Lurker > WastelandCowboy

Honestly Im so sick and tired of people making a mountain out of a mole hill with everything that Trump is even remotely associated with that Im going to vote for him in 2020 even though I dont like him.

But Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights in the Department of Education during the Obama administration, says the OCR must be more aggressive in trying to uncover whether schools are handling all cases fairly.

"If the government only investigates [complaints that a student] thinks to bring to the government, the government's not doing its job," she says. "And I worry every day that [schools are getting] effectively a pass on complying with the law. And that will ruin young lives."

But if the Trump administration's approach prompts some schools to ease up on how they handle sexual assault cases, it's also already prompting others schools to double down, according to Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney who has represented hundreds of accused students.

"It's driven very much by personal politics ... as opposed to institutional policy," he says. "There has been a very palpable sense of, 'Hell no! Women have rights, and I'm not turning around and changing how we treat rape victims just because we have Donald Trump as a president.' I've heard it too many times to discount."

Miltenberg says policy corrections are needed, but they must be consistent and measured. Campuses that flout due process protections are as troubling, he says, as schools that are now meting out probation for offenses that used to get expulsions.

Dillon was the lawyer who sued the Obama administration in 2016, arguing its guidance was unlawful because it didn't go through the proper approval process. But he says that case was different because it specifically named a student and a school harmed by the policy. That lawsuit was withdrawn after the Obama-era guidance was revoked by the Trump administration.

Dillon calls DeVos' September 2017 guidance a "good tonal shift, and a good signal to universities that the era of ignoring due process is over." While he says he is disappointed that it hasn't yet sparked more changes in campus policies, he says campuses that are making changes are making things more fair.

For example, he says that DeVos' new rules protect students from being "ambushed" without knowing the charges or evidence against them and that interim measures now tend to be less "draconian." And if not, Dillon says, the new guidance makes it easier to assert accused students' due process rights, as happened when a school kicked one of his clients off campus while an investigation was still pending.

"I went to them and cited the guidance and said, 'You can't do this, you're interfering with his education,' " he recalls. "And in that case, I was able to persuade them to let him back on campus."

For schools, the change has brought some measure of confusion. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach, as DeVos is expected to propose permanent rules this fall. It may take until the end of the school year, or longer, for those rules to be finalized.

In the meantime, campuses continue to face lawsuits from alleged victims and increasingly successful legal challenges from accused students.

"In a lot of ways, it does feel like you're a bit caught in the middle," says Martha Alexander, executive director of the Office Of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity and Title IX coordinator for the University of Kentucky.

The university just changed its policy in June. It keeps the standard of evidence low, but Alexander says, "To make it a more balanced policy to make sure all parties had a fair shot," it builds in more due process protections for accused students. Hearing panels now need to be unanimous when finding a student at fault, and only accused students are now allowed to bring appeals.

"I think that this policy, and these changes, really is a step towards getting to a more fair system," Alexander says.

Many campuses say they welcome what they see as more freedom to set rules as they see fit, with less onerous oversight from the government.

Peter McDonough, vice president and general counsel for the American Council on Education, a group that represents college and university presidents, says many college presidents are no longer operating in constant fear of the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, which oversees enforcement of Title IX, the federal law that bars gender discrimination in education.

Back in the days of the Obama administration, when an individual student complained to the OCR about his or her school, the office would not only investigate that case it would automatically trigger a systemic investigation of the school, checking for anything else that might be amiss, which could take years. Campuses felt investigations would stay open "until something was found," McDonough says, which was viewed as a "gotcha approach."

Under the Trump administration, a student complaint to the government is treated more like an isolated incident. McDonough says schools now see the government as more ally than adversary.

Trump administration lawyers are defending their new rules on how campuses should handle cases of sexual assault. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued the new guidance last fall after scrapping Obama-era rules that she said were forcing schools to violate the due process rights of the accused. Survivors' advocates filed a federal lawsuit shortly after, arguing DeVos' replacement guidelines discriminate against accusers and discourage them from reporting assaults.

"The message that is sent is that the administration believes that women who report sexual harassment and violence are liars," says Jennifer Reisch, legal director of Equal Rights Advocates, one of three groups that brought the lawsuit. She spoke to reporters Thursday after a hearing on the lawsuit at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

DeVos' interim guidelines allow schools to demand a higher standard of evidence that would make it tougher to prove an assault, permit schools to hear appeals only from the accused, and let investigations go on for an indefinite amount of time.

None of that was allowed in the Obama era.

The prior administration also used to require schools to protect alleged victims during investigations; now that is at schools' discretion. And the old norm of making the accused student stay away from the accuser is now considered unfair. Schools are supposed to be evenhanded prompting some to rely on "no-contact" orders that apply to both students. But Reisch argues that putting the onus on alleged victims unfairly punishes them by restricting where they can go and live.

"It is sending a message that you come forward at your peril," she says.

Robin Thurston, a senior counsel for the Democracy Forward Foundation and one of the attorneys bringing the lawsuit against the Trump administration's guidance, says, "Survivors are being chilled from coming forward."

