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pyrohornIII

Burnt Ends
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Posts posted by pyrohornIII

  1. 18 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

    This.  We are a body politic.  30-40% of our body politic is completely taken over by the cancer of Trumpism.  No matter what happens in the next election - say the 60% not infected takes control -- we still have cancer in 30-40% of our body politic.  And it's not going to go away.

    By the way, that's why I've said what I've said all along, and it's what anyone observing a patient with that volume of tumors: we're toast.  We MAY survive Trump.  We will NOT survive Trumpism.

     

    I think the answer is education.  We have become fat and complacent as a nation.  We eschew education in favor of prosperity gospel, because we feel we are entitled to having things bestowed on us by God, if we just ask for it.  This has to be true, or we wouldn't have been born into the US.  It is easier to control the masses when they actively resist individual thought and follow the party line, so I feel there has been a systematic reduction in our general base of knowledge over time, starting with television and leading into the internet and the smartphone.   While some use the net to educate themselves, the majority uses it for porn, keeping up with celebrity royalty, sports, playing games, etc.  Entertainment, in other words. 

    We no longer teach civics or any form of government in our schools.  How the hell do we expect our kids to understand if the government is working properly or not, if we don't teach them the basics?  

    We are based on fear now, we actively avoid educating ourselves.  We accept sound bites from others we trust to be educated.  But many are too ignorant to separate the hucksters from the journalists.  

    We survived the Red scare of McCarthyism.  I know very few people alive who lived through that who can give me a comparison of the two.  They seem parallel in hysteria whipping up fear and mob rule.  Most of those old enough to remember it are Trumpkins now. 

    The answer is education, somehow increasing the desire to be smarter as a nation.  Not just for making more money, but making the world a better place for everyone.  How to do that is the big question.  But the encouraging part is that there are always going to be kids who want to learn, who have ideals.  That is where our hope lies.

     

    14 hours ago, Satchel said:

    Well, to be fair to Tillerson, he did tell the world that Trump is a "fucking moron". Few listened.

    I think when he made the moron statement and didn't deny, it was bait he threw out to see if enough were willing to bite, to want more.  Not enough were, and he knew he needed to let things simmer longer to have the best impact. 

    9 hours ago, Mapache said:

    Working title "Individual-1, very cool and very legal"

    very manly, very white.

    • Like 1
  2. 6 minutes ago, TornACL said:

    Does any R have the balls to attempt to primary him? 

    I just don't see him getting out of this term, much less to run again.  I have always felt either his mind or body would give out before he could run for a second term.  And now you can throw in all the legal stuff he will be wading through.

     

    Can you imagine being his secret service detail that has to sit through all those court appearances? 

  3. 1 hour ago, lemonlime said:

    Some junior staffer is saying "Oh, shit.  I have to write 87 pages on WITCH HUNT! HOAX! URANIUM ONE! SETH RICH! PIZZA PARLORS! BUT HER EMAILS! this weekend"

     

    1 hour ago, bad_teammate said:

    70-point font

    EZ

     

    1 hour ago, High Plains Drifter said:

    2.5 line spacing

    And lots and lots of pictures!

  4. 3 hours ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

     

    They are trying to get Q strengthened.  Figuring if enough people join in the Qtard revolution, then martial law will have to be invoked, which will wash Mueller and everything he has done down the drain.  That is why you are seeing and hearing deep state and Q shit more often. 

  5. 10 hours ago, TexArcher said:

    GHWB's funeral is on in the background while I work.

    It's making me wonder what Trump's funeral will look like.  I mean, he is a president.  Will any meaningful dignitaries show up?  Will there be any of this pomp and national coverage?  Will Don Jr, Ivanka, and the rest of the gang get a day off from prison to attend?  Will it just be a bunch of Russian oligarchs and Saudi princes?  

     

    10 hours ago, Jack Straw said:

    people lined up for miles waiting to take a piss

     

    10 hours ago, Woland said:

    A quiet service in Crimea. After several years of legal wrangling, his ashes will be returned to NYC.

     

    10 hours ago, HenryJames said:

    It will have all the dignity of a pet funeral.

     

    10 hours ago, TexArcher said:

    How about a goldfish funeral?  Someone pretends to care and says a couple of words, then we flush him down a giant toilet.

    I still hope this commander in chief gets a dishonorable discharge. 

  6. These kind of morons are why Cruz is still in office.  He's too much a pussy to correct his base.  Or too much of a turd.  Or both.

