Political Randomness

[malchior]

It's probably a stunt. There is something to glean out of this though. They've spent years building a brand. If they do throw it out the window because Tucker Carlson is whining then we can get a gauge of his actual influence. Still I severely doubt he moved the needle on their sales. We'll see.

[Unagi]

As M&M weighs the option of embracing hate…

What a world.

[Defiant]

I am so tired of living like it's the 1600s. Can I afford eggs at the market? Are my friends gonna die in the plague? Puritans coming for my sinful lifestyle. I want some modern problems. Modern Problems

[Unagi]

I Like It!

[Smoove_B]

Are we going to need to start a thread on how people apparently handle classified documents?

A lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence’s Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence’s house in Indiana.

The classified documents were discovered at Pence’s new home in Carmel, Indiana, by a lawyer for Pence in the wake of the revelations about classified material discovered in President Joe Biden’s private office and residence, the sources said. The discovery comes after Pence has repeatedly said he did not have any classified documents in his possession.

It is not yet clear what the documents are related to or their level of sensitivity or classification. Pence’s team plans to notify Congress on Tuesday.

[Smoove_B]

Not sure where to put this, but I do believe it's political.

Famed statistics guru Nate Silver and his website FiveThirtyEight are on the “chopping block,” Confider has learned, as ABC News looks to cut costs.

A decision on the future of the famed politics, economics, and sports analysis website is set to be made by the summer when Silver’s contract is up, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told us.

The oft-combative Silver, who has come under renewed scrutiny for his site’s polling selections, now faces an uncertain future as news division boss Kim Godwin reviews the publication, which has never turned a profit.

[$iljanus]

Are we going to need to start a thread on how people apparently handle classified documents?

A lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence’s Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence’s house in Indiana.

The classified documents were discovered at Pence’s new home in Carmel, Indiana, by a lawyer for Pence in the wake of the revelations about classified material discovered in President Joe Biden’s private office and residence, the sources said. The discovery comes after Pence has repeatedly said he did not have any classified documents in his possession.

It is not yet clear what the documents are related to or their level of sensitivity or classification. Pence’s team plans to notify Congress on Tuesday.

Probably but let me enjoy my moment of
schadenfreude first...

[Jaymann]

Can we get a Kriminal Sopina for that rascal Jimmy Carter?

[Defiant]

This is really getting ridiculous. Do they not audit of such documents when people leave office?

[Defiant]

And you would think Pence would have been extra careful about confidential stuff, because he was known to have been bugged.

[Smoove_B]

I don't know anything specific, but just from my experience working in government I'm guessing it's a culture issue. Namely, when the President is in possession of these documents, I'm confident there's someone that is responsible for (1) knowing it and (2) keeping track of it. But when the documents need to return to their appropriate places, who then formally tells the President they need to return them and then for someone like TFG, escalates it when he doesn't?

I can't help but feel like there has probably been a lot of communication to senior staff regarding documents that need to be returned and those people are told, "Yeah, he's the President". Or "He's Mike Pence", apparently.

[malchior]

There are several problems really - too much classification without enough corresponding declassification, not enough tracking of what materials are out and who has them, and then a culture of impunity at the top which has typically relied on mechanisms which they believe insulates them and pushes responsibility down. On the last, my boss was part of the FBI culture (common there and throughout DOJ) where he would stand anytime classified information was in his office. He would take it, he would read it, and then he would hand it back. A lot of the top does this. This leads to someone like Biden or top officials thinking they're clean by virtue of their process to avoid possession but ultimately this doesn't change that they are responsible. But generally it's responsibility without real accountability.

[El Guapo]

There are several problems really - too much classification without enough corresponding declassification, not enough tracking of what materials are out and who has them, and then a culture of impunity at the top which has typically relied on mechanisms which they believe insulates them and pushes responsibility down. On the last, my boss was part of the FBI culture (common there and throughout DOJ) where he would stand anytime classified information was in his office. He would take it, he would read it, and then he would hand it back. A lot of the top does this. This leads to someone like Biden or top officials thinking they're clean by virtue of their process to avoid possession but ultimately this doesn't change that they are responsible. But generally it's responsibility without real accountability.

