Damage Bigly

James Mann




"The tax legislation that was just rammed through Congress makes it quite clear that Donald Trump’s first year in the White House has been much more damaging to the nation than that of any other president in modern times. Before this bill, it might have been possible, though wrong, to argue that as president, Trump had brought to his office more sound and fury than action. The notion took hold for much of 2017 that his failures in Congress, along with a series of court rulings, had limited his impact; the failure to repeal Obamacare and the courts’ blocking of the early versions of his travel ban were cited as examples of the supposedly constrained Trump presidency.

No more. The sweeping tax bill gives a huge tax cut to corporations and to wealthy individuals, and will add roughly $1 trillion over the next ten years to the federal deficit. It will widen further the already enormous gulf between the very wealthy and the rest of America. And it sets the stage for an attempt by Republicans in Congress in 2018 to shrink the federal deficit by cutting benefits to a large number of Americans through reductions in Social Security, Medicare, and other social programs.

The end-of-year tax legislation forces a reexamination of quite a few other ideas about the Trump presidency that have taken hold from time to time over the past twelve months. One is the assumption that the Republicans in Congress and their leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan viewed Trump merely as a temporary tool. Once the Republicans got the tax cuts they were so desperately seeking (so this argument went), they would prove more willing to move against him, to condemn his excesses and his outrages. But now that the tax bill has been completed, they seem more wedded to Trump than ever; they will need his support for, among other things, their budget-cutting efforts to follow..."

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/01/18/donald-trump-damage-bigly/

I read somewhere that beach properties will lose 10% because of the new tax bill and how second home interest and taxes will be handled. The upper middle class is going to get whacked with this tax bill. These are normally big Republican voters. If the democrats simply have town hall meetings where folks bring their last year taxes and they create a program where people can see what is going to happen in April of 2019......there will be a mighty backlash. The Republicans are expecting to delay the reality until after November, but a simple scanner at candidate meetings with a CPA could make October campaigns realistic and eye opening.......no more bs. It might cost a couple hundred thousand to develop the software, and it could be used by ten thousand candidates driving home the fact that the 1% just stole 83% of the loan proceeds which will be paid for by the other 99%.

Floridatexan wrote:James Mann




"The tax legislation that was just rammed through Congress makes it quite clear that Donald Trump’s first year in the White House has been much more damaging to the nation than that of any other president in modern times. Before this bill, it might have been possible, though wrong, to argue that as president, Trump had brought to his office more sound and fury than action. The notion took hold for much of 2017 that his failures in Congress, along with a series of court rulings, had limited his impact; the failure to repeal Obamacare and the courts’ blocking of the early versions of his travel ban were cited as examples of the supposedly constrained Trump presidency.

No more. The sweeping tax bill gives a huge tax cut to corporations and to wealthy individuals, and will add roughly $1 trillion over the next ten years to the federal deficit. It will widen further the already enormous gulf between the very wealthy and the rest of America. And it sets the stage for an attempt by Republicans in Congress in 2018 to shrink the federal deficit by cutting benefits to a large number of Americans through reductions in Social Security, Medicare, and other social programs.

The end-of-year tax legislation forces a reexamination of quite a few other ideas about the Trump presidency that have taken hold from time to time over the past twelve months. One is the assumption that the Republicans in Congress and their leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan viewed Trump merely as a temporary tool. Once the Republicans got the tax cuts they were so desperately seeking (so this argument went), they would prove more willing to move against him, to condemn his excesses and his outrages. But now that the tax bill has been completed, they seem more wedded to Trump than ever; they will need his support for, among other things, their budget-cutting efforts to follow..."

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/01/18/donald-trump-damage-bigly/

Oh, please. More Chicken Little "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" preaching-to-the-choir--and in the New York Review of Books, for cryin' out loud, a leftie intellectual tabloid if there ever was one.

Everything Trump's done is reversible except for the 12 judges he's gotten confirmed. And now there's even Republican resistance to some of his nominees.

During Vietnam, the U.S. was pretty much reviled by most civilized countries and we recovered from that pretty nicely. The same with the Iraq war. After Obama was elected we recovered all our former respect. The same thing will happen once Trump's gone--assuming, of course, we elect a normal human being instead of a pathological liar and bully.

