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[benjipwns]

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-14/boehner-obama-made-a-deal-with-the-devil

President Barack Obama made a “deal with the devil” in his nuclear framework with Iran and there’s no reason to think it can verifiably prevent the Tehran regime from getting a nuclear weapon, House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday.

Returning from a long trip to the Middle East that included stops in Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Boehner spoke to a small group of reporters about the war against the Islamic State and the general situation in the region as well as the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran. He said there was great skepticism among Iran's neighbors about the emerging agreement between it and the P5+1 world powers, and he shared those concerns.

“I don’t know how you cut a deal with the devil and think the devil is going to keep his end of the deal,” Boehner said of Obama and his advisers. “All they’ve done this far is talk about a delay of their development of a nuclear weapons for a few months or a year, in exchange for the rehabilitation of their entire economy? I think they are desperate for a deal at any cost and I think this is a prescription for disaster.”

Boehner also responded to White House spokesman Josh Earnest’s March 29 statement on ABC’s "This Week" that Boehner’s opposition to the nuclear negotiations meant he wanted war with Iran, and that he should "should have the courage of his convictions to actually say so." On the contrary, Boehner said, he was not for war with Iran, and if the administration had kept up sanctions pressure it could have gotten “a real agreement” rather than the "unverifiable" pact the framework suggests. Pressed on what that meant, Boehner said: “An agreement that would allow unfettered access to the inspectors to go anywhere at any time. That would be a real agreement.”

Boehner warned that Arab Gulf nations are likely to pursue their own nuclear weapons programs if the deal with Iran doesn’t satisfy their deep skepticism. “If Iran is on a path to get a nuclear weapon, all those countries that can afford to get one are going to have one,” he said. “It’s a fact.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/u...onwas-asked-about-email-2-years-ago.html?_r=0

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton was directly asked by congressional investigators in a December 2012 letter whether she had used a private email account while serving as secretary of state, according to letters obtained by The New York Times.

But Mrs. Clinton did not reply to the letter. And when the State Department answered in March 2013, nearly two months after she left office, it ignored the question and provided no response.

The query was posed to Mrs. Clinton in a Dec. 13, 2012, letter from Representative Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Mr. Issa was leading an investigation into how the Obama administration handled its officials’ use of personal email.

“Have you or any senior agency official ever used a personal email account to conduct official business?” Mr. Issa wrote to Mrs. Clinton. “If so, please identify the account used.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/u...potle-order-above-average.html?abt=0002&abg=1

Our knowledge about what is normal and what is not comes from about 3,000 online orders from GrubHub, which some colleagues and I used to find out what people actually order at Chipotle. (All the data is online, by the way, so you also could have done this crucial analysis.)

At the time of this writing, much about Mrs. Clinton’s order was still unknown. We do know that it was a chicken bowl (with guacamole, according to ABC News). Less known, but critical: Did she get rice and beans, which are free with the order? What about fajita vegetables, or more than one kind of salsa? Even more important, from a calorie perspective: Did she include cheese and sour cream? This information, much like the contents of some of her emails when she was secretary of state, we may never know.

For this exercise, let’s assume she ordered both rice and beans, as most people do, and included one salsa — let’s say the fresh tomato salsa, the most popular. Then we’ll assume she ordered either sour cream or cheese, but not both. Shredded cheese is the mild favorite among the masses, but more important, it’s also my preference, and if Mrs. Clinton is going to get my vote, she’s going to have to prove that she’s just like me. (Nutritionally, the difference between them won’t affect the math too much.) Also, lettuce. Almost everyone orders lettuce! I have proof. And, of course, the side of guacamole, which is not free.

So here’s our potentially presidential order: chicken bowl, white rice, black beans, fresh garden salsa, shredded cheese, lettuce and guacamole.

According to Chipotle’s nutritional calculator, this comes to 840 calories, 11.5 grams of saturated fat and 1,720 milligrams of sodium.

Answer: Mrs. Clinton’s order was healthier than the average American’s order, with significantly fewer calories, saturated fat and sodium than most orders do. Specifically, almost 75 percent of meals ordered at Chipotle had more calories than Mrs. Clinton’s; about 75 percent had more sodium; and about 70 percent had more saturated fat.

