Republicans Get the Ball Rolling on Infrastructure, Feds Investigate the Clinton Foundation, and White Nationalists Push Back at Attempts to Honor Black Confederates: P.M. Links

• 

  The White House/Sipa USA/Newscom

  President Trump and Republican Congressional leadership set to hash out a long awaited infrastructure plan at Camp David retreat this weekend.

• The swamp freezes over.

• The federal government is actively engaged in an investigation of alleged corruption at the Clinton Foundation, reports CNN.

• VR headset makers don't like that their product is being used for porn.

• White Nationalists, Civil War historians pissed off by efforts to Honor Black Confederates.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

White Nationalists, Civil War historians pissed off by efforts to Honor Black Confederates.

Those two groups are the same.

[Jimbo]

Just more white washing of history.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

There were nigger Confederates?

This world is just too wacky for me.

[Stormy Dragon]

There weren't. That's why the historians are upset about the monument.

[Rufus The Monocled]

It's a strange thing they want to do. I think the historians are right on this one.

[Brandybuck]

There were black Confederates, just no black confederate soldiers. Blacks were not allowed to enlist. But there were blacks in the Confederacy (I mean, duh) and blacks who worked for the Confederate Army (which is the important part). A few black may have indeed fought for the Confederate cause, but none did so as official members of the Confederate Army.

[Eidde]

Yes, and they had a last-minute plan to enlist black soldiers with the consent of their "owners," but that was a last-minute desperation ploy which was fairly controversial and they didn't IMHO have much time to implement it.

[Eidde]

IIRC, not IMHO

[SIV]

Free blacks served on Confederate ships.
They weren't members of the Confederate Navy but few (if any) below the rank of officers were.

[Isaac Bartram]

The politically correct term is African-Confederate-Americans, if you please.

[JoeBlow123]

Is there a point to your word usage?

[SIV]

What Fist said.

The South has acknowledged the important role played by Southern Blacks in the defense of the Confederacy since the war. Yankee historians are racist natural allies of white supremacists seeking to deny this with "fake history".

[chozi]

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[Stormy Dragon]

Roy Moore accuser's Gadsden home burns; arson investigation underway

[Jimbo]

Was Hillary seen anywhere in the area?

[Stormy Dragon]

No, but the neighborhood "that guy" was seen walking around the house beforehand and is being questioned.

[BestUsedCarSales]

No, though a man was seen galloping away awkwardly on a horse moments later.

[Jimbo]

Hmmm. Was the horse Jewish?

[BestUsedCarSales]

Ethnically. But had accepted the Holy Spirit as a teen.

[Square = Circle]

Like a modern-day Gustav Mahler.

[Fist of Etiquette]

VR headset makers don't like that their product is being used for porn.

Always getting them back from the beta testers all sticky.

[Square = Circle]

I don't understand how they can be surprised about this.

I mean, what was the Christopher Walken movie from the early 80s where you could record people's thoughts and play them back through a sort of VR headset?

What's pretty much the first thing someone thinks to do with it? Porn.

And then came the Internet.

It's not like there's no precedent here. "Really?! People might use this for porn!? Who knew!!??"

[$park? leftist poser]

Brainstorm

[Jimbo]

Braingasm, the sequel.

[Rhywun]

Brainstorm. A classic.

[Square = Circle]

Yes - Brainstorm!

I knew someone would save me having to go to IMDB! RIP Natalie Woods.

[$park? leftist poser]

Wood
Also, would

[HeteroPatriarch]

I don't know who that is, but the "RIP" makes your comment pretty creepy.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

And, I mean, you know the first thought of every guy in SV regarding VR was "porn."

[BestUsedCarSales]

It's like half of the VR conversations I see gamers talk about.

Really, the better question is what practical usage DID they imagine for VR? AR is already doing the useful stuff. Full VR is for fantasy land bullshit.

[Eidde]

If it's BS, why does the Enterprise have a room dedicated to it?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

"bump textures" don't work in VR, if you get my meaning.

