The Former Trump Presidency Thread

[LawBeefaroni]

"Mom, I wanna Vape!!"

Some college dude just sold 200 t-shirts.

[Isgrimnur]

Puerto Rico is one of the most corrupt places on earth. Their political system is broken and their politicians are either Incompetent or Corrupt.

Puerto Rico is part of the US. I can't argue with the President, the leading executive politician over Puerto Rico and head of state.

NY Times

A former top administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was arrested on Tuesday in a major federal corruption investigation that found that the official took bribes from the president of a company that secured $1.8 billion in federal contracts to repair Puerto Rico’s shredded electrical grid after Hurricane Maria.

Federal authorities arrested Ahsha Tribble, FEMA’s former deputy administrator for the region that includes Puerto Rico, and Donald Keith Ellison, the former president of Cobra Acquisitions with whom Ms. Tribble had a “close personal relationship,” Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez, the United States attorney for Puerto Rico, announced. They were accused of conspiring to defraud the federal government, among other charges.

A second FEMA employee, Jovanda R. Patterson, who worked as a deputy chief of staff in Puerto Rico and was later hired by Cobra, was also arrested, Ms. Rodríguez Vélez said.

[Daehawk]

Good. That makes 0.001% weeded out.

[malchior]

It is pretty amazing how fast Trump has turned us into a shithole country like Puerto Rico.

[hepcat]

Federal authorities arrested Ahsha Tribble, FEMA’s former deputy administrator for the region that includes Puerto Rico, and Donald Keith Ellison, the former president of Cobra Acquisitions with whom Ms. Tribble had a “close personal relationship,”

Of course these people are shitty. But why put "close personal relationship" in quotes? Would they have done that if it were two men who went to college together or something? Then they add "Ms" to her name for the second time she's mentioned just to reinforce the fact that she's a woman, and therefore driving home the belief that she must have been in a sexual relationship with Ellison.

[Remus West]

Federal authorities arrested Ahsha Tribble, FEMA’s former deputy administrator for the region that includes Puerto Rico, and Donald Keith Ellison, the former president of Cobra Acquisitions with whom Ms. Tribble had a “close personal relationship,”

Of course these people are shitty. But why put "close personal relationship" in quotes? Would they have done that if it were two men who went to college together or something? Then they add "Ms" to her name for the second time she's mentioned just to reinforce the fact that she's a woman, and therefore driving home the belief that she must have been in a sexual relationship with Ellison.

Its not like they could just say outright that her elbows were too pointy.

[hepcat]

Sorry, wasn't trying to get on a high horse. That's just something I've noticed time and time again.

[Max Peck]

It's also possible that the phrase was simply in quotes in the article because it was a direct quote from the court papers, rather than being used as a coy euphemism for a sexual relationship. The use of Ms is also not particularly remarkable. It's fairly standard to use a person's full name the first time they are referenced in an article, and to refer to them as Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms <surname> thereafter (or to use whatever professional title is appropriate). I can't really fault the reporter for the fact that English has gendered personal titles.

[Remus West]

It's also possible that the phrase was simply in quotes in the article because it was a direct quote from the court papers, rather than being used as a coy euphemism for a sexual relationship. The use of Ms is also not particularly remarkable. It's fairly standard to use a person's full name the first time they are referenced in an article, and to refer to them as Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms <surname> thereafter (or to use whatever professional title is appropriate). I can't really fault the reporter for the fact that English has gendered personal titles.

That part actually stood out to me a bit as I feel likek they often do not use a pronoun when mentioning men multiple times and just default to the surname.

[hepcat]

Sorry, but I don't buy any of that. I rarely see a guy referred to as Mr the second time they're mentioned in an article. Normally they just use their last name. As for quotes, there was no need to use that in this context. Just say they knew each other.

edit: Remus was faster on the draw than myself.

[Max Peck]

It's also possible that the phrase was simply in quotes in the article because it was a direct quote from the court papers, rather than being used as a coy euphemism for a sexual relationship. The use of Ms is also not particularly remarkable. It's fairly standard to use a person's full name the first time they are referenced in an article, and to refer to them as Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms <surname> thereafter (or to use whatever professional title is appropriate). I can't really fault the reporter for the fact that English has gendered personal titles.

