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So, in a final act of desperation, lacking any intelligent rebuttal to anyone, you bring in your poor-old 98-year-old mother to get in one more baseless insult, hurled at the great majority of American people who all happen to be Democrats. Have you no decency? Is there any level to which you will not stoop?
And now... we want Oprah Winfrey to run for POTUS based on something she said at a Golden Globe award event
Can't say anything really other than "WHY"
We are just barking mad?!?!?!
We are indeed doomed to repeat history again and again and again
Plato predicted that democracy would lead to nations being governed by bullies and brutes
http://classicalwisdom.com/plato-and-the-disaster-of-democracy/
Peace!
Happy 98th Birthday to my mom. She started out as a Roosevelt Democrat, gave birth to 8 children and decided Democrats are frauds and liars. She is celebrating her 98th Birthday as a Regan Republican and so are the majority of her children and grandchildren....Happy B'Day Mom
#11, page two: We're talking about "election" fraud.
As Legend points out, "Voter" fraud does not exist in any real numbers and is only an invention by Republicans as an excuse to commit election fraud.
Why do you come here to display right-wing stupidity? Are you just baiting liberals, or are you really just plain stupid? To borrow your own sarcastic phraseology from a previous post on this thread: "I suspect the latter."
#7, page two: "I check out links, if the[y] are not someone else's opinion. The links you and DS provided are someone else's opinion more elegantly presented...those opinions, have no sources presented...."
Just on logic, the two sentences above are mutually exclusive: If you don't "check out links" that are someone else's opinion, then how would you know that the links provided "are someone else's opinion..."??? Those sure seem like the mealy-mouthed words of a disingenuous liar twisted into a pretzel. And you are still licensed by the taxpayers to educate their children?! Clearly, our public school system needs to tighten its standards.
And the false assumption in your second paragraph, and previous posts, that the proof was not presented to the "proper authorities" is an assertion based on blind ignorance. In a pathetic attempt to lend credence to your own fact-free opinion, you are now pulling a grab bag of authorities out of yer arse, one of which must "accept" the case for it to meet the burden of proof in your mind. So, as well as a teacher (haha), are you now the Trump Kingdom's great overseer of how justice should proceed?
Because you are blind, everyone else must be too, right? This political hot potato has been presented to the relevant authorities by many people at every level for decades (The Supreme Court injunction against the GOP for caging didn't evolve out of a vacuum.), including culpable red-state legislatures, their secretaries of state, e.g., Kris Kobach, state attorneys general, federal judges, as well as to members of Congress. So far, only progressive Democrats, such as Mark Pocan and others, are seriously pursuing a permanent legislative fix to end election fraud and the Republicans' shameless abuse of voters. Republican so-called "authorities" virtually to the person all up and down the system are avoiding their smelly turd like Fux News does honest reporting. Gee, I wonder why?
Such abuse includes but is not limited to: the demonic Interstate Crosscheck program, (again, Kris Kobach); onerous registration requirements, throwaway "provisional ballots" (placebo voting), phony state voter ID laws, and other legally unnecessary hoops and hurdles designed primarily to target minorities, students, the old, the disabled, and the poor (IOW, people prone to vote Democratic); worn out, error-prone, easily hackable electronic voting machines relegated to heavily populated Democratic districts while the wealthier Republican districts get the new equipment; long discouraging lines in the metropolitan areas of battleground states (you guessed it: with large minorities and poor people -- "them goddamn Dumbocrats!") due to fewer polling stations (which are then moved around from election to election to keep people guessing where to cast their votes), fewer poll workers, fewer days, and fewer hours than Republican districts.
The gut purpose of all these schemes is to reduce turnout, because the GOP, a minority party, knows full well that the more people who vote the less chance they have of winning legitimate elections. I'm not going to do your homework, but just take a look at some of the cases brought all the way up to the Supreme Court (Is that a good enough "authority" for you?) to do with red state attempts to make voting harder for minorities and certain others. The only way you could miss the big picture is to deliberately avoid it, much like the corporate media does. (Go figure.)
Sadly, it's true that establishment politicians on both sides of the aisle sucking off big-money donors -- including politically appointed, partisan federal judges -- would just as soon bury uncomfortable realities for political expediency. After all, election fraud is a spear aimed at the beating heart of democracy, a scandal of such monumental proportions that it would completely upend establishment politics as we know it (Please!). It takes a brave soul to go up against Goliath.
You obviously did not sit through the 48 minutes of Link TV's interview with Greg Pallast, a seasoned investigative reporter who also was one of the FBI's top investigators (the lead on the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska) before making his life's mission the exposure of rapacious billionaires and their monumental crimes against society (such as the Valdez spill and Exxon's slow-walk of the cleanup and settlement money, as they waited for the affected members of the Inuit to die off).
