A memo circulating in Donald Trump’s orbit says that if elected he should use private firms to check appointees’ backgrounds and give them immediate access to classified secrets after taking office.

This is exactly what you’d do if your circle was filled with Russian agents.

American and want to stop this? Vote for Harris & volunteer for her campaign

  • LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Remember folks, SCOTUS has already ruled that WHATEVER THE FUCK HE DOES IS ABSOLUTELY LEGAL.

    There is no court, not law, no constitution, no one and nothing to protect us. This will be the last election if he wins.

  • frezik@midwest.social
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    Republicans in 2003: we must do everything in our power to make Americans safe. If we have to give up essential liberties and invade other countries because they might have WMDs, so be it.

    Republicans in 2024: it’s fine to hand out security clearances after a Heritage Foundation signoff.

    • zephorah@lemm.ee
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      The issue is no one believes it. Inertia makes the world go round. Inertia isn’t just physics, it’s psychology.

      They’re so inured in “you can’t do that here” that they’ll believe it right up to when he does it.

      Then cognitive dissonance takes the helm.

      The fuel from being skeeved out by trans people and a black President got that momentum. Now, everyone’s miserable not being able to afford life, so that will continue that push.

      I think he’s winning. I don’t live in the echo chamber. I think he’s horrible. But I think he’s winning.

      • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        It is really scary how close the race is and how far he is in the lead with a lot of polls.

        People out here talking about sitting this one out or throwing a protest vote out for a third party. I’m just shaking my head.

        • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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          These people seem to think if they don’t vote, the Democrats will face some kind of reckoning because the voters are not “endorsing” them. I’m not sure how that’s supposed to work or what anyone is then supposed to do about it under a fascist dictatorship. In fact, it’s so obviously nonsense that you have to wonder whether these people have other motives that they’re not stating.

        • RedditWanderer@lemmy.world
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          What if I told you it benefits the media companies (mostly run by Republican supporters) if it always looks like it’s neck and neck. It doesn’t actually get the right voters out.

          Fuck what the media says the count is, just vote ppl

        • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          It really depends which state they vote from, and which side they vote for.

          If you’re a democrat in idaho…why even bother? The electoral college at that point insures that if you vote for a democrat, your vote doesn’t matter.

          However, if you vote 3rd party it sends the message that you KNOW your vote doesn’t matter, and the system is broken.

          Now, if you’re in a swing state, or even a state that could be a swing state, then you’re just an asshole if you vote 3rd party.

          • Pips@lemmy.sdf.org
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            2 days ago

            As we’ve recently found out in the last few years, conservative bastions are not as solidly red as we believe. If you’re a Democrat in Idaho, fucking vote Democratic. It matters.

            • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
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              Absolutely, I’m in Texas, which is considered a slam dunk for the GOP. I still voted for Allred and for Harris. If there’s a chance to get rid of Ted Cruz, I’m not going to risk it.

              And of course, flipping Texas Blue in the presidential election would be a major coup. It’s unlikely, but not impossible, if the voter turnout is high enough.

              • zephorah@lemm.ee
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                Honestly, if you guys could manage to kick Ted Cruz out, that alone would be a major win.

                • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
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                  I honestly don’t understand how he’s so popular even among Republicans. He’s a coward and the worst kind of political opportunist who is more concerned with his own image than helping Texans.

                  I’m doing everything that I can to get out the vote in Texas and encouraging people to vote early. With the gerrymandered districts here it’s tough to make a real change, but when it comes to the Senate every vote counts.

          • zephorah@lemm.ee
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            Local matters right now, big time. Getting in those reps in the legislature and possibly the senate.

            Florida was damn close in 2016. So don’t count yourself out for both, there. I think part of the problem there might be snowbirds, but will they even be going this year?

            None of us know. So just vote.

  • adarza@lemmy.ca
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    2 days ago

    didn’t he already do this before for his son-in-law (jared kushner)… after the feds rejected him?

    yea, the same jared kushner that scored $2 billion from the saudis as an ‘investment’.

  • ctkatz@lemmy.ml
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    he gave them to people that the fbi said shouldn’t have them. scotus said he could do anything officially he wants. so why would he bother with a screening process? he’s going to give them to whoever he wants to anyway.

    • Ross_audio@lemmy.world
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      Because by having a private company “screen” people there’s added corruption.

      He gets to simply sell clearances to private companies.

    • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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      I assume the POTUS, who is the source of all classification, could have always just given clearance to whomever they wanted. I doubt the scotus ruling has anything to do with this.

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Gee, why would that be necessary? I’m sure no one he would tap would have recently been involved in any insurrections or under the employ of a foreign government.

  • commandar@lemmy.world
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    This is yet another example of our system fundamentally being incapable of dealing with someone like Trump willing to deviate from all established norms.

    Legally, POTUS is the classifying authority. They can give clearance to whomever they want.

    That’s worked mostly fine since the classification system was established in the early 1950s because the assumption has always been that POTUS isn’t wildly compromised and completely surrounded by compromised individuals.

    Oops.

  • Myxomatosis@lemmy.world
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    He’s such a moron that you could just give him a piece of construction paper that says, “FBI, CIA, Delta Force Security Clearance” written in orange crayon and he would be satisfied.

  • ctkatz@lemmy.ml
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    he gave them to people that the fbi said shouldn’t have them. scotus said he could do anything officially he wants. so why would he bother with a screening process? he’s going to give them to whoever he wants to anyway.

  • Media Bias Fact Checker@lemmy.worldB
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    The New York Times - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)

    Information for The New York Times:

    Wiki: reliable - There is consensus that The New York Times is generally reliable. WP:RSOPINION should be used to evaluate opinion columns, while WP:NEWSBLOG should be used for the blogs on The New York Times’s website. The 2018 RfC cites WP:MEDPOP to establish that popular press sources such as The New York Times should generally not be used to support medical claims.


    MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: High - Factual Reporting: High - United States of America


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