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US Politics: Testing, Testing, T... Te.. Testing


Tywin Manderly

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That the man who posed as a no-nonsense businessman, through his stupidity and pathological narcissism, has dealt such a swift and stunning blow to the American capitalist system itself is a fitting irony. But it is one that Wilson himself warned us about. “Business-like the administration of government may and should be—but it is not business,” the scholar-president wrote. “It is organic social life

https://katz.substack.com/p/none-of-his-business

And ya, they all need to be indicted and imprisoned for at the very least attempted homicide.  I'm one of those they've tried to kill, and may damned well do so.  Not to mention my friends and colleagues and maybe even my family, who as much as I rail against them for being partially responsible for this, I cannot be happy about, especially with a new niece born last month.

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how about we shoot for the stars and land firmly on the floor by voting them out and letting them retire into comfortable and relatively harmless private life?  justice might be had through merciless assessments later from the history writers.

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5 minutes ago, sologdin said:

how about we shoot for the stars and land firmly on the floor by voting them out and letting them retire into comfortable and relatively harmless private life?  justice might be had through merciless assessments later from the history writers.

But this statement doesn't provide that surge of internet righteousness that I'm seeking!!!

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3 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Tulsi Gabbard has dropped out and endorsed Biden.

I'm surprised she endorsed Biden.  Given she's not running again, figured her next career move was to become one of the "Democrats" on FNC, or perhaps a contributor at some other right-wing outlet.  Endorsing Biden does not help that.

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29 minutes ago, DMC said:

I'm surprised she endorsed Biden.  Given she's not running again, figured her next career move was to become one of the "Democrats" on FNC, or perhaps a contributor at some other right-wing outlet.  Endorsing Biden does not help that.

I’m just assuming that she’s going to try to hit up Biden for a new job first before being the pet “Democrat” on Fox.

If nothing else it pads her resume if she gets in.

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Okay, I know that we're in the middle of a global pandemic, and everyone is under stress and may not be thinking clearly, but I was watching MSNBC and Jared Polis, Democratic governor of Colorado was on, and he made an overtly political attack on Trump that I found both jarring and troubling in tone.

Apparently Trump, or someone, had mentioned the government taking an equity stake in any companies that receive possible future bailout money. Polis mentioned this, and attacked Trump from the right by saying something like "we don't want to impose measures like the socialist Trump is proposing, in order to protect capitalism in the US". That wasn't the exact quote, but it captures the exact spirit of the quote.

Like I said, I know it's a crisis and I'm doing my best to make allowances. But the Democratic party must not push leftist supporters to Trump by telling them that he's the one they should vote for if they want socialism. That is a disturbing message to send.

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Senate Republicans introduce trillion-dollar coronavirus package
The move helps pave the way for Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer to begin negotiations.

https://www.politico.com/

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House Democrats are drafting their own stimulus package with extensive financial protections — including direct monthly payments of as much as $2,000 for adults; grants and debt relief for small businesses; and measures to halt evictions and foreclosures.

Democrats would also enforce strict rules on businesses that receive federal cash, such as maintaining payroll, upholding collective bargaining rights and no stock buybacks.

Pelosi and committee leaders laid out the details of the plan — which is still taking shape — on a more than two hour conference call on Thursday.

Separately from the economic relief measures, House Democrats are also pushing for between $120 billion and $150 billion in cash for federal agencies. Much of that would trickle down to state and local authorities, which have been struggling to meet public health and economic demands amid the outbreak.

 

 

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Just saw an article that Sen. Richard Burr dumped between half a million to $1.5 million worth of shares on Feb. 13, just days after he did a Fox News op-ed that the US was in better shape to fight an epidemic than ever before. 
 

Apparently, as head of the Intel Committee, he received a briefing from the military that the coronavirus was much worse than was being reported. On Feb. 27 he had a luncheon meeting with constituents, telling them it was going to be bad, perhaps as bad as the 1918 Spanish flu.