As it happens, Mr. Obama also seems to prefer Chipotle orders with many fewer calories than is typical. When he visited one in June 2014, he ordered a burrito bowl with white rice and guacamole, sparing himself the 300 calories that come automatically with every Chipotle tortilla.

If Mrs. Clinton (or Mr. Obama) had ordered sour cream, it would add about 115 calories, 7 grams of saturated fat and 30 milligrams of sodium, making the meal more “normal” but still with fewer calories than 65 percent of meals.

 

[ivysaur12]

It's why I oppose monopoly corporations that can't go out of business.

We're just going to have a fundamental disagreement on the nature of the state, benji.

 

[Trouble]

Presented without comment.

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/404

 

[benjipwns]

We're just going to have a fundamental disagreement on the nature of the state, benji.

I thought we all agreed I was right about the state during the Metroid Wars?

 

[Avon Barksdale]

Presented without comment.

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/404

Heh.

 

[Trouble]

Heh.

Benji, I hope you feel foolish for changing your avatar now.

 

[benjipwns]

Benji, I hope you feel foolish for changing your avatar now.

Little known fact, but 100% true: Hillary Clinton supports the state.

 

[benjipwns]

Nobozo's lack of accomplishments exposed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XOGfoB8GTs

 

[Poodlestrike]

Ah, damn. Benji finally got banned, huh?

Too good for this cruel word.

 

[User 406]

Another fun ballot measure that looks like it will be voted on:

http://ballotpedia.org/Maine_Ranked_Choice_Voting_Initiative_(2016)

The Maine Ranked Choice Voting Initiative may appear on the November 8, 2016 ballot in Maine as an indirect initiated state statute. The measure, upon voter approval, would establish a statewide system of ranked-choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting. Specifically, ranked-choice voting would be used to elect U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, the Governor, State Senators and State Representatives.[1]

The initiative would define ranked-choice voting as "the method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds in which last-place candidates are defeated and the candidate with the most votes in the final round is elected."[1]

More on RCV:

http://ballotpedia.org/Instant-runoff_voting

This is now the most important thing in the 2016 general election.

 

[BertramCooper]

Apparently news outlets have now had enough of tearing apart Hillary's logo (which, again, I think is actually quite good) and are now moving on to Marco Rubio's logo, which is legitimately terrible.

Vox: Rubio’s odd-looking campaign logo is teaching us an important lesson about typography

Kerning aside, sorry, Hawaii and Alaska, you won't be joining us in the New American Century.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Apparently news outlets have now had enough of tearing apart Hillary's logo (which, again, I think is actually quite good) and are now moving on to Marco Rubio's logo, which is legitimately terrible.

Vox: Rubio’s odd-looking campaign logo is teaching us an important lesson about typography

Kerning aside, sorry, Hawaii and Alaska, you won't be joining us in the New American Century.

Eh, who cares about them. They think they're too good to hang out with the rest of the states, bunch of stuck up pricks.

 

[Averon]

Ah, Benji, you finally flew too close to the sun, eh?

Hope it isn't a perm ban.

 

[CrimzonSamurai]

Wayne LaPierre bringing all the subtlety of a fully automatic carbine.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/15/politics/nra-wayne-lapierre-obama-demographically-symbolic/index.html

"We don't need more than 8 years of a 'demographically symbolic' President."

 

[Crisco]

No Marco, that's the sign you use for your restaurant, not your campaign, smh.

 

[jamesinclair]

Did all the Hillarye xcitement get Benji banned?

The third and first results.

Hm, if those were the only options, Id have to pick the top one myself.

 

[ivysaur12]

Wayne LaPierre bringing all the subtlety of a fully automatic carbine.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/15/politics/nra-wayne-lapierre-obama-demographically-symbolic/index.html

"We don't need more than 8 years of a 'demographically symbolic' President."

I simultaneously can and cannot believe he said this.

The amount of fear mongering the NRA has done, especially following Aurora and Sand Hook, it truly disgusting. No one is "taking your guns."

