My office manager told me that she was unsure as to who to vote for, because of inflation. So I told her that Trump's tariffs are really a sales tax that will increase inflation. So, she said, milk is $8 a gallon at her local supermarket. So I said go to Trader Joe's, where it's $3.50 a gallon, and she said "I don't have time to go to Trader Joe's!" And I said, that's why your local supermarket can gouge you, look up the price again. Well, it was actually $4.50 a gallon and she was really surprised.
Prices are starting to come down, and who is better than a former prosecutor to take on the price gougers?
Really, I fear Harris has not sold herself well. Time is short, we'll keep our fingers and toes crossed...
There is just so much Harris can or could do in such a short time. She's done amazingly well. This is unreasonable to say she has not sold herself well. She's been loud and clear. Who is paying attention? Who cares enough to look at the facts and the truth? (your example above)
I agree. I'm sold. She's done very well, given the circumstances of her late candidacy (Jill Biden, are you listening?). Let's just hope she can pull this shit together in the next few days.
I agree, too. She has been working steadily like a champ in her couple of months, while the orange mess with the “beautiful white skin”, as he has said (ugh, don’t want to think about that*) sways to the music in his head. *Dog whistle, anyone?
Btw, if I wasn’t clear, the *”dog whistle” comment occurred to me in connection with his brag about his “beautiful white skin”. Double ugh. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I don’t trust anything he says.
Joanne, and you should not trust a single word Trump says because that word may well be tied to a lie. The problem, it is hard to tell if the lie is serious or just his dementia-ridden brain tossing out some nonsense. With the crazies he has on his team, it is hard to know.
He’ll say anything to stay out of jail. I just hope that if (when!) he is defeated, Joe doesn’t take his forgiving outlook too far and pardons him. As it is, SCOTUS could be non-supreme and let him off.
I wasn’t being as clear as I hoped to be in my previous comment about his so-called “beautiful white skin”. I felt like it might have been a sneaky reminder toward racial bigotry to his hate filled supporters.
Potter, the American people have been primed to see only white men with an exception or two as true leaders, and those other men are men. Women always have to be far more competent than any man to even be recognized. Kamala Harris is so far superior in every way to Donald Trump it is embarrassing to hear parts of their speeches next to each other when her ordinary speech to ordinary Americans is put with the best Trump can come up with even through his blue tooth earpiece or whatever he is wearing and she still vastly outshines him. How do we get people to notice that Trump has dementia, can hardly put a sentence together that makes sense and is not a hateful diatribe against someone well, like Liz Cheyney? When the media is not on board with Harris, woman, you know, and it is clear Bezos, for example, would rather bow to Trump than to support the candidate he knows is the one who should be president, we are in trouble as a nation. So much for free press, free to do what or free from what; it's not clear.
I think you/we have been giving people too much credit unfortunately for being able to see the difference. Some do. And this is precisely the divide. We are re-sorting ourselves. What is obvious to us is not to those that use a different sense of what is important to them, their sense of themselves and their lives. I think a lot has been baked in. So Trump was able to to appeal to this. The independents and undecideds are infuriating. People do not understand mental illness either. Many have psychological handicaps or a form of mental illness themselves or lifelong hangups. Musk is a jerk it seems. People love to feel they belong. Trump needs them. The hate and resentment he provides is addictive and satisfying. These people are lost and they just have to be defeated. The rest we work to convince. I have no hope for unity in this country after this revelation of who we are. This has been an awakening for me.
PS I think the media has been largely on board. They have tried to do both sides but they have awakened and have reformed b/c of a lot of criticism and have come around mostly in my opinion.
AARP interviewed both candidates on their approach to reducing inflation. Harris: Go after the price-fixing, gouging corporations. Trump (he's stuck in this loop): More oil wells.
The side-by-side, line-by line comparisons are really good and should be part of big ad campaigns - but maybe there's not time now. They are clear and easy to see in that kind of display.
In 2015 the main stream media presented Donald and Fred Trump history from five decades. So democracy is such a mess that here we are with more information in real time burdened with doubts about who voters will choose. Additionally the fear is if Trump loses there will be violence. Trump was president at the time he could pull strings January 6. Now as Joe Biden is in charge. When Trump is defeated at the polls he will be immediately abandoned by his parasite political supporters and left with the camo adorned maga crowd growling and having no bite.
I think Harris has sold herself just fine, given that she has only been running since August. Plus she has had a huge circle of support. If she doesn’t win it not her. She has been brilliant in the time she has had to do so.
I'm not sure why she hasn't mentioned the anti-trust enforcement when she is asked about inflation. Monopolies also reduce wages and allow poor working conditions.
Carolyn, I think because the MONEY people would go crazy. I wrote to her VP email asking her to keep Lina Khan and to start a weekly fireside chat of some kind for all Americans to listen when she is elected .
Weekly fireside with the tenor of speaking to an uncle as in easy calming conversation that we all need. Same time every week with no breaks to advertisements and real time on social media.
Please never again hear a gotcha question from poorly motivated media.
Frankom, you are so right about our pathetic media with their gotcha questions that go nowhere and mean nothing, only to Harris, of course. I do like the idea of the "fireside chats." It could really help people become more informed with how the government works for them, and sometimes doesn't work well, but could.
Because she's trying really hard not to piss off the big corps. She's trying to be the president for everyone right now. The problem with that is she's not taking a hard enough stand that big corps to pay their fair share of taxes. This is exactly what has allowed these billionaires to wield so much power that they think they can tell the government what to do.
Liz Takacs : Yes, timing is everything. She is smart. She has mentioned the fact that corporations are price gouging, and indicated that she is opposed to , specifically the gouging on grocery prices. In time she will tackle the taxes owed by the very wealthy.
Denise ; Yes, she is sincere and a tough prosecutor, who is unafraid to enforce the law. But she IS "swimming with sharks", as someone has pointed out. let's see how much support she gets from those on the right who have voted for her and Democracy. I believe she will try to do the right things for US.
Liz, you are right, but alas, Harris does not have much choice with Trump collecting billions from foreign entities, rich billionaires who want to control his presidency, and desperate cult members willing to give their whole savings to support Trump, their deity. Harris has lots of small donor money, but it is hard for her to compete with Trump's outrageous money. It is crazy. The ads those corporations and PACs produce against Harris, often with dark money are filled with lies and so many people can't distinguish what is real because Trump has been everpresent for more than 2 decades, most of what was presented by and about him were lies, half-truths, and silence related to what was really going on with Trump. It is nearly impossible to compete with that and the vast financial resources without having some of that corporate money too.
Carolyn, I suspect, she can't mention everything and monopolies don't mean much to working-class people because they don't see how it matters to them even though it definitely matters when it comes to their lives. Trying to explain how in such a short time would be difficult if not impossible and would just get Harris criticism for not reaching the people where they are or some other such nonsense. Unlike Trump, Harris is trying to cover many issues that matter to people and do it in a clear concise way in a time frame that lets people not be overwhelmed. Trump rattles on for more than an hour at a time saying nothing positive about anything and gets as much coverage or more. Truly amazing!
About the same in Az. And sometimes less at Kroger plus because they could not merge with safeway/Albertsons there is some competition, not enough but some.
I don't suppose the opinion of 23 Nobel economists saying that Trump policies will worsen inflation would have any salience for your office manager. You might try.
Steve - I find it slightly amusing that right now the companies are buying a lot of stock from China and other countries. Basically, his tariffs idea is having the opposite effect and giving other countries a lot of money in trade.
Great point there, Laurie. Harris is an Establishment Dem, and she IS beholden to some big-money donors. I hope she'll move leftward after she's inaugurated, but I'm not gonna bet the farm.
Whatever happens, it will be better than what the Blitso fg has to offer and his buddies, Vance, Musk and RFKJr., along with a host of others, from the stacked "Supreme" Court to the Federalist Society to the Heritage Foundation to the billionaires and their hero, Putin. and sadly more sycophants too numerous to mention. We need to restore Justice, in the DOJ and the Courts, from top to bottom. There is much that has to be accomplished to get back to the point where we can continue to strive for a "more perfect Union". One intelligent, brave and smart woman cannot do it single handedly. We are getting a close look at what we are up against right now. They are killing fertile women, 'just' because they can.