[C. S. P. Schofield]

That pretty much sums up my own reaction:

"VR headset makers don't like that their product is being used for porn."? Diddums. Kee-boo. Here's your blue blankey. Now go suck your goddamned thumb while the grown-ups talk.

(not you, the VR twits)

[Tom Bombadil]

VR headset makers are VS (virtue signalling).

[Fist of Etiquette]

The federal government is actively engaged in an investigation of alleged corruption at the Clinton Foundation, reports CNN.

What difference, at this point, could it matter?

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

This is totally outrageous! Not only did Drumpf steal the election from Clinton, now he's wielding the power he illegitimately seized to harass her?! The Clinton Foundation "corruption" was a phony, manufactured scandal just like that e-mail nonsense.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Drumpf is truly outrageous. Truly, truly, truly outrageous. Oh Drumpf. His tweets are contagious, outrageous. Drumpf is his name, no one else is the same.

[$park? leftist poser]

Twitter is like Synergy for Herr Drumpf.

[Leader Desslok]

You realize that no one under the age of 30 is going to get that reference.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I'm under 30 and I made it. But, I made it for the true believers anyway.

[KBeckman]

I think my wife had a Gem doll.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""manufactured scandal just like that e-mail nonsense.""

What bullshit. Anyone who has held a security clearance knows what she did with the emails would have anyone else in jail.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

We also know that the FBI soft pedaled the investigation, no subpenas, no perjury traps. Look at how different Muller is handling the investigation against Trump vs how the FBI handled the Clinton investigation. The FBI was planning to clear her before the investigation was complete.

If the investigation was done properly, she would have a court date.

[Square = Circle]

The FBI was planning to clear her before the investigation was complete.

And from what I've read, this is exactly why the investigation is being re-opened. Apparently there was pressure from Obama's DOJ to close the investigation before they had finished talking to everyone, and Comey had a much more strongly worded announcement on it before he seems to have been asked to soften it a bit.

[Jimbo]

So, IOW, Comey was for corruption before he was against it?

[Square = Circle]

I freely confess that I don't get Comey. I suspect that he may simply be an obsequious coward who thinks that Clinton does, in fact, deserve to be jailed, but who doesn't have the courage to stand on his principles. But like I say, I freely confess that I don't get Comey.

[Tom Bombadil]

"I freely confess that I don't get Comey. I suspect that he may simply be an obsequious coward"

You get him perfectly right there. I don't know what exact form of corruption Comey is engaged in, but corruption is cowardice (moral cowardice).

[LarryA]

IMHO Comey simply told the truth. She was guilty but couldn't be prosecuted. Had there been any movement to indict Hillary it would have been quashed, by a presidential pardon if necessary.

[Elias Fakaname]

My brother in law is a retired navy captain and works for a defense contractor. He to,d me if he did a fraction of the shit Hilldog did that they would come and take him away with a good chance we would never see him again.

So fair is fair. The cunt needs to burn for what she did..

[DenverJ]

What's the meme called when you can't tell the difference between parody and actual mental retardation?

[Eek Barba Durkle]

What difference, at this point, could it matter?

None. Hillary already won - statute of limitations. She walked, it's over, get over it. There is no justice in America (not that there ever was, obviously).

[Square = Circle]

Hillary already won - statute of limitations.

I think there's a few weeks left (literally), but you're probably right. It's virtually certain charges can't be thrown together in time.

[Grilled Cheese]

But it's a hell of precedent for the day those fucking scumbag Republicans lose the presidency. Trump and company are making the worst Clinton pay to play allegations look like child's play.

[DenverJ]

Uh huh

[Bubba Jones]

So the precedent is a good thing?

[Tom Bombadil]

Hillary may walk, but the corrupt investigation wasn't that long ago. Lots of targets there.

The entire Clinton cancer needs to be exposed and excised.

[stuartl]

What is the status of limitations on lying to the FBI? Is that passing as well? As Old School TV says, anyone that has ever held a clearance knows she was lying.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The swamp freezes over.

Are there any politicians currently in DC?

[BestUsedCarSales]

Nope. It's like how if you freeze a fish for a few hours all the parasites die.

