[QuickTidal]

 Cause, on 14 April 2021 - 07:53 PM, said:

If biden completed the pull out from Afghanistan, will America of accomplished anything from 20 years of fighting in the country?

Remember that America has been at peace for like 16 years of its entire existence. So 20 years of pointless war in a country that thrives on war more often than not is nothing.

[Malankazooie]

In this corner MTG. In this corner AOC.

https://twitter.com/...416959321604099

Please let this happen. With covid impact, there's a dearth of entertaining content.

[Tsundoku]

Huh, I thought that was Magic The Gathering.

Nerd much? I don't even play CCGs.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'The far-right paramilitary the Oath Keepers is home to active-duty law-enforcement officers who are training up other members to prepare for civil war, according to one of the group’s top figures. [...] “We have active-duty law enforcement in our organization that are helping to train us. We can blend in with our law enforcement and in fact, in a lot of cases, our training is much more advanced because of our military backgrounds.” Arroyo’s statement was backed up by Javed Ali, an ex-National Security Council senior director and FBI counterterrorism official, who said the Oath Keepers are a “unique and challenging” threat to the U.S. because a “large percentage have tactical training and operational experience in either the military or law enforcement. That at least gives them a capability that a lot of other people in this far-right space don't have.”'

https://www.thedaily...keeper-jim-arroyo-says-active-duty-cops-are-training-militia-members-for-civil-war?ref=home

'All states prohibit "militia extremists" and paramilitary activities. So why aren't they stopped?

[...] a self-assigned role of protecting people. That's illegal in Wisconsin, where the state constitution forbids armed civilians from organizing and arming themselves to assume the role of law enforcement.

In fact, all 50 states prohibit such private, military-like activities.

[...] According to the FBI: "Many militia extremists view themselves as protecting the U.S. Constitution, other U.S. laws, or their own individual liberties. They believe that the Constitution grants citizens the power to take back the federal government by force of violence if they feel it's necessary."

That belief, legal experts say, is wrong. ['Hold my beer' says the Supreme Trump Court! Well, hopefully not....] [...]

The constitutions of 48 states require the military to be under the authority of the government. This means private citizens do not have the authority to organize in a military-style fashion. Twenty-nine states also don't allow private military-like activities such as parading or conducting drills in public using firearms.

"When self-designated private militia organizations attend public rallies purportedly to keep the peace or protect the rights of protesters or counterprotesters, they likely fall within this type of prohibition, particularly if bearing arms and wearing military-style uniforms," [...]

In 25 states, unauthorized military activities are considered a crime. In Colorado, for example, instructing people how to use or make firearms or explosive devices with the intent of causing civil disorder is a class 5 felony.

[...] "well regulated Militia" in [the Second Amendment] refers to one that's sanctioned and regulated by the government, like the National Guard, and not to privately organized paramilitary groups[...]


In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for self-defense. But the court's opinion, authored by the late conservative Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, also said the Second Amendment does not guarantee "a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose."

Scalia also reiterated a Supreme Court ruling from more than a century earlier: That the Second Amendment does not prevent states from banning paramilitary organizations.


[...] Why aren't these groups stopped?

For the most part, it's because local and state governments have not enforced the laws, experts say.

"I think in many states, there's not only a lack of political will, but we also have so-called 'constitutional sheriffs' who refused to enforce the laws, [...] some law enforcement executives are sympathetic (to these groups' causes). I think most are just not very aware of militias that are operating within their jurisdictions, particularly in rural areas, and also of what the law is."

In many places, sheriffs reach out to paramilitary groups for help with law enforcement activities, such as search and rescue efforts, giving them a de facto legal status[...]


In some places, local law enforcement may simply choose not to go after heavily armed and well-trained groups[... well why don't they put those goddamn literal tanks and other military gear US police have been collecting for decades to reasonable use for once?]'

https://www.usatoday...but/6123774002/

[Malankazooie]

[Malankazooie]

First hunnid a wrap, thoughts?

