3317

Yeah, the Republican Party at the national level (and in the states that it’s totally safe in) has basically stopped even pretending that it’s serving the interests of most people.

3318

Shame that so many that vote for them seem to be too stupid to understand that.

Also: re: the XO

3319

ActBlue: Give to the Democrats who will run against the Republicans who voted for Trumpcare

Update: Now that the AHCA has passed the House, this page includes the eventual Democratic challenger for every Republican who voted yes on this bill.

We set up nominee funds for Congressional races where a Democrat will be running against a Republican who voted ‘yes’ on Trumpcare. That means that whichever Democrat wins the primary in the districts listed here will receive the money raised from this form once they are officially the challenger. Give now to make sure these Republicans do not remain in office.

$500k goal (recently increased to that) and they’ve raised $225k so far.

3320

This should be getting more play:

Non Profits have to file forms with the IRS accounting for all the money they take in goes, if they want to maintain tax-free status. Churches don’t.

Non-profits are not allowed to endorse political candidates if they want to maintain their tax-free status. Thanks to Trump’s most recent EO, Churches are now allowed to directly support candidates.

So Churches are about to become the giant unregulated Super PACs – zero transparency into even how much money they are taking in. And all TAX FREE because they are SO different from every other non-profit!

3321

Fantastic. So expect to see corporations, lobbyists and big money donors setting up faux church organizations to funnel money through to avoid regulations on campaign finance, and it’s all tax free!

3322
3323

“… a textbook case of ‘fake news’.”

Sigh.

3324
3325

Text “RESIST” to 50409 or message me on Facebook and I’ll find out who represents you in Congress, and deliver your message to them in under 2 minutes. No downloads or apps required.

Over time, as you send more letters and get more comfortable, you’ll unlock more of my functionality, and become a more powerful advocate.

From their FAQ:

How does it work?

Resistbot turns your text messages into daily letters to Congress— in the simplest and easiest way possible. We are working hard behind the scenes to make sure they are delivered and that your representatives take them seriously.

[…]
Who’s behind this?

We’re a group of volunteers deeply opposed to the direction of the country. We built this to faithfully deliver your voice to Congress. Resistbot was founded by Eric Ries and Jason Putorti.

3326

The Department of Homeland Security has not resumed overseas interviews with refu­gee applicants since President Trump released his first executive order to ban immigrants and visitors from seven Muslim-majority nations and halt all refu­gee arrivals for 120 days, according to resettlement organizations and Homeland Security officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. That policy is continuing, they say, despite federal court orders putting significant parts of Trump’s executive immigration orders on hold.

“Sometimes there is a small pause of a few days, while we gear up for the fiscal year — but we’ve never had a four-month suspension of the program,” said Jen Smyers, director of refu­gee policy and advocacy with the Church World Service, one of nine official U.S. refu­gee resettlement agencies, which has begun cutting back overseas staff. “Refugee processing has ground to a halt.”

Concerns that the Trump administration’s efforts to bar new refugees are continuing despite court rulings are part of the inspiration behind a letter senators are sending to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly, demanding a detailed explanation of policy and a reckoning on the current state of processing applications.

In it, 11 Democrats and five Republicans ask the administration to clarify its goal intake of refugees for fiscal 2017, specify the manner and speed with which it plans to process refugee referrals, identify how many cases are currently being processed and detail what department personnel changes have been made that could affect the quality and pace of refugee admissions.

“This administration needs to be transparent about its refugee policies,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who spearheaded the letter, said in a statement. “Our nation should continue to be a safe haven for those fleeing harm and if this administration is closing the door on refugees, Congress and the American people have a right to know.”

3327

In the modern age, this has the capability to go very pear-shaped for the conservatives. They imagine that religious folks will be using such a power (should it ever be more than a meaningless EO) to donate only to GOP candidates.

But the lure of unaccountable, easy political money would very likely cause some unexpected organizations to crop up quickly, I imagine. I for one might start Tin Wisdom’s Church of the Outer Self – our services would be held Saturday nights between 5:00 and 5:15, followed by meditation, a yoga-analogue, and imbibing of the sacred malt beverage and ritual flatbread with cheese and other toppings. My church would be very active in volunteering with local charities, especially those involving environmental themes and clean-ups because the Earth is an aspect of the divine and other religious-sounding reasons. It is also possible that any tens or hundreds of millions of dollars that people donate to the Church might also incidentally find their way into supporting Democrats.

3328

Now there’s a church I want to join! Where do I give money!

3329

The Glorious Penbladian Church of Rational Enlightenment (the official state religion of the Glorious Penbladian Socialist-Authoritarian Utopia with Absolutely No Gulags at All, Comrade) welcomes you and all of the Outer Selfians to join us as brothers in our Eternal Jihad against the enemies of the faith.

You can bring some of those ritual flatbreads with you, if you want. Please. Fighting the Forever War of Cleansing is hard work!

3330

It’s a ~95% funding cut.

The office, which received $388 million in federal funding in fiscal 2017, would only receive $24 million in fiscal 2018, according to the White House budget proposal. The agency’s high-intensity drug-trafficking program, which received $254 million in federal funding in 2017, and its drug-free communities support program, which received $100 million, would be completely zeroed out under Trump’s proposal.

The budget also seeks to cut almost $7 million in salaries, leading to projected cuts of as many as 33 full-time equivalents. About 70 people currently work at the drug control office.

“These drastic proposed cuts are frankly heartbreaking and, if carried out, would cause us to lose many good people who contribute greatly to ONDCP’s mission and core activities,” acting Director Rich Baum wrote in an internal email to staff that was shared with POLITICO.

3331

The best part of Cinco de Mayo? All the racists get to show their colors.

3332
3333

Holy fuck. How can you be an adult and not see it? If you watch this cartoon for more than EIGHT SECONDS you should realize what a racist shitshow it is.

I remember discussing this with my friends when I was a teenager after watching it as a kid. The conversation was like, “Remember speedy gonzalez? Can you believe how racist it is?”

3334

I’m going to go out on an exceedingly short and thick limb and speculate that his account was hacked.

3335

Jeeeebus. #smh

3336

Yeah. “Speak Spanish” vs “speak Mexican” is a dead giveaway.