They have not forgotten. They are convinced that kissing the ring or ass is necessary if the are to be reelected. Those who refuse have decided not to run again.

Has anyone else noticed that now that all the sycophants are now wearing red ties Trump is now wearing other colored ties?

There is an interesting article over at the libertarian outlet, Reason, entitled, "New York Prosecution's Story About Trump Featured Several Logically Impossible Claims."

It begins:

Last January, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg summed up his case against Donald Trump this way: "We allege falsi cation of business records to the end of keeping information away from the electorate. It's an election interference case."

That gloss made no sense, because the records at the center of the case—11 invoices, 11 checks, and 12 ledger entries that allegedly were aimed at disguising a hush-money reimbursement as payment for legal services—were produced after the 2016 presidential election. At that point, Michael Cohen, Trump's lawyer, had already paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep her from talking about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, and Trump had already been elected. The prosecution's case against Trump, which a jury found persuasive enough to convict him on all 34 counts yesterday, was peppered with temporal puzzles like this one. — New York Prosecution's Story About Trump Featured Several Logically Impossible Claims

Do the logicians here think that these sorts of claims are logically possible? :chin:

I suppose the other question is, "Is it logically possible to talk about Trump logically?" :grin:

Attacking those buildings doesn't really come through as much of a coup d'état attempt by itself, but I might definitely be missing something. — jorndoe

Right, of course.

Might be more interesting to back-track what participants/organizers did, whether they got together beforehand, where (or from who) their ideas originated or otherwise were reinforced, what their motivations were, ... — jorndoe

Maybe, but it may well lead nowhere. I don't know that it was well-coordinated or thought-out in any sense.

Some interesting material here for those, like me, who are a bit bemused how Trump is popular at all, etc.

The bloated government and its base is scared of Trump’s idea of ending taxes on tips, likely because it will affect their own meal ticket. We can’t have service workers keeping their own money.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated Sunday that exempting tip income from federal income and payroll taxes could lead to a decrease of $150 billion to $250 billion in federal revenues over a decade.

https://thehill.com/business/budget/4725520-trump-plan-to-nix-taxes-on-tips-could-cost-250-billion-analysis/

The bloated government and its base is scared of Trump’s idea of ending taxes on tips, likely because it will affect their own meal ticket. We can’t have service workers keeping their own money. — NOS4A2

Reducing tax revenue does not result in decreased government spending- it actually increases it, by increasing national debt and the interest paid to service that debt.

My question is: why focus specifically on tips? Why not simply lower taxes (or increase the earned income tax credit) for low incomes? This seems fairer.

Do the logicians here think that these sorts of claims are logically possible? — Leontiskos

Yes. The payment to Stormy was made before the election, and it was made to kill the story (interfering with the election). The payment amounted to a loan to Trump, which he repaid after the election.

Reducing tax revenue does not result in decreased government spending- it actually increases it, by increasing national debt and the interest paid to service that debt.

My question is: why focus specifically on tips? Why not simply lower taxes (or increase the earned income tax credit) for low incomes? This seems fairer.

It reduces the incidence of government theft. It’s not their money in the first place.

Food and hospitality businesses are struggling to retain workers. This is an added incentive. He’s already lowed income taxes, and The Tax Cuts and Jobs act hasn’t expired yet. Biden is trying to eliminate it.

My question is: why focus specifically on tips? — Relativist

Because you are addressing a service industry workforce, obviously, and that is what you think they will want to hear.

Or does anyone think that Trump is a super generous tipper who wants to help the poor folk?

Food and hospitality businesses are struggling to retain workers. This is an added incentive. He’s already lowed income taxes, and The Tax Cuts and Jobs act hasn’t expired yet. Biden is trying to eliminate it. — NOS4A2

So - you support the government intervening to help ailing business sectors. You consider taxes to be "theft". So do you propose eliminating all the "theft", or do you accept some degree of it?

The Paul Ryan tax plan will expire next year (the personal income tax side of it), so the "do nothing" option will result in higher taxes for all individuals. Biden has committed to keeping current tax rates for everyone making under $400K, while raising taxes on higher earners and corporations. Trump has promised to keep taxes at current levels and suggested lowering corporate taxes further.

I don't consider taxation to be theft; rather, it's the cost of doing business in this country (and it's pretty profitable to do business in this country). My view on tax and spending is that Democrats are too free to spend money while GOP is always over-eager to cut taxes. Trump is both a free-spender and a tax cutter: both lunacies in a single package. To be fair, Trump does propose raising revenue with import tarriffs, but this will result in trade wars and increase inflation. I truly wish GOP had nominated a rational person who could work with both sides to try and reduce the insanity. Biden is a better bet for some level of sanity on taxes, as compromise with GOP will be needed to pass anything.

I support cutting taxes, yes. Taxes are not only theft, but forced labor. Taking the earnings from a certain number of hours of labor is like taking a certain number of hours from the person.