There is only one market where I live and I use Pacific brand Coconut Milk, with my whole wheat biscuits.. It was $2.39 for a quart, I bought a quart today it iwas $3.39. Safeway (Albertson) is the supplier for my market, locally owned and not at all a price gouger, he lives in the community and customers know him, he is just passing on prices he pays.
This is not the issue now. It’s really unsmart to insinuate Harris is to blame or has been able to to do anything about this and to cast a shadow on her in a situation that we have that is much more basically dire with the threat of Trump. Prices and inflation are a normal problem when we have a normal government working. Even if Biden caused inflation, which he did not, Harris has not in any way times two. Coconut milk on whole wheat biscuits ( what brand?) sounds great. That should really get you going.
Also, coconuts are FODMAPS, which many people can't digest well. Also , whole wheat contains wheat germ agglutinin, which can block glucose from reaching brain cells.and it can cause leaks in the small intestine, to allow leakage in the usually impermeable barrier.
I don't have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, although I am insulin resistant, and try to avoid simple carbohydrates, but it is impossible to avoid complex carbs, so I eat whole wheat bread, when I eat bread, brown rice when I eat rice and whole wheat biscuits (Weetabix)
The inability to property digest or process certain foods is genetic, inherited from ancestors. One may be unable to properly digest cows milk, but have no problem with say goats milk or camels milk
Same with wheat. When doesn't grow in certain environments like Norway, except in small quantities Scotland, Brittany, County Durham, North Umbria and most of Yorkshire, except some dales in West Yorkshire,
because of the soil and climate.
In 1067 Wiliam launched a 2 year ethnic cleansing campaign against the north, called thse days the Harrying of the North, he depopulated the counties of Yorkshire, Durham, and North Umbria, but in doing so he defeated his purpose in conquering England and that was to use it as a tax farm.
In 1070 he tried to repopulate it by offering his Norman lieutenants a barony in the north, they refused because they were accustomed to eating
wheat bread, oats they considered fodder for Scots and Horses, and would have nothing to do with rye and barley bread.
William found a solution, he offered the Breton who commanded his right flank at Hastings, the barony of the north, Alan the Red (Alan Rufus, Alain le Rouge),. The climate and soil of the North were pretty much the climate and soil of Brittany, and the Bretons were accustomed to eating rye, barley and oats.
If one is gluten resistant, then one probably has Norwegian genes and ancestors.
I;m lactose intolerant, probably because I have Eurasian (Sarmatian) ancestry, and the Sarmatian were not herdsmen, if they drank milk it was mares milk.
I don't know the purpose of the comment, because I totally agree with you.
I will go further, since inflation is caused by debt, I don't see that the president has any control over it.
By debt I mean all debt, public and private. The fed does. Jerome Powell helped Trump by lowering the interest rate to near zero, thus increasing the demand for debt, and thus money, but it takes time the inflation effect to work it's way through the economy,it doesn't happen instantaneously.
The fractional reserve system is a debt money system. Where money is created by financial institutions when they fulfill a demand for debt (mortgages, cars, credit cards). Raise the interest rates, and you reduce the demand for debt, and thus reduce the demand for money, lower interest rates and the opposite happens.
The money supply is determined by the demand for debt (public and private).
Government debt, corporate debt and consumer demand for debt is what creates money. No debt no money. No money equals depression.
If Government does not borrow money, it is because congress has tightened the purse strings and hasn't passed bills for the president to sign. And we then have a recession, and if severe enough a depression.
There is a person who does have control over the economy and it isn't the President it is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve., and his board which sets interest rates. Congress AND the president play their part by passing bills and authorizing government spending.
The Federal Reserve and it's chairman is a creature of the corporations, and as such punishes the party and/or administration that regulates them. The Republicans are the party of deregulation, so they get rewarded, the Democrats are the party of Regulation so they get punished. Bill Clinton acted like a Republican, neo liberal, and got rewarded.
Expanding the money supply via debt does not produce immediate effects on price, only on demand, consumption., it takes time for the increase in money supply to take hold, and by the end of a presidential term, the effect is felt.
The isolation of COVID reduced the demand for goods and services, and thus contracted the money supply which in turn produced a recession and unemployment, but prices continued to rise because of the debt increase caused by Jerome Powell dropping the interest rates to near zero., and thus inflation during a recession, it is because, it is because the inflation caused by a debt based money system, is not immediately felt.
The inflation of the Biden "economy" is a consequence of the near zero interest rates of the Trump "economy". and since Jerome Powell raised the interest rates during Biden's administration. there will be an economic contraction in the next administration, unless there is an upsurge in government spending, and there always is in a Republican administration, if Trump is elected,.
While Democrats are terrorized by being called obstructionists. Republicans never are, they simply distract with the culture war and/or a foreign war.
Jerome Powell tried to contract the economy under Biden, by raising interest rates, but it didn't work for two reasons
1. The America Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction act
2. Americans are addicted to debt, to the use of the credit card, they even buy groceries on credit. They are paying interest on something that passed into the sewage disposal system, 8 hours after they bought it.
Jerome Powell did no contract the money supply, but he did raise future inflation rates.
There are two forms of inflation. short term and long term. In the short term prices will go up and down, in response to supply and demand,in the long term they creep up and that is why a home in 1960 that costs $10,000 costs over a quarter of a million today, and a car that cost $2,000 costs $40,000 today
The way to judge inflation is how many months or years of income is the price of something.
In 1960 a home purchase was the equivalent of three years of income. a car was six months. The financing period for a car was three years. Today the financing period is 6 years, and many people keep rolling over their cars, less they wind up paying off the loan of a car that has been crushed.
This is a surface analogy that leaves out the fact that people have consciences: thinking and reasoning that are being appealed to against viciousness, selfishness and immorality, mainly ignorance and unthinking.
Because of total economic ignorance, Biden gets blamed for inflation, not bringing it down and creating huge numbers of new jobs. He gets blamed for the wars. Voter ignorance is such that they get exactly what they deserve, voting against their own interests.
Michael, you are right that Harris has not been "sold" well, but it has certainly not been her fault. She is not a consistent liar or bombastic or white or male or whatever it is the media at all levels like to present. They love Baby Donnie because he is well, toddleresque. He never has to have a real position on anything except on getting rid of immigrants, all 20 or 40 or 2 or something million of them. He knows nothing but can blurt out platitudes like "we're gonna bring in a golden age where everyone lives together . . . . (listing various groups he clearly hates). He whines on and on about "living together" but means none of it because none of it matches what he has been whining for years. The media, however, love it because it is shocking enough they feel they just must cover it while repeating the same comments of Harris, just like in the 2016 election of Trump against Hillary, another incredibly qualified woman. It seems our media can't handle powerful women either. This is truly terrible journalism, but just what we should expect, unfortunately from a mostly male industry!
I don't know if it's because the media don't like powerful women, but they certainly have been grossly incompetent with their onesiderisms. For example, why do they criticize Harris for being evasive, when they don't criticize Trump for "having concepts of a plan" for healthcare?
They make money from selling eyeballs, not exactly a noble profession. For example, much was made today of the fact that in a single poll in Iowa, Harris was 3 points ahead of Trump. I looked at 538, and Trump has won in all other polls, by large margins. So this is just statistical noise. Trust me, Trump is going to win Iowa. So I went to the Guardian thinking that they, as responsible journalists, for sure would not have bought into this nonsense. IT WAS HEADLINE NEWS.
Anytime we go to the convenience store we pay for the convenience, most resource challenged working people do not have time to go to the supermarket on a weekly basis and when they go to the convenience stores, they pay for the convenience and of course they complain and the politicians use them as a pawn in their electioneering; these politicians are really not concerned about the voter but just the votes so they use the pricing in these stores as a bench mark.
I take it you like MAGA, so let me sate some actual facts. Prices on items like eggs and milk are already coming down substantially, inflation is now 2.1% annually (lower than any other advanced nation), unemployment is down to 4%, wages are up 4.4%. Interest rates came down 0.5% last month, with another 0.5% expected at the next Fed meeting.