Instead of wasting a lot of energy being pissed at Trump, you might try figuring out what the hell happened, how did a mentally ill guy like Trump manage to get 63 million people to vote for him?

how did a mentally ill guy like Trump manage to get 63 million people to vote for him?

really?

[quote="Deus X"] The same thing will happen once Trump's gone--assuming, of course, we elect a normal human being instead of a pathological liar and bully.



Can you smellll what the Rock is cooking?




Why not? Better off voting for a rock instead of the smelly old pathetic cow chip in our White House now.

I have to say that America was not reviled during the Vietnam war by most of the rest of the world. I just start itching when I hear things said that simply aren't true because I remember that they were not.

John F Kennedy is still one of the most loved Presidents of all time, Lyndon Johnson was hated by many college students and anti-war protestors, but was generally respected overseas and by the "silent majority" that actually existed back then and that Richard Nixon often spoke of.  Southerners hated Johnson because he was a real pioneer in the area of Civil Rights, but he had the respect of our allies overseas. He wasn't the most easily likable of people and he probably would not have won the next election with 'nam around his neck, but remember- the very liberal Hubert Humphrey did not win either. This was the beginning of Space Exploration and there was a great future to look forward to.   And Richard Nixon, until Watergate, was extremely popular, both here and overseas. He won reelection with the most states ever won by any presidential candidate in history in 1972. Vietnam went on during nearly all of his presidency. Yet he opened the door to China during those years. He created the EPA, lowered the voting age, and was a very popular president.
No, the Vietnam war years weren't like today. We lost some respect during Bush the second's presidency because of his invasion of  half the countries in the middle east, but even that was nothing like the embarrassment of electing  a barely coherent, mentally unstable leader with the power to destroy the planet to the White House.
That embarrassment belongs to our political system which has twice in the last 20 years put a man into office who was not the choice of the people.  It's also the embarrassment of having such a large percentage of uneducated, half way civilized, mouth breathers in our electorate. Quite frankly, and I've never thought this before this year, I'm wondering if we might actually need some form of questionnaire to be filled out before some people could vote? If they don't know what the president can and can't do (as in making a foreign country pay for a wall) they might just not be intelligent enough to trust with a ballot in their hand.
Otherwise, we deserve the embarrassment we are now getting because those who do know the answers to those questions didn't bother to vote.

I think that the failure of newspaper competition in a community is a very serious handicap to the dissemination of the knowledge that the citizens need to participate in a democracy. Walter Cronkite

Deus X wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:James Mann




"The tax legislation that was just rammed through Congress makes it quite clear that Donald Trump’s first year in the White House has been much more damaging to the nation than that of any other president in modern times. Before this bill, it might have been possible, though wrong, to argue that as president, Trump had brought to his office more sound and fury than action. The notion took hold for much of 2017 that his failures in Congress, along with a series of court rulings, had limited his impact; the failure to repeal Obamacare and the courts’ blocking of the early versions of his travel ban were cited as examples of the supposedly constrained Trump presidency.

No more. The sweeping tax bill gives a huge tax cut to corporations and to wealthy individuals, and will add roughly $1 trillion over the next ten years to the federal deficit. It will widen further the already enormous gulf between the very wealthy and the rest of America. And it sets the stage for an attempt by Republicans in Congress in 2018 to shrink the federal deficit by cutting benefits to a large number of Americans through reductions in Social Security, Medicare, and other social programs.

The end-of-year tax legislation forces a reexamination of quite a few other ideas about the Trump presidency that have taken hold from time to time over the past twelve months. One is the assumption that the Republicans in Congress and their leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan viewed Trump merely as a temporary tool. Once the Republicans got the tax cuts they were so desperately seeking (so this argument went), they would prove more willing to move against him, to condemn his excesses and his outrages. But now that the tax bill has been completed, they seem more wedded to Trump than ever; they will need his support for, among other things, their budget-cutting efforts to follow..."

