American Politics

[SubCmdr]

MMT sounds like some bullshit the Plutocracy of the United States of America came up with.

Stack Sats!

[MarquisdeSade1]

I don't believe Democrats are bigger warmongers than Republicans. My views are much closer to Progressives than, say, Lyndsey Graham's. That was a satirical post to highlight a spurious correlation.

As to the "Trump Pandemic," maybe we better throw in the towel, because you're not going to change my mind and vice versa.

You're starting to sound like the MAGA crowd. American institutions would prevent Trump or anyone else from stealing a presidential election. Harris will probably win but Lichtman's no more clairvoyant than you or me. He was wrong about the popular vote in 2016.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/04/o...on-harris.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/06/o...p-victory.html

https://www.nationalreview.com/corne...ng-out-of-gas/

[Spidy]

And again mmt does not advocate for an endless source of dollars. That is a myth. And speaking of you really should read the deficit myth. The problems we have in the United States are a result of poor fiscal policy.

Correct!

One of your points is correct and any mmt economist would agree with you. You cannot inject currency into the system if supply cannot keep up. Which is exactly what happened during covid. But of course now that supply has caught up, well except for companies who are artificially keeping their supplies low in order to drive prices higher, inflation should be coming down, but it's not simply because of corporate greed. Doesn't help that so many sectors in the United States are controlled by a few corporate giants, but that's the end result of corporate capitalism.

If you put more money into a system and that money is directed at employment in the production of more goods, you do not have inflation. You are forgetting the key element of inflation and that is scarcity. You mentioned wanting demand to go down? Why in the world would you want that? Do you want demand to increase and supply to increase.

Another tenant of mmt is keeping interest rates at their natural level which is zero. Additionally there is absolutely no need for the government to sell bonds if it doesn't want to.

The government doesn't spend your money. It never does. Well your state and local governments do because they are not currency issuers, their currency users. When Congress passes a bill that money is appropriated and it goes on the balance sheets, and when it is taxed back it comes off the balance sheets, it doesn't go into a pot to get spent again. That's a myth.

I like your thinking, on MMT and good administrative economic policies that matter!

Hey, I'm still waiting for the self-appointed ISG Repub economists, to tell me how, 50:1 million jobs created by Dems, since 1989 and the other 100 years of job creation have come with Democrats having been in at the helm of the American economy, here: http://www.internationalsexguide.nl/...=1#post2939183

So when it comes to matters of the economy, I'm NOT buying the Repub mantra and fallacy of "...we know best when it comes to the economy..." bullshit.

Those same self-appointed ISG Repub economists, like Elvis 2008, have been telling us and droning on, like dogs in heat, for almost four (4) years now, about how the markets, the economy, the job numbers, all are going into a recession type crush and how "the economy has been performing so very badly, even worse than when Trump was...blah, blah, blah". Basically, just parroting the latest QAnon/MAGA Foxy Muse economic, talking points.

Which we all know, the great Biden economy of almost four (4) solid years of growth, has proven them wrong.

A Dog's Ass:

So to be clear, I've always reminded Elvis 2008, of the following:

• "Even the sun shines up a dog's ass some days". But in YOUR case, you've been calling for a market crash and economic recession, for almost the last 4 years now. And you've been WRONG every time! So the sun hasn't exactly shone much up your ass for four (4) years.
  
  But I'm sure, if you say it long enough and often enough...that sun will surely shine some day! (...kkkk!)

MMT:

I too, like the MMT model, and I'm happy to see that Biden has adopted MMT, and has the record to prove it. So it does appear to be working IMHO and proving there's merit to the theory, despite its Republican detractors.

Now lets be crystal clear, markets go on cycles and runs, but ultimately are forced to follow the prevailing business cycles. And as such Elvis 2008, my very well get his market crash and/or economic recession. As it is all part of the business cycle.

No doubt, wherein, you'll get all the economic doomsayers, crawl out from their rocks and say "...told you so".

What they often fail to realize, is that when this happens, they better thank their lucky stars, if a Dem administration, happens to be at the helm, to weather the storm. Because if it isn't and it's the Repubs, their abysmal record, shows them only creating 1 million jobs in the last 35 years.