If Trump is elected there will be massive inflation immediately because of the imposition of tariffs, which act like a regressive sales tax.
Look, we just go through a massive perturbation called Covid, and things are already getting progressively better.
So, given all of this, let me ask YOU a question: why exactly do you want to vote for the Orangutan?
And she's also enforcing the laws that were put in place for a very good reason. As Justice Brandeis said we can have democracy or we can have great wealth in the hands of a few, but we can't have both. Well, right now we do have great wealth in the hands of a few and we don't have an effective democracy. What do we want?
Far too many of us bend the knee to the golden idol of excessive wealth. When, through a constant barrage of get-rich ploys by the corporate media (Power Ball jackpot now at 50 billion broadcast on every conceivable media outlet) greed becomes the norm and the will of the people - the heart of democracy - our geese are cooked.
There is a ballot measure in Missouri to allow online sports gambling. It is being marketed to the public that some of the profits will go to support schools. But the reality is few if any profits will go to schools, and what does will be offset by the GOP supermajority legislature cutting money for schools. And we will have more gambling by many who are least able to afford it. Needless to say, the big donor for this measure is the gambling company that most stands to profit.
Studies have been done that show more money is spent by the state in the form of welfare and social services resulting from problem gambling than is taken in by the state.
Steve Doll : I stopped throwing my money at those gambling games long ago. State lotteries : power ball and all.I will donate to those with truly winning ideas for our Democracy. Though. NO guts. No glory.
And Musk has a lot of nerve talking like a tyrant and trying to bully government seeing as how rich this country has made him as an immigrant. Same for Melania. This is why the rich need to pay their fair share of taxes.
Reid Hoffman and Mark Cuban should be ASHAMED of themselves. Of course populist fascism will thrive when GREED —not fair competition— is the operating system. We’ll all pay a horrific price—in a lot more than money.
We must acknowledge potential heroes/heroines by testing the potential of young people such as response to oxytocin... it is young people that have historically gone to war and their heroism can be tested there but should be tested before if possible.
Power confused oxytocin with oxycotin, unless of course he was snared into a four year relationship when oxytocin flooded the zone. It takes about 4 years for the effect to wear off.
You mean oxycotin, oxytocin is the "love hormone", the hormone that gets people in trouble, that breaks up families, after the "victim", has a good role in the hay.
Lina Kahn is doing a fantastic job! The fact that so many uber rich want her gone is evidence enough that she is doing what needs to be done! Do not fire Lina Kahn, instead hire more like her to get these companies and richy rich in line.
He may go. . . Washington Post apparently reported that he had a student visa when he arrived here, but lied to get a work visa. That is grounds for deportation.
Dr. Sutherland, the only problem with that scenario is that he's transnational. He can go anywhere and do anything with impunity. We're already starting to see that behavior.
It would at least have some symbolic significance. what would reallly hurt him, and help all the rest of us is to nationalize Starlink and spacex. no single man should control communications, especially those used by the military
Paul that is the absolute truth. Our democracy needs work as otherwise Musk is on the cusp of becoming a James Bond villain ruling the earth. Weird that like other Bond villains
This is what happens when big money infiltrates government. You give corporations too much power and it leads to lawlessness with a complete disregard for the working class. They feel they own the government now. And both sides are just as guilty of letting that happen. Pamela raised over a billion dollars for her campaign. Where does everyone think that money came from? I am a democrat, but they have their hand in the cookie jar as well.Super PACs need
to be abolished if we ever want a government of, by and for the people again.
We've never seen all this to this extent in history, because it's the first time in history that we've allowed all of this by turning a blind eye to what the consequences would be.
That is enough for Biden, who now has guaranteed presidential immunity to cancel him and deport him, but he won't, because he also has Space X and Starlink. and basically has the Department of Defense by the balls.
In fact this is Musk's bid to take over the United States..
Can't his hold on DOD be loosened? Idk how long his contracts run, but Bezos (you know, the WaPo wimp) would love to take over.
I know telecommunications are important, but do we really need to spend billions on space exploration while kids go to bed hungry? Much as I despise Trump and Muck, the Pentagon is pretty greedy too. I sometimes think most of Cong. is just a bunch of kids playing grown-up with our tax $$.
Wanting to take over the US is all the more reason to clip his wings.
Of course, the easiest way to do that is for Harris to win.
Biden guaranteed presidential immunity? You really need to do some fact-checking on your comment. Every single word is nonsense and not factual. No trolls are needed here.
Really Liz,and what was that ruling by the Supreme Court. did it apply only to Trump.
You are way of base, obviously a new poster, calling a troll, if you didn't know that the Supreme Court gave the president immunity for official acts,and everything the president does can be deemed official, then you aren't an American and are probably what you accuse me of... a troll.
The Supreme Court might have given Biden the power, but he would never use it because he believes, as he should, that he is a servant of the people and has no interest in wielding powers of a king. We have three branches of government all with their checks and balances which the crooked Supreme Court took away because they are boot lickers of the Heritage Society and we're putting plays to do Trump's bidding. So let's not pretend anything other than that is going on here. If you would like your president to have the powers of the king, you can find that in another country. That's not the way democracy and the rule of law works here. In the 248 years of this country no president has asked for or needed absolute immunity. No president has even entertained the thought of immunity against killing his enemies both foreign and domestic for personal gain or just because he doesn't like them. If you don't realize how dangerous absolute immunity is with a wannabe fascist leader, I feel really sorry for you. If you're not a fan of the Constitution and the rule of law in this country, there are plenty of other countries that offer you what you're looking for.... But it isn't here.
Whether or not Biden uses the power give to him is another subject. My point was and is, and it is the one with which you quibbled, is that he DOES have the power.
Biden's "morality" (if that is what it is), is going to be the death of us.
Because the only way to save this country from a Trump dictatorship is to set aside inhibitions and morality and use that power.
I am sure you have seen the movies where a persons life is threatened and they have a chance to save it, by pulling a trigger, but their "morality" gets in the way, and the villain takes the gun and takes his or her life.
Whether or not I am a fan of the constitution or rule of law has absolutely nothing to do with the situation and our survival. do you really believe that taking the moral high ground will rescue you and this country from a MAGAt attack? Really do you.
If you want to feel sorry for someone, then feel sorry for yourself, your unwillingness to defend yourself because of "morality", can wind up with you being a victim of your morals.
As rregards the tule of law. The law has spoken and said that the President has unlimited power and immunity so long as he is acting in an official capacity, and anything he does, any executive order he rights, any order he gives from behind the Resolution desk is official.
That's the rule of law given him by SCOTUS.
Save me your effete and ineffective attempt to claim the moral high ground, people like you are the same as those who climbed aboard the German railroad cars.
Not only that, his Tesla plant in SE Austin was caught dumping their wastewater in the Texas Colorado River. He got a slap on the wrist and a hefty fine (sure it didn’t hurt his pocketbook); but this is Texass, where money talks and bs walks. He received his US citizenship in 2002, so he should have his citizenship revoked and be deported back to So Africa. He’s a creep, to say the least.
MAGA is always wanting to deport immigrants who are criminals. What about immigrants who stay in country on student visa and don't go to school and then just stay illegally? What about news owners who trash our country? If workers driving trucks pay 25% in taxes, the wealthy can pay 28%. Those individuals still don't know how to shop at the market or clean their own home. They are working the system and taxpayers are footing the bill. Tax the wealthy.
Musk is an extension of everything that is wrong with this country. Any human who has the wealth at his disposal that Mr. Musk has should be ashamed. Does he have any idea of the good his wealth could deliver to the people in this country who are in need. Why he even bothers with Trump is beyond me. During one's pursuit of wealth a person loses a little something that the rest of us have no problem retaining. Perhaps Trump and Mr. Musk are helping each other find what they will never regain, Our "Respect!"
Donald - I think with Musk, and possibly Bezos, the greed is pathological. Those two are now fighting to dominate space transport. How much more money could either one need, they and their extended families for multiple generations?
Read a great analysis yesterday by Thom Hartmann. He suggests that Musk is quite eager to crash the economy, because that's when the uber-wealthy can buy everything cheap and rake in even more billions.