That part actually stood out to me a bit as I feel likek they often do not use a pronoun when mentioning men multiple times and just default to the surname.

Did you read the entire article? Unless I missed an exception, everyone was referenced by their full name the first time and as Mr or Ms <surname> for the rest of the article. I don't read a lot of NYT articles, but I'd hazard a guess that they have a style guide that mandates more polite/respectful name conventions than simply using the surname.

[hepcat]

I did actually just read through (well...skim) the article. And yes, the writer does use Mr and Mrs a lot. It actually comes across as rather awkward, as most journalists do not do that.

Still, I don't agree that the quoted section I pointed out was necessary to the article, and that it probably wouldn't have been mentioned had the two subjects been men...unless they were gay, then they would have used the quote multiple times.

[Remus West]

I admit I did not. I just galnced over the quoted section. If the entire article is that way I will happily cede the point to you.

[msteelers]

The NY Times pretty consistently uses Mr./Mrs. in their news articles. Other news publications have different standards and many do simply refer to people by their last name. But the NY Times has always stood out to me with their constant use of Mr./Mrs.

[ImLawBoy]

The NY Times pretty consistently uses Mr./Mrs. in their news articles. Other news publications have different standards and many do simply refer to people by their last name. But the NY Times has always stood out to me with their constant use of Mr./Mrs.

I was going to point this out. It's part of the NYT writing style to use Mr./Ms. before someone's names. It's a bit anachronistic as most other papers seem to have dropped it, but it's one way to easily tell when you're reading an NYT article.

[LawBeefaroni]

The NY Times pretty consistently uses Mr./Mrs. in their news articles. Other news publications have different standards and many do simply refer to people by their last name. But the NY Times has always stood out to me with their constant use of Mr./Mrs.

I was going to point this out. It's part of the NYT writing style to use Mr./Ms. before someone's names. It's a bit anachronistic as most other papers seem to have dropped it, but it's one way to easily tell when you're reading an NYT article.

Pretty sure the WSJ still does that too.


As for the relationship, mentioning it is relevant to the story. It's about graft and cronyism. Cronyism usually requires some kind of relationship. What kind isn't as important so they just quote the source rather than go into detail.

[Max Peck]

Finally, a hot take that actually makes sense to me.

[hepcat]

If only there was such a thing as flavored guns...

[Smoove_B]

I'm telling you, from a public health policy standpoint, the speed at which this is happening makes no sense; it's not following the science. Again, I'm not saying eCigarettes are healthy, but to suddenly ramp up regulations against them? I never considered the tobacco industry angle, but it certainly fits.

[hepcat]

Considering how many deaths are directly attributable to actual cigarettes compared to e-cigarettes, I definitely have my suspicions as to what's REALLY driving this.

[Max Peck]

#IHerebyOrder the end to war, hunger and homeless.

WaPo

President Trump has ordered White House officials to conduct a sweeping crackdown on homelessness in California, citing the state’s growing crisis, according to four government officials aware of the effort.

The talks have intensified in recent weeks. Administration officials have discussed using the federal government to get homeless people off the streets of Los Angeles and other areas and into new government-backed facilities, according to two officials briefed on the planning.

Meanwhile, as we're all focused on the burning issue of vaping fluids, an administration official has a Freudian slip...

Trump officials tour unused FAA facility in California in search for place to relocate homeless people

Senior administration officials said that forcing people into new facilities was not under consideration, with one official telling The Washington Post: “We’re not rounding people up or anything yet. You guys in the media get too ahead of yourselves.”

"Yet"

It occurs to me that there is one federal agency that probably has plenty of ready-to-go housing capacity. I wonder how many homeless people lack documentation to prove that they are American citizens...

[Archinerd]

Considering how many deaths are directly attributable to actual cigarettes compared to e-cigarettes, I definitely have my suspicions as to what's REALLY driving this.

If e-cigarettes were guns nobody would even blink.

[hepcat]

Well, the fruit flavored guns, for sure.

[ImLawBoy]

"Eat mixed berry flavored lead, punk," just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[Isgrimnur]

"Eat mixed berry flavored lead, punk," just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[LawBeefaroni]

Savage Rascal.

