The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

[Bob Ness]

2 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

More evidence that the Trump GOP is a fascist party predicated mainly on white identity politics.  Us vs. Them.

They can't very well get elected on the basis of their real agenda-- cutting taxes for billionaires and de-regulating corporate polluters and profiteers.

I think McCarthy agrees with you.

[W. Niederhut]

1 hour ago, Bob Ness said:

I think McCarthy agrees with you.

Yikes! McCarthy agrees with me?  Either he's improving or I'm declining with age... 🤥

[Ron Bulman]

Freedom of speech, freedom of the press to report?  "I don't care".  Intimidation.  Scary.

Police in Minnesota round up journalists covering protest, force them on the ground and take pictures of their faces (msn.com)

[Kirk Gallaway]

Jim Di has never been one for nuance, grey areas or both sides of a story and at least use to  push his narrative like inbox boner pills. How nice it must be to be so certain!

 

Jim said: Those nutty neo Nazis we backed in Ukraine are about to light tinder to a conflagration they will lose in spades.

Yes Jim and Ollie Stone, like Putin  have been warning us about a fascist takeover for about 6 years. But what happened? The Ukranian people  overwhelmingly elected a comedian no less, and overturned over 80% of their parliament. You got to admit, that sounds pretty cool! It would never happen here. But of course it's not the same.

 

It sounds like Jim's   chomping at the bit for a bloody fascist take over in Ukraine  just so he could say that him and Ollie Stone after so many years, actually turned out to be right. Who can say if  that is inevitable, but  6 years without the worst is 6 years without the worst!

 

Jeff is generally more nuanced and is very astute about issues such as climate change and the covid pandemic. My criticism of both of them on this issue is this overwhelming desire  to see as the devil incarnate in everything the U.S. does. Do we have to get sucked into the this super hero and super villain thing?

U.S. economic imperialism is the next logical extension of exploitation following the complete rape of British colonialism, with a caveat that the U.S.  have developed a much wider means of persuasion and coercion at their disposal, so there's a greater variety of abuses. Because after all, who has ruled the world yet who didn't utilize the means at their disposal? But of course, even though the U.S.safety net, though inadequate  is much greater than Russia, somehow even an atrocious dictator with a greatly underachieving failed economy. (sorry to get economic with you guys, but to the vast majority of people, that does matter!) somehow comes out on top purely out of leftist rhetoric alone, with no regard for the working reality.

 

Anybody whose followed Trump at all knows he's continually in debt  making  massive payments and is about to face payments in the hundreds of millions. But when explained the possibility of shady debts to Russian oligarchs, why would that be so hard to believe? And then holding up the Mueller report as some sort of witch hunt that lead to exoneration is just another "oh duh", moment for the Trumpies that Jim and Jeff have joined the  ranks  and count themselves part of, when in reality the report never delved into the true motive. As with every thing else with Trump, his emoluments violations, everything of course gets down to money and finance. And we find out at the end they never even investigated Trump's finances!. But this of course is where Jim and Jeff's  investigative prowess miraculously  falls off a cliff at what I can only assume is a complete lack of financial literacy.

 

I've tried to appeal by using just logic on a very basic level as far as the computer hacking. As far as the extent of the damage that the U.S.could be claiming by Russian hacks, who really knows for sure? Certainly not the U.S. But that doesn't obscure the question, why wouldn't Russia hack us? I'm sure we hack them. It's the best kind of warfare, it's more abstract to every day people than dropping bombs. They can do a lot of damage relatively cheaply, with relative impunity. They'd be a fool not to do it. But somehow Putin's earned some sort of moral bona fides, that he would never stoop so low?

I don't know if you guys are just stuck in a viewpoint that if you give just the slightest credence  to any of these points, your argument starts quickly  eroding away, and soon becomes indefensible, which is actually true, and I at least give you credit for realizing that.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Kirk Gallaway

[Paul Bacon]

8 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

It sounds like Jim's   chomping at the bit for a bloody fascist take over in Ukraine 

I know it's beside the point, but it's a pet peeve of mine.  It drives me nuts!  The phrase is "champing at the bit" not chomping at the bit.  There, I've said it.🙂

[Kirk Gallaway]

I know Paul, I was just trying to keep it somewhat informal. 😀

[Joe Bauer]

Trump has always been enthusiastically willing to take money from anyone, no matter how corrupt.