The forecast of Biden’s tax policies as indicated by The Tax Foundation is pretty bad. The whole article is worth a read but I’ll quote the summary:

The president’s tax policy proposals as outlined in the State of the Union address would make the tax code more complicated, unstable, and anti-growth, while also expanding the amount of spending in the tax code for a variety of policy goals not related to revenue collection.

…

In sum, President Biden is proposing extraordinarily large tax hikes on businesses and the top 1 percent of earners that would put the U.S. in a distinctly uncompetitive international position and threaten the health of the U.S. economy. The budget ignores or makes unrealistic assumptions about the fiscal cost of major proposals as well as economic growth under higher marginal tax rates on work and investment, concealing what is likely to be a substantial cost borne by American workers and taxpayers.

https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/biden-budget-2025-tax-proposals/

For some reason raising taxes on corporations and top earners sound good to pro-government functionaries, probably because they enjoy the benefits of other people’s money and efforts too much to pass it up, but it just means they raise their prices, stop hiring, and refuse to increase wages. The rest of us bear the cost. So once you get past the pomp and fluff, Biden’s insanity reveals itself on a simple analysis.

sum, President Biden is proposing extraordinarily large tax hikes on businesses and the top 1 percent of earners that would put the U.S. in a distinctly uncompetitive international position and threaten the health of the U.S. economy.

:rofl:

Always the same stupid excuses by plutocratic apologists.

Too big to fail. Too big to jail. And too big to tax.

It’s a law of nature that 90% of profits have to go to shareholders, so naturally if more goes to taxes or workers, cuts will have to be made to maintain the status quo.

Never mind that these companies are making billions in profits off the backs of their workers. Never mind that real wages have stagnated under “trickle down” economics.

:100: :smirk:

I think Biden's proposed corporate tax hikes are too high - they would damage the economy. They also won't happen- even if Dems unanamously supported them (they won't), they won't have 60 seats in the Senate. That's why Trump's plan is more dangerous: his revenue increases are entirely through tarriffs - which he can impose unilaterally.

The literal Streisand Effect. I checked out the story Babs was referring to and it appears a bunch of Biden influencers, like Streisand, are going full 1984 pretending it didn’t happen.

https://nypost.com/2024/06/16/us-news/biden-appears-to-freeze-up-has-to-be-led-off-stage-by-obama-at-mega-bucks-la-fundraiser/

Why does Biden have to be led around like a child?

Someone who's already convinced Biden is a doddering old fool, will see that in the clip - that's what we call confirmation bias.

Biden suffers from spondylosis, which is age-related spinal arthritis, and neuropathy in his feet. These have affected his walking.

Someone who's already convinced Biden is a doddering old fool, will see that in the clip - that's what we call confirmation bias.

Biden suffers from spondylosis, which is age-related spinal arthritis, and neuropathy in his feet. These have affected his walking.

I wasn’t aware neuropathy and spinal arthritis made you space out and wander off.

“Cheap fakes”, the new phrase, straight from the Whitehouse press secretary to be repeated by the complicit media. Don’t believe your lying eyes and ears.

I wasn’t aware neuropathy and spinal arthritis made you space out and wander off. — NOS4A2

Your confirmation bias may be coloring your perception. Are you predicting he'll space out and wander off in the debate? If he doesn't, will you assume he's on some secret miracle drug that's being kept from real dementia patients?

I’ll just say it’s his arthritic spine and neuropathy in his feet.

I'll just say he's decided he prefers the shark to the electrocution.

You’ll just say whatever they tell you to.

@NOS4A2, are you genuinely looking to (conflict with the aim of) dissolving government/state (North America presumably)? If so, then what are you envisioning here?

No, I don’t envision.

, you're not going for no state/government to speak of?

Are you asking if I’d like to see government disappear?

You’ll just say whatever they tell you to. — NOS4A2

Of course I will. The difficulty though is working out who is they and who is we.

For instance the MeidasTouch videos you keep sharing. The “network” originally formed as a political action committee to stop Donald Trump. The sole purpose of a Political Action Committee is to influence an election. Personally I much rather hear your own original opinions than theirs and the Biden campaigns, but I fear there aren’t any.

Personally I much rather hear your own original opinions than theirs and the Biden campaigns, but I fear there aren’t any. — NOS4A2

Of course there aren't. I don't have any experience on which to base my opinions, so i have to rely on theirs. My opinion is that Trump is a miserable self-hating person who projects his hatred onto others, and thinks that everyone else is as horrible as he is. But i never met him, so it is based on the horrible things he says in his recorded speeches all the time with no factual support.

In contrast, The meidas people, while they are obviously anti Trump, make much use of court transcripts, reports in Trump supporting media, and so on. They are clearly biased, but they don't lie all the time unlike most of the Trump supporters and Trump himself.

They told me to say.

But I'm so glad you have your independence, and plenty of unbiased sources!

, well, and/or state, or perhaps to what extent.

Your comments tend to suggest you're into

no state/government to speak of — jorndoe