It also seems like this probably happens both because of over-classification and because (I suspect) there's not enough attention paid to creating systems that allow people who need to use these documents to work to do so in a safe but practical way.

[LawBeefaroni]

We'll probably find out what level of classification the documents had. There are some levels to be concerned about, others not so much.

[Holman]

We'll probably find out what level of classification the documents had. There are some levels to be concerned about, others not so much.

Yeah. What's lost in all of this is that simple "Classified" basically means little more than "Keep, Don't Destroy."

[Unagi]

The Problem /w Jon Stewart just took on the topic:

TOP SECRET: Our Classified Document System is [REDACTED]

[malchior]

We'll probably find out what level of classification the documents had. There are some levels to be concerned about, others not so much.

Yeah. What's lost in all of this is that simple "Classified" basically means little more than "Keep, Don't Destroy."

And then you get into the world of CUI (Controlled Unclassifed Information) which expands the complexity. All of it bottom line gives a lot of folks space to screw up.

[malchior]

Meta and Instagram to reinstate (edit: oops!) Trump with "guardrails". I won't be surprised if he breaks the rules immediately and then they do nothing.

Former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are being reinstated, the social media giant Meta announced Wednesday — a little more than two years after he was suspended from the platforms over incendiary posts on the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Trump’s accounts will be reinstated “in the coming weeks” and come with “new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses,” Nick Clegg, president, global affairs at Meta, said in a statement. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram.

Those guardrails will include "heightened penalties for repeat offenses — penalties which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under our updated protocol. In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation," Clegg said on the company's website.

[El Guapo]

Ok, "MSNBC?"

[Max Peck]

So the maximum penalty for inciting civil unrest is an account suspension of no more than one Congressional election cycle. Nice.

[malchior]

So the maximum penalty for inciting civil unrest is an account suspension of no more than one Congressional election cycle. Nice.

And to think lots of people think even that was unjust.

[Kraken]

I'm sure he learned his lesson.

[LawBeefaroni]

Hey look, right when no one cared about our dead platform! Let's make som news!

[malchior]

Hey look, right when no one cared about our dead platform! Let's make som news!

I think it's more about how the Republicans were going to drag them through the mud. If they wanted publicity they could have stood their ground and waited for the inevitable whining to reach fever pitch.

[LawBeefaroni]

Hey look, right when no one cared about our dead platform! Let's make som news!

I think it's more about how the Republicans were going to drag them through the mud. If they wanted publicity they could have stood their ground and waited for the inevitable whining to reach fever pitch.

The whining was dead. He was banned what, 2 years ago? This was a forgotten issue.

[El Guapo]

So, a neighbor of mine down the street is now hanging a large "Newt For Congress" sign from his balcony. I looked closer and sure enough it's for Newt Gingrich, I assume from congressional runs in the 90s? This is a pretty liberal neighborhood. The question - is he like some conservative who wants to own the neighborhood libs? Is it meant to be ironic?

[Carpet_pissr]

Political hipster.

[El Guapo]

Political hipster.

I guess? They could also be making some esoteric political point that they think is obvious.

[Daehawk]

Between Trump back online to spew his stupidity and hate along with forecasts of inflation starting to deflate near the start of 2024 I can clearly see some GOP be President and claiming they did .....and as usual its clearly something already happening. I hate that.

[malchior]

Hey look, right when no one cared about our dead platform! Let's make som news!

I think it's more about how the Republicans were going to drag them through the mud. If they wanted publicity they could have stood their ground and waited for the inevitable whining to reach fever pitch.

The whining was dead. He was banned what, 2 years ago? This was a forgotten issue.