Economic Mansplaining:

So while the self-appointed ISG Repub economists, twist themselves into pretzels, rabbiting on about "economic mansplaining", most rational, common sense economists, meaning your average American, should be able to figure out such easy, "kitchen table" economic math, as to whose economic polices are REALLY WORKING.

[EihTooms]

If you take a look at North Korean missile launches after Trump's rapprochement with Kim, you'll see they went way, way down, then rebounded when Biden came to office. Kissing ass works, especially when it's the President of the United States doing the ass kissing. I don't think Russia would have moved into Ukraine if Trump had been president. If it started to, I bet Trump would have done what Bernie Sanders wanted to do.

https://jacobin.com/2022/07/bernie-s...e-russia-putin

Timeline: Threats and stalemate one year after Trump last met North Korea's Kim.
June 26, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/article/worl...idUSKBN23X09P/

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - Nearly one year after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last met, North Korea has returned to conducting short-range missile tests and issuing harsh rhetoric, while Washington shows little interest in easing sanctions.

The two leaders' last meeting - at the Demilitarised Zone between the two Koreas - did little to break the deadlock in denuclearisation talks.
This has led to bouts of increased tension, though Trump - who once derided Kim as Little Rocket Man - has largely downplayed Pyongyangs actions.
Here is a timeline of those developments:

June 12, 2018: A summit in Singapore represented the first time a sitting American president met with a North Korean leader, but the statement that came out of the meeting was light on specifics, opting instead for general commitments.

Since the summit, North Korea has shown no tangible signs of a willingness to abandon its nuclear weapons, and experts have said it is believed to have continued development of its arsenal. Washington, at the same time, has sought to keep sanctions intact, leading North Korea to accuse the United States of clinging to hostile policies.

Feb. 28, 2019: A second summit between Trump and Kim in Vietnam collapsed over sanctions relief, raising questions about the future of denuclearisation diplomacy.

(And more)

I forget. Was Joe Biden president in June 2020?

Maybe Kim's launches went "way, way down" later in 2020 at the height of Trump's Pandemic. If so, perhaps a Million American Deaths is a tad more "Ass-Kissing" to please our stated enemies than a Love-Sick so-called potus ought to engage in.

[SubCmdr]

One of the beauties of crypto. Allows one to opt out of the fiat money ponzi scheme. Just like buying gold or silver except better because it is digital. The candidate that supports crypto get my vote!.

1. Gary Gensler Will Be Fired On Day One Of A Trump Presidency.

Over the past three years, through some combination of incompetence and hostility, Chairman Gensler has used his power over the Securities and Exchange Commission to confuse investors, stymie innovation, and attack good-faith actors.

The eruption of cheers from the crowd when President Trump said he would fire Gensler spoke to the anger felt by the entire bitcoin industry about his poor leadership.

2. Operation Choke Point 2.0 Will Be Brought To An End.

Over the past few years, bitcoin companies have found it increasingly difficult to open bank accounts, process credit cards, and obtain licenses. This misguided effort to demonize an entire industry has damaged American competitiveness, driving software developers, industrial miners, and bitcoin financial service companies overseas.

With this episode finally behind us and bitcoin flourishing in the U.S., individual Americans will also benefit from downstream effects such as increased financial privacy, reduced inflation, and lower energy prices.

3. A Bitcoin Advisory Council To The President Will Be Established.

As was clear during todays keynote, President Trump still has much to learn about bitcoin. He was refreshingly deferential on this point rather than pretending to know more than he did, he acknowledged the expertise of the audience and pledged to include those who have a stake in the industry in the creation of bitcoin policy.

Digital assets will play an increasingly important role in the U.S. economy, touching everything from energy production to monetary policy to power projection. The chief executive will certainly benefit from a council of advisors who can help think through these complex issues.

4. The U.S. government Will Hodl Bitcoin.

Currently, the federal government is estimated to own over 200,000 bitcoins that it obtained during various law enforcement operations. Several times in the past, the federal government has sold bitcoin obtained in this way at auction. (Germany recently liquidated $3 billion worth of bitcoin, a move that may one day in retrospect prove catastrophic.)