     

    https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/texas-republican-official-publicly-declares-himself-a-white-nationalist-dRH6mf3eLUaN6WWFH-wzNA/#utm_source=Amplify&utm_medium=Intellectualist&utm_campaign=Twitter&utm_term=Cheri

    Texas Republican Official Publicly Declares Himself A “White Nationalist”

    XJ-iDdrr9U-vIy_ns1AUmw?w=684&q=40&h=457.

    Quote

    Ray Myers, a member of the Texas Republican Party’s 2018 platform committee, considers himself a white nationalist and is “very proud of it”, according to a Texas newspaper.

    Via The Hill:

    The Texas Observer reported Tuesday that Ray Myers took to social media last week and wrote, “Damn right, I’m a white nationalist and very proud of it."

     

    “I am Anglo and I’m very proud of it, just like black people and brown people are proud of their race. I am a patriot. I am very proud of my country,” Myers explained in an interview with the outlet. “And white nationalist, all that means is America first. That’s exactly what that means.

     

     

    • Rage+1 1
  7. Sure seem to be a lot of people scared of Beto running.  I wonder who is behind this hit piece.  Feels like an active measures type of work.  It really comes across as a hit written by a republican posing as a democrat to stir up division within the party.  The ones lining up hardest behind it are the Bernie supporters.  The author can't figure out Beto, so he must be bad.  Let's look for proof of that!

    I think it needs to be pointed out that this writer basically dissed all the individuals who for the first time donated to a campaign, both in time, effort and money.  In so doing insinuates that we who did so are dupes.  Gives no credit to his actual message, but all his success was due to his political savvy.

    https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/12/what-does-beto-orourke-actually-stand-for

    Quote

    Having spent nearly a decade reporting on American politics, I can say there is something very odd about “Beto-mania.” Typically, politicians have both elite friends and enemies, meaning donors, activist organizations, lawmakers, and pundits, within their own political party. O’Rourke has critics in the GOP—they successfully defeated him in Texas’s Senate race. But he should presumably also have critics within the elite functionaries in the Democratic Party as well. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders both have their elite critics across the political spectrum. The former is loathed by Wall Street, the latter is loathed by pretty much everyone who runs a Democratic-aligned think tank or has a rolodex of party mega-donors.

    But O’Rourke, on the other hand, seems to have received nothing but praise from everyone from Wall Street donors like Wolf to Obama alumni like Pfeiffer to a large liberal following enamored by his skateboarding at Whataburger and his passionate defense of kneeling NFL players. He has become a uniting figure for Democrats, beloved by all and loathed by none. What kind of Democratic politician can be so adored?

    Maybe one who rarely, if ever, challenged the powerful.

     

  8. 36 minutes ago, Asithappens said:

    Make America Grieve Again!

    He's been doing a better job of this than making it Great again.  Nice job.

    43 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

    The president is pleading for China to institute Duterte level draconianism and nobody cares.

    I think so much of what he does now just goes ignored because every day less and less people take him seriously.  Both here and abroad.  If this were a standalone incident, it would get more airplay.  But it isn't.  We all know his character by now, and this is just another example to pile on with the other 5000 or so we already have.

    50 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

    The President taking a car the length of a football field really doesn't surprise me, nor does it move the needle for me in terms of controversial subject matter.

     

    The real story here is just how fucking lazy our President is.

     

     

    To me the real story is he feels he is King and should be treated as such.  Kings do not walk like common men, they take carriages.  If he felt it was more regal to walk, then he would. 

    But the Secret Service might have pushed the regal motorcade, because once he got outside the gate on foot, no telling where he might ramble.   He truly does come off at times like a senile person who just blanks out and wanders off.  He might have walked right past the Blair House, causing yet another embarrassing moment to be caught on video. 

    • Like 1
  9. A complete POS fluff piece paid for and written about Walmart to ease the growing concern in the workforce about being replaced by AI or robots, and how Walmart is leading the way to use these new marvels to make every walmart employee richer and happier.   

    https://qz.com/1393361/how-ai-will-empower-the-retail-worker-of-the-future/

    Quote

    eaders like Walmart are perpetually adopting this futuristic technology to help employees with repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus more directly on providing a great customer experience. And while this is great for shoppers, these efforts might raise the blood pressure of current retail workers who may be nervous about the reach of technological change: A majority of Americans worry that the growing use of AI may lead to job losses. However, Walmart’s approach to AI better positions employees to contribute in a new competitive digital economy. The retailer is leading the way in developing tools that boost efficiency while also improving the work life of employees.

    While there’s no denying that AI will change the nature of some retail positions—there’s simply no need for human hands to perform tedious, time-intensive tasks like changing prices or verifying product expiration dates—the gradual evolution of certain job categories doesn’t necessarily mean retail workers will become obsolete.