[Brandybuck]

Only that purulent parasite flesh remains. But no one will notice once you roll it into sushi...

[LarryA]

I saw the headline and thought they were talking about the Okefenokee.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Trump and Republican Congressional leadership set to hash out a long awaited infrastructure plan at Camp David retreat this weekend.

"Next weekend we'll actually do the infrastructure work on Camp David, so bring your tools, guys."

[Rhywun]

"Huh, I just said 'tool'. I'm classy like that."

[GILMORE?]

Stop calling it "infrastructure plans"

They're federal spending blitzes intended to allow a 1st term president to buy off a shitload of constituents w/ borrowed money to help secure reelections.

90% of what people call "infrastructure" has nothing to do with the federal govt, and is paid for by utility fees, tolls, local taxes, bond issues, and a zillion other methods which are far more tied to "actual use and demand for the given 'infra'-stuff". we "spend" bazillions on it every year by simply using it. The idea that w/o Federal Govt money the country will fall into disrepair is as offensive as the idea of politicians "creating" jobs.

If shit were actually 'crumbling' and *still* no one wants to pay to fix it? then its crumbling for a reason. Something that needs fixing gets fixed. Somehow Obama spent a trillion and yet we're still in a perpetual infrastructure 'crisis' mode.

David Stockman may be a kook on many topics, but he's dead correct that the narrative of "crumbling infrastructure" is a hoax. He points out that 1/3 of the so-called 'crumbling' stuff is concentrated in rural areas with 5% of the population. Its unused because *people are leaving there*.

the fact that not a single reporter calls bullshit on federal "infrastructure" spending just shows how pig-ignorant the whole profession is.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Infrastructure is just a magical phrase. It is politically neutral at worst, positive at best for both sides. And so everyone can go along with it.

That being said. Local government's fail to do their needed roadwork too. It doesn't necessarily get done, even if people want it. But that doesn't mean the fed should be involved, or that government isn't still the problem.

[Square = Circle]

Local government's fail to do their needed roadwork too. It doesn't necessarily get done, even if people want it. But that doesn't mean the fed should be involved, or that government isn't still the problem.

Too true. In fact, there was a guy in MS in recent years who was arrested because he was taking cold-patch material out of the city corporation yard and patching potholes himself. They got him on stealing public property.

Paving roads is surprisingly cheap and easy, and could be done by community groups or even go-fund-me pages if not for literal laws against private individuals maintaining public property, even at their own expense.

[BestUsedCarSales]

My favorite trick in Tucson is they would keep having votes for bonds to fix the roads. When they would win they wouldn't spend the money on fixing the roads. Once people wised up and stopped voting for them, the city government just says "Well, I guess they don't want the roads fixed that much."

Haha, fuck you Rothschild.

[Square = Circle]

Once people wised up and stopped voting for them, the city government just says "Well, I guess they don't want the roads fixed that much."

This happens with all kind of construction bonds in CA. It's classic, really. The propositions will be "to construct stuff to save the world and Children" and at the bottom of thirteen paragraphs of wonderful, humanity-saving projects they'll slip in "or other stuff as we see fit."

The money vanishes and all the stuff we thought we bought still doesn't exist, at which point the public agencies say "well, that's because we need more money" and another bond proposition hits the ballet. Rinse, repeat.

[Square = Circle]

But, full disclosure, this spending contributes to my continued eating. I'll spend the next year or so building some completely pointless flagship buildings for a local school district to try to impress the community with how well they're spending the bond money so that they can go out for another bond this coming election.

In CA, this is how we live.

[CE]

And Californians vote for the bond measures because they think investors pay for them.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

This is why nobody lives in Tucson anymore.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I miss it desperately. The Ol' Pueblo.

[CE]

But our infrastructure is crumbling....

[Jimbo]

Don't worry, Gilmore. We'll cut waste, fraud, and abuse, in order to pay for it.

[Square = Circle]

We'll streamline.

[Nwallins]

You have to eat my shorts to see what's in them

[Nwallins]

You have to eat my shorts to see what's in them

[Square = Circle]

^ This.

