American Politics

[JustTK]

In particular I've enjoyed some of JustTK's out-of-the-box contributions. And the rest of you have brought up some good points from time to time. And broadened my thinking. A little bit.

Take care Tiny. Nice to read your thoughst too. You won't miss much. This section is dead unless they can bash Chump for smthg.

[Elvis 2008]

The "Two Santa Clause" theory clearly has the Repubs, spending like drunken sailors to enrich themselves and their billionaire cronies and the other party (the Dems) clearly spending money to benefit and stimulate a stagnant and recessive economy, typically decimated and left-for-dead by Repubs, with their ill-fated trickle-down economics.

Dems good, Republicans bad huh? Where we do send you your copy of 1984? How much of the federal budget is not earmarked for nonpartisan entitlements? 10%? 20%? Yeesh.

And yet numbskull Rebubs were all over Biden for the price of gasoline. (...kkkk!)

Oh yeah, how about some facts to go along with this? Tapping the SPR? Letting Venezuela produce more oil? Begging the Saudis to produce more after condemning them as monsters? Pissing off American oil companies by saying you are going to put them out of business?

I actually looked into the STEO at the EIA website after you posted this. The most amazing part was seeing Russia. The war was the catalyst for higher prices, and despite all the USA and European blubbering about boycotting Russian crude, their production is not down by one iota. China is just now getting out of Covid lockdown, and they are the #2 consumer of oil. On top of that, prices on diesel are still sky high. Yeah, prices are down on gasoline and except for draining the SPR, what does Biden have to do with that?

Apparently, American oil producers are gearing up to produce like nuts in 2023 which is great news. I am not sure if it is the Republicans controlling the house or Biden privately telling them to go ahead. Yeah, for all your bullshit talk about Republicans kissing corporate America's ass, the oil companies have been killing it under Biden.

I like Obama's policies where oil companies produced like crazy got oil and gasoline prices down and made less money than they are now. With Biden, oil production has barely moved, prices are up, and oil companies are making record profits. So which president's oil policies do you prefer, Spidy, Biden's or Obama's?

[Deleted by Admin] Does your head explode with anything outside of Republicans bad, Democrats good?

So just to be clear, I wanted Biden to go back to Obama's policies, and your sorry ass had to bring up Republicans. Gee, I wonder why that is.

[EihTooms]

Gentlemen, Thanks for your kind replies. There are flaws in your facts and analysis. Through the past several months, I've discovered there are not enough hours in the day to reply to them all. And besides, I am but a tiny LED light, amidst the bonfire of misinformation that you're bombarded with by your favored media sources every day. Finally, I cannot fight this battle alone, and all the right of center posters have left this forum.

I'll check back from time to time. In particular I've enjoyed some of JustTK's out-of-the-box contributions. And the rest of you have brought up some good points from time to time. And broadened my thinking. A little bit.

Are you sure you don't want to just rest up from all of your post-2022 midterm gloating over that Red Tinkle so you'll have plenty of strength on hand for the post-2024 Red Tinkle gloating?

Maybe that's what all those other gloating-exhausted wingers disappeared to rest up for.

I do hope Elvis returns to the building by Christmas Eve so we can compare Trump's S&P 500 Index and DOW performance vs that of Biden from election / nauguration to this same point in their presidency so he can explain why his trusted formula and yield curves didn't have him short the market when Trump was elected or took office like he did with Biden.

[Tiny 12]

If you believe this, you'd actually have proof. But you don't. As usual.

That shows a different thing, doesn't it?

Typical response to try and normalize and "bothsider" the corrupt and dysfunctional party that is now basically/predominately a QAnon/Repub/Bothersider looney-tunes conspiracy party, hell bent on subverting democracy, the rule of law and The US Constitution.

Truman, Carter and Clinton didn't leave anyone a recession. Stop making up stuff.

GHW Bush didn't win the vote "since" 1988. He won the vote "in" 1988.

Gentlemen, Thanks for your kind replies. There are flaws in your facts and analysis. Through the past several months, I've discovered there are not enough hours in the day to reply to them all. And besides, I am but a tiny LED light, amidst the bonfire of misinformation that you're bombarded with by your favored media sources every day. Finally, I cannot fight this battle alone, and all the right of center posters have left this forum.