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At the top of their list is progressives’ benchmark on the issue of direct cash payments to Americans to help them cope with the economic slowdown—one that has broad buy-in from Democrats and Republicans but disagreement on key details. 

The progressives are calling for guaranteeing monthly cash payments of up to $2,000 for each adult in the U.S., and up to $1,000 more for families with children, for the next six months—with needier families able to extend for another six months. That proposal is far more generous and expansive than the $1,200 individual tax rebate—and $2,400 family rebate—that Senate Republicans proposed on Thursday for households making less than $150,000.

 

Progressives Call on Pelosi to Negotiate Bigger Cash Payments for Americans

https://www.thedailybeast.com/progressives-call-on-nancy-pelosi-to-negotiate-bigger-cash-payments-for-americans?ref=home

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4 hours ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

But this statement doesn't provide that surge of internet righteousness that I'm seeking!!!

I guess you'll just have to accept a bubble bath in the blood of babes to complete your day.

Jokes aside, what are you seeing at your clinic considering it's in a high volume zone?

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1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

Just saw an article that Sen. Richard Burr dumped between half a million to $1.5 million worth of shares on Feb. 13, just days after he did a Fox News op-ed that the US was in better shape to fight an epidemic than ever before. 
 

Apparently, as head of the Intel Committee, he received a briefing from the military that the coronavirus was much worse than was being reported. On Feb. 27 he had a luncheon meeting with constituents, telling them it was going to be bad, perhaps as bad as the 1918 Spanish flu.

Yep, it's making the rounds and will be a top story. Too bad he's not up for reelection. This would be a death nail for him.

What a fucking evil bastard.

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2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Too bad he's not up for reelection. This would be a death nail for him.

Just hit the top of the list for pickups in 2022 though.  Also, death knell.

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3 hours ago, The Great Unwashed said:

Okay, I know that we're in the middle of a global pandemic, and everyone is under stress and may not be thinking clearly, but I was watching MSNBC and Jared Polis, Democratic governor of Colorado was on, and he made an overtly political attack on Trump that I found both jarring and troubling in tone.

Apparently Trump, or someone, had mentioned the government taking an equity stake in any companies that receive possible future bailout money. Polis mentioned this, and attacked Trump from the right by saying something like "we don't want to impose measures like the socialist Trump is proposing, in order to protect capitalism in the US". That wasn't the exact quote, but it captures the exact spirit of the quote.

Like I said, I know it's a crisis and I'm doing my best to make allowances. But the Democratic party must not push leftist supporters to Trump by telling them that he's the one they should vote for if they want socialism. That is a disturbing message to send.

Yeah, we're full of the neo-liberals and classic conservatives over here. Just because he's gay doesn't mean he is a Democrat. And honestly, we (just regular people) are always getting talked down to about being so polarized, but it's our politicians. No matter what someone on the Right does, the Left will present itself as opposition to that.

It's a mess.

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Republicans Found a Way to Mail Checks and Still Screw People Over

https://slate.com/business/2020/03/the-republican-plan-to-mail-checks-to-everyone-still-found-a-way-to-screw-the-poor.html

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Senate Republicans have now released their hotly anticipated proposal to send families direct cash payments, as part of a wider economic aid package aimed at combating the coronavirus crisis. And hoo boy is it disappointing.

Under the plan, the government would provide households an early tax rebate worth up to $1,200 for an individual or $2,400 for a married couple, with an extra $500 for each of their children. (So far, so good). The payments will be based on a household’s 2018 tax return, or if it didn’t submit one, their 2019 filing.

But the checks will shrink for both low- and high-earners. Americans with little-to-no tax liability—aka, poor folks—will only receive a minimum payment of $600, unless they earned less than $2,500, in which case they get zilch. My early reading of the bill is that low-wage workers who simply don’t file federal tax returns—adults generally aren’t required if they earn less than the standard deduction—also won’t qualify. (Seth Hanlon, a tax and budget expert at the Center for American Progress, agreed.) Meanwhile, the payments phase down for workers who make more than $75,000, and drop to zero for those making $99,000 and above (double those numbers for joint filers).

