As expected the IG report by Obama-appointed Horowitz was essentially a dud. It’s no surprise that a complicit media and their base is now gloating,

US attorney John Durham, who is not limited to investigating the DOJ, disagrees with the conclusion. Given that he has more scope and power in his investigation, his and the AG’s disagreement should not be taken lightly.

Statement of U.S. Attorney John H. Durham

“I have the utmost respect for the mission of the Office of Inspector General and the comprehensive work that went into the report prepared by Mr. Horowitz and his staff. However, our investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department. Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened.”

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/statement-us-attorney-john-h-durham

Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr on the Inspector General's Report of the Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

"Nothing is more important than the credibility and integrity of the FBI and the Department of Justice. That is why we must hold our investigators and prosecutors to the highest ethical and professional standards. The Inspector General’s investigation has provided critical transparency and accountability, and his work is a credit to the Department of Justice. I would like to thank the Inspector General and his team.

The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken. It is also clear that, from its inception, the evidence produced by the investigation was consistently exculpatory. Nevertheless, the investigation and surveillance was pushed forward for the duration of the campaign and deep into President Trump’s administration. In the rush to obtain and maintain FISA surveillance of Trump campaign associates, FBI officials misled the FISA court, omitted critical exculpatory facts from their filings, and suppressed or ignored information negating the reliability of their principal source. The Inspector General found the explanations given for these actions unsatisfactory. While most of the misconduct identified by the Inspector General was committed in 2016 and 2017 by a small group of now-former FBI officials, the malfeasance and misfeasance detailed in the Inspector General’s report reflects a clear abuse of the FISA process.

FISA is an essential tool for the protection of the safety of the American people. The Department of Justice and the FBI are committed to taking whatever steps are necessary to rectify the abuses that occurred and to ensure the integrity of the FISA process going forward.

No one is more dismayed about the handling of these FISA applications than Director Wray. I have full confidence in Director Wray and his team at the FBI, as well as the thousands of dedicated line agents who work tirelessly to protect our country. I thank the Director for the comprehensive set of proposed reforms he is announcing today, and I look forward to working with him to implement these and any other appropriate measures.

With respect to DOJ personnel discussed in the report, the Department will follow all appropriate processes and procedures, including as to any potential disciplinary action."

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-attorney-general-william-p-barr-inspector-generals-report-review-four-fisa

Amazing arguments.

He rejected both social justice and the welfare state, both of which are regnant in social democracies.

The idea that Hayek’s ideas reign supreme in social democracies is patently absurd.

The third way philosophy explicitly rejects “neoliberalism”. So there’s that.

Why?

Simply because Third Way policies came from the minds of socialists, not liberals, as I just quoted.

Do you even read what you link to? To describe Tony Blair as a neosocialist because he once used the word "socialism" in a speech and then link to an article that clearly shows he definitely wasn't that is at best an extreme example of intellectual laziness. If you know nothing about something, please stay mum until you do. You at least know enough about Trump to present some superficially plausible lies, which to my mind is more laudable than this kind of malarkey.

It’s a far more accurate term than “neoliberalism”, which is a boogie-man. Blair wasn’t the only one who spoke like this.

Major Third Way social democratic proponent Tony Blair claimed that the socialism he advocated was different from traditional conceptions of socialism and said: "My kind of socialism is a set of values based around notions of social justice. [...] Socialism as a rigid form of economic determinism has ended, and rightly".[6] Blair referred to it as a "social-ism" involving politics that recognised individuals as socially interdependent and advocated social justice, social cohesion, equal worth of each citizen and equal opportunity.[7] Third Way social democratic theorist Anthony Giddens has said that the Third Way rejects the traditional conception of socialism and instead accepts the conception of socialism as conceived of by Anthony Crosland as an ethical doctrine that views social democratic governments as having achieved a viable ethical socialism by removing the unjust elements of capitalism by providing social welfare and other policies and that contemporary socialism has outgrown the Marxist claim for the need of the abolition of capitalism.[8] In 2009, Blair publicly declared support for a "new capitalism".[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way

I think neosocialism is a far more accurate term to describe the failed and unpopular policies of the third-way, which is currently being rejected. So please make an argument or stay mum.