Time to make Lina Khan's job easier. Let antitrust authorities restructure the boards of companies that abuse market power. Reserve 1/3 of their seats for owners, 1/3 for employees, and 1/3 for public-interest reps, meaning mostly suppliers and others affected by corporate decisions. If you're a monopolist and you don't like that idea, you don't have to abuse your market power.
Lina Khan’s credentialed past is way beyond reproach, unlike the wrestling coaches, talk show hosts and football players trump will probably put in his cabinet. There is nothing, nothing egregious about her performance. In fact, she’s probably disliked because she’s doing what her position requires so.
Biden was the closest we’ve gotten to reinstating FDR type legislation. I don’t know. Maybe we haven’t been clobbered enough by the 1% to vote for more of Biden type policies?
Voters are bamboozled and often perhaps usually unable to draw the connection between how their elected officials vote and the consequences. First step is to pay more attention. But lot's of people are already clobbered . Maybe it will take more damage but even then, like a frog not knowing which way to jump before the advancing mower, they could easily jump the wrong way. Case in point, Nov 5th.
I’ve had it with these oligarchs sucking all the oxygen out of the world. I don’t give a flying f what their opinions are anymore. Bring back the guillotine. It would do us more good than any stupid scheme.
I want pushback against the rich bastards. I want them to experience fear. They prance around with impunity and order the rest of us to do their bidding. They escape the taxation they richly deserve and the rest of us suffer. It’s why the public health infrastructure in Europe is falling apart. I’m fed up with the Musks and Mercers and Mellons and Kochs and their supercilious bullshit.
You keep forgetting that Americans want to be as rich as these billionaires; they don’t want things to be moderated even if they’re suffering because they can still dream about being very rich. And for men can they can afford to have arm candy which is what Trump has always had. Time to wake up!
Joan, I never watche it, but heard plenty about "lifestyles of the rich and famous" it seemed an obscene idea then to glamorize wealth, and the brainwashing worked remarkably well. fill the hole with meaningless shiny stuff.
The American Dream needs re-stating. Zepher Teachout did that in her 2020 book Break "Em Up: It "is the dream that people, not kings or lords or dukes, should govern themselves. The basic dream of America is the fight against illegitimate power." p.252
Although I agree with you Joan, I find myself annoyed, who can't develop their own lead in and thus start with the inane "You keep forgetting" I doubt that anyone has forgot that.
Starting with "you keep forgetting" sounds like a 3rd grade teacher chiding a student.
You should have opened with your second sentence.
Step up and take ownership of your opinions, especially when they are shared by so many.
Atta boy Bob. Billionaires and corporate behemoths they control don't want to be regulated or taxed. They will shake every last nickel out of American pockets and every last hope for enlightenment out of the American psyche if you let them. For them to be able to spend $6-7 Billion on this election to convince a largely unsophisticated and easily brainwashed voting public that losing democracy, freedom of the press, equal justice, the dignity of man, and dominion over one's own body is going to make them better off is a marvel of modern technology and ancient evil, and a cheap price to pay to take over and what has been the greatest democracy and power in the history of civilization......
Ironically the democracy itself is our greatest asset, the source of our faith and our strength, and those who seek to destroy it may be the kings of nothing.
Bless you! Like Arianna Huffington, you are living proof that reasonable folks will always become Progressive, if they open their minds. Conservatism is just illogical. ♥️
But Cuban has been vocal about wanting a more relaxed anti-trust environment. Seriously, there has been scant enforcement until the past 3.5 yrs.
Martha, imo conservatism is at least partly a manifestation of a human characteristic of -- selfishness. The more selfish you are, the more you're tethered to your personal wants, needs, etc.
My husband is a Psychologist. Arrested development is emotional, big feelings are just that. An open mind is less likely to be selfish.
There are some very interesting MRI studies of Conservative Brains vs Progressive Brains. They physically different. Aspects of brain chemistry that develop from stimuli and the response of the brain to those repeated stimuli - really interesting. Hard to say how one modifies that - but it seems possible.
Martha, I don't quite understand what "big feelings are just that." All feelings are emotional, so that's not what you meant, is it?
I certainly agree that an open mind is less likely to be selfish. If there's more room for other ideas to get in, there's less room to give oneself. Not very scientific, but it seems logical to me.
I'd be interested to know whether brain development (not physical size except insofar as a brain grows as a child grows) is like learning a 2nd language. I've read that a child can easily become bi-lingual (or more), but by age 7-8 the capacity for that level of achievement lessens. One can still become highly competent, even excellent but may not be truly bi-lingual.
So, maybe the brain's capacity to "welcome" new ideas has a time element too. If your parents and early teachers don't nurture your intelligence, maybe there comes a time when your brain stops being able to reach out for new things itself. I have no idea, but imo the brain is endlessly fascinating.
My teen years were the McCarthy era. In that era there was only one enemy, communism. I was brainewashed by my mothers god mother who gave me a Xmas present every year of the Readers Digest. My mother never talked politics, she had no time,too busy providing for three children, I went from that environment to the cloistered environment of a 26 year military career, and the enemy of course was communism. I really didn't know any better. I lived in a bubble, in 1989 I was fortunate to find myself in a situation in which I got out of that bubble and met the real world.
Wow. That is amazing! The arc of your thought vs experience is humbling. And (because my Dad and my husband both served too) Thank you for your service. 💙
Trust-busters are basic to capitalism. If you want innovation, competitive pricing, a level paying field, break up monopolies and try to never let them evolve. They are unnatural.
Khan is a true American hero, regardless of where you stand. She is standing up for individuals.
Go, Lina, go!
My office manager told me that she was unsure as to who to vote for, because of inflation. So I told her that Trump's tariffs are really a sales tax that will increase inflation. So, she said, milk is $8 a gallon at her local supermarket. So I said go to Trader Joe's, where it's $3.50 a gallon, and she said "I don't have time to go to Trader Joe's!" And I said, that's why your local supermarket can gouge you, look up the price again. Well, it was actually $4.50 a gallon and she was really surprised.
Prices are starting to come down, and who is better than a former prosecutor to take on the price gougers?
Really, I fear Harris has not sold herself well. Time is short, we'll keep our fingers and toes crossed...
There is just so much Harris can or could do in such a short time. She's done amazingly well. This is unreasonable to say she has not sold herself well. She's been loud and clear. Who is paying attention? Who cares enough to look at the facts and the truth? (your example above)
I agree. I'm sold. She's done very well, given the circumstances of her late candidacy (Jill Biden, are you listening?). Let's just hope she can pull this shit together in the next few days.
With the help of millions of voters.
Laurie, AMEN!
I agree, too. She has been working steadily like a champ in her couple of months, while the orange mess with the “beautiful white skin”, as he has said (ugh, don’t want to think about that*) sways to the music in his head. *Dog whistle, anyone?
Btw, if I wasn’t clear, the *”dog whistle” comment occurred to me in connection with his brag about his “beautiful white skin”. Double ugh. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I don’t trust anything he says.
I agree with the dog whistle fact , on him, Yecch!
Joanne, and you should not trust a single word Trump says because that word may well be tied to a lie. The problem, it is hard to tell if the lie is serious or just his dementia-ridden brain tossing out some nonsense. With the crazies he has on his team, it is hard to know.
He’ll say anything to stay out of jail. I just hope that if (when!) he is defeated, Joe doesn’t take his forgiving outlook too far and pardons him. As it is, SCOTUS could be non-supreme and let him off.
I wasn’t being as clear as I hoped to be in my previous comment about his so-called “beautiful white skin”. I felt like it might have been a sneaky reminder toward racial bigotry to his hate filled supporters.
The reason Why I'll never go back to Twitter, no matter what Muskrat calls it...
