TYT: The Emails Mike Pence Doesn't Want You To See

Top contender for defense secretary faces legislative hurdle

Source: CNN

By David Wright, CNN
Updated 4:58 PM ET, Mon November 21, 2016

(CNN) Ret. Marine Corps Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis has emerged as a favorite for the position of Defense Secretary in the new Trump administration. However, a decades-old legal statute barring service members from quickly entering civilian positions prevents him from being eligible for the job -- unless he gets a waiver from Congress.

Section 903(a) of the National Defense Authorization act requires a seven-year wait period between active duty and serving as Secretary of Defense -- a civilian role -- for former service members. Mattis would need a special waiver from Congress, since he retired from the military in 2013.

An aide to the House Armed Services Committee told CNN that they are conducting a review to examine how a waiver might be granted. The aide said no one from the President-elect's transition team had reached out to the committee, but committee staffers have started reviewing what would be required.

Mattis wouldn't be the first defense secretary to require a congressional waiver. President Harry Truman appointed Gen. George Marshall to the position in 1950, nearly five years after he retired from the Army. Congress granted the waiver (at the time, the interval between active duty and defense secretary service was 10 years).

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/21/politics/james-mattis-defense-secretary-waiver/index.html

Baker hopes Brown gets 'serious consideration' for Veterans Affairs

Source: Politico

By Lauren Dezenski
11/21/16 04:21 PM EST

BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker hopes President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team will give "serious consideration" to former senator Scott Brown to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“He certainly has the skill set and the experience to be a worthy candidate for a job like that and I hope that they give him serious consideration,” Baker told POLITICO Massachusetts on Monday following a weekly meeting and press conference with legislative leaders. Brown confirmed on Monday that Trump is considering him for the position.

Baker cited Brown’s “over 20 years of military experience as a citizen soldier” as well as Brown’s legislative experience in Massachusetts.

Brown retired from the National Guard after 35 years of service, including training in Afghanistan, in 2014 while running against New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Prior to that, Brown was a state representative from 1998 to 2004 before being elected to the state Senate from 2004 to 2010. Brown then served in the US Senate from 2010 to 2013.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/states/massachusetts/story/2016/11/baker-backs-brown-as-va-head-107529

Russia to deploy S-400 and Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, in response to US shield - Reuters

Source: Breaking News

Russia will deploy its S-400 air missile defense system and ballistic Iskander missile in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing the head of the defense committee in the Russian upper house of parliament.

Russia sees the deployment of its missiles near the western border as a response to Washington setting up a U.S. missile shield in Europe, Viktor Ozerov was quoted as saying. (short article)

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-missiles-kaliningrad-idUSKBN13G0W9?il=0

Muslim NYPD chaplain: saluted in uniform, harassed as a civilian

I'm Still Blaming Comey

Sorry. Call me obsessive, a dog with a bone, whatever you want, but that fucking asshole betrayed (and quite possibly destroyed) us!

Waiting for Trump to "Pivot"?

You'd do better with Godot!

Rewriting the Biblical 'Curse' on Womankind

In the biblical book of Genesis, God expels the first two human beings from the Garden of Eden after Eve entices Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. God “curses” Eve for her misdeed, using ominous words that seem to doom her to live subordinately to Adam. In the phrasing of the historic King James Version familiar to many Protestant readers, God says, “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

This phrase was recently altered in the English Standard Version translation of the Bible—which is produced by a committee of prominent theologians and typically used by evangelicals—so that the intent of the “curse” seems different. Whereas the first half of that sentence formerly read “Your desire shall be for your husband,” it now reads, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband.” It appears to suggest that women naturally oppose their husbands’ desires, and thus are responsible for marital conflict. While many major Bible translations are regularly updated, this alteration isn’t as inconsequential as it may seem: Translations like this have the potential to invisibly shape evangelicals’ thinking about women’s role in marriage.

The text as other major translations have it—and as the ESV originally did—acknowledges female desire, a relatively progressive move given the ancient context. But the new translation erases the allusion to Eve’s natural want for physical and emotional intimacy and replaces it with anticipation of marital strife. This matters because for most evangelical readers, the Bible translation they use represents divinely inspired scripture. Because the “curse” supposedly applies to all women, the new translation may lead readers to believe the Bible says God cursed women with the desire to resist their husbands’ wishes.

This change, which has been controversial in some evangelical circles, is especially troubling because it could influence the faithful without their knowledge. Bible translation is inevitably shaped by theology: For instance, some conservative Christians resist gender-neutral translations, preferring, for example, that their Bible text refer to “man” instead of “humanity.” But whereas a Bible translation’s use of gendered language is clearly visible to the reader, other changes that reflect translators’ theology, like this one, are rendered more subtly.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/bible-evangelicals-womanhood-marriage/508076/

Like the "evangelicals" (who voted for Trump) need a reason to continue their oppression of women!

The Bubble - SNL

Mitt Romney Is Under Active Consideration to Be Secretary of State

Source: Wall Street Journal

By Jeffrey Sparshott and
Damian Paletta
Updated Nov. 20, 2016 11:43 a.m. ET

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is under active consideration to be secretary of state in the Trump administration, Vice President-Elect Mike Pence said Sunday, a day after Mr. Romney met with President-elect Donald Trump.

They had a good meeting, it was a warm and a substantive exchange and I know he is under active consideration to be the secretary of state of the United States along with some other very distinguished Americans, Mr. Pence said on Fox News Sunday.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Romney, adversaries through the campaign, met Saturday in an effort to reconcile.

Mr. Romney, the Republican Partys presidential nominee in 2012, was a vocal critic of Mr. Trump during this years campaign, calling him a con man and a fraud.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/mitt-romney-is-under-active-consideration-to-be-secretary-of-state-1479654129