Oh I see he was quoting me as an example of mass hysteria, even though the doomsday clock of the bulletin of atomic scientists is 2 minutes to midnight, and mass hysteria is warranted, because let's face it the politics are shit, the economic structure is shit based on selling useless shit to shit people for their addictions, and the planet is scheduled to catch fire.

But please tell me why there's no reason to be concerned.

The doomsday clock has never been right. A clock that never hits midnight is broken, which is ironic for atomic science. Rather the analogy should be a barometer, because it would symbolize the increased fears of atomic scientists and not any actual fact. These scientists are a part of the mass hysteria.

“Neoliberalism” almost always has a negative connotation, is used pejoratively, and as such no one actually uses the label to describe himself or his ideas.

Neoliberalism: From New Liberal Philosophy to Anti-Liberal Slogan

The third-way politics and policies we see today could be better described as “neo socialism”, as exemplified by Tony Blair: “My kind of socialism is a set of values, based around notions of social justice ... The objective - a modern civic society in which all individuals have the ability to develop their potential - places us firmly within the tradition of social democracy and democratic socialism." Blaire’s “kind of socialism”, his third-way triangulation, is now in disfavor, leading to Brexit and other populist campaigns.

I think “neosocialism” works better to describe the current model (for instance in the EU) while still resembling the neosocialism of the past:

Déat replaced class struggle with class collaboration and national solidarity, advocated corporatism as a model of social organisation, replaced the notion of socialism with anti-capitalism and supported a technocratic state which would plan the economy and in which parliamentarism would be replaced by political technocracy.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neosocialism

The disease is corporate fascism perverting the democratic institutions. Now they have even greater tools of persuasion at their disposal. The Facebooks and Googles are the surveillance-state manipulating the weak and vulnerable minds in their political favor.

These “democratic institutions” have grown sclerotic by way of social democracy. They would have died sooner had they not adopted economic liberalism, which put them on life support, but they shot themselves in the foot with massive regulation and welfare statism. The people want their power back and will step behind the populists to do it.

Not as bad as I thought. I feared the worst.

Clinton perjured himself in a lawsuit and was impeached because of it.

Lol I dont want to know

I'm posting as a public service, and as an antidote to your noxious rubbish. When I can be bothered.

By all means, friend. I still won’t hold it against you when you finally realize that you’re in on the charade. There is no blind hatred here.

The IG report on FISA abuse is expected to drop tomorrow. It’s been a long time in the making. Most Trumpers are preemptively downplaying the report, expecting that is not going to tell them what they want to hear due to how limited Horowitz’s jurisdiction and scope is. Trump himself never liked the idea from the beginning.

But it will at least lay bare some facts for all to see.

Oh is that right? Then why are you guys looking like you’d drink the cyanide koolaid to get him out of office. It’s a depraved moral panic and it puts all of us at risk.

I was actually saying it’s different than hysteria, that you’re engaging in a form of escapism. You, for instance, have zero stake in American politics, yet you’ve adopted the identity of an American democrat. So it’s no wonder you get so upset when you see them losing.

I’ve come to believe it’s more live action role playing. They get to live out a fantasy of an oppressive force while at the same time remaining completely safe and comfortable, and all of it to disguise the moral depravity hidden within. The impeachment, for instance, is a fantasy.

“Today’s job report, more than any other report in recent months, squashed any lingering concerns about an imminent recession in the US economy,” said Gad Levanon, head of the Conference Board’s Labor Market Institute. “Employment growth also shows no signs of slowing further despite the historically low unemployment rate.”

Jobs growth soars in November as payrolls surge by 266,000

No, there are no parallels beyond the fever dreams of those wedded to propaganda.

Google it man..do your own homework.

You made the claim and I should back it up for you...How old are you?

Seriously..how old are you man?

Tell us more about the parallels between Trump’s America and Nazi germany.

Like I said, a moral panic. Trump is their folk devil. It is with scary stories and promises of a coming terror that they justify their authoritarianism and megalomania.

What are the parallels to the 1930s? Is it the booming economy?

The only parallels I see are to the various points of moral panic and mass hysteria.

We are entering an era of migration crisis. Donald Trump is the foreguard of Fascism ready to defend nationalism. The jack-boots marching can be heard approaching from a distance.

That’s a good little racket. Keep saying fascism is coming and when it never arrives you can say you helped keep it at bay. Any time now...

Individual rights. Groups are always composed of individuals. Without individual rights there is no greater good.