 

[Aaron Strife]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rubio-gay-marriage-cnn

CNN host Jake Tapper asked presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) how he can appeal to younger voters and oppose legalizing same-sex marriage.

"You are casting yourself as a candidate of a new generation. But there is an issue where you are very out of step with younger voters, even younger Republican voters," Tapper said to Rubio on "The Lead," noting that a majority of young Republicans support gay marriage. "On that issue, same-sex marriage, senator, you're the candidate of yesterday."

Rubio said that he believes states should determine whether to legalize same-sex marriage "since marriage laws have always been defined by the states."

The senator added that some Americans still oppose gay marriage.

Bustin' chops

 

[jamesinclair]

Why on earth is Chris Christie planning a massive tax hike during campaign season?

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2015/04/15/nj-transits-looming-9-fare-hike-only-just-the-beginning/

 

[CrimzonSamurai]

I simultaneously can and cannot believe he said this.

The amount of fear mongering the NRA has done, especially following Aurora and Sand Hook, it truly disgusting. No one is "taking your guns."

It really is gross, but I'm glad their "blame it on the video games" strategy fell flat after Sandy Hook.

Still, I think the Einenkel response is kind of idiotic. She's white but she's also potentially the first woman, so that's clearly where she would be "demographically symbolic." Not that that would make any difference to someone of basic intelligence.

 

[BertramCooper]

LaPierre can pretty much say anything at this point and get away with it.

And he knows it, so he does.

 

[ivysaur12]

LaPierre can pretty much say anything at this point and get away with it.

And he knows it, so he does.

Exactly.

Also, in POLLS:

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/04/walker-clinton-lead-in-nh.html

Public Policy Polling's newest survey of the Republican primary for President in New Hampshire finds Scott Walker in a tier by himself- 24% of voters say he's their top choice to 14% for Ted Cruz, 12% for Rand Paul, 10% for Jeb Bush, 8% each for Marco Rubio and Chris Christie, 7% each for Mike Huckabee and Ben Carson, and 4% for Rick Perry.

 

[PhoenixDark]

https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/588382681995575296

She's amazing.

 

[Yellowtail]

Also, in POLLS:

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/04/walker-clinton-lead-in-nh.html

Jeb is gonna get Giuliani'd at this rate.

And the more Walker and Rubio hammer Clinton for being a figure of the past, out of touch etc. the less he's going to seem viable with primary voters.

 

[Avon Barksdale]

LaPierre can pretty much say anything at this point and get away with it.

And he knows it, so he does.

The NRA is basically a wing of the GOP now.

 

[Cheebo]

Jeb is gonna get Giuliani'd at this rate.

And the more Walker and Rubio hammer Clinton for being a figure of the past, out of touch etc. the less he's going to seem viable with primary voters.

Agreed, Jeb is the Giuliani of this cycle. He is going nowhere. If I was a betting man I would go with Walker. A Walker/Rubio ticket seems to be the likeliest outcome I think.

 

[Jackson50]

When did you get back to poliGAF? I've missed your foreign policy analysis in here.

Yesterday, actually. And thank you. Now that my life has settled down, I have to finish my dissertation. So now I have time to waste on NeoGAF.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-14/boehner-obama-made-a-deal-with-the-devil

You can't have your cake and eat it. If you support a deal, even a hypothetically more stringent one, then you ultimately have to cut a deal with the devil. Even a "real" agreement assumes Iran will abide its international obligations. That is a specious, frivolous criticism. It applies to any deal; even the hypothetical deal Boehner supports. You can't criticize the framework because Iran will undermine it, and then say you support an agreement. If the devil is going to violate the agreement, they will violate any agreement.

How does Obama think the devil will abide the agreement? Through inspections and verification. And contrary to his second claim, there are compelling reasons to think that the provisions agreed to under the framework would allow us to verify if Iran violates its obligations. The analyses I've read indicate that the inspections program should be thorough enough to reveal is Iran violates the agreement. There are a few ambiguities in the agreement. But considering the concessions Iran has already made, I would be surprised if they don't solve most of the outstanding issues by July. As Jeffrey Lewis has argued, Iran's concessions on the inspection of the uranium supply chain and centrifuge construction are the key provisions to identify covert enrichment. As for a nuclear arms race, I think we know who sparked it. And it wasn't Iran.