I build publicly-funded "infrastructure" for a living, and I can tell you that in the grand scheme the Feds build jack shit. At least, jack shit that anyone uses.

You are 100% right that the kind of things they talk about with "crumbling infrastructure" will be things like Corps of Engineers dams that serve communities of 10k people who would never want to/be able to build the dam with their own resources.

The only real Federal infrastructure (besides military stuff) I can think of is the Interstate system, and I believe that maintenance of that system tends to fall on the states through which it passes.

[GILMORE?]

they'll throw bailout money to Amtrak, billions in make-work for pub-sec unions in key-constituent states, divert large swaths of it into shoring up pension funds, and lots of other funds channeled into projects that could otherwise be too problematic to get passed separately by congress - like "border wall"-stuff

[CE]

But the wall would be superstructure, or extrastructure or somesuch.

[Rhywun]

He points out that 1/3 of the so-called 'crumbling' stuff is concentrated in rural areas with 5% of the population.

I bet the other 2/3 is concentrated in cities run by Democrats.

[GILMORE?]

California alone has another huge chunk of it. i believe Stockman mentions it in a different piece on the same subject

http://fixcaroads.com/californ.....he-nation/

yes, somehow the state with the biggest spenders and somehow can afford the most gratuitous, absurdly wasteful projects like hi-speed rail... can't fill potholes without sugar-daddy money from the fed.

[Square = Circle]

Road maintenance is one of the few areas in CA where the state government self-performs most work. They are exempt from the rules that projects have to go out to public bid.

I do a lot of public school work, and I worked with a guy about ten years ago who really had trouble with the pace. It can take about two years to get a public school job off the ground and moving. He transferred to CalTrans, where he was much more comfortable with the slower, more relaxed pace.

CalTrans is classic for getting pictures of twelve to fourteen guys standing around in full gear for hours at a time doing absolutely nothing.

The moral of the story is that this is why we need a Federal Subsidy to pay for the High Speed Rail, since we don't have functioning road maintenance.

[gaoxiaen]

Twelve to fourteen guys standing around but they can't manage to have someone direct traffic.

[Elias Fakaname]

Sanctuary states don't get infrastructure funding. They must be punished.

[Old Mexican's Speedos]

They're federal spending blitzes intended to allow a 1st term president to buy off a shitload of constituents w/ borrowed money to help secure reelections.

No!

But, seriously, his reelection will be forged with Fire! And Fury!

Available at selected stores and Amazon.

[DaveSs]

Bridges

From the Stockman link
And the biggest bridge state among them is, well, yes, Iowa. The state has 3 million souls and nearly 25,000 bridges?one for every 125 people. So suddenly the picture is crystal clear. These are not the kind of bridges that thousands of cars and heavy duty trucks pass over each day. No, they are mainly the kind Clint Eastwood needed a local farm-wife to locate?so he could take pictures for a National Geographic spread on covered bridges.

Stated differently, the overwhelming bulk of the 600,000 so-called "bridges" in America are so little used that the are more often crossed by dogs, cows, cats and tractors than they are by passenger motorists. They are essentially no different than local playgrounds and municipal parks. They have nothing to do with interstate commerce, GDP growth or national public infrastructure.

I can attest to the fact that the structurally deficient bridges in Iowa are no grave danger to the public.
24% of bridges in my Iowa county are deemed 'structurally deficient'
The deficient bridges are also usually about 1.5 lanes in width(which is probably why they are deemed deficient in the first place), on rock roads, and so have very little travel on them.
Light cars and trucks are perfectly safe on these bridges. Heavy farm equipment might damage them, but would likely not injure the operator.

The actual highway bridges are all perfectly maintained because people regularly drive on them.

[DaveSs]

Why does Iowa have so many bridges is probably the next question. Well there are two reasons.

First, because in Iowa it is nearly impossible to get farther than 1/2 mile away from a road. Across the entire state there is a road on virtually every single section line. Most are rock roads with very little traffic, but every wash or creek they cross needs a bridge or culvert.