TRUE
Potter, the American people have been primed to see only white men with an exception or two as true leaders, and those other men are men. Women always have to be far more competent than any man to even be recognized. Kamala Harris is so far superior in every way to Donald Trump it is embarrassing to hear parts of their speeches next to each other when her ordinary speech to ordinary Americans is put with the best Trump can come up with even through his blue tooth earpiece or whatever he is wearing and she still vastly outshines him. How do we get people to notice that Trump has dementia, can hardly put a sentence together that makes sense and is not a hateful diatribe against someone well, like Liz Cheyney? When the media is not on board with Harris, woman, you know, and it is clear Bezos, for example, would rather bow to Trump than to support the candidate he knows is the one who should be president, we are in trouble as a nation. So much for free press, free to do what or free from what; it's not clear.
I think you/we have been giving people too much credit unfortunately for being able to see the difference. Some do. And this is precisely the divide. We are re-sorting ourselves. What is obvious to us is not to those that use a different sense of what is important to them, their sense of themselves and their lives. I think a lot has been baked in. So Trump was able to to appeal to this. The independents and undecideds are infuriating. People do not understand mental illness either. Many have psychological handicaps or a form of mental illness themselves or lifelong hangups. Musk is a jerk it seems. People love to feel they belong. Trump needs them. The hate and resentment he provides is addictive and satisfying. These people are lost and they just have to be defeated. The rest we work to convince. I have no hope for unity in this country after this revelation of who we are. This has been an awakening for me.
PS I think the media has been largely on board. They have tried to do both sides but they have awakened and have reformed b/c of a lot of criticism and have come around mostly in my opinion.
AARP interviewed both candidates on their approach to reducing inflation. Harris: Go after the price-fixing, gouging corporations. Trump (he's stuck in this loop): More oil wells.
Idiot he is
The side-by-side, line-by line comparisons are really good and should be part of big ad campaigns - but maybe there's not time now. They are clear and easy to see in that kind of display.
In 2015 the main stream media presented Donald and Fred Trump history from five decades. So democracy is such a mess that here we are with more information in real time burdened with doubts about who voters will choose. Additionally the fear is if Trump loses there will be violence. Trump was president at the time he could pull strings January 6. Now as Joe Biden is in charge. When Trump is defeated at the polls he will be immediately abandoned by his parasite political supporters and left with the camo adorned maga crowd growling and having no bite.
I think Harris has sold herself just fine, given that she has only been running since August. Plus she has had a huge circle of support. If she doesn’t win it not her. She has been brilliant in the time she has had to do so.
Jazz I'm with you on this kamala has gotten the message out the mainstream media, not so much.
I'm not sure why she hasn't mentioned the anti-trust enforcement when she is asked about inflation. Monopolies also reduce wages and allow poor working conditions.
Carolyn, I think because the MONEY people would go crazy. I wrote to her VP email asking her to keep Lina Khan and to start a weekly fireside chat of some kind for all Americans to listen when she is elected .
Weekly fireside with the tenor of speaking to an uncle as in easy calming conversation that we all need. Same time every week with no breaks to advertisements and real time on social media.
Please never again hear a gotcha question from poorly motivated media.
Frankom, you are so right about our pathetic media with their gotcha questions that go nowhere and mean nothing, only to Harris, of course. I do like the idea of the "fireside chats." It could really help people become more informed with how the government works for them, and sometimes doesn't work well, but could.
Musk would block it!
Good👍
Excellent idea about the fireside chats, Vicki! I also emailed her about Lina Kahn, some time ago.
That's a great idea!
Because she's trying really hard not to piss off the big corps. She's trying to be the president for everyone right now. The problem with that is she's not taking a hard enough stand that big corps to pay their fair share of taxes. This is exactly what has allowed these billionaires to wield so much power that they think they can tell the government what to do.
Liz Takacs : Yes, timing is everything. She is smart. She has mentioned the fact that corporations are price gouging, and indicated that she is opposed to , specifically the gouging on grocery prices. In time she will tackle the taxes owed by the very wealthy.
Keeping fingers crossed that it happens.
Let's hope so, Laurie. We've heard promises like that before, sorry to say.
Denise ; Yes, she is sincere and a tough prosecutor, who is unafraid to enforce the law. But she IS "swimming with sharks", as someone has pointed out. let's see how much support she gets from those on the right who have voted for her and Democracy. I believe she will try to do the right things for US.
Liz, you are right, but alas, Harris does not have much choice with Trump collecting billions from foreign entities, rich billionaires who want to control his presidency, and desperate cult members willing to give their whole savings to support Trump, their deity. Harris has lots of small donor money, but it is hard for her to compete with Trump's outrageous money. It is crazy. The ads those corporations and PACs produce against Harris, often with dark money are filled with lies and so many people can't distinguish what is real because Trump has been everpresent for more than 2 decades, most of what was presented by and about him were lies, half-truths, and silence related to what was really going on with Trump. It is nearly impossible to compete with that and the vast financial resources without having some of that corporate money too.
Carolyn, I suspect, she can't mention everything and monopolies don't mean much to working-class people because they don't see how it matters to them even though it definitely matters when it comes to their lives. Trying to explain how in such a short time would be difficult if not impossible and would just get Harris criticism for not reaching the people where they are or some other such nonsense. Unlike Trump, Harris is trying to cover many issues that matter to people and do it in a clear concise way in a time frame that lets people not be overwhelmed. Trump rattles on for more than an hour at a time saying nothing positive about anything and gets as much coverage or more. Truly amazing!
Milk is $2.99 a gallon at the local Krogers in South Bend, Indiana, where I live. Where is she shopping for milk: Neiman Marcus?
Maybe Alaska.
Or Hawaii?
About the same in Az. And sometimes less at Kroger plus because they could not merge with safeway/Albertsons there is some competition, not enough but some.
I don't suppose the opinion of 23 Nobel economists saying that Trump policies will worsen inflation would have any salience for your office manager. You might try.
Steve - I find it slightly amusing that right now the companies are buying a lot of stock from China and other countries. Basically, his tariffs idea is having the opposite effect and giving other countries a lot of money in trade.
I suppose if voters are looking for a song and dance con man then you're right. Kamala is not that. But I think she has done a good job overall.
Michael Hutchinson : As long as she doesn't sell out, she is doing a great job. And covered a lot of ground in her campaign.
I don't disagree. I just think that the Biden-Harris team has done a superb job on the economy, and she should not be shy about saying so.
Michael : Do you really think that Kamala Harris is shy?
"As long as she doesn’t sell out ..."
Great point there, Laurie. Harris is an Establishment Dem, and she IS beholden to some big-money donors. I hope she'll move leftward after she's inaugurated, but I'm not gonna bet the farm.
Whatever happens, it will be better than what the Blitso fg has to offer and his buddies, Vance, Musk and RFKJr., along with a host of others, from the stacked "Supreme" Court to the Federalist Society to the Heritage Foundation to the billionaires and their hero, Putin. and sadly more sycophants too numerous to mention. We need to restore Justice, in the DOJ and the Courts, from top to bottom. There is much that has to be accomplished to get back to the point where we can continue to strive for a "more perfect Union". One intelligent, brave and smart woman cannot do it single handedly. We are getting a close look at what we are up against right now. They are killing fertile women, 'just' because they can.
There is only one market where I live and I use Pacific brand Coconut Milk, with my whole wheat biscuits.. It was $2.39 for a quart, I bought a quart today it iwas $3.39. Safeway (Albertson) is the supplier for my market, locally owned and not at all a price gouger, he lives in the community and customers know him, he is just passing on prices he pays.
William, I'm talking about regular milk. There's a lot of to and fro in this crazy market. But, I really think you should get out more.
Really Michael, I should get out more. Your response doesn't speak well of you.
I once held you in regard. With no effort you have changed my opinion.
I have always said that I arrive at, not acquire my opinions.
William, it was just banter, let it not get in the way of the world's smallest mutual admiration society. See Jeff Reed's comment above.
This is not the issue now. It’s really unsmart to insinuate Harris is to blame or has been able to to do anything about this and to cast a shadow on her in a situation that we have that is much more basically dire with the threat of Trump. Prices and inflation are a normal problem when we have a normal government working. Even if Biden caused inflation, which he did not, Harris has not in any way times two. Coconut milk on whole wheat biscuits ( what brand?) sounds great. That should really get you going.