 

[BSsBrolly]

Agreed, Jeb is the Giuliani of this cycle. He is going nowhere. If I was a betting man I would go with Walker. A Walker/Rubio ticket seems to be the likeliest outcome I think.

That is just terrifying to me.

 

[Ecotic]

Jeb's in a really tough spot, he's weak in the early states and can't afford to lose Iowa or New Hampshire to someone like Walker. Giuliani already tried the strategy of abandoning Iowa and New Hampshire and hoping for Florida. Jeb will probably have to go for broke in New Hampshire.

 

[Wilsongt]

I figured it was only a period of time before some Conservative dodo did this.

https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/587371026272669697/photo/1

 

[CrimzonSamurai]

I figured it was only a period of time before some Conservative dodo did this.

https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/587371026272669697/photo/1

Yikes.

Edit: Hmm, wait, does the fact that it's a Learjet mean it's secretly about the 1% swarming to destroy her campaign? Leftist false-flag detected! /s

 

[ivysaur12]

Agreed, Jeb is the Giuliani of this cycle. He is going nowhere. If I was a betting man I would go with Walker. A Walker/Rubio ticket seems to be the likeliest outcome I think.

That's my bet as well. Walker/Rubio versus Clinton/Castro.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Jeb will have significantly more money than Guilianni had. He's going to come out the gate with 100mil raised in the first quarter.

Remember, the GOP primary is different from the democrat's 2008 primary season. The early states feature proportional allocations of delegates, but the winner-take-all states appear on the schedule earlier than they did in 2008. Theoretically Bush can wait it out and catch up with bigger states. He has the money and name to stay around, at least.

Personally I don't believe that strategy will work, but it's interesting. The danger is obvious: whoever is the frontrunner after the early states+southern states will start racking up endorsements. Whether it's Walker or Rubio, someone is going to be ahead going into winner-take-all contests, and I don't see how Bush will simply beat that person in late March/early April.

 

[Fenderputty]

That is just terrifying to me.

I'm betting Hilary would love a walker/Rubio ticket.

 

[Aaron Strife]

That's my bet as well. Walker/Rubio versus Clinton/Castro.

But if both parties have a Latino on the ticket HOW WILL LATINOS KNOW WHO TO VOTE FOR

(Don't ask the same thing about white people or any other racial group - although Walker assuredly will win 33% of the black vote without Obama on the ticket)

 

[B-Dubs]

I figured it was only a period of time before some Conservative dodo did this.

https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/587371026272669697/photo/1

What the fuck were they thinking with this?

 

[CrimzonSamurai]

Jeb will have significantly more money than Guilianni had. He's going to come out the gate with 100mil raised in the first quarter.

Remember, the GOP primary is different from the democrat's 2008 primary season. The early states feature proportional allocations of delegates, but the winner-take-all states appear on the schedule earlier than they did in 2008. Theoretically Bush can wait it out and catch up with bigger states. He has the money and name to stay around, at least.

Personally I don't believe that strategy will work, but it's interesting. The danger is obvious: whoever is the frontrunner after the early states+southern states will start racking up endorsements. Whether it's Walker or Rubio, someone is going to be ahead going into winner-take-all contests, and I don't see how Bush will simply beat that person in late March/early April.

Maybe he'll go for the Newt Gingrich strategy of hanging on for so long he consolidates momentum previously held by those that have dropped out.

Spoiler

We were this close to that lunar colony, you guys

 

[Trouble]

That's my bet as well. Walker/Rubio versus Clinton/Castro.

Cruz/Rubio, then Latinos basically have to vote for them!

 

[CygnusXS]

Cruz/Rubio, then Latinos basically have to vote for them!

It's in the constitution.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Maybe he'll go for the Newt Gingrich strategy of hanging on for so long he consolidates momentum previously held by those that have dropped out.

Spoiler

We were this close to that lunar colony, you guys

Given Newt's prediction about gas prices I would suggest a lunar colony will happen under a Democratic president.

