US Politics Thread 2021-24

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

My gut feeling is he did make the call Chris.

Probably. What was discussed is only conjecture.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Probably. What was discussed is only conjecture.

Rgr that.

[Jimbuna]

This is from last night but I'm surprised this guy has the cheek to stand up and give a speech on politics.

Former President Bill Clinton is expected to give a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday night in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The former president, who served in the 1990s and is often remembered for overseeing a rapidly expanding economy and navigating a generational shift in the global geopolitics following the U.S.S.R.'s collapse, is expected to draw a sharp contrast between Harris and former President Donald Trump in his speech.

“In 2024, we have a clear choice: ‘We The People’ versus ‘Me, Myself, and I,’” Clinton is planning to say, according to excerpts of the speech given to reporters in advance.

He is also expected to laud Harris as the only candidate in the race with the character to serve in the Oval Office.

“Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for the chance the American people gave me to be one of the 45 people who have held the job," Clinton's speech reads. "Even on the bad days, you can still make something good happen. Kamala Harris is the only candidate in this race with the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes—the sheer joy—to do that on good and bad days. To be our voice.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...d18dec74&ei=27

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Mike Huckabee.

These are the “Top Ten Corrections to Lies About Trump That You’ll Likely Hear at the DNC.”

1. Trump’s 2016 campaign did not collude with Russia. They wasted $30 million of our tax money investigating that groundless accusation.

2. Trump did not incite his followers to riot or attack police on January 6th, 2021. He told them to protest “peacefully and patriotically,” and after the riot started, he urged them to obey the police and leave quietly.

3. Trump did not try to grab the wheel of the Presidential limo and force his driver to take him to the Capitol on January 6th. That’s now been debunked by all the alleged witnesses.

4. Trump never said there were “very fine people” among the neo-Nazis at Charlottesville; he actually said those people “should be condemned totally.”

5. Trump did not refuse to visit a US military cemetery in France because, he said, the soldiers there were “suckers and losers.” The trip was canceled because the weather was too dangerous for his helicopter to take off; and the “Suckers and losers” quote was refuted by everyone present, including people who are not Trump fans.

6. Trump never said he planned to be a dictator from day one if reelected. He scoffed at the accusation, then joked that he would be a dictator for only one day, when he'd order the border sealed and oil companies to “drill, baby, drill.” Joking about being a dictator for one day and vowing to be a dictator from day one are two very different things.

7. Trump did not say there would be a “bloodbath” if he didn’t win. He said there would be a bloodbath (financial) in the auto industry if Biden did win.

8. Trump never suggested that Americans inject or drink bleach to fight COVID. Seriously, did anyone really believe that one?

9. Trump’s platform is called Agenda 47, not Project 2025. That’s a Heritage Foundation initiative that Trump had nothing to do with and has dismissed.

10. Trump does not back a federal abortion ban; he agrees with the Supreme Court that it’s a state issue.

There are many other debunked lies about Trump that are as worn-out as Columbo’s raincoat, but if we could just edit those 10 out of all the speeches we’re about to hear, they could probably wrap this convention up in two hours. If you must watch this Super Bowl of hooey, then print this list out and have it by your chair. However, I would not suggest turning it into a game by taking a drink every time you hear one, or you might die of alcohol poisoning.

Most of that is thin white washing that scratches off easily.

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Most of that is thin white washing that scratches off easily.

I know right? And another thing that bothers me is… “People need to stop overreacting about Kamala’s plan to reduce food inflation, as if it would lead to communism, mass starvation, and the end of America.

I worked in M&A in the food industry. Here’s a step-by-step summary of what would actually happen:

1. The government announces that grocery retailers aren’t allowed to raise prices.

2. Grocery stores, which operate on 1-2% net margins, can’t survive if their suppliers raise prices. So the government announces that food producers (Kraft Heinz, ConAgra, Tyson, Hormel, et. al.) also aren’t allowed to raise prices.

3. Not all grocery stores are created equal. Stores in lower-income areas make less money than those in higher-income areas, as the former disproportionately sell lower-margin prepackaged foods (“center of the store”) instead of higher-margin fresh products like meat (“perimeter of the store”). Because stores in lower-income areas aren’t able to cover overhead (remember, even if their wholesale costs are fixed, their labor, utilities, insurance, and other operating expenses aren’t fixed… yet), grocery chains start to shut them down. Food deserts in rural areas and in low-income urban areas alike become worse.

4. Meanwhile, margins for food producers are also quickly eroding. Their primary costs (ingredients, energy, and labor) aren’t fixed, and their shrinking gross profits leave less cash flow available to cover overhead, maintain facilities, and reinvest in additional production capacity.

