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The level of brazen corruption this administration has been getting away with is absolutely staggering. At least when Nixon did it people had the decency to be

by _bxg1 7y ago

The level of brazen corruption this administration has been getting away with is absolutely staggering. At least when Nixon did it people had the decency to be upset. There's not even a pretense of integrity any more; this is the new normal. Our democracy is crumbling.

ryanobjc 7y ago
"Please dont talk about politics on hackernews" Channeling the site operators a bit for you. Remember that politics is things like "who should win or lose in society?" and "who is even human and deserves civil rights, or the right to vote?" Honestly it always seemed obvious to me that any hacker would see that "civil rights should belong to everyone" and "we should all strive to everyone can win" as not only tautologies but basic moral prerogatives. But I am so so sad to learn here on HN that may not be so. Either that or there is a ton of non-hackers here.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  This is even more basic than that, though. This is about the proper-functioning of a system. I think we can all agree that our democratic system is important and that individuals who undermine it for their own gain are doing something morally wrong. That's not a partisan issue (though somehow, in our current Congress, it has managed to become one).
  - pjc50 7y ago
    > I think we can all agree that our democratic system is important and that individuals who undermine it for their own gain are doing something morally wrong. That's not a partisan issue (though somehow, in our current Congress, it has managed to become one). Absolutely not - current events have shown quite clearly how many people want the system to be rigged, corrupt and brutal provided it does so in their favour. Or even just to promote their own side in the culture war. Breaking the law "to own the libs". Trump enjoys lockstep support in everything he does. The senate republicans support the lawbreaking, and their voters support them.
davidw 7y ago
It feels gut wrenching; like some kind of bad dream to watch it happen before my eyes. Like... is this really happening?
tmaly 7y ago
I see it as a signal to noise ratio. Back during Nixon times, the traditional media had a captive audience. There are many more forms of media today spread out among many narrow niches. People get lost in their own worlds
- rstuart4133 7y ago
  > Back during Nixon times, the traditional media had a captive audience. Possibly more to the point, Nixon attacked the traditional media and they were our sole source of news. So when he pissed them off he had no way of getting an alternative view point out there. Trump has also pissed off the media of course, but now they no longer have a monopoly over what the the public gets to hear. He famously bypassed them with his tweats to get his own narrative out there. That was enough to get him through the impeachment, because he it's allowed him to keep most of his base. Had he lost his base like Nixon did the republicans would have turned on him to put as much distance between him and their next election as possible, just as they did with Nixon. But I suspect it may not be enough to get him past 2020. He has pissed off a lot of people. Pissed them off enough to make them want to vote. Using advertising targeted via the email leaks was enough get his voters to the ballot box while at the same time the other side of politics was asleep at the wheel, secure in the knowledge they would win, so they didn't bother putting a matching effort in. That ain't going to happen this time around. Trump has done all the hard work required to get the democrat voters to the ballot box.
belorn 7y ago
Spanning three different democratic nations, in every single step involving the case of assange there has been brazen corruption, praxis violations, legal violations, and through most of it the information has been leaked to the public with minimum consequences to those responsible. I am starting to come to the conclusion that the anomaly is the Nixon case. It is one of the rare cases where those responsible did get some punishment.
crunchatized 7y ago
Maybe, but this doesn't appear to be an actual example of brazen Trump corruption. The journalist's summary of the lawyer's summary of the ex-congressman's statement appears to be inaccurate to the point of being fake news. https://www.rohrabacher.com/news/my-meeting-with-julian-assange https://www.rohrabacher.com/news/my-meeting-with-julian-assa... At no time did I talk to President Trump about Julian Assange. Likewise, I was not directed by Trump or anyone else connected with him to meet with Julian Assange. I was on my own fact finding mission at personal expense to find out information I thought was important to our country. I was shocked to find out that no other member of Congress had taken the time in their official or unofficial capacity to interview Julian Assange. At no time did I offer Julian Assange anything from the President because I had not spoken with the President about this issue at all.

by _bxg1 7y ago

ryanobjc 7y ago

"Please dont talk about politics on hackernews" Channeling the site operators a bit for you. Remember that politics is things like "who should win or lose in society?" and "who is even human and deserves civil rights, or the right to vote?" Honestly it always seemed obvious to me that any hacker would see that "civil rights should belong to everyone" and "we should all strive to everyone can win" as not only tautologies but basic moral prerogatives. But I am so so sad to learn here on HN that may not be so. Either that or there is a ton of non-hackers here.

_bxg1 7y ago
This is even more basic than that, though. This is about the proper-functioning of a system. I think we can all agree that our democratic system is important and that individuals who undermine it for their own gain are doing something morally wrong. That's not a partisan issue (though somehow, in our current Congress, it has managed to become one).
- pjc50 7y ago
  > I think we can all agree that our democratic system is important and that individuals who undermine it for their own gain are doing something morally wrong. That's not a partisan issue (though somehow, in our current Congress, it has managed to become one). Absolutely not - current events have shown quite clearly how many people want the system to be rigged, corrupt and brutal provided it does so in their favour. Or even just to promote their own side in the culture war. Breaking the law "to own the libs". Trump enjoys lockstep support in everything he does. The senate republicans support the lawbreaking, and their voters support them.

davidw 7y ago

It feels gut wrenching; like some kind of bad dream to watch it happen before my eyes. Like... is this really happening?

tmaly 7y ago

I see it as a signal to noise ratio. Back during Nixon times, the traditional media had a captive audience. There are many more forms of media today spread out among many narrow niches. People get lost in their own worlds

rstuart4133 7y ago
> Back during Nixon times, the traditional media had a captive audience. Possibly more to the point, Nixon attacked the traditional media and they were our sole source of news. So when he pissed them off he had no way of getting an alternative view point out there. Trump has also pissed off the media of course, but now they no longer have a monopoly over what the the public gets to hear. He famously bypassed them with his tweats to get his own narrative out there. That was enough to get him through the impeachment, because he it's allowed him to keep most of his base. Had he lost his base like Nixon did the republicans would have turned on him to put as much distance between him and their next election as possible, just as they did with Nixon. But I suspect it may not be enough to get him past 2020. He has pissed off a lot of people. Pissed them off enough to make them want to vote. Using advertising targeted via the email leaks was enough get his voters to the ballot box while at the same time the other side of politics was asleep at the wheel, secure in the knowledge they would win, so they didn't bother putting a matching effort in. That ain't going to happen this time around. Trump has done all the hard work required to get the democrat voters to the ballot box.

belorn 7y ago

Spanning three different democratic nations, in every single step involving the case of assange there has been brazen corruption, praxis violations, legal violations, and through most of it the information has been leaked to the public with minimum consequences to those responsible. I am starting to come to the conclusion that the anomaly is the Nixon case. It is one of the rare cases where those responsible did get some punishment.

crunchatized 7y ago

Maybe, but this doesn't appear to be an actual example of brazen Trump corruption. The journalist's summary of the lawyer's summary of the ex-congressman's statement appears to be inaccurate to the point of being fake news. https://www.rohrabacher.com/news/my-meeting-with-julian-assange https://www.rohrabacher.com/news/my-meeting-with-julian-assa... At no time did I talk to President Trump about Julian Assange. Likewise, I was not directed by Trump or anyone else connected with him to meet with Julian Assange. I was on my own fact finding mission at personal expense to find out information I thought was important to our country. I was shocked to find out that no other member of Congress had taken the time in their official or unofficial capacity to interview Julian Assange. At no time did I offer Julian Assange anything from the President because I had not spoken with the President about this issue at all.