US Politics Mega-thread - Page 641

Allen Weisselberg, longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, has been granted immunity by federal prosecutors as part of their investigation into President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, NBC News reported on Friday.

Weisselberg was subpoenaed by prosecutors earlier this year to testify before a grand jury as part of that probe.

News of Weisselberg's immunity deal follows a Thursday report that David Pecker, the chairman of publishing giant American Media, had also received federal immunity as part of the Cohen investigation. It will escalate pressure on the president, who was implicated in a number of crimes that Cohen pleaded guilty to on Tuesday in New York federal court.

Cohen admitted that he had facilitated unlawful payments to two women at Trump's direction in order to keep unfavorable information about the president, who at the time was still a candidate, from becoming public. Pecker shared information about the payments with prosecutors in exchange for immunity, including details about the president's knowledge of the payments.

On August 25 2018 00:14 Acrofales wrote:

Yeah, but we got rid of the draft and nobody is jumping to get it back.

Doing it in the German way, with civil service as an option instead of the military is far more palatable. And to make it palatable to conservatives you could link a tax exemption to it.

In fact, you should add a tax, the "Freedom Tax". The price you pay for being free from government meddling in your business. And then you exempt that lifelong for a year of military or civil service In fact, that drives home an important lesson too. You can be free from taxes, or you can be free from doing stuff for your country. You cannot be free from both.

On August 25 2018 00:03 IyMoon wrote:
I dislike the college fund idea. It basically just becomes mandatory for everyone but the rich.

Just make it a straight mandatory like other countries. 2 years in the military or 2 years civil service at 18. No way out except for medical exemption

On August 25 2018 00:39 Biff The Understudy wrote:

Have you considered that some people have a different path and that it would be hugely detrimental to them to have to give two years of their youth to your civil service?

I am a professional classical musician. My late teens, early twenty were the most crucial years of my life, the ones you learn the fastest and acquire the skill to compete on an extraordinarily competitive, globalised market. I was practicing hours and hours a day, every single day. Had I been sent to do whatever where I couldn’t spend those precious years to study, I wouldn’t have succeeded the way I did.

On August 25 2018 00:39 Grumbels wrote:

I feel like in such a militarized country as the US, there should be a draft so that everyone shares in military duty. I don’t know for sure, but if children of rich parents were in the military as soldiers, maybe the US would be less sanguine about invading Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya, - or Iran in the future.

On August 25 2018 00:39 Biff The Understudy wrote:

Have you considered that some people have a different path and that it would be hugely detrimental to them to have to give two years of their youth to your covil service?

I am a professional musician. My late teens, early twenty were the most crucial years of my life, the ones you learn the fastest and acquire the skill to compete on an extraordinarily competitive, globalised market. I was practicing hours and hours a day, every single day. Had I been sent to do whatever where I couldn’t spend those precious years to study, I wouldn’t have succeeded the way I did.

On August 25 2018 00:39 Biff The Understudy wrote:

Have you considered that some people have a different path and that it would be hugely detrimental to them to have to give two years of their youth to your civil service?

I am a professional classical musician. My late teens, early twenty were the most crucial years of my life, the ones you learn the fastest and acquire the skill to compete on an extraordinarily competitive, globalised market. I was practicing hours and hours a day, every single day. Had I been sent to do whatever where I couldn’t spend those precious years to study, I wouldn’t have succeeded the way I did.

On August 25 2018 00:45 Plansix wrote:

But you were lucky enough to know exactly what you wanted to do professionally. Many people don’t or have to struggle at finding foothold in any industry. I didn’t truly find my career until I was 27. The point of these civil programs would be to experience areas outside their normal lives, to see other parts of the country and to meet people that could allow them to build a career or network. And these programs represent close to zero risk to the people who would partake in them.

On August 25 2018 00:46 Grumbels wrote:
This objection honestly seems rather fanciful to me, since people go through mandatory schooling and still emerge from high school as accomplished musicians. Most people start with their instruments when they are very young. Your 19th year is typically not the most important year of one’s musical career. And you can still practice for two hours a day in civil service anyway.

In any case, I don’t think a career as professional musician is important enough that you should be able to skip on some sort of civil service. Society has jobs that need to be done, though they might be unpleasant. Most jobs are like that. Part of the reason behind the civil service idea is to get everyone to spend at least 1-2 years doing them, regardless of educational background.

On August 25 2018 00:50 Biff The Understudy wrote:

Oh but I’m all for those programs to exist. I just don’t think they should be compulsory, because for a lot of young people it would be hugely detrimental. It would have been a catastrophe for me.

I had an israeli musician girlfriend, and everyone around her had had to get a bogus psychological evaluation not to get massively behind in their studies because of the military service. You simply cannot afford to lose two years at that age in that field. It was so absurd that the army psychologist who observed her asked ger why all musician were suffering mental condition.

On August 25 2018 00:54 Grumbels wrote:

Being a musician is a luxury career, it is not useful or essential in any way. It is like being a professional gamer or something. If you said: “oh, I should be able to avoid military service because of my potential as a LoL player”, that would be considered laughable. Especially in a country like Israel or South Korea that are constantly on the brink of war.

On August 24 2018 05:34 Plansix wrote:


Giuliani just told Manafort that he is getting a pardon after the investigation is over. Cutting through the bullshit, this whole exchange and behavior by the White House is staggering. As things heat up, Trump and this lawyers signaling to witness that a pardon could happen when after the investigation concludes.

On August 25 2018 00:52 Biff The Understudy wrote:

I think I know better than you what I’m talking about. 19-20 are the single most crucial years for a young musician. Two hours is nothing. You need to study full time and practice 5 hours a day at least, with as little distractions as possible.

Also may I ask you how you dare saying that a career as a professional musician is not important? This is beyond insulting. It’s my whole fucking life. As for the jobs that need to be done, I pay my 40% taxes, thank you very much.

On August 25 2018 00:57 Doodsmack wrote:


The pardons of Dinesh D'Souza and Scooter Libby were for the same purpose. To signal to all members of Trumps cabal that he'll pardon them.

On August 25 2018 01:06 Broetchenholer wrote:


You do realize that you ask for society not to have a mandatory year of civil service because musicians and pro gamers would be hindered in their chances for an international career. There are certainly other careers as well that would have that problem, but overall it's a fringe problem. And in SK or Israel pretending to have a mental issue so you can play a classical instrument is pretty entitled. A lot of people dodge the draft for mostly selfish reasons, but "i want to become a professional classical music player" is certainly the most entitled i have heard so far.

On August 25 2018 00:57 Biff The Understudy wrote:

Well, I personally think that artists bring more to the world than marketing consultants or high frequency traders. If life was only about useful things, whatever the hell you mean by that, we would have all shot ourselves a long time ago. But more generally, I think art is tremendously important for a society and a civilization. That you don’t find art more important than pro gaming speaks volume about you.