Also, coconuts are FODMAPS, which many people can't digest well. Also , whole wheat contains wheat germ agglutinin, which can block glucose from reaching brain cells.and it can cause leaks in the small intestine, to allow leakage in the usually impermeable barrier.
Oh for goodness sake! Yes but it gets people going.
Haha, but goodness has nothing to do with it, for those who have bad reactions 😅.
I don't have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, although I am insulin resistant, and try to avoid simple carbohydrates, but it is impossible to avoid complex carbs, so I eat whole wheat bread, when I eat bread, brown rice when I eat rice and whole wheat biscuits (Weetabix)
The inability to property digest or process certain foods is genetic, inherited from ancestors. One may be unable to properly digest cows milk, but have no problem with say goats milk or camels milk
Same with wheat. When doesn't grow in certain environments like Norway, except in small quantities Scotland, Brittany, County Durham, North Umbria and most of Yorkshire, except some dales in West Yorkshire,
because of the soil and climate.
In 1067 Wiliam launched a 2 year ethnic cleansing campaign against the north, called thse days the Harrying of the North, he depopulated the counties of Yorkshire, Durham, and North Umbria, but in doing so he defeated his purpose in conquering England and that was to use it as a tax farm.
In 1070 he tried to repopulate it by offering his Norman lieutenants a barony in the north, they refused because they were accustomed to eating
wheat bread, oats they considered fodder for Scots and Horses, and would have nothing to do with rye and barley bread.
William found a solution, he offered the Breton who commanded his right flank at Hastings, the barony of the north, Alan the Red (Alan Rufus, Alain le Rouge),. The climate and soil of the North were pretty much the climate and soil of Brittany, and the Bretons were accustomed to eating rye, barley and oats.
If one is gluten resistant, then one probably has Norwegian genes and ancestors.
I;m lactose intolerant, probably because I have Eurasian (Sarmatian) ancestry, and the Sarmatian were not herdsmen, if they drank milk it was mares milk.
I don't know the purpose of the comment, because I totally agree with you.
I will go further, since inflation is caused by debt, I don't see that the president has any control over it.
By debt I mean all debt, public and private. The fed does. Jerome Powell helped Trump by lowering the interest rate to near zero, thus increasing the demand for debt, and thus money, but it takes time the inflation effect to work it's way through the economy,it doesn't happen instantaneously.
The fractional reserve system is a debt money system. Where money is created by financial institutions when they fulfill a demand for debt (mortgages, cars, credit cards). Raise the interest rates, and you reduce the demand for debt, and thus reduce the demand for money, lower interest rates and the opposite happens.
The money supply is determined by the demand for debt (public and private).
Government debt, corporate debt and consumer demand for debt is what creates money. No debt no money. No money equals depression.
If Government does not borrow money, it is because congress has tightened the purse strings and hasn't passed bills for the president to sign. And we then have a recession, and if severe enough a depression.
There is a person who does have control over the economy and it isn't the President it is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve., and his board which sets interest rates. Congress AND the president play their part by passing bills and authorizing government spending.
The Federal Reserve and it's chairman is a creature of the corporations, and as such punishes the party and/or administration that regulates them. The Republicans are the party of deregulation, so they get rewarded, the Democrats are the party of Regulation so they get punished. Bill Clinton acted like a Republican, neo liberal, and got rewarded.
Expanding the money supply via debt does not produce immediate effects on price, only on demand, consumption., it takes time for the increase in money supply to take hold, and by the end of a presidential term, the effect is felt.
The isolation of COVID reduced the demand for goods and services, and thus contracted the money supply which in turn produced a recession and unemployment, but prices continued to rise because of the debt increase caused by Jerome Powell dropping the interest rates to near zero., and thus inflation during a recession, it is because, it is because the inflation caused by a debt based money system, is not immediately felt.
The inflation of the Biden "economy" is a consequence of the near zero interest rates of the Trump "economy". and since Jerome Powell raised the interest rates during Biden's administration. there will be an economic contraction in the next administration, unless there is an upsurge in government spending, and there always is in a Republican administration, if Trump is elected,.
While Democrats are terrorized by being called obstructionists. Republicans never are, they simply distract with the culture war and/or a foreign war.
Jerome Powell tried to contract the economy under Biden, by raising interest rates, but it didn't work for two reasons
1. The America Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction act
2. Americans are addicted to debt, to the use of the credit card, they even buy groceries on credit. They are paying interest on something that passed into the sewage disposal system, 8 hours after they bought it.
Jerome Powell did no contract the money supply, but he did raise future inflation rates.
There are two forms of inflation. short term and long term. In the short term prices will go up and down, in response to supply and demand,in the long term they creep up and that is why a home in 1960 that costs $10,000 costs over a quarter of a million today, and a car that cost $2,000 costs $40,000 today
The way to judge inflation is how many months or years of income is the price of something.
In 1960 a home purchase was the equivalent of three years of income. a car was six months. The financing period for a car was three years. Today the financing period is 6 years, and many people keep rolling over their cars, less they wind up paying off the loan of a car that has been crushed.
Yep. It's not the little fish, it's the shark running the show.
Harris is a dolphin swimming with the sharks.
This is a surface analogy that leaves out the fact that people have consciences: thinking and reasoning that are being appealed to against viciousness, selfishness and immorality, mainly ignorance and unthinking.
Potter: yes, but we must navigate in the world that we have. Hopefully, conscience and reasoning will prevail.
Marilyn W : We may all be.
I have no idea about how the dolphin's intelligence is assessed vis vis the shark. But maybe the analogy is a good one.
Because of total economic ignorance, Biden gets blamed for inflation, not bringing it down and creating huge numbers of new jobs. He gets blamed for the wars. Voter ignorance is such that they get exactly what they deserve, voting against their own interests.
I do think the Harris campaign dropped the ball a bit in explaining this difficult concept. Everything else she did was great.
Michael, you are right that Harris has not been "sold" well, but it has certainly not been her fault. She is not a consistent liar or bombastic or white or male or whatever it is the media at all levels like to present. They love Baby Donnie because he is well, toddleresque. He never has to have a real position on anything except on getting rid of immigrants, all 20 or 40 or 2 or something million of them. He knows nothing but can blurt out platitudes like "we're gonna bring in a golden age where everyone lives together . . . . (listing various groups he clearly hates). He whines on and on about "living together" but means none of it because none of it matches what he has been whining for years. The media, however, love it because it is shocking enough they feel they just must cover it while repeating the same comments of Harris, just like in the 2016 election of Trump against Hillary, another incredibly qualified woman. It seems our media can't handle powerful women either. This is truly terrible journalism, but just what we should expect, unfortunately from a mostly male industry!
I don't know if it's because the media don't like powerful women, but they certainly have been grossly incompetent with their onesiderisms. For example, why do they criticize Harris for being evasive, when they don't criticize Trump for "having concepts of a plan" for healthcare?
They make money from selling eyeballs, not exactly a noble profession. For example, much was made today of the fact that in a single poll in Iowa, Harris was 3 points ahead of Trump. I looked at 538, and Trump has won in all other polls, by large margins. So this is just statistical noise. Trust me, Trump is going to win Iowa. So I went to the Guardian thinking that they, as responsible journalists, for sure would not have bought into this nonsense. IT WAS HEADLINE NEWS.
Anytime we go to the convenience store we pay for the convenience, most resource challenged working people do not have time to go to the supermarket on a weekly basis and when they go to the convenience stores, they pay for the convenience and of course they complain and the politicians use them as a pawn in their electioneering; these politicians are really not concerned about the voter but just the votes so they use the pricing in these stores as a bench mark.
Time to get a new office manager. I’d suggest one who knows how to read.
I take it you like MAGA, so let me sate some actual facts. Prices on items like eggs and milk are already coming down substantially, inflation is now 2.1% annually (lower than any other advanced nation), unemployment is down to 4%, wages are up 4.4%. Interest rates came down 0.5% last month, with another 0.5% expected at the next Fed meeting.
If Trump is elected there will be massive inflation immediately because of the imposition of tariffs, which act like a regressive sales tax.
Look, we just go through a massive perturbation called Covid, and things are already getting progressively better.