5. Grocery chains, which have finite shelf space, start to repurpose their stores (those they didn’t have to shut down, I should say) to sell more non-price-controlled items—everything from nutrition supplements to kitchenware to apparel—and less price-controlled food products. Your local Kroger or Safeway starts to look and feel more like a Walmart.

6. Food producers stop making products with lower margins. Grocery chain start competing with each other to secure inventory. Since they can’t compete by offering stronger prices (remember, producers aren’t allowed to raise prices here, and, even if they could, grocery chains no longer have the gross profit to bear price increases), they compete on things like payment terms.

7. Small grocery chains start to shut down entirely, or get sold to larger chains like Kroger. In addition to not being able to cover fixed costs, a major reason for this is because they can no longer reliably secure delivery of products, due to producers prioritizing sales to larger customers, which are able to leverage their stronger balance sheets to offer superior payment terms.

8. Smaller food producers—which typically sell via distributors, rather than directly to grocery chains—start to go out of business. Because these producers have an additional step their value chains, and because they have lower volumes over which to spread their fixed costs, their cost structure is inherently disadvantaged compared to major food producers. When grocery stores aren’t able to raise prices, cutting product costs becomes all the more important, and deprioritizing purchases from smaller producers is an easy way to do so.

9. As supply chains break down, lines start to form outside grocery stores every morning. Cities assign police officers to patrol store parking lots, and food producers draft contingency plans to assign armed escorts to delivery trucks.

10. The federal government announces a program to issue block grants for states to purchase and operate shuttered grocery stores. The USDA also seizes closed-down production facilities.

11. The government announces that prices for all key food costs—corn, wheat, cattle, energy, etc.—are also now fixed, to stop “profiteers” from gouging the now-government-operated food industry.

12. Shockingly, the government struggles to operate one of the most complex industries on the planet. The entire food supply chain starts imploding.

12.5 Government can't manage the supply and demand, so they impose ration cards (in today's world, digital app). This controls what and amount you can purchase each month.

Black markets open, where people begin to trade things they don't need for things they need or other things.

13. Communism, mass starvation, and the end of America quickly ensue.

Hey wait a second”.


As Milton Friedman said: consumers don’t cause inflation, producers don’t cause inflation. Government spending is what causes inflation.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Most of that is thin white washing that scratches off easily.

If you watch CNN.

[Jimbuna]

A fair indicator of what possibly lies ahead?

Trump tells fans he has enough votes: Primary focus now 'to make sure they don't cheat'

Former President Donald Trump told voters in North Carolina on Wednesday that getting people out to vote isn't his campaign's main goal this year — a message he shared despite the election being just 76 days away.

“Our primary focus is not to get out the vote — it's to make sure they don’t cheat," Trump said. "We have all the votes we need, you can see it, every house along the way has signs, Trump, Trump, Trump."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...301446a3&ei=42

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

If you watch CNN.

I don't, or MSNBC, or FOX.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

I don't, or MSNBC, or FOX.

They all suck truth be told. Same talking heads day in, day out. Same narrative. Same BS.

[mapuc]

If you are a Pro-Dem then CNN is your channel of choice.
If you are a Pro-Rep/Trump then Fox Is your channel of choice

Don't know which type of people watch MSNBC

Markus

[mapuc]

Your reaction to this accusation ?

Vladimir Putin exploited Donald Trump’s “ego and insecurities” to exert an almost mesmeric hold over the former US president, who refused to entertain any negative evaluation of the autocratic Russian leader from his own staff, and ultimately fired his national security adviser, HR McMaster, over it.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/ar...cmaster-memoir

Markus

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Your reaction to this accusation ?



https://www.theguardian.com/books/ar...cmaster-memoir

Markus

British state run tabloid news, expect nonsense. Belongs in U.K. politics thread with the rest of the tabloid trash its their news paper directed at their home audience. Let them discuss it.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

British state run tabloid news, expect nonsense. Belongs in U.K. politics thread with the rest of the tabloid trash its their news paper directed at their home audience. Let them discuss it.

Well sorry then I thought since the article was about Trump it belonged here in our US Politics Thread.

Markus

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Well sorry then I thought since the article was about Trump it belonged here in our US Politics Thread.

Markus

It’s directed at British audiences. Since nobody here in U.S. reads or subscribes British tabloid news I can’t imagine why it would be of interest anyone here. We got enough b.s. in our own domestic media to sift through.

It really has nothing to do with Trump. Articles like that are meant for one thing and that’s to sell the book.

[Buddahaid]

RFK Jr. is expected to drop out of the running and endorse Trump tomorrow. Hard to say if that's good, or bad, for Trump.