Plaintiffs won't revive federal lawsuit over Tennessee's redistricting maps
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Saturday, September 28, 2024
Why are Harris & Trump Ignoring the $34 Trillion Deficit
by Rod Williams, Sept 28, 2024- I have been dismayed that neither candidate has put forth an economic plan to deal with the debt and deficits and that both candidates are putting forth plans that would make the problem of the national debt worse. There was a time when Republicans at least paid lip service to fiscal responsibility and they appeared to at least understand the issue; now, not so much. The above short video is informative.
Excerpts from the transcript:
Even though the federal deficit has reached a very high 7% of GDP against its advanced economy peers, as the national debt has rocketed to nearly $34 trillion and interest payments alone have climbed to nearly $1 trillion annually more than the entire defense budget, the question begs. Why has the deficit been sidelined and what are the long term risks?This comes against the background of a projected U.S. federal budget deficit of $1.5 trillion in the year 2024, with the national debt now surpassing 130% of GDP. That rate parallels that of other countries with high indebtedness, such as Italy, which has triggered debate about the sustainability of the nation's current fiscal track. ... Despite these unpleasant numbers, neither Harris nor Trump has pushed forward any type of plan to deal with the deficit, and both the candidates seem to be offering policies that would make the situation worse. ...
Whereas the dollar now enjoys the status of the world's reserve currency, this is a privilege the U.S. has no right to expect will always be conferred upon it. ... neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump has taken an especially vital interest in the budget deficit.
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Friday, September 27, 2024
Stopping Putin in Ukraine could also arrest a slide toward World War III
By George F. Will, The Washington Post, September 27, 2024 - Many people who dismiss warnings about a third world war were, before February 2022, confident that state-on-state war in Europe had become unthinkable. Even though Russia at that point was in the eighth year of its war to extinguish a contiguous European nation.
This war began with Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea. Today’s phase began in 2022 with a now-forgotten rationale: “Russia, which began the war proclaiming that its goal was the liberation of the innocent Ukrainians from the allegedly drug-addled, fascist government of [Volodymyr] Zelensky, now talks about ordinary Ukrainians as traitors.”
... In 1938, Adolf Hitler called the dismembering of Czechoslovakia “the last territorial demand I have to make in Europe.” Poland was next. ...
Germany has become symptomatic of Western nations, including the United States, allowing welfare spending to crowd out defense needs. ... The West, including Germany, has given Ukraine substantial succor. But absent many more weapons, with fewer restraints upon their use, the West might be purchasing protracted defeat, thereby vindicating Putin’s estimation of the West’s inability to persevere. (Read it all)
Rod's Comment: I agree. We should immediately remove the restrictions that prohibit Ukraine from striking Russian assets and forces in Russia. We must stand by Ukraine and continue giving them the aid they need. For the reasons George Will makes in the above article it is important that Putin not win this war.
If Trump should win reelection, there is every reason to believe that Trump will cut off aid to Ukraine and greenlight a Putin victory. Trump even refuses to say he prefers for Ukraine to win the war.
My initial decision to support Harris was due to Trumps coup attempt and effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. That alone disqualifies him from ever being trusted with the reins of power again. However, even if Trump was not a threat to democracy, I would have to vote for Harris. I never thought I would see a time in which I would judge a Democrat to be better on foreign policy than a Republican, but Trump is not a normal Republican. Normally, I would assume that it is the Republican candidate who is most committed to strong alliances and to continuing America's leadership role in the world; not this time. When it comes to who is more likely to defend freedom in the world, exercise American leadership, and avoid World War III, I believe it is Kamala Harris.
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The Most Surprising New Gun Owners Are U.S. Liberals
But this summer, the liquor store clerk in Iowa City, Iowa, for the first time in his life bought a gun. Apprehension about street crime, armed right-wing extremists, and “whatever else the world could possibly throw at us,” drove his decision.
“Domestic politics have grown increasingly acrimonious,” says Ciemnoczolowski, 43.
American gun culture has long been dominated by conservative, white men. Now, in a marked change, a burgeoning number of liberals are buying firearms, according to surveys and fast-growing gun groups drawing minorities and progressives.
“It’s a group of people who five years ago would never have considered buying a gun,” says Jennifer Hubbert, an anthropology professor at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., who has researched liberal gun owners.
Historically, it wasn’t unusual for Democrats to own guns, with many more of them living in rural areas. Also, hunting was much more popular. But starting in the early ’90s, gun ownership among Democrats dropped significantly. Increasingly divisive political battles over the role of firearms in American society led the Democratic Party to become an advocate for gun regulation. Republicans became the party of gun rights.