"The guidance harms women," Thurston says. "And we think there's really significant evidence that the decision-makers at the Department of Education were motivated by a view that women and girls in general make false accusations of sexual assault. And the law is very clear that if the government was motivated by a discriminatory mindset, that's unconstitutional."

The lawsuit cites public comments by DeVos that plaintiffs say exaggerate the problem of false accusations. It also points to a comment from the then-acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Candice Jackson, who told The New York Times last summer that she believed "90 percent" of campus sexual assault allegations are really just about drunk sex or morning-after regrets. Jackson later apologized for the "flippant" remark, insisting it poorly characterized her actual beliefs.

The lawsuit also cites comments from President Trump, who has dismissed women who've accused him as "phony accusers" who out for "some free fame."

"This discriminatory and stereotyped view of women and girls has become formal White House policy," the suit argues, and the "administration's animus toward woman gives license to ... Executive branch decision makers who share the same discriminatory views."

Government officials declined to comment on pending litigation, but in court papers, attorneys argue that a "handful of statements" do not prove "sexism" or discriminatory intent. They argue the case should be thrown out on procedural grounds because the plaintiffs haven't sufficiently established that they were harmed by the new guidance and because the guidance is only temporary anyway.

Defense attorney Justin Dillon, who represents students accused of sexual assault but is not involved with the case, calls it "completely frivolous."

WastelandCowboy posted...

Zeus posted...

WastelandCowboy posted...

Not really an ad hominem, when mythology traditionally paints the mythical god Zeus as literally an ancient and bearded man.

#FakeNews

Was going to post some examples, but most of the paintings include half-naked women... or fully-naked women in other cases.

You're joking, right? A simple Google search of "Zeus" results in a page full of pictures of an old, white-haired, and bearded white guy.

Except no, many of the depictions are youthful. Even the white-haired depictions are generally very young, in the same way that anime characters have white or grey hair despite being young. And a generic google search returns results for *modern* interpretations rather than historical depictions.

https://www.artsology.com/images/investigations/zeus-portrayed-in-art-and-sculpture.jpg

And the fact that you somehow associate beards with old age highlights your historical ignorance. Not only are beards associated with manhood throughout historical fiction (which often make a big deal of youths growing their first beard), but people who opted to be clean-shaven in youth would continue that practice throughout their life.

WastelandCowboy posted...

Not really an ad hominem, when mythology traditionally paints the mythical god Zeus as literally an ancient and bearded man.

#FakeNews

Was going to post some examples, but most of the paintings include half-naked women... or fully-naked women in other cases.

WastelandCowboy posted...

I spent some time typing up a response, but nothing sat right with me. Trying to reason with Old Man Zeus is a battle best left alone.

Especially when it's so much easier to call somebody an old man. Why defend the indefensible when you can simply ad hominem?

WastelandCowboy posted...

Mead posted...

apparently they changed leadership in 2016 in an effort to focus more on legitimate journalism again

Which this article is. I dont think Zeus likes it because it paints Trump in a negative light.

Even before Trump ran, Vice was a terrible source for anything.

How come you need to get braces now?

Now we're getting reports that voting machines were installed with remote access programs.

Anyone who doesn't immediately freak the fuck out when they hear about this shit is beyond help.

https://motherboard.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/mb4ezy/top-voting-machine-vendor-admits-it-installed-remote-access-software-on-systems-sold-to-states

Adult braces? Damn, I imagine that's gotta be rough. I feel fortunate that I never needed braces or, for that matter, glasses (although I suppose I someday will need glasses, since pretty much everybody does by the end)

I'm getting invisalign. I just got fitted end of June. I had braces as a teen but haven't worn my retainer since I was 16 so my teeth are shifting. Bleh.

apparently they changed leadership in 2016 in an effort to focus more on legitimate journalism again

WastelandCowboy posted...

Zeus posted...

WastelandCowboy posted...

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/zmkxp9/dnc-server-conspiracy-theory-russian-hack-explained

Vice, so forget about it.

Quick to discount, much?

I hear what you're saying, but it's Vice.

WastelandCowboy posted...

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/zmkxp9/dnc-server-conspiracy-theory-russian-hack-explained

Vice, so forget about it.

Dental plan...

I would have braces but due to a missing tooth I can't. Probably possible if I had a implant but that's too expensive. I have part dentures on my bottom teeth too. Those can be a hassle to clean but not that bad. I truly am British, yay for me!

I still lost my pool even though I had France.

France is the champion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final, besting Croatia by 4 goals to 2.

France entered the tournament as a favorite, powered by stars such as Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, while Croatia was seen as a longshot for victory.

The game opened with Croatia dominating possession of the ball at 15 minutes in, Croatia held the ball for 59 percent of the time. Then, at 18 minutes in, Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic mistakenly scored a goal for France by heading it into his own team's goal.

Shortly after, Croatia's Ivan Perisic delivered a goal, tying up the game. Then, referees awarded France a penalty kick for a handball from Perisic, giving France a valuable opportunity.

It's an opportunity that France's Antoine Griezmann made the most of, scoring a goal and bringing the score up to 2-1 at the half.

France's Paul Pogba scored at the 59 minute mark, quickly followed by another goal from France six minutes later, this time from Mbappe.