So, given all of this, let me ask YOU a question: why exactly do you want to vote for the Orangutan?
And she's also enforcing the laws that were put in place for a very good reason. As Justice Brandeis said we can have democracy or we can have great wealth in the hands of a few, but we can't have both. Well, right now we do have great wealth in the hands of a few and we don't have an effective democracy. What do we want?
Far too many of us bend the knee to the golden idol of excessive wealth. When, through a constant barrage of get-rich ploys by the corporate media (Power Ball jackpot now at 50 billion broadcast on every conceivable media outlet) greed becomes the norm and the will of the people - the heart of democracy - our geese are cooked.
There is a ballot measure in Missouri to allow online sports gambling. It is being marketed to the public that some of the profits will go to support schools. But the reality is few if any profits will go to schools, and what does will be offset by the GOP supermajority legislature cutting money for schools. And we will have more gambling by many who are least able to afford it. Needless to say, the big donor for this measure is the gambling company that most stands to profit.
Amen...hope some in Missouri call this out loud enough.
Studies have been done that show more money is spent by the state in the form of welfare and social services resulting from problem gambling than is taken in by the state.
Steve Doll : I stopped throwing my money at those gambling games long ago. State lotteries : power ball and all.I will donate to those with truly winning ideas for our Democracy. Though. NO guts. No glory.
A better Justice (DOJ), and an honorable Supreme Court would be a great start.
100% agree!
Me too!
Whereas musk and his lapdog, Bunkerboy, are THE bigliest anti-American villains IN HISTORY.
Mush is even one of those dreaded immigrants. Has anyone dared check his status?
He was an “ illegal, Visa transgressing “ “student” whilst developing his IT business. But gosh, somehow he didn’t “get deported”. 🤨
And Musk has a lot of nerve talking like a tyrant and trying to bully government seeing as how rich this country has made him as an immigrant. Same for Melania. This is why the rich need to pay their fair share of taxes.
Agree
Reid Hoffman and Mark Cuban should be ASHAMED of themselves. Of course populist fascism will thrive when GREED —not fair competition— is the operating system. We’ll all pay a horrific price—in a lot more than money.
We must acknowledge potential heroes/heroines by testing the potential of young people such as response to oxytocin... it is young people that have historically gone to war and their heroism can be tested there but should be tested before if possible.
My apologies, I don't follow with the oxytocin thing. Care to explain that?
Power confused oxytocin with oxycotin, unless of course he was snared into a four year relationship when oxytocin flooded the zone. It takes about 4 years for the effect to wear off.
Me too don't get.
See my post above, he confused oxycotin with oxytocin.
You mean oxycotin, oxytocin is the "love hormone", the hormone that gets people in trouble, that breaks up families, after the "victim", has a good role in the hay.
Lina Khan rocks!
Lina Kahn is doing a fantastic job! The fact that so many uber rich want her gone is evidence enough that she is doing what needs to be done! Do not fire Lina Kahn, instead hire more like her to get these companies and richy rich in line.
UNLEASH LINA KAHN!
May she be the 21st Century FRANCES PERKINS ON STEROIDS, bc that is what is needed to provide all Americans with the equity lost since Reagan!
Reagan didn't do me any favors
Send Musk back to South Africa he’s a crook and always sounds stupid. He’s a sickening creep,
He may go. . . Washington Post apparently reported that he had a student visa when he arrived here, but lied to get a work visa. That is grounds for deportation.
Dr. Sutherland, the only problem with that scenario is that he's transnational. He can go anywhere and do anything with impunity. We're already starting to see that behavior.
It would at least have some symbolic significance. what would reallly hurt him, and help all the rest of us is to nationalize Starlink and spacex. no single man should control communications, especially those used by the military
Paul that is the absolute truth. Our democracy needs work as otherwise Musk is on the cusp of becoming a James Bond villain ruling the earth. Weird that like other Bond villains
this one is nuts.
This is what happens when big money infiltrates government. You give corporations too much power and it leads to lawlessness with a complete disregard for the working class. They feel they own the government now. And both sides are just as guilty of letting that happen. Pamela raised over a billion dollars for her campaign. Where does everyone think that money came from? I am a democrat, but they have their hand in the cookie jar as well.Super PACs need
to be abolished if we ever want a government of, by and for the people again.
We've never seen all this to this extent in history, because it's the first time in history that we've allowed all of this by turning a blind eye to what the consequences would be.
Could not agree more, Liz, on all points. You speak the truth!
Agreed!
That is enough for Biden, who now has guaranteed presidential immunity to cancel him and deport him, but he won't, because he also has Space X and Starlink. and basically has the Department of Defense by the balls.
In fact this is Musk's bid to take over the United States..
Can't his hold on DOD be loosened? Idk how long his contracts run, but Bezos (you know, the WaPo wimp) would love to take over.
I know telecommunications are important, but do we really need to spend billions on space exploration while kids go to bed hungry? Much as I despise Trump and Muck, the Pentagon is pretty greedy too. I sometimes think most of Cong. is just a bunch of kids playing grown-up with our tax $$.
Wanting to take over the US is all the more reason to clip his wings.
Of course, the easiest way to do that is for Harris to win.
Biden guaranteed presidential immunity? You really need to do some fact-checking on your comment. Every single word is nonsense and not factual. No trolls are needed here.
Really Liz,and what was that ruling by the Supreme Court. did it apply only to Trump.
You are way of base, obviously a new poster, calling a troll, if you didn't know that the Supreme Court gave the president immunity for official acts,and everything the president does can be deemed official, then you aren't an American and are probably what you accuse me of... a troll.
The Supreme Court might have given Biden the power, but he would never use it because he believes, as he should, that he is a servant of the people and has no interest in wielding powers of a king. We have three branches of government all with their checks and balances which the crooked Supreme Court took away because they are boot lickers of the Heritage Society and we're putting plays to do Trump's bidding. So let's not pretend anything other than that is going on here. If you would like your president to have the powers of the king, you can find that in another country. That's not the way democracy and the rule of law works here. In the 248 years of this country no president has asked for or needed absolute immunity. No president has even entertained the thought of immunity against killing his enemies both foreign and domestic for personal gain or just because he doesn't like them. If you don't realize how dangerous absolute immunity is with a wannabe fascist leader, I feel really sorry for you. If you're not a fan of the Constitution and the rule of law in this country, there are plenty of other countries that offer you what you're looking for.... But it isn't here.
Whether or not Biden uses the power give to him is another subject. My point was and is, and it is the one with which you quibbled, is that he DOES have the power.
Biden's "morality" (if that is what it is), is going to be the death of us.
Because the only way to save this country from a Trump dictatorship is to set aside inhibitions and morality and use that power.
I am sure you have seen the movies where a persons life is threatened and they have a chance to save it, by pulling a trigger, but their "morality" gets in the way, and the villain takes the gun and takes his or her life.
Whether or not I am a fan of the constitution or rule of law has absolutely nothing to do with the situation and our survival. do you really believe that taking the moral high ground will rescue you and this country from a MAGAt attack? Really do you.
If you want to feel sorry for someone, then feel sorry for yourself, your unwillingness to defend yourself because of "morality", can wind up with you being a victim of your morals.
As rregards the tule of law. The law has spoken and said that the President has unlimited power and immunity so long as he is acting in an official capacity, and anything he does, any executive order he rights, any order he gives from behind the Resolution desk is official.
That's the rule of law given him by SCOTUS.
Save me your effete and ineffective attempt to claim the moral high ground, people like you are the same as those who climbed aboard the German railroad cars.
🙏
Ditto Melania T
Not only that, his Tesla plant in SE Austin was caught dumping their wastewater in the Texas Colorado River. He got a slap on the wrist and a hefty fine (sure it didn’t hurt his pocketbook); but this is Texass, where money talks and bs walks. He received his US citizenship in 2002, so he should have his citizenship revoked and be deported back to So Africa. He’s a creep, to say the least.
I couldn't agree more.
And let's remember not to support Tesla. Vote with your wallet!