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/01/18/donald-trump-damage-bigly/

Oh, please. More Chicken Little "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" preaching-to-the-choir--and in the New York Review of Books, for cryin' out loud, a leftie intellectual tabloid if there ever was one.

Everything Trump's done is reversible except for the 12 judges he's gotten confirmed. And now there's even Republican resistance to some of his nominees.

During Vietnam, the U.S. was pretty much reviled by most civilized countries and we recovered from that pretty nicely. The same with the Iraq war. After Obama was elected we recovered all our former respect. The same thing will happen once Trump's gone--assuming, of course, we elect a normal human being instead of a pathological liar and bully.

Instead of wasting a lot of energy being pissed at Trump, you might try figuring out what the hell happened, how did a mentally ill guy like Trump manage to get 63 million people to vote for him?

I think we'll have all those answers in due time. I'm so tired of Trumpies, and that includes my brother. He's lost in Fox land and probably Rush and probably AM radio and most definitely Facebook. He's my brother, and I can't reach him. I'm not "wasting" energy; my husband has had multiple surgeries in the past year, and I've been dealing with neighbors who are absolute assholes. So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about. I am so sad for my country.

Floridatexan wrote:
I think we'll have all those answers in due time.  I'm so tired of Trumpies, and that includes my brother.  He's lost in Fox land and probably Rush and probably AM radio and most definitely Facebook.  He's my brother, and I can't reach him.  I'm not "wasting" energy; my husband has had multiple surgeries in the past year, and I've been dealing with neighbors who are absolute assholes.  So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about.  I am so sad for my country.

My point is that things aren't nearly as bad as many liberals are making them out to be. With a little historical perspective, you can see that most of what Trump has done is reversible. Even the tax bill can be amended. The biggest worry is if conservatives start going after Social Security and Medicare but I don't think that's going to get any traction. Geezers--myself included--vote and the members of congress know it. Nothing Trump has done so far is anywhere near as bad as the invasion of Iraq--THAT was a real blot on the American escutcheon.

Deus X wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:
I think we'll have all those answers in due time.  I'm so tired of Trumpies, and that includes my brother.  He's lost in Fox land and probably Rush and probably AM radio and most definitely Facebook.  He's my brother, and I can't reach him.  I'm not "wasting" energy; my husband has had multiple surgeries in the past year, and I've been dealing with neighbors who are absolute assholes.  So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about.  I am so sad for my country.

My point is that things aren't nearly as bad as many liberals are making them out to be. With a little historical perspective, you can see that most of what Trump has done is reversible. Even the tax bill can be amended. The biggest worry is if conservatives start going after Social Security and Medicare but I don't think that's going to get any traction. Geezers--myself included--vote and the members of congress know it. Nothing Trump has done so far is anywhere near as bad as the invasion of Iraq--THAT was a real blot on the American escutcheon.

No matter how terrible fake 45 is and how close he gets to causing WW III and how miserable he makes all real Americans feel, remember how much worse things would be if he lost to the responsible adult that ran against him. Thank you Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and the deep red south for saving US from 4 to 8 years of status quo and perhaps dragging US unto the brink of Armageddon.

bigdog wrote:I have to say that America was not reviled during the Vietnam war by most of the rest of the world. I just start itching when I hear things said that simply aren't true because I remember that they were not.

You must have been reading the Pollyanna Press or something. There were huge anti-Vietnam protests in Rome, Paris, Berlin, London and Stockholm. In one year alone we had the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and RFK, a police riot at the Chicago Democratic Convention, the beginnings of the Phoenix program in Vietnam and the My Lai massacre--although that wouldn't be exposed until the next year. All of that stuff got big coverage overseas. The Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in '68 precisely because they believed the US to be a paper tiger--and they were right, we did nothing.

Two years later we had the shootings at Kent State and Jackson State. There were civil rights disturbances and protests all over the country. In May of '68, in France, there were widespread civil disturbances protesting, among other things, American "Imperialism". Canada and Sweden refused to extradite draft evaders. In 1971 Vietnam vets were throwing their medals over the fence around the White House!

Yeah, we were held in high esteem everywhere.