And, like a dog with a bone ever since the 2000 election shenanigans, Palast has been all over Republicans' massive state efforts to purge or otherwise disenfranchise millions of Democrats in key districts from sea to polluted sea. Although he has an entertaining and colorful personality, with an equally interesting past to match it, when it comes to his hands-on, gumshoe detective work, he is as thorough and straight down the middle as any committed professional, probably more than most.
BTW, Greg Palast is not the only credible investigator who has delved into this matter, which should be of utmost importance to every voter in America -- Republican, Democrat, independent, and third party alike. Brad Friedman, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Amy Goodman are also straight-up reliable sources who have ferreted out some of the damning evidence. Many other entities including foreign observers have been watching, and shaking their heads, at our overly burdensome election process that prevents and/or discourages so many citizens from exercising their primary duty (which I believe should be mandatory.)
Probably one of the most telling pieces of evidence is what 2950-10k brought up above: the fact that machine tallies are wildly off the mark from the exit-polling, the U.N. international gold standard to determine if election fraud has taken place. Even our own government relies on exit polls when it observes the election processes of other governments, including Putin's ruthless dictatorship posing as democracy
I'm sorry if non-subjective truth sounds like a liberal conspiracy to your right-wing ears plugged up with self-dealing corporate/Republican propaganda. That you are (evidently) mentally and emotionally incapable of distinguishing opinion from fact is a personal problem that you must suffer, not the rest of us.
Again, Greg Palast is an excellent starting point for further research. Also, you might swallow your partisan pride for a little while and perhaps "check out" his website as well as his books to quell your ignorance. (Yeah right, that'll be the day!)
https://www.linktv.org/shows/greg-palast-the-best-democracy-money-can-buy/episodes/greg-palast-the-best-democracy-money-can
Your 2nd paragraph demonstrates how completely clueless you are. Screaming about voter fraud is a righty/fascist agenda. They do this to promote Kris Kobach and his agenda to disenfranchise voters. They are madly disenfranchising voters in every Republican Governed state. The really scary part is you claim to be teaching our youth in a public school with your totally ignorant thinking. If you had read any of the links you would be better educated on the subject but you live with your head in the sand (politely put).
Legend:
I read the local paper, the Carroll County Times (owned by the Baltimore Sun). I also read articles from the NY Times, The Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. I don't listen to any Talk Radio, I only watch local news from an independent TV station in Hagerstown, MD.
I only found one of two convictions you sited in Denver. A GOP party chairman was convicted of signing his ex-wifes absentee ballot. Hardly a national conspiracy. If voter Fraud exists to the extent you and the other washed up lefties say it does, how come there aren't more indictments, trials and convictions?
Oh, one more thing, I usually read my horoscope. Which is the same category I place the references sited by you and deepspace. Have a nice day. ( You see I even promote the general welfare).
As an aside, here is a summary of the book Don Quixote:
In Spain, in the sixteenth century, an elderly gentleman named Don Quixote has gone mad from reading too many books on chivalry. Proclaiming himself a knight, he sets out with his squire, Sancho Panza, to reform the world and revive the age of chivalry, choosing a slut to be his noble lady Dulcinea. He mistakes inns for castles, a play about chivalry for the real thing, flocks of sheep for armies, convicts for wronged prisoners, and windmills for giants. While he and Sancho are off on their adventures, his niece, her fiancee, and the local priest think up a strategy to get him back home.
I am a volunteer via IRS VITA/TCE tax assistance program now in it's 50th year. Non profits participate with the IRS and I volunteer through AARP. They put on a breakdown of the 2017 tax overhaul (scam) as follows:
Impact of 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act - 2018-01-07 by Steve Conary
This is a summary of the changes to federal tax law in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that will most likely impact some or all of the taxpayers typically served. This summary is not intended to address every detail and there are other changes in the Act. Except for the first listed item, the changes are not effective until tax year (TY) 2018 or later:
Threshold for itemized medical deductions is now 7.5% of AGI for all effective January 1, 2017. Reverts to 10% in TY2019. This is the only change that impacts TY2017 returns.
Increased standard deduction
Eliminated personal exemption deductions
Changed tax brackets
Child Tax Credit (CTC) increased from $1,000 to up to $2,000 for children under age 17, with up to $1,400 refundable
Added $500 nonrefundable credit for other dependents
Alimony becomes nontaxable for the recipient and non-deductible for the payer for specified divorce or separation agreements executed or modified after December 31, 2018
Shared Responsibility Payment (SRP) reduced to zero for tax years after December 31, 2018
Section 529 education plans can be used to pay for elementary, secondary or higher education or rolled over to an ABLE account
Lower debt limit for new home mortgage interest deduction
Repealed deduction for home equity loan interest
Higher overall limit on charitable contributions
State and local tax deduction capped at $10,000
Repealed miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to 2% floor
Recharacterizations of Roth conversions no longer allowed
Many of the new rates and provisions will expire after 2025. In the interim, the majority of the taxpayers served will likely see a federal tax cut. As examples – for a taxpayer with an AGI of ~$27,000, the federal tax liability drops ~330 if MFJ and ~$370 if Single and over 65 with no dependents.