 

 

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2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Just saw an article that Sen. Richard Burr dumped between half a million to $1.5 million worth of shares on Feb. 13, just days after he did a Fox News op-ed that the US was in better shape to fight an epidemic than ever before. 
 

Apparently, as head of the Intel Committee, he received a briefing from the military that the coronavirus was much worse than was being reported. On Feb. 27 he had a luncheon meeting with constituents, telling them it was going to be bad, perhaps as bad as the 1918 Spanish flu.

Not just Burr. Initial digging into reported trades now show Burr, Loeffler, Inhofe, and Johnson all dumping stock in the days after that initial briefing.

Also, I saw that Tucker Carlson turned hard against Burr (who was the only name out there when Carlson recorded), saying that if Burr can't provide an honest justification he needs to resign and face prosecution. Tucker Carlson isn't always in lockstep with all of Fox News (e.g. sounding the alarm on Covid-19 when Hannity and others were still calling it a hoax), but if Fox News won't defend Burr or the others (assuming its not the entire GOP conference and is just a few bad apples that can be purged) they may be toast.

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18 minutes ago, Fez said:

if Fox News won't defend Burr or the others (assuming its not the entire GOP conference and is just a few bad apples that can be purged) they may be toast.

I'm skeptical they'd be willing to sacrifice four Senators, Johnson's seat especially would be quite poachable and Burr's should be competitive too.

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10 hours ago, Simon Steele said:

..........

Anyway, I was thinking about the view that Republicans are further left on this than Dems, and I started thinking about a couple of things. Bernie gave Biden a cheat sheet, essentially, of what he wanted Biden to answer in the last debate. Biden seemed stubborn and unwilling to address those concerns, and I truly think this was Bernie knowing the writing was on the wall for him, and he also knows his endorsement of Biden means nothing to a chunk of his supporters--it's about the movement, not Bernie. Bernie campaigned for Clinton more than she did for Obama, he worked hard for her, but that didn't matter to a significant percentage of his supporters. I believe Bernie is trying to avoid this being the case again. So Biden's stubbornness on this seems self-defeating.

Secondly, Trump and his crew know they are in trouble, so I think this is why we're seeing money go directly into the pockets of Americans. I would not be surprised if Trump's next move is to publicly adopt some of Sanders' suggestions for the outbreak, and pay Bernie some name recognition in doing so. This would be an attempt to sway those angry voters, and honestly, Republicans have shown that whatever Trump does is fine. They'll find a way to rationalize why this isn't socialism and Trump potentially gains a chunk of voters that could push him to another electoral victory.

I find that all reasonably believable, unfortunately.  That said, Biden is moving with respect of bankruptcy to closer to Warren, so there may be areas he's willing to move to with Bernie in exchange for Bernie dropping out and endorsing.  I really hope the two of them are working something out, which can make Bernie's supporters happy, but keep the middle happy, and lead to a big win.

I do honestly believe if Dems win big, that the more progressive elements in congress can push a more liberal agenda.  But I really believe Dems need a big win to get through anything.  Even just getting to 50 Senate seats and the presidency would allow some good things to be done via reconciliation.  

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3 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Just saw an article that Sen. Richard Burr dumped between half a million to $1.5 million worth of shares on Feb. 13, just days after he did a Fox News op-ed that the US was in better shape to fight an epidemic than ever before. 
 

Apparently, as head of the Intel Committee, he received a briefing from the military that the coronavirus was much worse than was being reported. On Feb. 27 he had a luncheon meeting with constituents, telling them it was going to be bad, perhaps as bad as the 1918 Spanish flu.

Not just Burr.  Also Loefffler.  Is she up for election?

https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-dumped-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-briefing

That said, between two Republican senators doing this (and maybe more), it becomes a general attack ad against the Repubs quite nicely.  

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