President Trump has pledged to hold (or hodl in bitcoin parlance) this bitcoin as part of a new strategic bitcoin stockpile. A vocal contingent of bitcoin-friendly lawmakers, led by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, is coalescing, with a total of four U.S. Senators and three Senate candidates speaking at the conference. Today, Lummis announced a proposal to supercharge the U.S. dollar by establishing a program wherein the federal government would acquire one million bitcoins.

5. Ross Ulbricht Will Be Pardoned.

It has been eleven years since Ross Ulbricht was arrested for operating Silk Road, a website where drugs, fraudulent documents, and other illegal items (alongside legal ones) were freely bought and sold using bitcoin. Ulbricht received a double life sentence plus 40 years, which many feel was excessive. A commutation or pardon has long been a cause clbre for liberty activists. President Trump reaffirmed his intention to pardon Ulbricht, recognizing that the time he has already served is enough to ensure justice was done.

Whether President Trump carries out these promises remains to be seen. However, making them was a savvy political move that will pick up support from voters who view bitcoin as important and see only one viable candidate who recognizes its significance.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbi...-bitcoin-2024/

[EihTooms]

I don't believe Democrats are bigger warmongers than Republicans. My views are much closer to Progressives than, say, Lyndsey Graham's. That was a satirical post to highlight a spurious correlation.

As to the "Trump Pandemic," maybe we better throw in the towel, because you're not going to change my mind and vice versa.

You're starting to sound like the MAGA crowd. American institutions would prevent Trump or anyone else from stealing a presidential election. Harris will probably win but Lichtman's no more clairvoyant than you or me. He was wrong about the popular vote in 2016.

I don't think Lichtman has ever claimed his predictions are the result of clairvoyance. And neither have I.

Was he wrong about Trump winning the Popular Vote in 2016? I have no idea since I did not read any of his books, including the one for the 2016 election.

But it is clear he (the Keys, actually) didn't only predict Trump would win the Popular Vote and not the Electoral College Vote, if that is what you or others are suggesting. His Keys predicted a Trump "win" in 2016, which is not something that can happen based solely on the Popular Vote.

Historians Prediction: Donald J. Trump to Win 2016 Election.
September 26, 2016

https://www.american.edu/media/news/...prediction.cfm

Editors Note: This story has been updated with a correction. It has been corrected to read that Prof. Lichtmans 13 Keys system predicts the winner of the presidential race, not the outcome of the popular vote.

Was he misquoted or taken out of context on whatever "Popular Vote" comment he made with regard to his Keys' 2016 prediction and that misquote has taken on a life of its own ever since?

Possible. But, again, I have no idea because I have not researched it that much.

However, it is obvious he predicted a Trump Electoral College win for 2016 before the election because before the election he also predicted Trump would be Impeached. Which, again, can not happen only if he wins the Popular Vote and not the EC vote, right? Without an EC Vote win, Trump could not become president and without becoming president he could not then be Impeached:

In 2016, this prof predicted Trump's presidency and his impeachment.
Allan Lichtman says President Trump has been 'on a path to impeachment' from day 1 of his campaign.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens...ment-1.5307665

As It Happens first spoke to the American University professor during the 2016 election when he was sure that Donald Trump would win the presidency. It wasn't a fluke. Professor Lichtman has predicted the last nine U.S. presidential elections correctly.

And even before Donald Trump was elected, the professor came out with another prediction: that Donald Trump would be impeached.

No, as a historian Lichtman certainly uses his judgement on various issues.

However, he does not use clairvoyance in the same way some wannabe economic "historians" might use hokus-pokus notions of magical business and economic cycles, wild coincidences, a witch's curse and so on to explain away the remarkable 100 year long presidential pattern of Great Repub Crashes, Great Repub Depressions, Great Repub Recessions and Massive Repub Jobs Destruction (with no Great Repub Recoveries, Great Repub Expansions and Historic Repub Jobs Creation to their credit) vs Great Dem Recoveries, Great Dem Expansions and Historic Dem Jobs Creation (with no Great Dem Crashes, Great Dem Depressions, Great Dem Recessions and Historic Dem Jobs Destruction to their credit).