Second because much of the state is (despite popular belief) not flat but rather hilly (gentle hills), and because the roads cut straight across the land, there are a multitude of creeks and washes that these primarily rock roads cross. In much of Iowa if you walk a mile in any direction you will come across flowing water. It may be only 5ft across at best, but it does need to be bridged if a road is to cross it.

Despite living less than 50 miles from Madison County's covered bridges I have yet to visit them.

[DaveSs]

Oh, and a fun fact about Madison County's covered bridges.

They are and have been closed down to vehicle traffic for may years.

As near as I can tell, some of those covered bridges are counted in the deficiency stats despite not actually functioning as bridges.

[Conchfritters]

There are so many bridges in Iowa because the state is bracketed by the Mississippi and Missouri rivers - to your latter point, there are thousands of creeks and streams.

If you've never seen the bridges of Madison County, you should at least stop by Madison county's #1 attraction - the John Wayne birth site/home in winterset.

[Voros McCracken]

"Why does Iowa have so many bridges is probably the next question."

Because the Iowa primaries are thought to go a long way to deciding who becomes the next president?

[Old Mexican's Speedos]

Re: DaveSs

24% of bridges in my Iowa county are deemed 'structurally deficient'

But that's what makes them so... picturesque!

[DaveSs]

No picturesque bridges in my county.

Oddly though that there are quite a few interesting bridges across in Iowa

http://www.onlyinyourstate.com.....ges-in-ia/

And a few more that aren't mentioned like the Kate Shelley High Trestle, or the Bass Point High Bridge

[Conchfritters]

I live in minneapolis, and I can attest to the fact that structurally deficient bridges can be a grave danger to the public.

[GILMORE?]

I can attest to the fact that structurally deficient bridges can be a grave danger to the public.

[GILMORE?]

No one said they weren't a potential danger.

We said they WEREN'T THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS FUCKING PROBLEM IF THEY ARE.

if you live in a city with shitty dangerous bridges, then you live in a city that's been mismanaged.

[Conchfritters]

Indeed suh. I was just pointing out that while rickety bridges in Iowa may not be a problem, we have had problems with them up north.

But then again, Minnesota is run by shitty politicians. We should learn from our southern neighbor and elect a governor to lead us for 40 years like Terry Brandstad. Instead we gave the world Andrew Volstead and Walter Mondale. Sorry America.

[Bubba Jones]

And Jesse Ventura!

[BestUsedCarSales]

I remember when Jesse Ventura, Huell Howser, and Ice T came together to solve mysteries. Was a great time.

[Stormy Dragon]

Minnesota is one of the 14 states that gets less federal spending than it pays in taxes. They have shitty dangerous bridges because they're forced to subsidized the useless hillbilly class in states like Alabama, Kentucky, Missippi, South Carolina, etc.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

They have shitty dangerous bridges because they're forced to subsidized the useless hillbilly class in states like Alabama, Kentucky, Missippi, South Carolina, etc.

Yeah, everyone knows the South is only populated by white hillbillies .

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

He points out that 1/3 of the so-called 'crumbling' stuff is concentrated in rural areas with 5% of the population. Its unused because *people are leaving there*.

PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THERE BECAUSE IT'S CRUMBLING. WAKE UP SHEEPLE!

[Sevo]

GILMORE?|1.5.18 @ 4:48PM|#
"Stop calling it "infrastructure plans""

You expect Pelosi to admit her bicycle paths are pork?

[BestUsedCarSales]

VR headset makers don't like that their product is being used for porn.

This is 100% the reason people buy them at all.

[mad.casual]

This is 100% the reason people buy them at all.

I'd say 50%. The other 50% is because they can't just shell out $500 for a less virtual experience. Which the headset makers *also* likely frown upon.

[BestUsedCarSales]

We will see. I know a lot of people who use 3dpd unironically (3D Pig Disgusting if you didn't know).

[Mr. Dyslexic]

Could you imagine viewing the adventures of Warty Hugeman on one of these VR headsets? OMG-Pig fucking disgusting!