MAGA is always wanting to deport immigrants who are criminals. What about immigrants who stay in country on student visa and don't go to school and then just stay illegally? What about news owners who trash our country? If workers driving trucks pay 25% in taxes, the wealthy can pay 28%. Those individuals still don't know how to shop at the market or clean their own home. They are working the system and taxpayers are footing the bill. Tax the wealthy.
Lina Khan and yourself- Mr. Reich for keeping us educated about these important parts of our government 💙💙
🏆Lina Kahn is my hero!!❤️
Musk is an extension of everything that is wrong with this country. Any human who has the wealth at his disposal that Mr. Musk has should be ashamed. Does he have any idea of the good his wealth could deliver to the people in this country who are in need. Why he even bothers with Trump is beyond me. During one's pursuit of wealth a person loses a little something that the rest of us have no problem retaining. Perhaps Trump and Mr. Musk are helping each other find what they will never regain, Our "Respect!"
You're damn right!
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And what they, through the agony of admitting how worthless they really are, might regain: their souls.
Donald - I think with Musk, and possibly Bezos, the greed is pathological. Those two are now fighting to dominate space transport. How much more money could either one need, they and their extended families for multiple generations?
Read a great analysis yesterday by Thom Hartmann. He suggests that Musk is quite eager to crash the economy, because that's when the uber-wealthy can buy everything cheap and rake in even more billions.
Time to make Lina Khan's job easier. Let antitrust authorities restructure the boards of companies that abuse market power. Reserve 1/3 of their seats for owners, 1/3 for employees, and 1/3 for public-interest reps, meaning mostly suppliers and others affected by corporate decisions. If you're a monopolist and you don't like that idea, you don't have to abuse your market power.
Excellent proposal but maybe it should be 25% owners, 25% employees, 25% affected businesses (suppliers etc) and 25% consumers and interested NGOs.
Good point, I forgot to mention consumers would be the main group represented by public-interest board members.
Lina Khan’s credentialed past is way beyond reproach, unlike the wrestling coaches, talk show hosts and football players trump will probably put in his cabinet. There is nothing, nothing egregious about her performance. In fact, she’s probably disliked because she’s doing what her position requires so.
Biden was the closest we’ve gotten to reinstating FDR type legislation. I don’t know. Maybe we haven’t been clobbered enough by the 1% to vote for more of Biden type policies?
Voters are bamboozled and often perhaps usually unable to draw the connection between how their elected officials vote and the consequences. First step is to pay more attention. But lot's of people are already clobbered . Maybe it will take more damage but even then, like a frog not knowing which way to jump before the advancing mower, they could easily jump the wrong way. Case in point, Nov 5th.
It’s discouraging.
I’ve had it with these oligarchs sucking all the oxygen out of the world. I don’t give a flying f what their opinions are anymore. Bring back the guillotine. It would do us more good than any stupid scheme.
I like your way of thinking, Kerry.
And guillotine 2.0 (live video feed) is fully tech compliant.
Is that really what you guys want to see? I don’t.
I want pushback against the rich bastards. I want them to experience fear. They prance around with impunity and order the rest of us to do their bidding. They escape the taxation they richly deserve and the rest of us suffer. It’s why the public health infrastructure in Europe is falling apart. I’m fed up with the Musks and Mercers and Mellons and Kochs and their supercilious bullshit.
and of enough people feel like you do, pushback will come. Sad how it seems to take collapse in some way to bring people to that point.
Well if Musk has his way, he has said there will be "hardships"...
I not only agree wholeheartedly, Kerry, I give you props for, "supercilious," because that EXACTLY describes their attitude.
I'd settle for tar and feathers pour encourager les autres.
You keep forgetting that Americans want to be as rich as these billionaires; they don’t want things to be moderated even if they’re suffering because they can still dream about being very rich. And for men can they can afford to have arm candy which is what Trump has always had. Time to wake up!
Joan, I never watche it, but heard plenty about "lifestyles of the rich and famous" it seemed an obscene idea then to glamorize wealth, and the brainwashing worked remarkably well. fill the hole with meaningless shiny stuff.
I like that. The question then seems to be “Is the American Dream a trap?” or else “Does the American Dream need reforming?”.
The American Dream needs re-stating. Zepher Teachout did that in her 2020 book Break "Em Up: It "is the dream that people, not kings or lords or dukes, should govern themselves. The basic dream of America is the fight against illegitimate power." p.252
Yes. i saw the Trump rally with the big electronic board "Dream Big".
Trump casinos, WWE, and sex. All part of the pitch and very effective for some.
Throw in misogeny, racism, revenge, a toxic brew.
Although I agree with you Joan, I find myself annoyed, who can't develop their own lead in and thus start with the inane "You keep forgetting" I doubt that anyone has forgot that.
Starting with "you keep forgetting" sounds like a 3rd grade teacher chiding a student.
You should have opened with your second sentence.
Step up and take ownership of your opinions, especially when they are shared by so many.
We need more Linas to fight Neoliberal policies. #Eat the Rich!
Atta boy Bob. Billionaires and corporate behemoths they control don't want to be regulated or taxed. They will shake every last nickel out of American pockets and every last hope for enlightenment out of the American psyche if you let them. For them to be able to spend $6-7 Billion on this election to convince a largely unsophisticated and easily brainwashed voting public that losing democracy, freedom of the press, equal justice, the dignity of man, and dominion over one's own body is going to make them better off is a marvel of modern technology and ancient evil, and a cheap price to pay to take over and what has been the greatest democracy and power in the history of civilization......
Ironically the democracy itself is our greatest asset, the source of our faith and our strength, and those who seek to destroy it may be the kings of nothing.
I don’t think she’s going to be swayed by Mark Cuban just because he’s stumping for her. She did bank and student lender prosecutions, after all.
Martha, you have a point with Cuban, but as regards her previous activities, she was a public official following the law.
I consider myself an AOC progressive, but in 64 I voted for Goldwater.. People do change.
Bless you! Like Arianna Huffington, you are living proof that reasonable folks will always become Progressive, if they open their minds. Conservatism is just illogical. ♥️
But Cuban has been vocal about wanting a more relaxed anti-trust environment. Seriously, there has been scant enforcement until the past 3.5 yrs.
Martha, imo conservatism is at least partly a manifestation of a human characteristic of -- selfishness. The more selfish you are, the more you're tethered to your personal wants, needs, etc.
My husband is a Psychologist. Arrested development is emotional, big feelings are just that. An open mind is less likely to be selfish.
There are some very interesting MRI studies of Conservative Brains vs Progressive Brains. They physically different. Aspects of brain chemistry that develop from stimuli and the response of the brain to those repeated stimuli - really interesting. Hard to say how one modifies that - but it seems possible.
Martha, I don't quite understand what "big feelings are just that." All feelings are emotional, so that's not what you meant, is it?
I certainly agree that an open mind is less likely to be selfish. If there's more room for other ideas to get in, there's less room to give oneself. Not very scientific, but it seems logical to me.
I'd be interested to know whether brain development (not physical size except insofar as a brain grows as a child grows) is like learning a 2nd language. I've read that a child can easily become bi-lingual (or more), but by age 7-8 the capacity for that level of achievement lessens. One can still become highly competent, even excellent but may not be truly bi-lingual.
So, maybe the brain's capacity to "welcome" new ideas has a time element too. If your parents and early teachers don't nurture your intelligence, maybe there comes a time when your brain stops being able to reach out for new things itself. I have no idea, but imo the brain is endlessly fascinating.
No. I meant “big feelings” like toddlers have. All emotions are not that.
My teen years were the McCarthy era. In that era there was only one enemy, communism. I was brainewashed by my mothers god mother who gave me a Xmas present every year of the Readers Digest. My mother never talked politics, she had no time,too busy providing for three children, I went from that environment to the cloistered environment of a 26 year military career, and the enemy of course was communism. I really didn't know any better. I lived in a bubble, in 1989 I was fortunate to find myself in a situation in which I got out of that bubble and met the real world.
Wow. That is amazing! The arc of your thought vs experience is humbling. And (because my Dad and my husband both served too) Thank you for your service. 💙
Trust-busters are basic to capitalism. If you want innovation, competitive pricing, a level paying field, break up monopolies and try to never let them evolve. They are unnatural.