Floridatexan wrote: So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about.  I am so sad for my country.

You still don't answer my question: What do YOU think happened that Trump got elected? What's YOUR opinion of what went wrong and how to fix it? We can read all the screeds but I sincerely want to know YOUR opinion, not the opinions of the many journalists and writers you post links to. What do YOU think, FT?

Deus X wrote:
.... You still don't answer my question: What do YOU think happened that Trump got elected? ...

Old childhood friend of mine from back home told me the other day that Trump is the South's revenge for Sherman and reconstruction. Not sure what think about that myself .... just reporting what he said.


(know that pond dam they buried those civil rights workers bodies in? Me & him fished in that pond many a time when we were kids)

EmeraldGhost wrote:

Old childhood friend of mine from back home told me the other day that Trump is the South's revenge for Sherman and reconstruction.   Not sure what think about that myself .... just reporting what he said.

Hmm-m-m, I wonder if that explains this:

Michael Wolff said during an interview with The Mail on Sunday that a post-Brexit U.K. trade deal with the U.S. could be at risk if Trump doesn't get an invite to Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle's wedding.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367794-wolff-hopes-of-post-brexit-trade-deal-at-risk-if-trump-doesnt-get

Deus X wrote:

Floridatexan wrote: So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about.  I am so sad for my country.

You still don't answer my question: What do YOU think happened that Trump got elected? What's YOUR opinion of what went wrong and how to fix it? We can read all the screeds but I sincerely want to know YOUR opinion, not the opinions of the many journalists and writers you post links to. What do YOU think, FT?

I think we're too hung up on the First Amendment and don't call out the liars on Fox and the other airwaves. I think many people have succumbed to brainwashing as a result. I agree that the invasion of Iraq was the worst travesty of the 21st Century and am mortified that the people responsible weren't held to account. Almost all the unrest in the Middle East can be traced back to that "blunder". But Afghanistan was also wrong. There were other ways to "get Bin Laden", if he was the true perpetrator of 9/11, which I sincerely doubt. And I think Drumpf is a wannabe dictator who doesn't give a tinker's damn about the US or its people. Ditto for the GOP.

Telstar wrote:

Deus X wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:
I think we'll have all those answers in due time.  I'm so tired of Trumpies, and that includes my brother.  He's lost in Fox land and probably Rush and probably AM radio and most definitely Facebook.  He's my brother, and I can't reach him.  I'm not "wasting" energy; my husband has had multiple surgeries in the past year, and I've been dealing with neighbors who are absolute assholes.  So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about.  I am so sad for my country.

My point is that things aren't nearly as bad as many liberals are making them out to be. With a little historical perspective, you can see that most of what Trump has done is reversible. Even the tax bill can be amended. The biggest worry is if conservatives start going after Social Security and Medicare but I don't think that's going to get any traction. Geezers--myself included--vote and the members of congress know it. Nothing Trump has done so far is anywhere near as bad as the invasion of Iraq--THAT was a real blot on the American escutcheon.

No matter how terrible fake 45 is and how close he gets to causing WW III and how miserable he makes all real Americans feel, remember how much worse things would be if he lost to the responsible adult that ran against him. Thank you Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and the deep red south for saving US from 4 to 8 years of status quo and perhaps dragging US unto the brink of Armageddon.  

Hillary Clinton would be an outstanding president. You have fallen for the disinfo campaign against her and Bill. She is certainly not one of our enemies. Focus.

Clue: yes... she was that bad... and likely worse were she forced to turn over records as required.

Ever wonder why the Clinton slushfund foundation shuttered its doors? If it was so wonderful and all?

Clue #2: It certainly wouldn't have had she won.

My biggest concern is can we get young people into politics who will work hard to repair this country and its institutions. The FBI has been run through the mud because they have followed the law, yet when they were prejudiced and unfair they were honored. The Supreme Court must return to putting the best jurors on the court, and this idea of a litmus test is wrong. We need to strive for efficiencies and make government work better not for the 1% but the majority of Americans. It starts with raising the top tax bracket to forty five percent.