     

  10. Say it ain't so, Mitch!

    https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/mcconnell-received-3-5m-in-campaign-donations-from-russian-oligarch-linked-firm-93UjehU6aUCtejJRBFezCw/#utm_source=Amplify&utm_medium=Intellectualist&utm_campaign=Twitter&utm_term=Cheri

    McConnell Received $3.5M In Campaign Donations From Russian Oligarch-Linked Firm

    Ukrainian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik, who holds dual U.S.-U.K. citizenship, used to be a fairly run-of-the-mill campaign contributor, donating relatively modest amounts in a bipartisan fashion — and then the 2016 election cycle hit.

    Beginning in 2015, Blavatnik lavished contributions on Republicans, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell alone on the receiving end of $3.5 million between 2015 and 2017.

  11. 3 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

    Deserved. I noticed it after the edit window closed. The grammar SWAT team is busting through the door. I hope they don't hurts me to too much.

    Maybe they should just stay for supper and a little seminar afterwards?

  12. 3 hours ago, horn4life said:

    One interesting questioin I have not heard a whole lot. If we find out that the President colluded with Russians to help him win the election, are his judicial appointments proper? 

    Same question if the additional facts show that he indeed did attempt to obstruct justice, do judicial nominees and Supremes stand?  

    Now if this were the case I would think that it would be the honorable and best thing for the Country for Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to simply resign.  But would they do the right and honorable thing?  Or do you think the best and wisest course for our Country should be keeping judges who were put in place by a deeply corrupt man that knew his legal fate would be in their hands?

    I don't beleive there is any legal recourse currently that addresses this situation simply as nobody prior to the election of President Trump ever anticipated a President with that level of corruption not being countered by moral and patriotic members of their own party.  Anyhow interesting to think about if the smoke we keep seeing smolders and ignites that proves Trump both colluded and obstructed.  So what is your opinion on judges appointed bypotentially treasonously elected Presidents?

    At least re-hold their hearings, without R interference.  Roll in their performances and stances since being seated.  If they don't pass, then cut them out, and any rulings they made are null and void. 

    4 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

    Pays for itself?  So Mexico is off the hook?

     

    36 minutes ago, Stringer said:

    I'd love for him to show his work on those numbers

    Starts with the trump calendar only having 10 months.

    • Like 1
  13. 1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

    Taking down a nation's electric grid is a good way to get every fucking ship in your navy sunk posthaste. That's a pretty damned clear act of war.

    And by the way, playing these stupid games with erratic, dangerous people like Putin is EXACTLY how you end up in a fucking war.  It's why you shouldn't play around with him.

    There is no doubt Trump thinks he is craftier, smarter than Putin.  He's using the POTUS position to play Putin for his own economic gains in Russia.

  14. Opinion: The tax cut isn’t trickling down to workers

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-tax-cut-isnt-trickling-down-to-workers-2018-12-03

     

    Nearly one year ago, the Republican Congress passed and the president signed the controversial and partisan Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Proponents sold this law as a middle-class tax cut that would dramatically increase business investment, raise wages, and simplify the tax code.

    But more than 11 months later, there is little sign that any of these promises will be fulfilled. Instead, it is increasingly clear that the tax law isn’t just a wasteful giveaway — it is harming the economy, workers, and the U.S. fiscal position in important ways.

    Real wage growth has been largely nonexistent for the average worker since the tax bill passed. Production nonsupervisory workers only saw a 0.2% year-over-year increase in average hourly earnings last quarter.

    The people who did benefit, however, made out like bandits. Analysts from the Tax Policy Center estimate that the top 1% of earners will receive a larger share of the tax cut this year than the entire bottom 60% combined, with the average one-percenter receiving a windfall of more than $50,000 — a result of the enormous tax cuts for corporations and large pass-through businesses, which are disproportionately owned by the wealthy.

    Unfortunately, the authors of the tax cuts ignored the historical evidence showing that companies don’t use their windfalls to create jobs or invest in workers or innovation. In fact, the trend has been the opposite, with cuts to long-term investment in favor of short-term payouts.

     

    Quote

    And so far, it appears that corporations are passing along their tax breaks to wealthy shareholders, primarily by buying back stock. In fact, as real after-tax corporate profits shot up by more than 16% in the third quarter of 2018, stock buybacks are on track to reach $1 trillion — a record high — by the end of the year.

     

    Sadly, the TCJA’s approach to corporate taxes fuels three damaging economic trends. The first is corporate short-termism, as there is new evidence that executives tend to cash out their stocks in buybacks rather than show confidence in the long-term growth of their companies.

    Second, TCJA cash is fueling a record year for mergers and acquisitions, as the largest corporations are gobbling up competitors and further concentrating economic power. The negative impacts of excessive mergers and declining competition are increasingly widespread, harming workers’ wages, family farmers, innovation, and overall economic opportunity.

