2020 Political Chatter

[gregl]

Across the board. Civics test to vote; basic personal finance education to graduate high school, and proof of such before anyone signs for a car loan, mortgage, or credit card.

But I digress. Won't happen in the Land of Freedom.

Immigrants have to pass a civics test to become US citizens. But any idiot born here can vote. And you’re 100% right about the lack of personal finance education.

Greg

[fastupslowdown]

Immigrants have to pass a civics test to become US citizens. But any idiot born here can vote. And you’re 100% right about the lack of personal finance education.

Greg

An immigrant probably knows more about the Constitution and American history than the Donald Trump. We're not going to change the Constitution but parties are private organizations .There's nothing stopping the Democrats or the GOP from adopting rules that better vet candidates or provide supervision. Super delegates make even more sense to me than ever.

-Mike G

[bigbill]

Immigrants have to pass a civics test to become US citizens. But any idiot born here can vote. And you’re 100% right about the lack of personal finance education.

Greg

No cares about humanities. We start every workday with a meeting and part of our meeting template is to have an "icebreaker" discussion about some unique topic. When it's my week to run the meeting, we do history. I am amazed when people don't know what century the Civil War occurred. I brought up the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and felt like I was in Idiocracy. These folks have college degrees. As far as personal finance, in 2020, people could withdraw from their 401K without penalty. Just wait until they file income tax.

[Drew]

No cares about humanities. We start every workday with a meeting and part of our meeting template is to have an "icebreaker" discussion about some unique topic. When it's my week to run the meeting, we do history. I am amazed when people don't know what century the Civil War occurred. I brought up the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and felt like I was in Idiocracy. These folks have college degrees. As far as personal finance, in 2020, people could withdraw from their 401K without penalty. Just wait until they file income tax.

LOL on Idiocracy... we’re living it!

I forgot about the 401 deal. I moved the max out of the 401 and into IRA... just to get it away from the bank that does our 401’s... that I hate with a passion. I guess those that took the cash do get three years to pay taxes... maybe it will turn out like 2009 housing assistance and the taxes will Just Go Away.

[vertical_doug]

No cares about humanities. We start every workday with a meeting and part of our meeting template is to have an "icebreaker" discussion about some unique topic. When it's my week to run the meeting, we do history. I am amazed when people don't know what century the Civil War occurred. I brought up the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and felt like I was in Idiocracy. These folks have college degrees. As far as personal finance, in 2020, people could withdraw from their 401K without penalty. Just wait until they file income tax.

Well, Ferdinand was a FOX movie about a bull who like to smell flowers. If your topic had been a recent Disney movie, I think more people would know the plot.

[vertical_doug]

After January 6th, Trump won't be getting any more donations except from the hardest core of supporters. The spigot has been turned off and without social media he's lost a great deal of his ability to communicate. Facebook and Twitter just emasculated Donald Trump. In his mind, this is probably worse than impeachment -Mike G

This is an interesting question. Even though the Social Media companies have banned his account, I doubt they have banned the companies doing the solicitations for donations on social media, email campaigns and telephone. This is where the rubber meets the road, that data has been sold and probably is in a database of the campaign. I expect to hear an AD on WMAL Rush Limbaugh show asking to support Trump in the coming weeks.

[72gmc]

No cares about humanities. We start every workday with a meeting and part of our meeting template is to have an "icebreaker" discussion about some unique topic. When it's my week to run the meeting, we do history. I am amazed when people don't know what century the Civil War occurred. I brought up the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and felt like I was in Idiocracy. These folks have college degrees. As far as personal finance, in 2020, people could withdraw from their 401K without penalty. Just wait until they file income tax.

Send those kids to the Hardcore History podcast. Dan does a great job of describing Archduke Ferdinand's assassination (along with the Duchess). Pretty sure he's charging for the Blueprint for Armageddon shows, but they can cover it with their 401(k)s.

[Drew]

I brought up the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and felt like I was in Idiocracy. These folks have college degrees. As far as personal finance, in 2020, people could withdraw from their 401K without penalty. Just wait until they file income tax.

@bigbill (or anyone else): just in case you need to water your crops... maybe I should do another run???

[bigbill]

@bigbill (or anyone else): just in case you need to water your crops... maybe I should do another run???

You should, I'd buy half a dozen.

[jclay]

Concerning the abject failure of security preparation for last Wednesday, I listened to this on the radio the other day; here's a link to the transcript, it's chilling and worth reading.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021...emists-capitol

This is worth a read as well: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2...box=1610055320

[ides1056]

Timothy Snyder tells the Big Truth about where we are now:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/m...mentsContainer

[Clean39T]

I have very mixed views on impeachment. Trump needs to face repercussions but if impeachment is about removing him from office before January 20th that's simply not going to happen. The Senate is not in session and they there isn't likely to be a 2/3's vote. Still thinking about this. The right thing would be for Trump to resign. Nixon did but Nixon was an institutionalist , Trump is a narcissist or should I say psychopath. -Mike G

He won't resign, not a chance.