Floridatexan wrote:

Telstar wrote:

Deus X wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:
I think we'll have all those answers in due time.  I'm so tired of Trumpies, and that includes my brother.  He's lost in Fox land and probably Rush and probably AM radio and most definitely Facebook.  He's my brother, and I can't reach him.  I'm not "wasting" energy; my husband has had multiple surgeries in the past year, and I've been dealing with neighbors who are absolute assholes.  So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about.  I am so sad for my country.

My point is that things aren't nearly as bad as many liberals are making them out to be. With a little historical perspective, you can see that most of what Trump has done is reversible. Even the tax bill can be amended. The biggest worry is if conservatives start going after Social Security and Medicare but I don't think that's going to get any traction. Geezers--myself included--vote and the members of congress know it. Nothing Trump has done so far is anywhere near as bad as the invasion of Iraq--THAT was a real blot on the American escutcheon.

No matter how terrible fake 45 is and how close he gets to causing WW III and how miserable he makes all real Americans feel, remember how much worse things would be if he lost to the responsible adult that ran against him. Thank you Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and the deep red south for saving US from 4 to 8 years of status quo and perhaps dragging US unto the brink of Armageddon.  

Hillary Clinton would be an outstanding president.  You have fallen for the disinfo campaign against her and Bill.  She is certainly not one of our enemies.  Focus.

"remember how much worse things would be if he lost to the RESPONSIBLE ADULT that ran against him." FT did you not see that I was being totally sarcastic? I expected the feeble narcotics abuser in comment 17 above to take the bait, but not you.

Telstar wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:

Telstar wrote:

Deus X wrote:

Floridatexan wrote:
I think we'll have all those answers in due time.  I'm so tired of Trumpies, and that includes my brother.  He's lost in Fox land and probably Rush and probably AM radio and most definitely Facebook.  He's my brother, and I can't reach him.  I'm not "wasting" energy; my husband has had multiple surgeries in the past year, and I've been dealing with neighbors who are absolute assholes.  So don't even criticize what I think is an excellent summary of what Drumpf's about.  I am so sad for my country.

My point is that things aren't nearly as bad as many liberals are making them out to be. With a little historical perspective, you can see that most of what Trump has done is reversible. Even the tax bill can be amended. The biggest worry is if conservatives start going after Social Security and Medicare but I don't think that's going to get any traction. Geezers--myself included--vote and the members of congress know it. Nothing Trump has done so far is anywhere near as bad as the invasion of Iraq--THAT was a real blot on the American escutcheon.

No matter how terrible fake 45 is and how close he gets to causing WW III and how miserable he makes all real Americans feel, remember how much worse things would be if he lost to the responsible adult that ran against him. Thank you Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and the deep red south for saving US from 4 to 8 years of status quo and perhaps dragging US unto the brink of Armageddon.  

Hillary Clinton would be an outstanding president.  You have fallen for the disinfo campaign against her and Bill.  She is certainly not one of our enemies.  Focus.

"remember how much worse things would be if he lost to the RESPONSIBLE ADULT that ran against him." FT did you not see that I was being totally sarcastic? I expected the feeble narcotics abuser in comment 17 above to take the bait, but not you.  

Sorry, Tel. There are a couple of people here who don't share our admiration for the responsible adult. And there were many anti-Clinton posts...Trump bots or RNC bots or Russian bots. I remember Bill Clinton's presidency very well...6 years of investigations...mounds of unsubstantiated claims led by Rush Limbaugh and some shady characters from Arkansas. It's a wonder he could get anything accomplished, and I believe they tried to bankrupt him with legal fees. Do you remember when Bush took office and claimed that all the computers had been tampered with and WH furniture was stolen? Made me sick.

PkrBum wrote:Clue: yes... she was that bad... and likely worse were she forced to turn over records as required.

Ever wonder why the Clinton slushfund foundation shuttered its doors? If it was so wonderful and all?

Clue #2: It certainly wouldn't have had she won.

I agree, this Clinton Foundation scandal where Hillary sold fetus parts to ISIS in Benghazi in order to finance the child sex ring run out of the basement of a pizza parlor that has no basement really needs to be looked into for the fifteen hundredth time.