He’s also a very litigious man. He will, or at least would, sue at the drop of a hat.

Right off the bat an anti-Trump talking point I’ve heard many times, even in this very thread—Had Trump done such and such with his money he’d be a lot wealthier. Of course this sort of counterfactual thinking is unprovable, more a catharsis for those who believe they could do a better job.

“Trickle-down” economics is a Democrat-invented mischaracterization of supply-side economics. Right from the get go we expose ourselves. Of course it’s a straw man.

4 bankruptcies out of nearly 500 businesses. So much for “most of them” being failures.

Neither Trump nor his family have been convicted of refusing to rent to black people. He was sued and it was settled. No, Trump has not been convicted of any crimes. His Trump U was a civil, not a criminal suit.

It’s perfect that with all the bullshit you oppose you serve up a big steamy platter of it yourself.

Tax returns? The man paid $38m in 2005, more in one year than you or I would ever pay in 5 lifetimes.

Most of his businesses? There are nearly 500 business entities currently running under the Trump organization. If most have have failed as you claim, why won’t you prove it?

He’s fucking America? America hasn’t seen an economy like this in over half a century. Jobs, wage growth, record low unemployment, the biggest oil producer in the world—America is winning.

A criminal? Name one criminal offence he has been convicted of. You can’t, because there are none.

Why would you omit these facts?

Because beneath the typical anti-trump propaganda is a story you’d never tell: the truth.

If apple pie was born into extreme wealth, and then proceeded to fail at everything but entertainment, then I would agree with you.

How has trump rebuked the elite power mongers? It's seems like he was one of them all along (or worse, he is their useful idiot).

Our swamp runneth over...

Fail at everything? He’s the most powerful man in the world. If that is failure I’d love to see what you consider success.

He did it by showing they are in fact not elite. There is nothing elite about them save that they can spin a better yarn.

But for you, trump is a knight in shining armor who came to slay the black knight and his dragons.

For me, Trump is the naked emperor, parading through the streets as if wearing feathered robes of highest quality.

Tell me, what do you see when you look at Trump?

I don’t see him like that at all. I just see him as Donald Trump, the same billionaire playboy we’ve known for decades. He’s as American as apple pie.

The time of word-politics is over. The euphemism, the glittering generalities, and the lullabies of our talking presidents may have worked for those placated by such politics, but in the meanwhile the country was being taken advantage of. Those times are over and the course of the American experiment is being pointed in the right direction.

This is a very critical moment. I’m just of the mind that American politics needs eroding. We’re watching the death throes of the politically-correct, public relations, corrupt Ivy-league style of politics as they lose their grip on power.. The elites are exposed. Washington is no longer getting rich at the expense of the rest of the country. Good riddance in my opinion.

I agree. we’re always situated (I think that’s another term they use) in an environment. Simple notions such as “inside” or “up” would be impossible without both the body and the context within which it exists.

Embodied cognition will probably supersede the computational theory of mind in my opinion. If the Moravec paradox can be applied to humans, a great deal more cognitive resources go into simple movements (like the act of taking a step) than any high-level reasoning. It’s why they can get AI to play chess but getting it to open a door is extremely difficult. Embodied cognition when applied to AI has led to interesting results.

Appreciate the reply. I think it's real simple, he should allow them to testify. In fact, now that you mentioned Clinton, Trump himself should testify just like Clinton did... .

Any reason why?

Yo NOS4, Just a real simple obvious question. I know you're a Trumper till death, so maybe you can tell us this:

If Trump is innocent, why won't he allow both the subpoena'd witnesses and documents exonerate himself? It only adds to the other articles in the impeachment, of obstruction of justice.

My guess is because it’s an unjust investigation and a fishing expedition. If he participates it increases the likelihood they’ll get him on process crimes, like Bill Clinton.

I suppose I’ll have to read the arguments. The shore analogy doesn’t quite cut if for me.

But I agree that there is no clear cut boundary between brain and body, or any organ for that matter.

Written by some anti-Trumpers at the WSJ, yes. Poor job.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far. The human skin is a surface given that the human organism does not extend beyond it.

Assuming the professor is Lakoff, take a Read of his book “Philosophy in the Flesh” if you get a chance.

I think an organism has a boundary by virtue of it being finite. The organism begins and ends at its surface.

The story about the troops was, according to trump and the pentagon, fake news.