Also, there's a secret audit of votes from 2020 election being done in AZ by an outfit called "Cyber Ninjas", huh?

[Malankazooie]

Also: Feds Execute Search Warrant on Rudy Giuliani's NYC Apartment

*link is to www.nbcnewyork.com

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 Malankazooie, on 28 April 2021 - 04:54 PM, said:

First hunnid a wrap, thoughts?

Also, there's a secret audit of votes from 2020 election being done in AZ by an outfit called "Cyber Ninjas", huh?

For once I mostly agree with Chomsky...

'"I must say that what Biden has done so far is a rather pleasant surprise to me," Chomsky told Barsamian. "It's better than I would have expected. He's pretty sharply criticized on the left for flaws and omissions in the domestic policy; these criticisms are, in my view, correct but a little bit unfair. There's only so much you can do when half of the Senate is — no matter what you say — is going to be 100% against it."'

https://www.salon.co...idency_partner/

However, Biden seems to be going forward with his (probably) doomed and badly conceived hike on long term capital gains for people with income >= a million a year. 'Capital gains shouldn't be taxed less than work' is the sort of 'common sense' principle that doesn't work as well in the actual world (without far more major changes in how capitalism functions). Research strongly indicates that raising capital gains above a certain level actually decreases tax revenue, because the wealthy won't sell their holdings (instead most likely putting resources towards getting new politicians in power). Biden's proposal is well above that level (as estimated):

https://www.thebalan...anation-3305566

There's a decent chance it will cause a stock market crash. (Then again, many retail investors are waiting to buy the dip. Myself included.)

Biden's plan would also make the long term capital gains rate much higher than the qualified dividend rate, which is expected to cause a shift towards dividend stocks. Dividends introduce two major inefficiencies, as famously pointed out by Warren Buffett (among others). Companies that pay dividends could instead reinvest those funds in their business... leading to lower growth. And when a dividend is paid out the stock price automatically goes down by an equivalent amount, so investors are effectively being forced to sell stock on a (in most cases) quarterly basis, rather than when they actually want to use the money or rebalance their portfolios.

Granted, as proposed it's almost certainly doomed to defeat in the Senate, and could be politically savvy as a proposal he fully realizes won't go through, even though it probably appeals to working class voters and many progressives. But Goldman Sachs analysts think an increase to 28% is likely to pass Congress, and that would still raise it above the maximum qualified dividend tax rate of 20%.


'Biden is set to propose a sharp increase in capital gains tax to 39.6% from the current 20% level for those making more than $1 million a year[...] Capital gains tax is levied on profits from the sale of property or investments.

When combined with the 3.8% surtax on investment income, it would take the tax rate on the wealthiest investors to 43.4%. Bloomberg calculated that the capital gains tax hike would affect about 0.32% of the population.

"We expect Congress will pass a scaled back version of this tax increase," [Goldman analysts] wrote.

"While it is possible that Congress might pass the proposal in its entirety, we think a moderated version is more likely in light of the razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate."

This is also the rate that President Reagan and a Democratic House settled on a few decades ago when raising the tax from 20%.

Biden is set to officially lay out the full proposals [this] week, reports said.'

https://markets.busi...21-4-1030337942

Anyone selling property that boosts their total income over $1 million in a single year (a business, a house, etc.) will also get hit with the tax (unless they add exceptions for these cases)....