Oh, for BONUS MATERIAL, here are a couple of fairly well-known Conservatives who don't think it wise or prudent to rely on American Institutions to rush in and save the day, the republic or American democracy when it comes to determined enemies of America like Donald Trump and his Cult Followers:

[Tiny 12]

That blurb on Venezuela is dead wrong. A lot of Arab countries are totally dependent on oil and gas and are filthy rich. The difference between those countries and Venezuela is in the Arab countries is if you steal, you get your hand cut off. In Venezuela, unlike any country I have ever been to, theft was applauded. What happened in Venezuela is Chavez filled the national oil company with his unproductive cronies and oil production went nowhere. He then started using foreign companies to produce and then he stole from them and they pulled out. His last resource after that was to print money and by over printing the money, he caused runaway inflation. Without a 4th amendment or other guarantee that your money is your money, a country's economy will go to shit for certain.

It is a lot easier to steal from your people by doubling the money supply than taking half of what they own, but the amount of theft is the same.

I just pulled M2 (money supply) for Venezuela. It's astounding! It was up 2,051,768% from 1/1/2019 to 9/30/2021. Then the government rejiggered the numbers so that it no longer calculates M2, but rather the "Money Supply of the New Expression Currency. ".

I walked through the museum of the central bank of the Argentina some years ago and was astounded that decade after decade they weren't able to get inflation under control. This created real problems for people. My love interest at the time had an ice cream truck, and had to go to the supplier twice a day for milk and the like so her money wouldn't lose a lot of its value before she sold the product.

This is what intuitively worries me about MMT. In the pursuit of full employment, are the politicians and their appointees in the Fed really going to screw things up? All Argentina had to do was what Volcker did. Raise interest rates, keep them higher than inflation, induce a serious recession and in a few years the country would be in good shape again. But they wouldn't do it.

Now MMT may be different, given a couple of the considerations I threw out in my reply to Goatscrot. But I suspect there's no free lunch.

It is a lot easier to steal from your people by doubling the money supply than taking half of what they own, but the amount of theft is the same.

This deserves emphasis. The elite don't suffer from high inflation. They find ways around it, through investments and sending their money to bank accounts in other countries and the like. It's the workingman who gets screwed. In Venezuela, if you were in with Chavez or Maduro, you got access to dollars at the official forex rate and then could sell them for bolivares at the black market rate. That's a great business!

[Tiny 12]

Stupid wars? I'm amazed at how dovish the right wing has become in the past few years. Perfectly willing to cede Ukraine to Russia and then open up the baltics for Putin's advances and probably allow Xi to take Taiwan at his whim.

Donald Trump weakened alliances the United States has had for decades and emboldened dictators such as Putin and Xi. Of course Putin waited until after the election to invade because if the Donald would have been elected he would have been able to waltz right in and take what he wanted. The era of the United States is sole hegemon saw fewer war deaths than we've seen in many decades. Unfortunately that era is over and we will be seeing more and more proxy wars fought. Let's hope the United States maintains its strength as the strongest military in the world.

If you take a look at North Korean missile launches after Trump's rapprochement with Kim, you'll see they went way, way down, then rebounded when Biden came to office. Kissing ass works, especially when it's the President of the United States doing the ass kissing. I don't think Russia would have moved into Ukraine if Trump had been president. If it started to, I bet Trump would have done what Bernie Sanders wanted to do.

https://jacobin.com/2022/07/bernie-s...e-russia-putin

[Elvis 2008]

It's a great investment. It'll never be widely accepted as a currency.

No, it depends on the timing. Bitcoin has a set amount of coins. If you can buy T bills with a 5% yield and prices are coming down, holding cash or buying T bills blows the bitcoin away. If the government is increasing the money supply, I. E. More supply which lowers price / value of a currency leading to inflation, bitcoin is great. It is the best alternative there is to the overprinting of dollars.

And no, it has no function as a currency. Before the Federal reserve was created, money supply was based on gold and a lesser degree to silver. The problem with their use is supply of money was based on the random events of finding a huge gold or silver find. The resulting booms and busts were way worse when what we have now. There are issues with the Federal Reserve for sure but having a non-political entity making decision as to when to raise or lower money supply based on data is a much more rational alternative to gold and silver. Without money supply growth, you will choke off economic growth. If the Fed lets money supply grow too much though, you run into inflation, so it is a very delicate balance.