Gotta deal with organized crime to get his hotels and casino's built?

Hey, no problem.

Trump actually said on a Dave Letterman TV show appearance "let me tell you...some of those people ( organized crime) happen to be very nice people." !!!

If journalist butchering Saudis are willing to help him and Jared out financially ( remember the Saudi threat of blockading Quatar which resulted in a Quatar funded Canadian company's 666 5th Avenue billion dollar boondoggle bailout) then Trump says (regarding the suspected Saudi prince) he told me he didn't do it, that's good enough for me. Nice guy.

Drug cartels and Russian organized crime figures buying up his condos and Florida junk house property and paying 200% of their true market value ( $100 million for the Florida junker ) and then re-selling these often at a loss. Money laundering do you think?   Hey, no problem.

Pardoning illegal foreign money deal perps Manafort and Michael Flynn and charity robbing Sloppy Steve Bannon?  Hey, no problem?

Getting hundreds of millions in loans from the most money laundering corrupt bank in history " Deutsche Bank " despite horrible bankruptcy debt and credit payment record... hey, no problem.

This guy would make a deal with the devil if it made him enough money.

The guy is first and foremost ... a money obsessed crook!

A totally amoral, Roy Cohn inspired/ Hitler speech and "Power Of Positive Thinking" book educated crook.

Smarter than Bernie Madoff though.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Joe Bauer

[Chuck Schwartz]

Joe, good note.  And there was Trump University where fatboy was convicted of defrauding the students and was ordered (by a Judge) to pay back $25M to the students he defrauded . 60 minutes did a piece on Trump University on how he defrauded the students.

[W. Niederhut]

10 hours ago, Paul Bacon said:

I know it's beside the point, but it's a pet peeve of mine.  It drives me nuts!  The phrase is "champing at the bit" not chomping at the bit.  There, I've said it.🙂

That's what I love about this forum.  I learn something new every time I'm here.

Not being an equestrian, I always thought the expression referred to horses biting (i.e., "chomping") on the bit.

In other news, Trump, apparently colluded with the Kremlin in 2016.  Who'd have thunk? 

I recall disagreeing with Jeff Carter a while back about the significance of Paul Manafort's relationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, and the alteration of the 2016 RNC platform regarding Ukraine at the convention in Cleveland.

I think Jeff said something like, "Move along now, chelovek.  Nothing to see here..."  🤥

Edited April 18, 2021 by W. Niederhut

[Jeff Carter]

2 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

I recall disagreeing with Jeff Carter a while back about the significance of Paul Manafort's relationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, and the alteration of the 2016 RNC platform regarding Ukraine at the convention in Cleveland.

I think Jeff said something like, "Move along now, chelovek.  Nothing to see here..."  🤥

Have you actually read the Treasury Department read-out on which this new cycle of “collusion” theorizing is based? I don’t think you have because nowhere outside the imaginations of lazy journalists is any new information developed:

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0126

Even though it remains the official position of US Gov that Kilimnik was a “Russian intelligence Services agent”, his CV still reveals he worked for US intelligence cut-out NED (via International Republican Institute) for an entire decade, and when in Kiev he was a regular briefer for US State Dept and others connected to US Embassy. Funny how that major scandal and security breach is not discussed. Similarly downplayed is that Manafort Associates - as eventually deposed Ukrainian President Yanukovych’s political advisors - were never “pro-Russian” and in fact strongly advised acceptance of EU association which cut sharply across Russian interests.