[paranoid android]

President Trump and Republican Congressional leadership set to hash out a long awaited infrastructure plan at Camp David retreat this weekend.

Its cost will be measured in trillions and it will be swooned over by the same people who said Obama's infrastructure bills were a death knell for the Republic.

[chemjeff]

Yup. I can't wait for the rationalizations about how Obama's stimulus infrastructure bill was horrible while Trump's infrastructure stimulus bill is going to be totes awesome.

[mad.casual]

VR headset makers don't like that their product is being used for porn.

Dressed in a tight, blue-and-gold space suit,

[comic book guy]*SIGH!* It is not a space. suit. if you do not use it to go into space. It is a jump suit or a leotard.[/comic book guy]

I'm pretty sure I've seen others say this so I guess I'm agreeing or reiterative but, methinks me sees an opening for a Google/Facebook competitor to hoover up lots of 'undesirables' who are willing to forego Google/Facebook's moralizing about Guns, Porn, and Drugs. Hosting the first VR episode of GOT (or the next The Wire or Breaking Bad or whatever) would probably be a pretty clear shot across the bow of 'The Establishment'. Maybe Ready Player One will inspire someone.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

They're test firing assault weapons in virtual reality! On the dark web! Needs legislation!

[Old Mexican's Speedos]

President Trump and Republican Congressional leadership set to hash out a long awaited infrastructure plan at Camp David retreat this weekend.

Includes digging ditches with spoons. Only "American [White] Workers" need apply.

The swamp freezes over.

Ready to be thawed... With Fire.... and Fury.

The federal government is actively engaged in an investigation of alleged corruption at the Clinton Foundation, reports CNN.

Nothing says "Rule Of Law" like distracting us with an investigation of political opponents.

VR headset makers don't like that their product is being used for porn.

What's that you said, headset manufacturers? You don't like making money?

White Nationalists, Civil War historians pissed off by efforts to Honor Black Confederates.

These folks have no shame! Who DOESN'T want to honor Honor Black, man? Her confederates will present you with their seconds, sir!

[mad.casual]

Includes digging ditches with spoons. Only "American [White] Workers" need apply.

Shovel ready projects didn't generate enough jerbz, spoons was just the next logical step.

[Square = Circle]

I'm still triggered by the word "shovel-ready."

When the 2008 crash hit, one of the first things the Obama Administration and a lot of state and local governments did was pull the plug on a bunch of projects that were literally under construction, and then in the name of "stimulus" green-lighted a bunch of projects that Obama called "shovel-ready" in a Federal-euphemism sense of "six-to-nine-months from anyone sticking a shovel into anything."

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

then in the name of "stimulus" green-lighted a bunch of projects that Obama called "shovel-ready" in a Federal-euphemism sense

Yeah, that happened with a stretch of I-25 that goes through Trinidad--construction on its renovation had been going on long before Obama got into office, but sure enough a big sign with that stupid stimulus emblem was put up as if it paid for the whole thing.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Be careful about the amount of blockquoting you do in a single post. You're turning into Hihn.

[Eidde]

I'd call you a grammar Nazi, but Nazis are anti-Semantic.

[Jimbo]

Report Spam!!

[BestUsedCarSales]

GO HOME BOY. GIT.

[Old Mexican's Speedos]

It's called "Space Optimization".

[Holmes IV]

Indiana police issue arrest warrant for Elsa

https://goo.gl/hWhsZU

Don't worry, after she's arrested and cuffed, anything that happens will be 100% consensual.....

[Elias Fakaname]

I have to tell you, there is already video of Elsa in cuffs, and not much else. Both consensual and non-consensual iterations.

[Bubba Jones]

"Trump is failing to observe customary norms about the independence of the Justice Department when it comes to investigative work, particularly after he said earlier this week that Clinton aide Huma Abedin should be jailed."

Orly?

"Obama's Comments About Clinton's Emails Rankle Some in the F.B.I."
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015.....quiry.html

Whataboutism!?!?!?

[BestUsedCarSales]

Comparing Trump's action to Obama only makes it worse in my eyes.