 

[NeoXChaos]

Would you rather have a candidate support what you want 60-70 percent of the time or none at all?

And spare me this, “I’ll vote for an independent because Americans need to move away from the two-party, corrupt system that’s ruining this country” nonsense. Look, if you want to waste a vote based on principles, that’s your choice. I’m telling all of those people right now, Republicans won‘t. In fact, Republicans are hoping that’s exactly what many liberals and independents will do.

To those people especially in OT that wont vote because of "both parties are the same":

While some liberals will go off and pout in a corner, pointlessly carrying on about how their wasted vote is a “stance against a system they don’t support,” you know what Republicans will be doing? Voting for Republicans and destroying this country.

To those Warren supports:

Whine and cry because Elizabeth Warren isn’t going to run, become apathetic, then let Republicans win the White House in 2016; likely replace four Supreme Court Justices over the following 8 years; start a war with Iran; ruin the planet; destroy our economy again; and undo all the good that’s been done these last 6 years.

http://www.forwardprogressives.com/reality-hillary-clinton-liberals-need-face/

 

[Plinko]

Agreed, Jeb is the Giuliani of this cycle. He is going nowhere. If I was a betting man I would go with Walker. A Walker/Rubio ticket seems to be the likeliest outcome I think.

Walker is terrible. He has a bad track record in Wisconsin. He puts his foot in his mouth any time he gets in the spotlight. I don't understand where any of this love for him is coming from.

 

[Cheebo]

Walker is terrible. He has a bad track record in Wisconsin. He puts his foot in his mouth any time he gets in the spotlight. I don't understand where any of this love for him is coming from.

He is doing something right, he is ahead in all the early state primary polls.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Walker is terrible. He has a bad track record in Wisconsin. He puts his foot in his mouth any time he gets in the spotlight. I don't understand where any of this love for him is coming from.

Walker has a great record - to conservatives. That's what matters. Most of the people he's running against don't have a single accomplishment on their records.

 

[Trouble]

Walker has a great record - to conservatives. That's what matters. Most of the people he's running against don't have a single accomplishment on their records.

Plus he knows how to deal with 10k protestors which is exactly the same as dealing with ISIS.

 

[CrimzonSamurai]

He is doing something right, he is ahead in all the early state primary polls.

Most of the people being polled don't know anything about him other than he stood fast against a charge of rabid pro-union communists. When he gets actual exposure we'll have to see if he maintains those numbers. He's decidedly not tactful, because he didn't need to be in Wisconsin.

 

[B-Dubs]

Walker has a great record - to conservatives. That's what matters. Most of the people he's running against don't have a single accomplishment on their records.

For the primary voters, the money men and party big wigs will want someone who can win in the general and that isn't Walker.

 

[Black Mamba]

Here you go. GOP supports Israel's Interests over America's according to a new poll. 2:1 margin, as well.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1029820

 

[Plinko]

For the primary voters, the money men and party big wigs will want someone who can win in the general and that isn't Walker.

Bingo. Look at every recent GOP candidate in the general election. Walker doesn't fit that role at all.

Walker is the guy that conservatives like and republicans in general pretend to get behind early. Then, when the primary starts, it starts the, "Really? This guy? He's got no shot in the general election" cycle and eventually they go to a guy more reasonable.

Jeb Bush is the only one like that this time around.

 

[East Lake]

Renewables doing pretty well.

The race for renewable energy has passed a turning point. The world is now adding more capacity for renewable power each year than coal, natural gas, and oil combined. And there's no going back.

The shift occurred in 2013, when the world added 143 gigawatts of renewable electricity capacity, compared with 141 gigawatts in new plants that burn fossil fuels, according to an analysis presented Tuesday at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance annual summit in New York. The shift will continue to accelerate, and by 2030 more than four times as much renewable capacity will be added.

"The electricity system is shifting to clean,'' Michael Liebreich, founder of BNEF, said in his keynote address. "Despite the change in oil and gas prices there is going to be a substantial buildout of renewable energy that is likely to be an order of magnitude larger than the buildout of coal and gas."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/fossil-fuels-just-lost-the-race-against-renewables