No one is controlling money supply with bitcoin, so using it as a currency to base an economy on is foolish.

[Tiny 12]

A couple of my favorites on hreat moments in hyperinflation are attached.

When it comes to the United States it is a country with boundless natural resources, a growing demographic, geographic isolation, and a blue water Navy that is able to project power around the world. Not only is it very well sorted for the era of deglobalization we are already in, but it's productive capacity and potential is great.

One of the points mmt economists make is that if the government is not running a deficit that burden will be placed on the private sector. The government can run deficits, the private sector cannot. I think the main point I want to make is that spending needs to be directed towards full employment which helps drive demand. We've already seen the failure of supply side economics. As I stated in the post below, the main problem is the fiscal.

And again mmt does not advocate for an endless source of dollars. That is a myth. And speaking of you really should read the deficit myth. The problems we have in the United States are a result of poor fiscal policy.

You're right, I'm debating with one hand tied behind my back without reading her book. Yes, sanctions probably were a factor in inflation in Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

I've followed a number of developing country economies through the years. Countries that continually run government budget deficits and run up national debt and set interest rates at low levels have problems. That's true of developed countries too. The only exception that comes to mind is Japan, and that may be because of the declining population. And its massive run up in the national debt hasn't been accompanied by good economic performance.

So what would the MMT proponents do differently? Two things that I'm aware of. First, they would only have governments borrowing in their own currency. And that's admittedly true of Japan, but not true of the other examples I've thrown out. I don't know if your example, Weimar Germany, borrowed in foreign currencies, but it certainly had a lot of foreign debt.

Second, they would jack up taxes to reduce demand.

Intuitively, I don't think this would work well. At some point people would get antsy about the debt and start moving to gold, crypto, stock, real estate, etc. , and abandon government debt. Interest rates go up, which makes it difficult for the private sector to raise capital. Or perhaps the central bank keeps rates at low levels, which results in high inflation. Foreign exchange controls are enacted to prevent money from leaving the country.

But that and $5 will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. I need to take a look at the book and come back with you.

I actually am a believer in supply side economics. There's a correlation among developed countries between lower government revenues / expenditures and GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power. The countries with smaller government as a % of GDP, like the USA, Switzerland, Singapore and Ireland, outperform the ones with larger government. That doesn't mean that there's no place for the Keynesians. I hope Tooms doesn't read this, but I'd give FDR the edge over Herbert Hoover in his willingness to pump lots of money into the economy when it needed it. And I think that's what we have had in recent years, without MMT, and we've even gone overboard at times, like with the American Rescue Plan and other excessive spending legislated during 2021/2022. The Fed has a dual mandate to maximize employment and minimize inflation, and our politicians are not shy at all at using fiscal stimulus. We've been at full employment since 2018, except when COVID intervened.

[Elvis 2008]

One of your points is correct and any mmt economist would agree with you. You cannot inject currency into the system if supply cannot keep up. Which is exactly what happened during covid. But of course now that supply has caught up, well except for companies who are artificially keeping their supplies low in order to drive prices higher, inflation should be coming down, but it's not simply because of corporate greed. Doesn't help that so many sectors in the United States are controlled by a few corporate giants, but that's the end result of corporate capitalism.

Goatscrot, I really appreciate your bringing this completely batshit crazy monetary policy to my attention, and I am not being facetious. It is what I thought it is, a completely idiotic attempt to say the law of supply and demand do not exist.

The whole notion that the amount of money in the system can be doubled and not cause a doubling of prices on goods and services is batshit crazy. The notion that corporate greed caused inflation versus creating $10 trillion out of thin air with Covid is batshit crazy too. Why was inflation at 2% or less for decades? Corporations were not greedy back then?

Another tenant of mmt is keeping interest rates at their natural level which is zero.

Bond rates are actually set by markets not by any one party. The Fed raises interest rates on the amount banks borrow from each other. Like with any offering, those selling bonds try to offer a rate that is attractive to investors but not so attractive as to put them in financial peril.

