Random Politics & Religion #00

Texas bill to hinder gay marriage dies in statehouse


So, yay Texas?

Ya America's infrastructure sucks in more than one department unfortunately. Have you ever been on Italies train system? Fastest way between cities. It's harder here though, the US has a ton of land and isn't densely populated nearly as much so it's hard to justify the costs of a huge public transportation system going over mostly corn fields etc.

It remains to be seen if his sexual orientation is relevant to the story.

You're declaration that it doesn't is nothing more than a reflection of your ideology, not reality.

So, yay Texas?

amid stalling tactics by the Democratic minority.

Never once took a train in the US. The public transportation systems here suck worse than Lewinsky at Bill's lodge.

Until they actually implement a working system (aka Japanese public transportation system), I don't think I will ever use PTS here.

Never been to Italy before in my life, but I have traveled around Europe in their train system before. It isn't bad, and it's cheaper than flying.

But yeah, because flying is so much faster and doesn't cost that much more, why would anyone use the train anyway? Unless it's to move a lot of items around that is, and even then, 18 wheeler are better for that too.

Well, it's a start.


It didn't necessarily "fail", it was just cockblocked, ne?

But still.

I just don't see who the *** cares at this point or why. Get your nose out of other people's personal lives.

So, you are doubling down on the "He crashed a train because he was gay" concept?

America is *** huuuuuuuuuuuuuge people.

Trains are fun.

Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House on Friday passed a $612 billion defense bill in a 269-151 vote.

All but eight Republicans voted in favor, along with 41 Democrats who went against Obama's veto threat and their party leaders, who whipped against it.

Obama has threatened to veto the bill over its circumvention of spending caps.

The bill keeps ceilings on defense spending in place under the 2011 budget deal that introduced sequestration spending limits, but would increase funding to the Pentagon's war fund.
The legislation authorizes roughly $523 billion in base Defense Department spending. Another $90 billion is included in the war fund, formally known as the Overseas Contingency Operations fund.

It includes $38 billion more for the war fund than had been requested by the White House. The extra spending is not offset by spending cuts or tax hikes.

The White House also opposes language in the bill meant to prevent the closing of Guantanamo Bay.

Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, warned the budget problems present in the defense bill could lead to a government shutdown.

“All I am saying is we should start now instead of risking another government shutdown, risking another continuing resolution, and get a true budget agreement that actually addresses the Budget Control Act in its entirety, doesn't just find a sort of awkward workaround through the overseas contingency operations just to take care of defense,” Smith said.

He voted against the annual defense bill for the first time in his career.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) blasted Democrats for opposing the measure.

"They did so without listing a single serious policy concern, letting politics come before national security," he said. "With all the threats our troops face and the sacrifices they make, Democrats’ opposition to this defense bill is in fact indefensible.”

The Senate is working on its own version of the Defense bill. It is unclear when the upper chamber will take up the $612 billion Senate bill, which is largely similar to the House legislation.
Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said the defense bill shouldn't be held up due to a budgetary dispute.

“It is a very hard argument to make that we are going to oppose the bill that takes care of our men and women in the military because we want to try to pressure Congress and the president to reach an agreement on spending on other stuff,” Thornberry said.

The massive policy blueprint also encountered opposition from conservative Republicans over a provision that could have paved the way for children of illegal immigrants to one day serve in the armed forces.

The contested language would have established a "sense of" Congress appealing to the Pentagon to review allowing young illegal immigrants possessing work permits through the president’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to serve in the military.

But immigration hard-liners had threatened to vote against and scuttle the bill over what they described as a slippery slope toward letting illegal immigrants enlist.

The chamber approved an amendment by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) to eliminate the "sense of" Congress language in a 221-202 vote.

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 maintains the current ban against transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S. It also prohibits building facilities to house detainees held at Guantanamo on American soil.

Members rejected an amendment filed by Smith that would have provided a framework for closing the prison by the end of 2017 in a 174-249 vote. Thirteen Democrats joined with all but five Republicans to oppose the amendment.

The House did adopt a provision by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) that would stop the re-listing of the lesser prairie chicken on the endangered species list until 2021, unless the Interior Department determines that a conservation plan is not working. It passed 229-190.

Lawmakers also adopted a provision by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) to stop funding for the implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and Russia because of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Lamborn’s amendment passed 235-182.

I love it when it takes 10 hours to go someplace I can drive to in 6.

You're just not understanding my point. You're either willfully ignorant, or just plain old stupid.

You're just not understanding my point. You're either willfully ignorant, or just plain old stupid.

At least at the last time I checked train prices in the US, it was roughly 2x the price as flying, for some absurd multiple of the duration.

Trains are fun to me.

Better?

You don't buy a motorcycle to get somewhere; you buy a motorcycle to ride a motorcycle.

Same goes for trains.

They're just fun sometimes.

Also, nostalgic to some of us.

Get ready for another government shutdown championed by your local Tea Party representatives liberal faction of the government, but blamed on the Tea Party anyway.

What point? That a journalist should include irrelevant information in an article because... reasons?

My home town was littered with active train tracks. Sure there's some nostalgia for trains, but mostly it's this feeling of dread that I'm about to be 30+ minutes late to something because one of them decided to park on the tracks at the worst time of the day.

Unclear as to why the Tea Party wants to increase spending.

Sorry Sparthosx I can only bang my head against the wall in vain for three people per topic per day. You need to seek out either Pleebo, Milamber or Ramyrez for this topic. I think I might have an opening in the MGTOW topic though.

You should try edging out Ramyrez, he's a pretty big fanboy.

Ceiling cap on the defense department is still there, they just want to put $90B in the war fund.

Ceiling cap on the defense department is still there, they just want to put $90B in the war fund.

Ceiling cap on the defense department is still there, they just want to put $90B in the war fund.

It includes $38 billion more for the war fund than had been requested by the White House. The extra spending is not offset by spending cuts or tax hikes.

The White House also opposes language in the bill meant to prevent the closing of Guantanamo Bay.