I'll check back from time to time. In particular I've enjoyed some of JustTK's out-of-the-box contributions. And the rest of you have brought up some good points from time to time. And broadened my thinking. A little bit.

[EihTooms]

FUX Snooze and the rest of rightwingnut media are all aflutter over the apparent favoritism shown by the Biden Administration. According to them, Biden chose Griner over Whelan. BS.

Do some critical thinking for god's sake. Who held all of the cards here, Russia or the USA? Russia did. I repeat, Russia did. And Russia was offering a one-for-one swap of Griner for about. Period. Did the Biden administration ask for more? Who knows. My guess is yes but I don't know.

The second issue is Whelan himself. FUX Snooze and the rest of rightwingnut media simply says "Whelan was a former Marine" and the Moron Brigade goes crazy. What FUX Snooze and the rest don't say is that Whelan was dishonorably discharged from the Marines because he was convicted of stealing by a court martial.

The third issue is that even though about was released, about had served 10 years of his 25 year sentence plus he had all of his assets confiscated by the government.

The fourth issue is even simpler. Russia was offering a one-for-one swap of Griner for about. Would you have told Russia "Hey go, pound sand. We want Whelan back and if we don't get that, you can keep' them both"?

As usual, FUX News and other Trump-loving, Biden-bashing wingers have almost none of the facts in this exchange right.

And now we have them and Trump, the absolute worst negotiator supposedly on behalf of the USA of all time, hopping up and down and screeching about how Whelan was the real Grand Prize hostage we should have gotten released or all that is worth living for in America will evaporate!

Which, as all great winger negotiators like Trump et al knows, is the very best position of strength to be in for that eventual negotiation. LOL.

Bunch of numbskulls.

[Tiny 12]

Ya know there's something to having everything going for you in this world in a given situation. That would be Brittney Grinder, she's female, black, lesbian, and refused to stand for the national anthem. All the boxes are checked. Is there anything missing? I'm all in with Fox on this one, and that's what makes me a moderate. What an embarrassment.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XxK6XJCRXL8

It's illegal in the USA to pay ransom for kidnappings, because if the bad guys figure they can't get paid, they won't kidnap people in the first place. Well, Biden just did exactly the opposite. Now every country in the world knows it can just grab some Americans under false or greatly exaggerated pretenses to use as currency for extortion. Which is exactly what they did with Greiner. She should have gotten 15 days or less in a Russian jail based on the quantity of hash oil she was carrying.

Biden just released a man who allegedly supplied arms to our enemies, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and to numerous other groups and countries in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Tens of thousands, perhaps more, have died in West Africa and the Congo from arms sold and/or transported by Viktor Bout.

And who did we get for his release? A basketball player. A fucking basketball player. Biden's motivation to do this was purely political. Blacks, women, and the LGBT community overwhelmingly voted for Biden, and Greiner tics all three boxes. You said as much.

And how about Paul Whelan? Well, same deal, except that he probably didn't deserve so much as a fine or a single night in a jail cell. He was set up. Otherwise, why would the FSB agent who slipped him the USB drive, Ilya Yatsenko, end up with a promotion instead of incarceration in a jail cell? Yeah, you can make the argument that we set up Viktor Bout too. The difference is that one of the gentlemen was responsible for many deaths and was arming our enemies. And the other (Whelan) was a nobody.

We shouldn't have released Bout for Whelan either. So good for Trump for not giving in to blackmail.

"I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan. I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals."

-- Donald J. Trump on Truth Social

[PVMonger]

Ya know there's something to having everything going for you in this world in a given situation. That would be Brittney Grinder, she's female, black, lesbian, and refused to stand for the national anthem. All the boxes are checked. Is there anything missing? I'm all in with Fox on this one, and that's what makes me a moderate. What an embarrassment.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XxK6XJCRXL8

FUX Snooze and the rest of rightwingnut media are all aflutter over the apparent favoritism shown by the Biden Administration. According to them, Biden chose Griner over Whelan. BS.

Do some critical thinking for god's sake. Who held all of the cards here, Russia or the USA? Russia did. I repeat, Russia did. And Russia was offering a one-for-one swap of Griner for about. Period. Did the Biden administration ask for more? Who knows. My guess is yes but I don't know.

The second issue is Whelan himself. FUX Snooze and the rest of rightwingnut media simply says "Whelan was a former Marine" and the Moron Brigade goes crazy. What FUX Snooze and the rest don't say is that Whelan was dishonorably discharged from the Marines because he was convicted of stealing by a court martial.

