Random Politics & Religion #21

Lamb Balls.

Looks more like MS Paint actually

he actually wore that hat. It says "My other hat is a stovepipe" on the back

I believe the tag inside says "Made in the United States of America with textiles purchased from the Confederate States of America"

We need more political ads that resemble used car ads...



... or more used car ads that resemble political ads...

The Wall Street Journal recently reported stunning new information about retired U.S Army Gen. Michael Flynn, who was briefly the National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump before being fired for lying about his troubling contacts with the Russian ambassador to Washington. Because of those communications and other contacts with the Putin government, Flynn is already at the center of the storm of the Russia-Trump investigations being conducted by Congress and the FBI. But now it is not just Russia ties that are dogging Flynn and, by extension, his former boss, the President. Flynn’s work for the government of Turkey is now also a serious issue.

In just a few months, we have learned that Flynn lied to Mike Pence, Vice President-elect, about obtaining a security clearance for Flynn's son during the presidential transition; that during the same period, as President Obama was imposing sanctions on Russia for election meddling, Flynn communicated with the Russian ambassador about those sanctions, hinting that President Trump would take a softer line, and then lied to Pence about it (and stood by while Pence publicly repeated that lie); that Flynn was not truthful when questioned by the FBI about the same topic; and that Flynn spoke at a gala for RT, the Kremlin-backed propaganda network and received payments from RT, but dissembled about the source of the payments and seems to have failed to follow U.S. regulations about reporting them.

Flynn has denied that the extrajudicial removal of Gülen was discussed at the September 19 meeting, but with such an ample record of reasons to question Flynn's credibility, it is getting difficult to concede that he deserves the benefit of the doubt. He would of course be entitled to the reasonable doubt that the law grants all defendants were he ever criminally charged for this or other actions.

This, however, comes closer.

Storm builds around Intel chair after secret White House trip
The Hill.

Read it your own darn self.

Somebody (probably fone) let trump loose on twitter again, and its going about how you would expect by now.

The state of Oregon is considering legislation to regulate farting. Cow farts, that is. Advocates of the bill argue that government regulation of cow farts, or “dairy emissions” as they call them, is a commonsense measure to prevent global warming and the safety of the public.

Citing the dangers of bovine flatulence, a spokesperson for Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility stated that cow farts are dangerously unregulated and preventable. According to a letter sent to the Senate Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources, in addition to smelling bad and causing global warming, cow farts can irritate your eyes, cause memory loss, and even death. These are all good things to keep in mind the next time you find yourself eye-level with the business end of a cow. You won’t even remember what killed you.

What else can you expect from a state that makes it illegal to pump your own gas or whistle underwater (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it)? Senate Bill 197 is in response to the construction of new industrial dairy operations that would house 30,000 cows, produce 210,000 gallons of milk daily, employee up to 150 people in an economically disadvantaged area, and be the second largest dairy operation in the state. In a county where the average yearly income is just around $20,000, this dairy operation would invest $50 million into the local economy every year.

Two Years Down the Crapper

In a letter to the editor, the owner of the proposed dairy, called Lost Valley Farm, outlined the exhaustive steps they are taking comply with environmental law, including using existing water rights, protecting water quality, and developing a zero-waste, zero-discharge system that is the best in the industry. Despite efforts to be sustainably conscious, the operation’s final permit has been held up for two years by an outcry of Oregonians worried about breathing moo fluffs.

Lost Valley Farm’s groundwork to be sustainable and environmentally friendly is not unique by any means, but reflects an industry standard. While opponents to dairy farming want to reduce the numbers of cows in Oregon through government regulation, the dairy industry is inspired by a desire to minimize inefficiencies by reducing unwanted cattle poofs.

“As we get new science,” says Troy Downing, a dairy specialist at Oregon State University, “our industry is adopting it quicker than we would through regulation.” Dairy farms have voluntarily begun implementing their own emission programs by installing methane digesters to turn gasses into energy production. In typical backward fashion, big government advocates throw roadblocks in front of innovation, while industry advocates are busy turning the ghosts of poo into electricity.

As I’ve mentioned previously, Oregon has a longstanding tradition of disrupting economic growth. Dairy represents one of the top agricultural commodities in Oregon, contributing more than $1 billion to Oregon’s economy, thanks to around 228 dairy farms and 125,000 cows. Milk is even Oregon’s official state beverage, for crying out loud!

Additionally, Oregon is consistently ranked in the top five states for milk quality. You can only achieve that kind of quality through good environmental stewardship and healthy, tooting cows. In contrast, Oregon is consistently ranked as one of the poorest states in the union behind West Virginia and New Mexico. So why would Oregonians try to shoot themselves in the hoof by regulating to death one of the major contributors to their economy?

We’ve Smelled This Before

Well, we’ve done it before. In the mid ’80s, an environmentalist group petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the spotted owl as an endangered species, setting off years of controversy between the timber industry, environmentalists, and the government. Finally, in 1990, the spotted owl was declared a threatened species, which led to severe regulations of restricting logging within a 1.3 mile radius of spotted owl activity.

The move effectively gutted the Oregon timber industry, which accounted for 65 percent of Western wood, leading to a radical decline in employment and the Oregon economy, and higher consumer prices. It’s not an uncommon sight to drive through practical ghost towns on the Oregon coast that were once bustling hubs of the timber industry. For about $3 million you can even buy your own former timber town.

