WTF Community

Day 231

General Discussion
#1

1/ Trump Jr. met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya to determine Hillary Clinton's "fitness, character or qualifications" for office, according to a prepared statement delivered to Senate Judiciary Committee investigators. He maintains that nothing came of the meeting, and he denies explicit collusion with Russia. Trump Jr. took questions behind closed doors. (New York Times)

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2017/09/07/day-231/
#2
  1. yes please get rid of the debt ceiling debate and just pay our bills. It’s a completely useless thing that just should not exist.
#3

I really wish I knew enough about the subject to have an opinion more nuanced than “defaulting = bad”.

#4

Basically the federal government has already spent a bunch money and the debt ceiling vote, is just a vote to borrow a bunch of money to pay back the money we’ve already spent. Congress basically has this big politized argument every 3-6 months on if we should borrow more money to pay our bills. We don’t need to have this argument at all, it’s a big rubber stamp at this point because if we default, we would tank the world markets. Like all of them. We are and have been “too big to fail”. So let’s get rid of this dumb argument already!

Here’s an explainer https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/national/debt-ceiling/?utm_term=.0e4d9d1bb40b

4 Likes
#6

First of all, wtf?

Folded into the bill are management amendments that straitjacket some of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s efforts to redesign the State Department.

Is this a “enemy of my enemy” deal? When did Rs start to dislike Tillerson?

Second of all, wtf?

Among other things, the bill provides over $6 billion for humanitarian assistance — almost $1 billion above the administration’s request. The panel is also restoring $10 million in U.S. funding for the U.N. climate change agency, overruling Trump’s call to end spending on it. In a surprising move, the committee also passed an amendment overturning Trump’s policies limiting funding and access to women’s reproductive healthcare and family planning abroad.

I mean, ok I’ll take it, but my jaw is a little slack that the committee unanimously and bipartisanly passed these amendments–Rs agreed to more than asked for spending?? “Growing congressional backlash” indeed, I guess. I’d still like to see the whole women’s reproductive healthcare thing (insert very long “etc” list here) get funded properly in our own country but shit like I said I’ll take it.

4 Likes
#7

Thank you for taking that one on!! :clap:t3::clap:t3::clap:t3:

#8

:unamused:

I am extremely skeptical of the motivations for just about everything to do with this.

#9
#5

But don’t just take my word for it here’s Senator Elizabeth Warren, she’s much more eloquent than I could ever become.

https://youtu.be/-mVGmVjxBfU