[ImLawBoy]

The company "Savage" is just going for it with the Native American imagery, huh?

[El Guapo]

The company "Savage" is just going for it with the Native American imagery, huh?

In for a penny, in for a pound.

[Isgrimnur]

Pulled from The Obama Regulation Side Show thread:

It's funny that Theo calls out the most nonsensical, never actually becoming a law kind of things, rather than look at the Regulations that actually did take effect recently:

The Obama administration expanded federal protection of U.S. waterways and drinking water supplies Wednesday, issuing a rule through the Environmental Protection Agency that also clarifies which rivers, streams, ponds and wetlands may be covered by the Clean Water Act.

The measure, known as the Clean Water Rule, has attracted intense opposition from fertilizer companies, the agriculture sector, energy producers and conservative lawmakers in Congress, who describe it as a “federal overreach” that will hamper economic growth and drive up costs for farmers and chemical producers.

Which is what I keep thinking this thread will be about, rather than fears of the fringe.

Going...

In the halls of Washington and on sprawling farms and ranches, in courtrooms and corporate boardrooms, a legal tug of war has unfolded over a 2015 rule that gave the Environmental Protection Agency much broader authority over the nation’s waterways. Critics say the Obama rule gave the federal government far too much power; supporters countered it would prevent the loss of vast swaths of wetlands. Court rulings have temporarily blocked the regulation in 28 states, while keeping it in effect in 22 others.

On Thursday, the Trump administration plans to scrap the Obama-era definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, returning the country to standards put in place in 1986.
...
Wheeler, who said the administration will finalize a new definition for which water bodies deserve federal protection within a matter of months, said the agency is seeking to end any lingering uncertainty and return more oversight to individual states.
...
But critics say the rollback will speed the conversion of wetlands and headwaters, which provide critical habitat for wildlife and support the nation’s drinking water supply. Americans drained about half of the 220 million acres of wetlands in the contiguous United States between the 1780s and 1980s, most of it to expand farmland. That rate began to slow after George H.W. Bush took office, pledging to stem the tide of wetlands loss.

“The administration wants to go back to an era where we are destroying wetlands heedlessly,” Robert Irvin, president of American Rivers, said of President Trump’s latest deregulatory effort.

The 2015 rule gave the federal government authority to oversee a wide array of lakes, streams, wetlands, storm-water controls and ditches that feed into larger waterways that are clearly protected under the 1972 Clean Water Act.

[Kraken]

Sorry, but I don't buy any of that. I rarely see a guy referred to as Mr the second time they're mentioned in an article. Normally they just use their last name. As for quotes, there was no need to use that in this context. Just say they knew each other.

edit: Remus was faster on the draw than myself.

NYT's house style uses courtesy titles. Most other media do not. The Times gives us such knee-slappers as a story about Meat Loaf calling him "Mr. Loaf."

[Jaymann]

Have they run a story about "Miss Gaga?"

[Isgrimnur]

Have they run a story about "Miss Gaga?"

That's "Ms. Gaga" to you.

[Pyperkub]

Holy post necromancy Batman!

[LawBeefaroni]

Have they run a story about "Miss Gaga?"

Just "Gaga."

[Jaymann]

Then we should get a story about "Loaf."

[Daehawk]

News says they want to ban all flavors but tobacco. Umm thats a big reason to switch to vape is to get away from that taste and smell all the time. So now they are just going to make people keep smoking. Big tobacco is behind all this.

[El Guapo]

2nd Circuit allows emoluments case to proceed.

And now it's time for America's favorite pastime, legal discovery!

[LawBeefaroni]

2nd Circuit allows emoluments case to proceed.

And now it's time for America's favorite pastime, legal discovery!

No, look over there! War with Iran! Deutche Bank? What's a Deutche Bank?


(Android auto fill just suggested "Orange" for Iran )

[pr0ner]

Trump's blowing up on Twitter again this morning. He's attacked the Fed and "Jay Powell", attacked the Mueller report, made tweets about Iran and Saudi Arabia and energy and guns and the new Kavanaugh mess, and thinks that the Obamas' post presidency Netflix and book deals need to be investigated by the government.

Sigh.

[hepcat]

Orange Baby upset that not everyone loves him, so everyone in the house has to listen to him wail.