Also, he's been murdering too many civilians in questionable air strikes. He's still wasting money on Trump's wall. And his immigration reforms haven't gone anywhere near as far as they should....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 28 April 2021 - 06:21 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Also, applying 'capital gains shouldn't be taxed less than work' to people with income of over one million a year makes the ridiculous assumption that massive salaries are ethically or financially justified... they're generally not (as studies on absurdly large CEO salaries etc. have demonstrated). They're arguably less ethical than reinvesting those salaries in the stock market, especially when funding technological improvements, growth, and innovation... which also tend to pay less in dividends (in some cases because they don't yet have the profits to support dividends, in others because they'd prefer to reinvest profits into improving the company), so investment in them will be particularly de-incentivized even if a weak version passes.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 28 April 2021 - 06:49 PM

[Malankazooie]

 Malankazooie, on 28 April 2021 - 05:28 PM, said:

Also: Feds Execute Search Warrant on Rudy Giuliani's NYC Apartment

*link is to www.nbcnewyork.com

I was thinking, do you guys think Giuliani is small potatoes in this equation? And instead he's the bait to land the big fish - Trump?

[Malankazooie]

 Malankazooie, on 29 April 2021 - 12:40 AM, said:

 Malankazooie, on 28 April 2021 - 05:28 PM, said:

Also: Feds Execute Search Warrant on Rudy Giuliani's NYC Apartment

*link is to www.nbcnewyork.com

I was thinking, do you guys think Giuliani is small potatoes in this equation? And instead he's the bait to land the big fish - Trump?

Nervous Trump Squirms Over FBI Raid On Giuliani's Apartment: 'I Don't Know What They're Looking For'

*link is to dailyboulder.com

Hope they keep it up. Keep tightening that vise. Want to see Trump do the perp walk.

[Tiste Simeon]

Yes hopefully Trump will be convicted of something. The idiots who voted for him still won't admit what a despicable excuse for a human being he is because that would require them to then look at themselves and realise what it means for them to hitch their wagon to such a one but still. Be good to see him go to prison.

It won't happen because it's America and he's "rich" and white but a man can dream.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Oops, We're still committing genocide

Biden Lied About Yemen

The Biden administration has finally admitted that the US is indeed providing offensive material support to Saudi Arabia's genocidal assault on Yemen, directly contradicting Biden's February claim that it would no longer be providing offensive support in that war. [...]

[...] through a US government process, the Saudi government pays commercial contractors to maintain and service their aircraft, and those contractors keep Saudi warplanes in the air. What the Saudis do with those fighter jets, however, is up to them," [...] "The US could cancel those contracts at any time, thus effectively grounding the Saudi Air Force, but doing so would risk losing Riyadh as a key regional partner."

[...] The US is maintaining and servicing the war planes that are bombing Yemen and enforcing a blockade which has killed hundreds of thousands and the United Nations warns could kill 400,000 more this year alone if conditions don't change, proving Joe Biden a liar and vindicating the experts and activists who cautioned against accepting his announcement on blind faith'

https://caitlinjohns...ied-about-yemen

Or 'enabling' genocide....

'The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears [...] in Yemen. It was here in Arabia that coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed, in a similar way to how it is prepared now.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee

'Instead of targeting a small amount of funds toward the truly needy who lack access to fast internet, Biden could end up spending $100 billion only to make the digital divide larger than ever.

[...] "It's just going to throw more money at cities and localities that already have broadband."

The Biden administration wants to argue that the $100 billion broadband effort is the 21st century equivalent of the federal government's electrification efforts during the 1930s, which helped bring power to wide swaths of the country. "Broadband is the new electricity," [...]

[...] this maneuver would allow for a bit of political favoritism by prioritizing fiber optic internet services over the alternatives that have sprouted up. There are lots of different services that can offer broadband internet at 25/3 speeds: cable connections, fixed wireless, and even new low-orbit satellite systems like the Starlink service recently launched by Space X. But there's really only one way to deliver reliable 100/100 speeds, and that's via fiber optic cable.