My favorite line from the Clinton White House was Bill Clinton saying, "You mean my whole financial package is based on what some fucking bond dealers think?" It showed he understood things.

If you put more money into a system and that money is directed at employment in the production of more goods, you do not have inflation.

If more money is put in the system, I. E. Increased supply, the value of said money goes down in value. And how does one direct money at something?

You are forgetting the key element of inflation and that is scarcity.

Inflation can be caused by increased demand, decreased supply, or an increase in the money supply.

You mentioned wanting demand to go down? Why in the world would you want that?.

LOL. If I had a magic switch for demand, I would make certain demand for my services was infinite.

Like I just showed you, Starbucks is seeing a decline in demand as is McDonald's and they are lowering prices. Higher demand causes prices to go up. Lower demand causes them to fall. So what is going on? The consumer is stretched and they would rather make a cup of coffee at home for 50 cents than paying five bucks at Starbucks so Starbucks is seeing a decline in demand for its goods. Demand for food is about as inelastic a good as you can get, and it speaks volumes about how weak the economy is if restaurants are closing down and lowering prices.

If the government doubles the money supply or takes half my money, it is the same thing. If you think that the government can double money supply and buy things like bombs and it costs the taxpayer nothing. I am not going to change your mind on that so there is no point in debating. Yes, there are times you need to use money to buy things to blow shit up but for the most part, it is the worst use of tax dollars that there is.

That blurb on Venezuela is dead wrong. A lot of Arab countries are totally dependent on oil and gas and are filthy rich. The difference between those countries and Venezuela is in the Arab countries is if you steal, you get your hand cut off. In Venezuela, unlike any country I have ever been to, theft was applauded. What happened in Venezuela is Chavez filled the national oil company with his unproductive cronies and oil production went nowhere. He then started using foreign companies to produce and then he stole from them and they pulled out. His last resource after that was to print money and by over printing the money, he caused runaway inflation. Without a 4th amendment or other guarantee that your money is your money, a country's economy will go to shit for certain.

It is a lot easier to steal from your people by doubling the money supply than taking half of what they own, but the amount of theft is the same.

[Tiny 12]

With all due respect, who gives a fuck what you think the adoption of BTC is going to be worldwide? El Salvador already accepts it. The Central African Republic was going to until the International Monetary mother fuckers and the World Bitches pulled a straight gangster move and threaten them. The Establishment dem mother fuckers be runnin scared brother!

It doesn't need to be accepted widely as currency. Gold and Silver are not longer accepted widely as a form of currency. Does not reduce its value. Besides mining asteroids might make gold like sand at the beach for all I know.

All over the world BTC is growing in adoption. No government can stop it. BTC is a store of value. And it is permission less. Try to send your USD sitting in a bank anywhere in the world without permission. You and many others do not understand that power. You and many others do not understand the DeFi infrastructure being built to serve the financial needs of crypto holders.

Crypto is going forward with or without the help of the United State of America. Ask China if a government can stop BTC?.

Holding USD is a bad investment. All the smart money puts USD into other assets in order to preserve value. The Plutocracy in the United States of America has had a monopoly on financial affairs for far too long. Crypto is the tool that breaks that. Anyone with an internet connection and smart phone can buy crypto in 10 minutes. And I can show them how they can use that crypto to become their own bank. There is no reason for anyone to use a credit card ever again. By cooperating with fellow crypto holders to cut out the middle man. You can save, loan and borrow among peers in a pool backed up with over collateralization. Not the fucked up fractional reserve system that powers fiat currency around the world.

Write off crypto at your own risk my man Same for the United States of America. And all the dumb ass politicians that do not recognize its value. Blackrock owns mother fucking BTC! The revolution is going on right now. And it is not being televised.

I'll weigh in with a third view. I don't use crypto as an investment. For me it's a great substitute for currency in the right situation. And I wouldn't have figured that out without insight from you. So thanks!

[Tiny 12]

Slavery not worth fighting for? Of course it was. But your boy Trump, the man your "wasted" vote on a nobody third party candidate is meant to help get elected has assured us he could have negotiated that "economic" dispute into peaceful resolution. You know, like his negotiation of a peaceful transference of power in the presidential election.