One reason to impeach now and push for conviction in the senate, regardless of the removal timing, is to strip him of going forward benefits:

The benefits a president receives after leaving office are outlined in the Former Presidents Act of 1958. That law states that former presidents shall receive a lifetime pension (of approximately $200,000 annually), travel-related expenses up to $1 million each fiscal year, and protection from the Secret Service. It also notes that these benefits shall not be awarded to presidents whose service was terminated by removal “pursuant to section 4 of article II of the Constitution of the United States of America.”

While I find that personally satisfying, the more important reason is of course to send a message to the rest of the world that the United States intends to return to being a nation of laws with some level of moral standards, and to future would be leaders in our government that this aggression will not stand....man.

[ides1056]

^^^

And no intelligence briefings.

[Clean39T]

Timothy Snyder tells the Big Truth about where we are now:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/m...mentsContainer

Timothy Snyder wrote an interesting book Black Earth on the Holocaust a few years back that I found both challenging and interesting - he writes in a pretty engaging style that makes the heavy topic more approachable.. The content was relatively new to me so I can't really judge whether it is a "great book" on the Holocaust, I just haven't read that many.

Here's the NYT's closing take on it:

Using the idioms of globalism, colonialism and ecology, Timothy Snyder’s book may promote warnings, but not because it unlocks a fresh understanding of the Holocaust. Rather, through its horrific descriptions, “Black Earth” elucidates human catastrophe in regions with which a Western audience needs to become more familiar. The book is not a guide to preserve humanity, as Snyder suggests in his closing remarks, but it is important enough to prompt reflection, as with much other learned Holocaust history, on the potential for human destructiveness that resides in a world of ill-understood global calamities.

Anyway, just a bit more from the writer in case the article piques an interest.

[ides1056]

Read the article.

He dissects the Big Lie.

This too is spot on:

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ican-civil-war

[Mark Walberg]

I was very amused today by a cartoon that says,
"In a last ditch effort to win the election, Donald Trump changed his name to Joe Biden."
You know he would do it if he could have thought of it.

[BBB]

No cares about humanities. We start every workday with a meeting and part of our meeting template is to have an "icebreaker" discussion about some unique topic. When it's my week to run the meeting, we do history. I am amazed when people don't know what century the Civil War occurred. I brought up the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and felt like I was in Idiocracy

Interesting parallel by way of Ferdinand. Setting aside that the murder acted as the catalyst to start WW1, Princip was either hated as a terrorist or loved as a patriot trying to get rid of Austro-Hungarian rule. In recent days, the 'protestors' have been labelled as domestic terrorists or, alternatively, patriots. Some things are probably never destined to change.

[Colinmclelland]

...the more important reason is of course to send a message to the rest of the world that the United States intends to return to being a nation of laws with some level of moral standards, and to future would be leaders in our government that this aggression will not stand....man.

That would be cool. Even cooler if the message didn’t need to be fact checked!

[vertical_doug]

From his first debate. The infamous 'Stand Back and Stand By'

These are the thugs in the black 6MWE T-shirts on the capital.

The DOJ just needs to link the rally to the organizers and show it was paid for by Save America PAC. I hope the journalist who wrote the 'Stop the Steal' slogan was not grass roots is right.
I think Mo Brooks who spoke before Trump and told the mob they needed to start kicking ass is expelled. Even yesterday, he was claiming he has proof the riot was antifa.

Journalists really need to focus on the dark money behind all of this.

[jclay]

The more that comes to light about the insurrectionists, the more it becomes clear this was driven by white-supremacy. Remember that in the Civil War, most of combatants for the South were dirt-poor farmers who might have never seen a slave and certainly would never own one. In fact, for the first several years of the war the plantation owners were exempt from service. It was entirely (for the poor farmers) about status/social order. While we need to address the negative and long developing economic issues in order for democracy to survive, we also need to understand and deal with the issue of white status dilution in our changing national demographic.

The political resistance to economic policy changes needed to restore working- and middle-class stability will be enormous. A new fairness doctrine needs to be codified and applied to virtually every communication medium with significant coverage (print, net, and broadcast) as well as getting money in politics under control. That’s obviously an incomplete list and the likelihood that any of it will come to fruition is slim.

Solving our economic issues might mitigate the racism but I think it is vital to understand the root motivations of the insurrectionists and the independence from other problems.

It is also becoming clear that we got very lucky in dodging a serious threat to our government with serious loss of life.

***
There is no end to the articles but this one was in The Guardian this morning; I am in total agreement. Anybody, everybody who had anything to do with the insurgency needs to pay an extremely high price, and not released "on own recognizance" as happened with one Virginia or WV Republican who participated.

Trump attempted a coup: he must be removed while those who aided him pay

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ok-impeachment