Random Politics & Religion #06

Ahhhh the old we are terrible but it's ok because someone else is worse than us argument! Classic...

It was more of a "people who live in glass houses shouldn't be throwing stones" argument.

Soooooo..... How about that gorilla in Ohio?

Heard too many stories lately with zoo animals getting killed to protect people. They really need to idiot-proof those enclosures.

They really should idiot-proof the White House first, before any zoos.

Soooooo..... How about that gorilla in Ohio?

Soooooo..... How about that gorilla in Ohio?

He was neither political nor religious.

He was neither political nor religious.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is appealing a court order from a federal judge in Texas forcing the department's lawyers to take ethics classes.

In its appeal filed Tuesday, the department said U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen "exceeded the scope of a court's inherent power."

Hanen alleged that government lawyers made misrepresentations in a case over President Obama's executive actions on immigration. He ordered the lawyers to take a three-hour ethics course every year for the next five years.

The case involves a challenge from Texas and 25 other states against the president’s executive actions that created the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans initiative and expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programs. The programs defer deportations for many immigrants.

Hanen put the programs on hold in February 2015 as the legal challenge plays out. The judge also ordered the department to turn over a list of illegal immigrants who received three-year extensions in late 2014 and early 2015.

In the 28-page order that quoted films "Bridge of Spies" and "Miracle on 34th Street,” Hanen said he relied on the attorneys' promises that the government would not issue extensions until Feb. 18, after the judge planned to release a temporary injunction blocking the immigration programs on Feb. 16.

“If plaintiffs’ counsel had known that the government was surreptitiously acting, the plaintiff states could have, and would have according to their representations, sought a temporary restraining order pursuant to federal rule of civil procedure much earlier in the process,” he said.

In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said the appeal argues that Hanen’s findings that government attorneys acted in bad faith is not supported by the evidence and the court's order intrudes on core executive branch functions.

He said the agency is also arguing that turning over immigration records would undermine trust in the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to maintain the confidentiality of personal information, “which is essential to its mission.”

“The department emphatically disagrees with the sanctions orders and will seek review of this matter in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals," he said.

In its court filings, the DOJ claims it will cost the agency anywhere from $959,587 to $1.6 million in the first year to comply with the ethics order.

The president’s immigration actions are currently before the Supreme Court. A decision is due in June.

It's one the things that make me so *** mad!
Our governments are so annoyingly hypocritical..
Oh we need to remove Gheddafi and al-Assad cause they're so oppressive!
Really? Then why are we cool with Erdogan or al-Sisi? Or my favourite being so bff with the al-Saud family, even selling them the bombs they use to nuke the ***out of Yemen.
No, we only care about which ones cooperate with us and which don't, we don't give a *** about their people..

I *** hate Erdogan and it's insane we're even letting him into EU disregarding the lack of some basic freedoms in Turkey which are a requirement to be a part of it.

Only last month the guy fired Davutoglu cause he wasn't obedient enough, I don't trust this person one bit, he's a warmonger and dangerous.

I remember 2011 when Turkey wanted to be the bridge of Europe to Middle East.
He has isolated his country on many fronts now, pretty much only holding the EU hostage by now.
On the 2nd June, the german parliament will declare the killing on the Armenians as genocid. Usually turkey punishes such countries. It will be interesting to see how Erdogan reacts to it in this situation.

appeals court reverses decision on phone location info.

To me, terrifying. Basically gives the government the ability to track èverywhere you go at any time for whatever reason with no need for approval from a judge.

Here's the thing:

It'd be a lot more scary if people didn't basically already sign away this freedom on Facebook every day anyhow. I'm not saying you personally shouldn't be upset about it. But I am saying anyone upset about it needs to take a long, hard look at their use of technology and their place in the modern world.

It's one of those things that seems like a huge, freaky-outy situation...until you actually put it in context and realize you already gave this right to a dozen private companies six-seven ago and really the government is just going along with things.

I agree to a point.

I'm using myself as an example: I don't use Facebook. I have a Facebook account, but it's been since 2008 when I last logged on. And even then, the limit of my personal information released to the public is that I exist. I didn't say where I live, where I go to work/school/whatever. All anyone knows about me is that I existed as far back as 2008.

What the appellate courts decided is that location tracking (based by cell phone usage) is what isn't protected by the 4th Amendment. While privacy rights being released by the number of Americans who uses Facebook and other social media outlets is a valid argument, it doesn't cover everyone. So, location logs shouldn't be released based by the third-party doctrine. At least, that's my opinion.

Like my prototype Lizardman vaccine. For, you know, those shape-shifting Lizardmen out there.

I would make a bigger fuss, but I really have nothing to hide.

At least, nothing to hide that would involve police involvement.

I have a lot to hide publicly though.

That's not a lizard, that's a lamia!

are you more worried the government frames you or are you more worried you or someone you love becomes a victim of a crime and this kind of thing would help catch/prevent that?

It's 2016, nobody cares about your bizarre "interests" as long as they're done with consenting adults.

YOUNG MASTER HENRY IS GOING THROUGH A PHASE.

Please, I'm not into chains and leather like you!

Thank the world's most famous shitty fanfic for that.