To environmentalists, the benefits of their perceived goals outweigh the human collateral damage, even when their efforts accelerate the outcomes they fear. New research from the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office propose that the very actions used to protect the spotted owl have encouraged its extinction. In the end, the declining spotted owl population had little to do with logging and more to do with the fact that spotted owls just don’t like having sex with each other (unlike barred owls, which love having sex).

So a new strategy by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service involves federal wildlife biologists shooting barred owls in an attempt to save spotted owls. Ultimately, when big government steps in the save the day, it typically becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy made more amusing by the bungling of incompetence.

History is repeating itself with the dairy industry. Although dairy has been a major industry since before it was even a state, Oregon is largely considered to have some of the best air quality of any state. Likewise, Oregon’s air quality consistently maintains the highest rating by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as passing the American Lung Association’s air quality analysis. With this kind of track record, OSU’s Troy Downing has every right to be confused. “Oregon really has no air quality problem,” Downing said, “What problem are you trying to fix?”

If successful, Oregon would join California in taking the fight against global warming to ol’ Bess. Regardless of revolutionary innovations, meeting rigorous regulatory standards, and providing a necessary benefit to the economy, environmental advocacy groups are still raising a stink. Ultimately, restrictions like the one proposed in Oregon are successful in reducing dairy emissions, just not in the way you’d think.

California has seen a dramatic reduction in dairy production with an exodus of dairies like Lost Valley Farm to other states. These types of laws have proven not to help the environment, but only attack businesses. Once passed, this law could prove silent but deadly for Oregon’s economy.

The Trump administration sought to block former acting attorney general Sally Yates from testifying to Congress in the House investigation into links between Russian officials and the Trump campaign, the Washington Post has learned, a position that is likely to further anger Democrats who have accused Republicans of trying to damage the probe.
According to a series of letters reviewed by The Post, Yates was notified earlier this month by the Justice Department that the administration considers a great deal of her possible testimony to be barred from discussion in a congressional hearing because the topics are covered by the presidential communication privilege.

Ms. Yates and other former intelligence officials had been asked to testify before the House Intelligence Committee this week, a hearing that was abruptly canceled by the panel’s chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Yates was the deputy attorney general in the final years of the Obama administration, and served as the acting attorney general in the first days of the Trump administration.
Trump fired Yates in January after she ordered Justice Department lawyers not to defend his first immigration order temporarily banning entry into United States for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from around the world.

As acting attorney general, Yates played a key part in the investigation surrounding Michael Flynn, a Trump campaign aide who became National Security Adviser before revelations that he had discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador to the United States in late December led to his ouster from the administration.
The White House and Justice Department had no immediate comment.
In January, Yates warned White House Counsel Don McGahn that statements made by White House officials about Flynn’s contacts with the ambassador were incorrect, and could therefore expose the national security adviser to future blackmail by the Russians.

In a March 23 letter to the Justice Department’s Acting Assistant Attorney General Samuel Ramer, Yates’ lawyer David O’Neill described the government’s position. Mr. O’Neill, who declined to comment, noted in the letter that Yates is willing to testify, and will avoid discussing classified information, or details that could compromise ongoing investigations.
“The Department of Justice has advised that it believes there are further constrains on the testimony Ms. Yates may provide at the [House intelligence committee] hearing. Generally, we understand that the department takes the position that all information Ms. Yates received or actions she took in her capacity as Deputy Attorney General and acting Attorney General are client confidences that she may not disclose absent written consent of the department,’’ the lawyer wrote.

“We believe that the department’s position in this regard is overbroad, incorrect, and inconsistent with the department’s historical approach to the congressional testimony of current and former officials,’’ the letter continues. “In particular, we believe that Ms. Yates should not be obligated to refuse to provide non-classified facts about the department’s notification to the White House of concerns about the conduct of a senior official. Requiring Ms. Yates to refuse to provide such information is particularly untenable given that multiple senior administration officials have publicly described the same events.’’
Another Justice Department official, Scott Schools, replied in a letter the following day, saying the conversations with the White House “are likely covered by the presidential communications privilege and possibly the deliberative process privilege. The president owns those privileges. Therefore, to the extent Ms. Yates needs consent to disclose the details of those communications to [the House intelligence committee], she needs to consult with the White House. She need not obtain separate consent from the department.’’

Yates’ lawyer then sent a letter Friday to the White House lawyer, McGahn, saying that any claim of privilege “has been waived as a result of the multiple public comments of current senior White House officials describing the January 2017 communications. Nevertheless, I am advising the White House of Ms. Yates’ intention to provide information.’’

That same day, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, announced he would not go forward with the public hearing that was to feature Yates’ testimony

I think I understand what it takes to be a journalist now.

1. Find a story a bunch of outlets have already covered.
2. Repeat most of it in your own words, or quote a bunch if you're lazy.
3. Leave out any details that do not promote your political views, or twist them so that they do.
4. Cite "experts". Never say who they are. Phantom experts make you more credible.
5. Give it a clickbait title that is more exciting than the actual content, or just flat out lie.
6. ???
7. Profit.

I'll read it when you watch one of my Simpsons clips !

Any government official that does not harbor an irrational hatred for Trump must be stopped.

Why would the Trump WH try to block Yates from testifying about Flynn? Is there something we don't already know going on with the may times disgraced general?