[...] fiber internet is also one of the more costly and difficult types of internet service from an infrastructure perspective. It requires digging trenches, laying pipes, and physically connecting each and every household. It's a practical impossibility for rural parts of the country and tends to be a more expensive option elsewhere. That's a problem if you're in the business of providing internet service to people as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, but it's an opportunity if you're looking to spend lots of government money on a high-profile infrastructure plan.'

https://reason.com/2...t-run-internet/

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 29 April 2021 - 06:47 PM

[Malankazooie]

That dandelion that had gone to seed. Come on man. You know if Trump did that the news would be all over it. I mean if it hadn't gone to seed you could make a case for it being nutritious and healthy, but that's a weird choice to pick for your girl.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 Malankazooie, on 01 May 2021 - 04:29 PM, said:

That dandelion that had gone to seed. Come on man. You know if Trump did that the news would be all over it. I mean if it hadn't gone to seed you could make a case for it being nutritious and healthy, but that's a weird choice to pick for your girl.

Seems like a follow-up to that video of Biden picking up a small child's dropped toy. Idea it shows Biden is spontaneously good / reflexively kind-hearted, unlike Trump. Probably most popular among women. But this one seems more premeditated---or at least primed. As if his advisors told him, 'Do more of that "spontaneous" shit. Women voters eat it up.'

He's like Forrest Gump, but elderly.

The image of Trump trying to bend over like that, sticking his ass in the air... hard to imagine he could be that nimble. Given Biden's age, it is a little impressive.


Newsmax anchor ranting with a straight face: 'But it's a dandelion that hasn't even blossomed into a flower yet, like it gives everybody asthma. So you blow it, it goes everywhere, and then everybody starts sneezing. He picks up the weed and gives it to Jill in what I guess is supposed to be some kind of a sweet gesture. I say it was a planted dandelion there. Who knows?'


https://www.thedaily...r-jill?ref=home

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 01 May 2021 - 05:57 PM

[Morgoth]

 Malankazooie, on 01 May 2021 - 04:29 PM, said:

That dandelion that had gone to seed. Come on man. You know if Trump did that the news would be all over it. I mean if it hadn't gone to seed you could make a case for it being nutritious and healthy, but that's a weird choice to pick for your girl.

Biden picked a dandelion for his wife and that's a news story? Jesus the US media is starved.

[Malankazooie]

Facebook said nope. Maybe (six months later), don't still be touting the lie that the election was rigged and stolen?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 Malankazooie, on 05 May 2021 - 05:03 PM, said:

Facebook said nope. Maybe (six months later), don't still be touting the lie that the election was rigged and stolen?

'"Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States," Trump, who is not president, wrote in a statement on the ruling, "because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before."

"The People of our Country will not stand for it!" he added. "These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process."

Trump was far from alone on the right in accusing Facebook of overpowering the government.

"Facebook's 'Oversight Board' should not be more powerful than the US Constitution," Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert posted[...]

"The Facebook oversight board has more power than the United Nations," conservative author and Senate candidate J.D. Vance tweeted. "Conservatives were right to worry about giving our sovereignty away to a multinational institution. We just picked the wrong one."

[...] unlike Facebook, the United Nations can call on member states to deploy troops in its name.

Meanwhile, Infowars, a website that used to wring its hands about the prospect of United Nations tyranny, ran a pointed talking point at the top of its site.

"Trump Launches New Site as ADL-Approved Board Targets Him For More Censorship," the Infowars headline read, in reference to the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization.

The reference to the ADL was mystifying except perhaps as an antisemitic wink from a website whose hosts and guests routinely amplify antisemitism.'


https://www.thedaily...acebook-ruling/

'Legal experts mock Republican activist for asking the Supreme Court to "overturn" Trump's Facebook ban'

https://www.alternet...5/charlie-kirk/

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 05 May 2021 - 06:14 PM

[Malankazooie]

I think this confirms Facebook's Oversight Board could be legitimate, and not just a straw man deflecting pressure on Zucks. I think it's been around for about a year now? And I'm unaware of any decision it has made prior to this. I'm not 100% convinced it is completely independent from Facebook's self-interest.

[Cyphon]

From a distance it would seem that muted is how you'd describe his presidency. C seems to be a fairly effective presidency though.