt cam pins to M9 locking blocks and magazines all sorts of other parts that end up destroying weapons over time and degrading people's trust in their weapons systems due to poor reliability from said parts.

 Frazzled wrote:


Non citizens disenfranchising Americans by voting in Ohio:
http://kxan.com/2017/02/27/investigation-found-385-non-us-citizens-registered-to-vote-82-cast-illegal-ballots-in-ohio/

82 out of 5,607,641 ballots cast.

Not saying it shouldn't be looked into, it absolutely should and a stop put to it, but 1 in ~70,000 ballots doesn't seem like it's backing up any of the accusations leveled by the GOP or the current administration of widespread voter fraud by the millions turning the tide of elections.

 Vaktathi wrote:
There's a lot of waste in the military itself aside from congress as well, often stuff like spare parts. For example, when armories need stocks of new parts for guns, they don't just go back to the original manufacturer, but they put it out for competitive bid and go with the lowest bidder out of dozens of random machine shops. Well, then they come in out of spec or poorly heat treated or whatnot, and don't work or break or wear out way too early and cause additional failures and expenses and weapons fatigue. From AR15 bolt cam pins to M9 locking blocks and magazines all sorts of other parts that end up destroying weapons over time and degrading people's trust in their weapons systems due to poor reliability from said parts.

 Frazzled wrote:


Non citizens disenfranchising Americans by voting in Ohio:
http://kxan.com/2017/02/27/investigation-found-385-non-us-citizens-registered-to-vote-82-cast-illegal-ballots-in-ohio/

82 out of 5,607,641 ballots cast.

Not saying it shouldn't be looked into, it absolutely should and a stop put to it, but 1 in ~70,000 ballots doesn't seem like it's backing up any of the accusations leveled by the GOP or the current administration of widespread voter fraud by the millions turning the tide of elections.

 timetowaste85 wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
No-one is upset or up in arms. We're just laughing at him for being an idiot.

Guess we're reading different articles. I'm reading from the news page I get by "swiping right" on my phone. And they're pretty upset he didn't try somewhere new, how childish he is over what he ordered, how he's only promoting his own places, etc etc. A man, even the president, should be allowed to eat whatever and wherever he likes. Even if the meal does sound awful to me too!

 Frazzled wrote:

 Vaktathi wrote:
There's a lot of waste in the military itself aside from congress as well, often stuff like spare parts. For example, when armories need stocks of new parts for guns, they don't just go back to the original manufacturer, but they put it out for competitive bid and go with the lowest bidder out of dozens of random machine shops. Well, then they come in out of spec or poorly heat treated or whatnot, and don't work or break or wear out way too early and cause additional failures and expenses and weapons fatigue. From AR15 bolt cam pins to M9 locking blocks and magazines all sorts of other parts that end up destroying weapons over time and degrading people's trust in their weapons systems due to poor reliability from said parts.

 Frazzled wrote:


Non citizens disenfranchising Americans by voting in Ohio:
http://kxan.com/2017/02/27/investigation-found-385-non-us-citizens-registered-to-vote-82-cast-illegal-ballots-in-ohio/

82 out of 5,607,641 ballots cast.

Not saying it shouldn't be looked into, it absolutely should and a stop put to it, but 1 in ~70,000 ballots doesn't seem like it's backing up any of the accusations leveled by the GOP or the current administration of widespread voter fraud by the millions turning the tide of elections.

Thats still fraud and disenfranchising American voters. Fix it.

I imagine the border states are substantially higher. Just thinking of the all the illegal radioactive muties in New Mexico voting? After all, if a radioactive mutie walks up to vote and you're a poll worker, are you going to get in his way?

 Vaktathi wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:

 Vaktathi wrote:
There's a lot of waste in the military itself aside from congress as well, often stuff like spare parts. For example, when armories need stocks of new parts for guns, they don't just go back to the original manufacturer, but they put it out for competitive bid and go with the lowest bidder out of dozens of random machine shops. Well, then they come in out of spec or poorly heat treated or whatnot, and don't work or break or wear out way too early and cause additional failures and expenses and weapons fatigue. From AR15 bolt cam pins to M9 locking blocks and magazines all sorts of other parts that end up destroying weapons over time and degrading people's trust in their weapons systems due to poor reliability from said parts.

 Frazzled wrote:


Non citizens disenfranchising Americans by voting in Ohio:
http://kxan.com/2017/02/27/investigation-found-385-non-us-citizens-registered-to-vote-82-cast-illegal-ballots-in-ohio/

82 out of 5,607,641 ballots cast.

Not saying it shouldn't be looked into, it absolutely should and a stop put to it, but 1 in ~70,000 ballots doesn't seem like it's backing up any of the accusations leveled by the GOP or the current administration of widespread voter fraud by the millions turning the tide of elections.

Thats still fraud and disenfranchising American voters. Fix it.

Didn't say it wasn't or that it shouldn't be fixed, I'm in 100% agreement it should be fixed it true, only that it doesn't jive up to the monstrous claims of one party and the current administration.

 Breotan wrote:

Did you know most brands of steak sauce are just fancy (dark) ketchup? True story.