Croatia's Mandzukic then scored, bringing the score to 4-2, thanks to an error from France.

The teams met at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday, ending the month-long tournament played across Russia.

Croatia's appearance in the final had a lot to do with their historic streak of endurance, as NPR's sports correspondent Tom Goldman reported.

"It's a day of firsts for Croatia: first time in a World Cup Final, first team to get to the final after winning three straight extra time games." He added that "if France can outlast the Croatians, it will mean a second championship and the first since 1998."

Les Bleus have done just that.

hashtag make wastelandcowboy great again

But duckbear made all those threads telling me it was going to be some church lady, are you saying he lied to me?

"I think you want to go as quickly as possible," Trump said.

Both men are eager to have a new justice in place when the Supreme Court begins its new term in October. And they certainly want Trump's choice confirmed before the November election, when Democrats have a long-shot chance of retaking the Senate majority.

Trump has already begun using the high court vacancy as a rallying cry as he campaigns for Republicans across the country.

"Justice Kennedy's retirement makes the issue of Senate control one of the vital issues of our time," he told an audience in Fargo, N.D., last month. "The most important thing we can do."

Republicans changed the Senate's rules last year to allow them to confirm a Supreme Court justice with a simple majority vote.

The president has also been wooing red-state Democrats as a kind of insurance policy. One night after Kennedy announced his retirement, Trump met with Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp North Dakota. All three voted in favor of Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first Supreme Court nominee. And all three are running for re-election in November in states Trump won.

Trump also met with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who have shown concern in the past about preserving access to abortion rights.

Kennedy had voted to preserve the core principles of the high court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. Although Trump said he would not ask judicial candidates about their views on Roe directly, advocates on both sides of the abortion debate believe that ruling could be vulnerable once Kennedy's successor is seated.

That is one reason many Democrats are demanding an all-out battle to block Trump's nominee. But with only 49 votes in the Senate, Democrats have few tools to work with.

By contrast, Senate Republicans were in the majority in 2016, when McConnell and his GOP colleagues blocked President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, for more than nine months, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

By keeping Scalia's seat open, McConnell gave Trump a head start in putting his own stamp on the high court, and the president acknowledged as much when Gorsuch was sworn in last year.

"I especially want to express our gratitude to Mitch McConnell for all that he did to make this achievement possible," Trump said.

McConnell and Trump were rewarded this year with a string of 5-4 decisions in which Gorsuch cast votes favorable to the president and the GOP.

Senate Republicans' stonewalling strategy extended to lower courts as well.

"Just as they held the Merrick Garland seat open on the Supreme Court, they also held open an awful lot of vacancies on the district courts and the courts of appeal," said Russell Wheeler, who tracks judicial nominations at the Brookings Institution.

As a result, Trump found more than twice as many judicial vacancies waiting for him when he entered the White House as Obama did. And the president moved swiftly to fill those openings with young, conservative judges. So far, Trump has installed more than 20 appeals court judges and more than 16 trial court judges on the federal bench. Dozens of additional nominations are pending a list that will soon include Trump's second nominee for the highest court in the land.

Updated at 9:05 p.m. ET

President Trump plans to nominate Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, Trump's choice would solidify the high court's conservative majority and continue the president's push to shift the federal bench to the right.

Trump announced his choice with a prime-time address from the White House East Room.

Since 2006, Kavanaugh has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often called the nation's second most powerful court. He was appointed to that post by President George W. Bush, after serving as Bush's White House staff secretary.

Kavanaugh graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for Kennedy in the mid-1990s. Kavanaugh later worked with independent counsel Kenneth Starr during the investigation of President Bill Clinton.

At 53, Kavanaugh is relatively young. The president has said he wants a nominee who could serve on the high court for decades. He is a connected Washington insider with roots in politics and has written more than 300 opinions in the 12 years he has been on the D.C. Circuit.

Prior to being tapped by Trump, some conservatives questioned Kavanaugh's bona fides, and he's controversial with Democrats because of his role in the Starr investigation of Clinton.

Some conservatives lobbied against him, worrying that his upbringing in the suburbs of D.C. could mean he'll be the kind of justice who has disappointed conservatives before. They believe Kavanaugh is not sufficiently conservative and disagree with portions of opinions he has written relating to abortion and the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

As promised, Trump made his pick from a list of more than two dozen potential nominees drawn up with the help from conservative legal activists at The Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation.

Trump published a similar list during the 2016 campaign, and it was widely credited with helping him win the votes of social conservatives who otherwise might have been skeptical of a thrice-married billionaire from New York.

"Not being a politician, I think people wanted to hear what some of my choices may be, and it was pretty effective," Trump said of the list, on the day Kennedy's retirement was announced.

With a short list of candidates already in hand, Trump has moved quickly to select his nominee, just 12 days after Kennedy announced his retirement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has promised to push for confirmation with similar speed.

Back it all up again all the same.

No Mans Sky

never heard of the other 2 but can you grow crops in Subnautica? I've only ever watched parts of a couple let's plays of it but never watched too far into the game. just seen the opening part where you are scavenging for basics