The third issue is that even though about was released, about had served 10 years of his 25 year sentence plus he had all of his assets confiscated by the government.

The fourth issue is even simpler. Russia was offering a one-for-one swap of Griner for about. Would you have told Russia "Hey go, pound sand. We want Whelan back and if we don't get that, you can keep' them both"?

[Paulie97]

Ya know there's something to having everything going for you in this world in a given situation. That would be Brittney Grinder, she's female, black, lesbian, and refused to stand for the national anthem. All the boxes are checked. Is there anything missing? I'm all in with Fox on this one, and that's what makes me a moderate. What an embarrassment.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XxK6XJCRXL8

[JustTK]

Great presentation on the history of monopolies in USA (first 40 mins only). Causes and effects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8DNC8uCmVM

Further proof of the sqeezing of the middle class.

[JustTK]

Really great discussion on the Lex Fridman show on distribution, ;pipelines, transport, trucking, rail etc. Issues and future.

Long show but great listening:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Wpy6gE4So

[EihTooms]

That shows a different thing, doesn't it?

1988 - Bush 1 received more votes than Dukakis.

1992 - Slick Willie received more votes than Bush 1.

1996 - Slick Willie received more votes than Dole.

2000 - W received FEWER votes than Gore.

2004 - W received more votes than Kerry.

2008 - Obama received more votes than McCain.

2012 - Obama received more votes than Romney.

2016 - Donnie the Dumbass received FEWER votes than Clinton.

2020 - Biden received more votes than Donnie the Dumbass.

The only two Presidents who didn't win the popular vote since 1988 were W and Donnie the Dumbass.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ar_vote_margin

It likely would have been a straight 8 for 8 losers on actual votes for the Repubs if W hadn't been awarded the presidency in 2000 by a winger-rigged SCOTUS stopping the count in Florida in a panic before his dwindling 535 vote lead evaporated. It was only because of his colossal National Security negligence and hundreds of lies to bamboozle us into 3 wrong-headed quagmire wars during his winger SCOTUS-appointed term that he was able to squeak out a narrow win for his 2nd run as a "Wartime President".

Those were two of the worst individual presidential term results of all time on the basis of National Security and the economy. Surpassed on horrific results only by Trump's one term.

[PVMonger]

Since 1988, two Republicans, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, have won elections with a majority of the popular vote. And since 1988, two Democrats, Barrack Obama and Joe Biden, won with a majority of the popular vote. Bill Clinton didn't get over 50% either time he ran and won. And George W. Bush didn't get 50% the first time he ran.

I'm not sure whether Donald Trump should be counted as a Republican or a Democrat. He's a Democrat infiltrator of the Republican Party, a former card carrying member of the Democratic Party, and the Democrat's best friend. The Republicans would have won the Senate in 2020 and 2022, and blown out the House in 2022, if not for Trump.

That shows a different thing, doesn't it?

1988 - Bush 1 received more votes than Dukakis.

1992 - Slick Willie received more votes than Bush 1.

1996 - Slick Willie received more votes than Dole.

2000 - W received FEWER votes than Gore.

2004 - W received more votes than Kerry.

2008 - Obama received more votes than McCain.

2012 - Obama received more votes than Romney.

2016 - Donnie the Dumbass received FEWER votes than Clinton.

2020 - Biden received more votes than Donnie the Dumbass.

The only two Presidents who didn't win the popular vote since 1988 were W and Donnie the Dumbass.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ar_vote_margin

[PVMonger]

Here's what really happens.

Part 1: A Repub president gets elected. Dems spend 2 years throwing up roadblocks to every bit of legislation the Repubs propose. The Dems point to the "fact" that Repubs haven't gotten anything done (they conveniently forget that Dems were the ones blocking everything). Dems gain a majority of House and-or Senate. Dems spend the next 2 years (or up to 6 more years) complaining about how Repubs want to build a wall and-or want fewer government handouts and-or want to put all the young black men in jail and-or a bunch of other stuff.