Individuals paying quarterly estimated taxes will require calculation of TY2018 payments using the new law. The NTTC recommend using the Bogart Estimated Tax Worksheet. Volunteers should not spend the time to estimate 2018 taxes in other situations. There are several calculators on the Internet that taxpayers can use to evaluate their specific situation.
To receive the CTC (both the refundable and non-refundable portions), a taxpayer must include a valid-for-work Social Security number for each qualifying child for whom it is claimed. This requirement does not apply to a non-child dependent for whom the $500 non-refundable credit is claimed.
SRP will be payable for TY2017 and TY2018 unless the individual has coverage or an exemption. Volunteers cannot ignore SRP if it is due and the IRS has indicated it will pursue returns that are silent about medical coverage.
There are provisions for individual taxpayers who are self-employed to deduct a portion of their qualified business income from their taxable income, subject to certain (rather involved) criteria.
State Returns. As always, state income tax implications of the federal changes will vary by state.
Bachmann of all people is accusing someone else of not having their own opinions/thought....I'm laughing so hard I almost pulled an abdominal muscle.
Anyway her comment that no evidence of election fraud actually exists???? ...exit polls showed Clinton won four crucial swing states that ended up going to Crooked Donny. These polls confirmed the pre-election polls as well. Even the corpse media was scratching it's head about these polls.
Kobach's cross check purge is third world crap...lock him up.. lock him up! All of those who were illegally purged need to unite and charge Kobach with election engineering and thus fraud. We are not a lawless country.... yet.
The Fascists couldn't help themselves,...a Supreme Court pick....billionaire tax cuts..fraud friendly government for Wall Street ....privatization of Social Security...you name it.
You obviously did not look at any of the links. 2 of the links are to Google lists of references (pick 1 or read many). 1 link is from the Denver Post a respected conservative 1% owned newspaper. I hope that the voter fraud criminals (all 2 of them) get long prison terms. And Deepspaces link is to a Documentary film that you are free to find fault in. Perhaps you can educate us on where you get references, documentation. Also what sources you get opinion from.
@6 Legend:
I check out links, if the are not someone else's opinion. The links you and DS provided are someone else's opinion more elegantly presented...those opinions, have no sources presented....
You say you have lost the right to unmolested elections...If you have proof, you are obligated to present it to one or all of the following : the board of elections, attorney generals (state and federal), ACLU, and others. If you don't have proof acceptable to these organizations,....we'll, I guess you are "tilting at windmills".
The freedom do live in a country with free unmolested elections. I get my new from many sources. Not Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. Once again you do not listen to the show so how can you comment. You do not read the posted links.
A lot of readers do not look at the links. Deepspaces link in #42 is well worth watching. I posted similar info in #4 and #23. Since you never comment on the links it is obvious that you do not look at them.
@4 Legend:
So to review, you get your information from a radio talk show, and the internet. Do you read the walls in restrooms too? You still haven't answered the question; "What specific rights have you lost?" You appear to be free to travel outside the country, so that can't be it. My guess is there isn't any. You have become Don Quixote.
#41.because you do not listen to the show or read the links You do not understand the answers. Currently in Brazil. One of the more unequal countires in the world. The USA is rapidly heading this direction. 1%, Small middle class and a lot of poverty. Max income tax 27%. Consumer tax is 50%. You shape the revenue to come from the poorest.
Deepspace #47, And right on cue, we have a post from "Hotcoffee" the most divisive uniter of all time to clear up any doubt as to how Trump became president.
Doorknobs, What could I possibly be angry about? Admittedly, I may take my cues more from Mike Malloy than Thom. Civil conversation gets you nowhere with todays brand of conservatives. Look what it did for Obama and as a result the rest of us. Since it can't get any worse, what do I have to lose? Believe me, if these bastards really knew what I think of them, I'd probably be in a cell down in Guantanamo with a feeding-tube stuck up my ass.
Thanks for the compliment, 2950-10k; much appreciated. It's really not an individual thing though. Never underestimate the tremendous power of a simple truth that reflects an outward reality, no matter who says it or how it's said.
The really difficult truths that you have been expressing with such strong passion and persuasion have their own natural eloquence for that reason. Your voice has real power, as do a rich variety of other concerned human beings who take the trouble to post on this blog (haha, with some notable exceptions).
Nobody of course gets all the complexities of any given issue completely right, especially in the realm of politics where subjective attitudes and preconceived notions are deeply intertwined with raw emotion and usually persist for a lifetime. But we can still try, dammit!