Not possible? Then you seem to be loosening your grip on the notion that wars that happened on Dem presidents' watch were somehow their fault and over issues "not worth fighting for. " Or is that softening notion only reserved for Repub presidents like Lincoln or Ike who fully committed America in word, deed and treaty to fighting the war in Vietnam even though he got out of Dodge City just before the real shit came down on it?

LOL. I wonder how many credible news organization reports of Trump's incomparable and disastrous decisions in 2018,2019 and all through 2020 with regard to leaving the world bare-ass naked to preventing or at least quickly and effectively responding to the earliest COVID cases being precisely why there was a Trump's Pandemic at all rather than a likely manageable epidemic confined to one region in China until better vaccines could be created and distributed around the world it will take to loosen the grip on the most virulent Trump supporters and apologists that his Trump's Pandemic was not predicted by anyone, nobody knew it could happen, be prevented or be prepared for and that it just happened "out of the blue"?

Apparently many, many more.

I don't believe Democrats are bigger warmongers than Republicans. My views are much closer to Progressives than, say, Lyndsey Graham's. That was a satirical post to highlight a spurious correlation.

As to the "Trump Pandemic," maybe we better throw in the towel, because you're not going to change my mind and vice versa.

Which there is no doubt the Repub Party has been trying to rig into the election process and system for decades.

Therefore, if, for example, Trump's MAGA state representatives refuse to certify the votes in battleground states where Harris won by a clear majority or merely question every insignificant detail in order to wreak havoc and create chaos, it can wind up before the Loony Repub MAGA 6 on the Supreme Court who WILL rule in favor of ChristoFascist Mike taking a Repub House of Representatives vote on who should be appointed president and, guess what, we will have another (minimum) 4 year shot at Trump's Pandemic 2 with all the closures and tariff inflation and skyrocketing prices that go with it.

And a Putin / Russia regime throughout Eastern Europe on its way to Western Europe while "Make sure I win" China gets the USA.

In which case, we could hardly claim Lichtman's Keys did not accurately predict the true winner in 2024.

You're starting to sound like the MAGA crowd. American institutions would prevent Trump or anyone else from stealing a presidential election. Harris will probably win but Lichtman's no more clairvoyant than you or me. He was wrong about the popular vote in 2016.

[Goatscrot]

One of the beauties of crypto. Allows one to opt out of the fiat money ponzi scheme. Just like buying gold or silver except better because it is digital. The candidate that supports crypto get my vote!.

See attached meme. It's spot on.

[SubCmdr]

It's a great investment. It'll never be widely accepted as a currency.

With all due respect, who gives a fuck what you think the adoption of BTC is going to be worldwide? El Salvador already accepts it. The Central African Republic was going to until the International Monetary mother fuckers and the World Bitches pulled a straight gangster move and threaten them. The Establishment dem mother fuckers be runnin scared brother!

It doesn't need to be accepted widely as currency. Gold and Silver are not longer accepted widely as a form of currency. Does not reduce its value. Besides mining asteroids might make gold like sand at the beach for all I know.

All over the world BTC is growing in adoption. No government can stop it. BTC is a store of value. And it is permission less. Try to send your USD sitting in a bank anywhere in the world without permission. You and many others do not understand that power. You and many others do not understand the DeFi infrastructure being built to serve the financial needs of crypto holders.

Crypto is going forward with or without the help of the United State of America. Ask China if a government can stop BTC?.

Holding USD is a bad investment. All the smart money puts USD into other assets in order to preserve value. The Plutocracy in the United States of America has had a monopoly on financial affairs for far too long. Crypto is the tool that breaks that. Anyone with an internet connection and smart phone can buy crypto in 10 minutes. And I can show them how they can use that crypto to become their own bank. There is no reason for anyone to use a credit card ever again. By cooperating with fellow crypto holders to cut out the middle man. You can save, loan and borrow among peers in a pool backed up with over collateralization. Not the fucked up fractional reserve system that powers fiat currency around the world.

Write off crypto at your own risk my man Same for the United States of America. And all the dumb ass politicians that do not recognize its value. Blackrock owns mother fucking BTC! The revolution is going on right now. And it is not being televised.