The whining hasn't been dead. It's been constant and loud. They've been howling that the leftist media has been censoring them. And more fuel was added to that fire with Musk's takeover of Twitter and his stupid Twitter files. On top, the reporting has indicated that Trump's team had put pressure on Meta by saying that they were going to get their hard right lackeys in the House to investigate them. When there was still grift to be had, Trump was quiet about it mostly but now that the grift well has gone dry at Truth, he is trying to get back into the game there. If Meta wished for publicity, they could have let the battle happen. It makes more sense that they are avoiding a fight for other reasons.

Edit: Added some illustrations. The right whines about various forms of persecution all the time.

[Max Peck]

I'll laugh if this is just a Super Bowl commercial stunt.

Time to start laughing.

The M&M’s Aren’t Done With Us Yet

Despite the announcement M&M’s made this week — that the company would be taking “an indefinite pause” from its spokescandies in favor of the “beloved” actress Maya Rudolph — the truth is, they aren’t actually going anywhere.

“Rest assured, the characters are our official long-term spokescandies,” a representative for the company wrote in an email. While “the iconic M&M’s characters are in fact spending some time pursuing their other passions” ahead of the Super Bowl, during the big game, its commercial will resolve the matter, returning “the characters right where they belong at the heart of the brand.”

[pr0ner]

[LawBeefaroni]

INCOMING...sound judgement!

A newly elected Florida Republican sent grenades to fellow members of Congress, prompting one aghast Democrat to say “not even George Santos could make this stuff up”.
...
The grenades were sent by another freshman, Cory Mills, a member of the armed services and foreign affairs committees.

Stamped with a Republican elephant, the inert projectiles came with a letter in which Mills said: “It is my pleasure to give you a 40mm grenade, made for a Mk19 grenade launcher. They are manufactured in the Sunshine State and first developed in the Vietnam war.

“Let’s come together and get to work on behalf of our constituents.”

Yes, they were marked as inert but there's still no subtlety in the message. Maybe this should go in the domestic extremism thread.

[Jaymann]

INCOMING...sound judgement!

A newly elected Florida Republican sent grenades to fellow members of Congress, prompting one aghast Democrat to say “not even George Santos could make this stuff up”.
...
The grenades were sent by another freshman, Cory Mills, a member of the armed services and foreign affairs committees.

Stamped with a Republican elephant, the inert projectiles came with a letter in which Mills said: “It is my pleasure to give you a 40mm grenade, made for a Mk19 grenade launcher. They are manufactured in the Sunshine State and first developed in the Vietnam war.

“Let’s come together and get to work on behalf of our constituents.”

Yes, they were marked as inert but there's still no subtlety in the message. Maybe this should go in the domestic extremism thread.

It seems "inert" puts it in the Defining the 21st Century Republican Party thread.

[Isgrimnur]

Global Security

Bronze, gold, brass - Identifies completely inert ammunition for use in activities such as assembly, testing, handling, drills, etc., not to be delivered in a delivery system.

Which, I'm sure, everyone has the color chart for munitions memorized.

[Smoove_B]

I'm more interested in learning about a company in FL that is manufacturing inert munitions for political purposes.

[Isgrimnur]

The company that manufacturers ammunition is NAMMO out of Perry, Florida. Anyone with a laser engraver could add those finishing touches.

[Carpet_pissr]

The message *I* get on viewing that is ‘just another Republican, Floridian dildo’

[waitingtoconnect]

It's probably a stunt. There is something to glean out of this though. They've spent years building a brand. If they do throw it out the window because Tucker Carlson is whining then we can get a gauge of his actual influence. Still I severely doubt he moved the needle on their sales. We'll see.

I think we need to see any end to the blue M&M as well. It’s clearly showing bias to the democrats. But leave the red m&ms alone - we can’t make this political.

[Unagi]

Spoiler:

Rep.Jim Jordan: First they came for your guns. Then, your gas stoves. Then, your gas cars. What's next?
Stephen King: You.