That's why the concept of a free press and free speech was enshrined in the First Amendment. The modern-day incarnation of those principles is net neutrality -- a free and open internet unfettered by corporate influence and greed. Oh wait, that's one of the rights the People just lost under Trump's rule in favor of billionaires' "right" to expand their empires and suck more blood from the little people.
At this point, politics hardwired to science rather than to false religion and big money is probably humankind's only hope. No matter the flavor of personalities, styles, or worldviews, only objective observation of outward facts matter in the end. Vote accordingly.
deepspace: I'm always amazed by your wordsmithing. I hope you're in a position of public influence somewhere, or write a column in a paper ....lord knows we need truth spoken to power more than ever now. Stopgap, and others amaze me as well. I apologize for my less creative expressions, but will fight on none the less.
LOL....Worn Out: You seem really out there....are you on meds? I hope you're just trying to be sarcastic, because I don't want to pick on somebody with real issues. Anyway, Trump says he likes stupid people too....you may find comfort in that.
Maybe you didn't understand my post. Cha Ching and Bachmann can't handle me throwing realtiy back at their foxmerized selfs. It's called creating cognitive dissonance. For example Diane doesn't really believe Thom is a Communist after actually calling him that.....why do I feel like I'm wasting my time?
My friend 2950-10K
Don't worry my friend I still talk to stupid people. Us stupid people have to stick together. You make so much sense. Our Friend stopgap sounds angry. He needs to clean up his blue language. Thank you for being there my friend.
So, while the folks on social media throw slop at each other....the Bushes, Clintons, Obamas, are all one big happy family waiting for the next disaster so you can text them money to puff up their pockets. Haiti even asked that we not give to the Clinton's, Bushes, during the last hurricane.
All of the politicans hate Trump which is why he got elected. The people hoped he would clean house. Personally I don't care for most of the people he has choosen to put in high positions, same ole Bush people.
We definatly need to get rid of Citizens United.
For one week of the primary and one week of the election TV should turn the stations into free polictcal time for all running.....nothing else allowed to be aired. Seems FCC could mandate that for the public good.
Question ... would you change your mind if you find out Hillary really was just a pay to play shill that didn't care about anything but money & power?
People voted Trump in because they are fed up with the dynastys and hoped all would get the point. Maxine Waters acts like a female Trump...so its not like the left doesn't have it's share of loud mouths.
Then there is the split between people who want the NWO, agenda 21, and people who don't.
Greg Palast, John Perkins and Glenn Greenwald all make valid points. Glenn has never been on the right and even he knows CNN and MSNBC has gone off the rails.
George Soros and antifa, the Koch Bros and greed, neither one is our friend!
But as long as they keep us divided they can keep reaping the spoils...right?
2950-10K. It certainly is an exercise in futility trying to respond to the trolls' willful ignorance and nonsensical logic, but it's good for laughs. What's not so funny, however, is the extent of mind control targeted at the susceptible electorate that the Koch network of billionaire donors, with their compliant media empires and politicians, has accomplished in such a relatively short period of time.
It's staggering how the truly bizarre has become so commonplace: a Supreme Court that consistently rules in favor of mega-monopolies over the rights of ordinary citizens; a Congress beholding to the wealthy donor class, where the concerns of ordinary citizens are nothing more than random background noise; a White House harboring a tyrannical malignant narcissist and serial sexual predator with serious mental and emotional disorders, who breaks everything and everyone he touches and brags about his "big button," teasing WWIII for his own self-gratification.
In answer to the main topic -- "How America Ended Up With Donald Trump" -- look no further than the hopelessly conditioned minds of "Cha Ching Diane" and "Corndog the Hypocrite," as well as all the other clueless right-wing trolls who have been taught to support fascism over democracy. They are the microcosm of America's much larger problem.
...But they're still good for a few laughs, a little comic relief from hard reality. The funniest thing though, and kinda sad really, is that they are oblivious to their role as the butt of the joke. As is Trump, their guiding light.
deepspace: You must get extremely bored and tired of lecturing the trolls. Your bar is set way beyond their grasp....kind of like preaching that two plus two equals four but getting the same incorrect answer of five, no matter how slow you go.
To answer Thom's question...I'm willing to bet that Crooked Donny will be forced to resign. The Kochs were worried that pushing him out too soon would jeopardize/slow down the tax scam bill and thus screw up the current Stock Market insanity. The only thing left for the Fascists to do now is to downsize and privatize the safety net. Oil drilling everywhere, tax cuts, and perpetual for profit warfare have already been locked in.
Bachmann avoids me....he/she says she doesn't speak to stupid people. Yep, that was her lame excuse to escape the pain of extreme cognitive dissonance.