The Treasury Department document should raise eyebrows as it raises the expression of opinion on current events to a sanctionable and even indictable offence if it cuts across “US narratives”. One entity was sanctioned for expressing opinion that the 2000 US federal election suffered from improprieties - but is that not a commonly understood impression? Efforts to punish or criminalize the expression of opinion, or the formulation of analysis outside official dictat, should be resisted - at least one might think…

[W. Niederhut]

2 hours ago, Jeff Carter said:

Have you actually read the Treasury Department read-out on which this new cycle of “collusion” theorizing is based? I don’t think you have because nowhere outside the imaginations of lazy journalists is any new information developed:

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0126

Even though it remains the official position of US Gov that Kilimnik was a “Russian intelligence Services agent”, his CV still reveals he worked for US intelligence cut-out NED (via International Republican Institute) for an entire decade, and when in Kiev he was a regular briefer for US State Dept and others connected to US Embassy. Funny how that major scandal and security breach is not discussed. Similarly downplayed is that Manafort Associates - as eventually deposed Ukrainian President Yanukovych’s political advisors - were never “pro-Russian” and in fact strongly advised acceptance of EU association which cut sharply across Russian interests.

The Treasury Department document should raise eyebrows as it raises the expression of opinion on current events to a sanctionable and even indictable offence if it cuts across “US narratives”. One entity was sanctioned for expressing opinion that the 2000 US federal election suffered from improprieties - but is that not a commonly understood impression? Efforts to punish or criminalize the expression of opinion, or the formulation of analysis outside official dictat, should be resisted - at least one might think…

       So, Jeff, are you saying that the U.S. government had already officially accused Konstantin Kilimnik of "providing Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy" in 2016, which Kilimnik had obtained from Trump campaign officials? *

       I must have missed that news item. 

       Nice of you to now acknowledge that there is nothing new here-- quite a switch from your previous position.

      The last time that you and I discussed this subject, I opined that the Trump campaign had, apparently, "colluded" with the Russian government through Manafort's contacts with Kilimnik.  If I recall correctly, you said at the time that Kilimnik was not really working for the GRU (a fact which was only formally acknowledged by the U.S. government in the long-delayed U.S. Senate Intel report last year.)

        As for your claim that Manafort's work for Yanukovych was not "pro Russian," I'm shaking my head.  🤥

*   https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0126 

TREASURY TARGETS KNOWN RUSSIAN AGENT KONSTANTIN KILIMNIK

Konstantin Kilimnik (Kilimnik) is a Russian and Ukrainian political consultant and known Russian Intelligence Services agent implementing influence operations on their behalf. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, Kilimnik provided the Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy. Additionally, Kilimnik sought to promote the narrative that Ukraine, not Russia, had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. 

 

Edited April 19, 2021 by W. Niederhut

[Paul Bacon]

21 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

I know Paul, I was just trying to keep it somewhat informal. 😀

Hey Kirk-

If you're serious:  perfect!  If you're being tongue in cheek: very funny.

[Paul Bacon]

12 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

Not being an equestrian, I always thought the expression referred to horses biting (i.e., "chomping") on the bit.

Spread the word William 😁

[Joe Bauer]

12 hours ago, Chuck Schwartz said:

Joe, good note.  And there was Trump University where fatboy was convicted of defrauding the students and was ordered (by a Judge) to pay back $25M to the students he defrauded . 60 minutes did a piece on Trump University on how he defrauded the students.

And his taxes? 

The TV show "American Greed" could do a half dozen episodes on Trump and his family's corrupt practices and doings and still not cover them all.

[Steve Thomas]

Need to rent a car in Florida? US shortage of vehicles means you could pay up to $500 a day

Orlando Sentinel 2021/4/19

https://this.kiji.is/756804677656363008?c=592622757532812385

 

“Battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, rental car companies are facing a national car shortage, causing availability for travelers to plummet and daily rental rates to spike to as high as nearly $500 a day in Tampa.

“I think madhouse is probably a good way to describe it,” said Jonathan Weinberg, CEO of AutoSlash.com, a website that aggregates discounts for car rentals. “We are benefiting in some ways from the madness. The problem is that in many cases we just can’t find cars for people.”

As the pandemic got underway in March of last year, car rentals plummeted by 90%, according to Weinberg. Over the year, rentals gradually returned, but not before rental companies made the decision to sell off thousands of vehicles in order to stay afloat.”

This. Is. Insane.

Steve Thomas