Now, today’s Democrats are rediscovering guns. (read more)
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Thursday, September 26, 2024
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Trump says his support for US furniture makers is ‘why people in countries want to kill me’
I thought it might be his false unsubstantiated claim of the stolen election. I thought it might be his encouraging a riot to stop the peaceful transfer of power. I thought it might be his being a convicted felon. I thought it might be a policy issue such as a call for a 20% across the board tariff on imports. Or, I thought it may him selling junk on TV, such as the USA Bible, and gold sneakers, and trading cards. I thought it might be his admiration and affection for dictators. Or, I thought it might be the ignorant racist claim that Haitians were eating cats and dogs. I thought it might be his close relationship with anti-Semites, racist, and looney toon conspiracy theorist. Unfortunately, nothing seems to cause a collapse of his popularity. Trump is slipping in the polls and as of now, it looks like he is losing. That is good, but I was hoping for something dramatic. I was hoping for a repudiation instead of a little slippage in a close race.
Since nothing seems to sway a Trumpinista from his support for Trump, I don't guess Trump saying one more stupid thing will make a difference, but he said another stupid thing today. Today he said that it is because of his trade policy, such as his support for US furniture makers, that people want to kill him. Below is the story:
Trump says his support for US furniture makers is ‘why people in countries want to kill me’
by Josh Marcus, The Independent, Sept. 25, 2024- Donald Trump claimed during a campaign speech in North Carolina that people in other countries want to kill him because of his trade policies.
“All of your furniture makers are going to come back and come back bigger and stronger and better than ever before,” Trump said from the shop floor of the Mosack Group in Mint Hill, a company that makes plumbing components.
“They’re mostly gone. They’re all coming back.
“This is why people in countries want to kill me,” he went on. “They’re not happy with me. It is, it’s a risky business. This is why they want to kill me. They only kill consequential presidents, remember that. But this is why. If you’re one of the countries that’s affected, you’re not happy with what I’m saying. When they used to say they liked Barack Hussein Obama — of course they do, because he did nothing to help us!" (Read more)
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The Fentanyl Issue is not the same as the Illegal Immigrant or Asylum Issue.
by Rod Williams, Sept. 25, 2024- Donald Trump routinely mentions the deaths caused by fentanyl as part of the crisis of illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is a serious problem, there is no denying. Fentanyl is a serious issue, causing over 56,000 overdose deaths in 2022. The two issues have very little to do with each other however.
Not only does Trump often blame illegal immigrants for the fentanyl crisis but much of the media will fail to make a distinction between the two issues. Even Kamala Harris is conflating the two issues. Kamala Harris to counter the Trump criticism of her for the mess at the southern border, has presented herself as tough of the border and referring to herself as a “border-state prosecutor.” Rather than countering the claim that fentanyl is related to illegal immigration, she is leaning into it. The very liberal publication The New Republic has criticized her for this approach.
I know most people simply know we have a fentanyl problem and an immigration problem, and assume they are related and want them fixed. It would help if we could think clearly about issues. One thing that would help is if Congress would pass the bipartisan border bill, which would deliver 100 more high-tech drug detection machines that could scan 20 times as many vehicles as we can currently scan. The bill would have passed if not for Trump's opposition.
Most of the illicit fentanyl coming across the U.S.-Mexico border is smuggled through official ports of entry concealed in private cars. It is smuggled mostly by U.S. citizens. Some is smuggled in shipping containers as part of the cross-border commerce. Virtually none is seized from migrants who are seeking asylum.
Some fentanyl is smuggled in in backpacks by illegal immigrants who are not seeking asylum and who try to avoid capture, but those illegal immigrants are only a small percentage of the immigrant illegally crossing the border. The amount of fentanyl coming into the country in backpacks of illegal immigrants is an insignificant compared to the amount coming in at legal point of entry. This information is easily confirmed. For more on this see this link, this and this. Truth should matter.
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Monday, September 23, 2024
Trump launches new Official Trump Coins!
You have your MAGA cap and shirt. You have your Trump golden sneakers, your Trump Digital Trading Cards, and your Trump God Bless the USA Bible. Now, you can get your very own Official Trump Coin! And, it is minted here in the good ole USA!
It is a 1 oz .999% silver medallion with Trump's image on one side and the white house on the other. And it is official!
Can't get enough Trump stuff. As long as you will buy it, He will keep making it.
Coming next month is the Trump special anointed prayer cloth. It will heal what ails you.
And don't forget your Trump snake oil. Just a swallow a day, and you will inoculated form being influenced by reason.
Also, you must get your Trump jockstrap and gain the confidence to be a real alpha male and then you too can grab 'em by the pussy.
And, just wait, we will soon be introducing .....