Part 2: After 4 (or 8) years, a Dem gets elected president because they have convinced the voters that they know what they're doing re: the economy. Dems have a majority in the House and-or Senate. Dems pass another bunch of voodoo spending bills, largely welfare for corporations and the upper middle class and spend money like drunken sailors. Just look at the 5 trillion in new spending authorized during the first two years of the Biden Administration. Dems are thrown out (after 4 or 8 years) and Repub is elected president and Repubs have control of the House and-or Senate. Repubs pass legislation to cut regulation and taxes that result in the working man actually making some gains instead of falling further and further behind (e.g. 2019). Dems are now pushing harder than ever to spend money like drunken sailors.

Go to Part 1.

If you believe this, you'd actually have proof. But you don't. As usual.

[Spidy]

I listen to Thom Hartmann on Sirius XM while driving from time to time, as he's the must articulate of the Progressive Democratic Party hack pundits. Actually I listen to him a lot more than all the right of center radio talk show hosts combined. Hartmann's an apologist for Venezuela. Venez fucking uela!

"Deficit Trends" about 2/3rds of the way down the following is a much more balanced breakdown.

https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publ...nomic-managers

The writer, an economist, lambasts the George W. Bush administration for the Iraq war and the effect on the national debt, as he well should.

Otherwise, both parties spend like drunken sailors, and the Democrats are somewhat worse.

Typical response to try and normalize and "bothsider" the corrupt and dysfunctional party that is now basically/predominately a QAnon/Repub/Bothersider looney-tunes conspiracy party, hell bent on subverting democracy, the rule of law and The US Constitution.

The "Two Santa Clause" theory clearly has the Repubs, spending like drunken sailors to enrich themselves and their billionaire cronies and the other party (the Dems) clearly spending money to benefit and stimulate a stagnant and recessive economy, typically decimated and left-for-dead by Repubs, with their ill-fated trickle-down economics.

Yep, your article is just more bothersidesism. But I did like the following quote:

... What's more, presidents do not control the business cycle, even if the business cycle plays a part in the outcomes of presidential elections. ...

https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publ...nomic-managers

And yet numbskull Rebubs were all over Biden for the price of gasoline. (...kkkk!)

[EihTooms]

You've got it backwards. Presidents who inherit weak economies go onto see better performance during their term, and vice versa. See the table in Riedl's paper, "Inherited Economy and Presidential Performance On Jobs", linked below. The party the president belongs to has little or nothing to do with performance of the economy during his term, except via coincidence.

It's called the business cycle.

But I'll play along with your game. My graph of employment and recessions just goes back to about 1948. During that time Truman, Carter and Clinton all left Republicans with recessions that started during the final fiscal year of government that was budgeted and began during the Democrat Presidents' terms. Johnson missed doing the same by about three months. But of course you're going to poo poo that. Given Tooms' rules, the Republicans end up with the blame for the recessions, that purportedly resulted from the policies and budgets set by the Democrats. Meanwhile the Democrats receive the credit for the better times that preceded them.

I say purportedly because, again, I believe the party of the President has little to do with economic performance.

You already wrote or read every one of the links. There's no need to read them. Just be aware we've about beat this horse to death. And you're still wrong.

Truman, Carter and Clinton didn't leave anyone a recession. Stop making up stuff.

In the past century, Hoover, Eisenhower, Bush1, Bush2 and Trump did.

List of recessions in the United States

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List..._United_States

Interesting highly partisan "business cycle" you've got stuck in your mind. The crap cycles, especially the spectacularly bad crap cycles, only occur at the end of Repub presidential terms when they come at the end and never at the end of Dem presidential terms whether the end of those terms come after 4 years, 8 years or in party sequential terms, 12 years or 20 years.

Which begs the question, how do those highly partisan "business cycles" know?!

Look, if it rankles you and your "economists" that the historical economic record favors Dems and punishes Repubs because those lucky Dems get to take over right when the outgoing Repub's economy is crashing down around our ears, millions of jobs are being wiped out and, goodness gracious, all the beautifully well-timed incoming POTUS of any party but always seems to be Dems needs to do is flip a magic light switch, go ride ponies or play golf and, as sure as night follows day, that miraculous "business cycle" will do all the work to recover the economy, instill confidence in brave free market Capitalists and business owners, create millions of jobs to recover the millions lost and all within just 2-3 months, here is the fix for what ails you:

Tell your beloved Repubs to stop promoting and enacting classic Repub policies and stewardship that produces those crap results that greet the incoming Dems over and over and over again in the first place.