    Lastly, the TCJA still contains perverse incentives for U.S. companies to lower their tax obligations by investing offshore. This is not the way to rebuild U.S. productivity and competitiveness.

    Proponents of the bill claimed that it would give typical families a $4,000 boost in real wages after a few years, on the theory that a boom in business investment would increase productivity, with the gains ultimately trickling down to workers.

    But there is no sign of any investment boom. For workers to see real gains, we would need to see much higher and sustained investment. In addition, workers would need the power to bargain for their share of increased productivity — but the Trump administration has been doing everything in its power to undermine workers.

    All signs point to a law that, as predicted, featured a massive tax cut to wealthy individuals and large corporations and hardly any benefits to working- and middle-class Americans.

    This giveaway didn’t come without cost to U.S. fiscal capacity. The TCJA was the largest contributor to deficit increases this year and is projected by the Congressional Budget Office to cost $1.9 trillion by 2028.

    What’s more, the legislation contained timing gimmicks that ended several provisions early to keep down costs. If extended — as Congressional Republicans are working to do — these provisions would add another $650 billion to deficits over the next 10 years, and an additional $3 trillion between 2029 and 2038.

    The costs could run even higher if well-heeled individuals and businesses exploit the law’s many loopholes and gaming opportunities more than originally anticipated.

    What this does is to use federal borrowing capacity — itself an important national resource — without addressing any of the biggest challenges we face in America today, like stagnant wages and struggling regions and communities, structural inequality, deteriorating infrastructure, climate change, and more.

    Rather than solve real problems for working-class Americans and communities left behind, the TCJA takes federal tax dollars and throws them down the drain because trickle-down economics does not work.

    That’s not only wasteful, but with millions of Americans still facing job loss and dislocation, it’s deeply wrong. Precisely when we need new, bold approaches to fiscal policy, targeted workforce initiatives, and other investments to counter the middle-class squeeze that working families are facing across America, the TCJA tells ordinary tax-paying Americans that their pain is simply a distraction from the business of helping the largest and most profitable companies.

    To add insult to injury, these deficit hikes also increase pressure to cut critically important programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and even nutrition assistance for poor families. Even before the law was passed, we saw members of Congress making their intentions clear — that they intended to help pay for their bill by cutting assistance programs that help families in need and working and middle-class families rely on.

    Nor does this capture the increased risk of a financial crisis, which has large and costly impacts on the economy and the federal fiscal position. Financial stability risks are growing with the series of attacks on key pillars of financial reform by Congress and Trump’s financial regulators, such as the Volcker Rule ban on banks’ high-risk trading, and oversight of other big financial firms.

    Those who voted for the TCJA made their priorities clear, and fiscal responsibility is not one of them.

    Federal fiscal capacity is a national asset that should be managed in a prudent way and deployed to make the lives of working Americans better over the long-term. Tax policy should increase opportunity and reduce inequality, while shoring up fiscal and financial stability.

    Trump and the last Congress got it backwards on all fronts. The good news is that another path is possible: a progressive approach to fiscal responsibility can rebuild communities, restore opportunity, and reduce inequality. In the coming year, let us focus on that.

    Andy Green is managing director for economic policy at the Center for American Progress. Galen Hendricks is special assistant for economic policy at CAP.

    And what is the definition of madness again?  Will we ever learn?  

  15. 55 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

     


    Beyond embarrassment was passed on Inauguration Day and with the cabinet selections.

    The cabinet members were the leading clue there.  But so many were so sold on his being this stellar businessman, and an outsider, they were willing to give him a pass for bringing in other businessmen.  We should have admitted long ago what he is, but our R's are too complicit in this now.  After 3 months, he should have been on the way out, and fast.  And the majority of the people of this country agree with that.   But because we were stupid, lazy, complacent or whatever, we allowed our country to be gerrymandered so much that the majority has no power, only voice.  So now we look like a country that is being played because we didn't see something like this coming and prepare, legally.  Trump was our Trojan horse, completely opposite of the gift many people thought he was. 

    And to top that, we have the same sort of shit going on in WI, MI and other states right now.    We have always trusted our leaders to have at least some low standard of respect for the system to not job it.  We never anticipated that amoral self serving people would gain so much power (see McConnell, Cruz, Graham, Grassley, et al) to be able to thwart the checks and balance system.  Or to be corrupted or susceptible to compromise after gaining office. 

    Being caught flat footed, and with a congress full of lizards was the true embarrassment.  At least we started doing something about the latter part this last election.  Hopefully that will be the start of righting the ship.

     

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