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Long Awaited Album "Everything is Rigged Against Me!" from "The Donald" hits Stores on Monday
by Rod Williams, Sept. 21, 2024- "The Donald" has released his first studio album on the QAnon label. This collection of twelve songs captures the energy, angst, swagger, bravado, and anger of his live performances and mines the same vein of betrayal and stories of struggle against life when everything is rigged against you, that he showcases in his live performances.
"This is a masterpiece," says J. D. Vance. "It captures the essence of the man and carries forth his message of hope to the downtrodden white man."
The album is in the populist-nationalist alt-right style. The songs range from the up-tempo in-your-face anthems to mournful bluey numbers about being underappreciated and cheated and abused.
The title cut, "Everything is rigged against me" tells the story of a rich privileged White man who lost an election because the powerful and corrupt and the deep state were able to rig an election. If that was not enough, he sings, the deep state rigs the judicial system leading and unjust conviction involving a payoff to a porn star and the liberal media rigs debates, and the deep state continue with plans to rig the next election. It is about a man raging against the machine, getting beat down, but continuing to fight.
Below is the list of other cuts on this superb album.
Greater maybe than even Elvis, and he had a guitar
The Jewish people have treated me so unfairly
When they're coming after me, they're coming after you
The Black people have treated me so unfairly
I got them Wuhan flu blues
Haitians eating cats and dog blues
I'll build the wall and Mexico will pay for it.
You can grab 'em by the pussy
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Ronald Reagan's former staff back Harris-Walz ticket: "Today is a choice between integrity and demagoguery."
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| Ronald Reagan |
In a joint statement first obtained by CBS News, the staff members wrote that Reagan, if alive, would have supported Harris.
"President Ronald Reagan famously spoke about a 'Time for Choosing.' While he is not here to experience the current moment, we who worked for him in the White House, in the administration, in campaigns and on his personal staff, know he would join us in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket," the group writes. "The time for choosing we face today is a choice between integrity and demagoguery, and the choice must be Harris-Walz," the group added. "Our votes in this election are less about supporting the Democratic Party and more about our resounding support for democracy."
Over 230 former officials for Republican presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have also backed Harris, in addition to campaign staffers for Republican presidential nominees John McCain and Mitt Romney. (Read more)
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Sunday, September 22, 2024
Can Trump Really Reduce Your Auto Insurance Bill?
While it is true that automobile insurance rates have increased, it has not happened at the dramatic rate the former president cites. Of course, with high inflation, Americans are feeling every price increase, and any financial relief would be welcome to many. But voters also deserve a clear, accurate picture of what a president can do for them. In this case, what is the real story behind price increases? And can Trump really reduce your auto insurance bill if he becomes president again?
First, the origins of the 73 percent figure are unclear. Private passenger automobile insurance rates rose by an average of 14.5 percent between 2022 and 2023. This data comes from analysis of official insurance rate change request filings presented to insurance departments in all 50 states. The largest year-over-year rate increase was 22.6 percent in April 2024. Overall auto insurance rate increases are rising, but at a declining rate. These rates were up 16.5 percent year over year in August 2024.
Each state also regulates insurance differently. Individual insurance departments in all states review requests from insurers for rate changes. Decisions made by insurance regulators are based on actuarial analysis of past losses and expectations for future losses. This means a president would have to battle with 50 state insurance commissioners to reduce rates. A matchup of this magnitude is unlikely (and likely impossible).
What former President Trump forgot to include in his post are the real reasons for recent insurance rate increases: economic inflation, a shortage of skilled labor leading to increased service costs, and automobile parts that are more complicated and have more embedded technology. All of this makes cars more expensive and adds up to double-digit increases in car repair costs.
Finally, voters should remember that politicians cannot fix the economy with a tweet, and that presidents are not all-powerful when it comes to crafting or enacting public policy. We should also be grateful that social media posts do not drive automobile insurance rate change decisions.
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Conservatives may have to create a new party after the GOP became ‘corrupted’ by Trump
by Gustaf Kilander, The Independent, Sept, 22, 2024- Former Republican Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney has said that conservatives may have to start a new party after the GOP has grown “corrupted” by former President Donald Trump.
Cheney, who has said that she and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, will vote for Vice President and Democrat Kamala Harris in November, spoke to Peter Baker of The New York Times at the 2024 Cap Times Idea Fest on Saturday.
During the event, hosted by The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin, Cheney revealed that she thinks the Republican Party may have outlived its usefulness after devoting its existence to Trump.
“It’s hard for me to see how the Republican Party survives because it’s been so corrupted,” she told Baker on stage.
Cheney said that the US needs two “strong” parties, adding that the Republican Party may no longer be a welcome home for traditional conservatives. (Read more)
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