Presto

12 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

This always seem to be forgotten, both on this Forum and by many Americans (though I assume the ones who forget are in the lower economic strata and lack the skills to offer value in the modern, tech economy)

 

When the convicted felon entered office:

 

4.8% unemployment

growing GDP

$19 trillion National Debt

 

When he left:

 

6.8% unemployment

a Recession

$27.5 trillion in National Debt

First President since Herbert Hoover to leave office with fewer Americans employed than when entering office

Rising trade deficit with China

 

As for Biden, he inherited all that ^ American Carnage, but so far:

 

*Highest GDP growth since the late 1990s

*More job creation than under any POTUS ever

*27 straight months of UE below 4%, something not seen since the 1960s

*An Infrastructure Bill passed that is repairing roads, bridges, commo, airports, rails, etc.

*Chips Act which resulted in first new chip plants in the US in 40 years

*More oil production than ever by any country, with 9000 approved drilling leases waiting for someone to take them

*800,000 newe manufacturing jobs

*Lower prescription drug prices

*Falling trade deficit with China

Don't you remember James Carville's famous slogan: 'it's the economy stupid!'. 

That has been pounded into American voters relentlessly. Apparently democracy, the rule of law and common decency don't really matter.

While at the same time forgetting that an ordinary American doesn't check the statistics, the facts about the economy, they just go on what they're experiencing every day.

17 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

The joke is, he could be sentenced to home detention, but that would qualify as 'cruel and unusual punishment'...for his 3rd wife.

 

Merchan could also sentence the convicted felon to a number of hours of community service.

 

Perhaps picking up garbage, like that left at one of his recent rallies:

 

 

All good options. In my opinion!

I forgot to mention that thing about a former president in jail, and what about the secret service. It shouldn't be too hard for Americans to find a solution for that. After all you a man on the moon. Although that's a long time ago. Now America doesn't seem to be capable of building a decent working pier in Gaza.

15 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

go ahead, search away. 

former Presidents get secret service security, are they going to be in there with him? trump in an orange suit flanked by MIB?

You're having difficulty distinguishing facts and (your) opinion.

My opinion: Trump will never see the inside of a jail cell.

Why? Americans, in general, and certainly those in positions of power, don't have the guts.

F.i. Garland can solemnly declare that the DOJ follows the facts and the law, but it took him a year and a half to gather enough courage to let someone else to investigate the facts. Effectively kicking the can so far down the road that the federal indictments got thoroughly bogged down, exactly in the election season.

Purely on instinct I'd say that Merchan will issue a probation sentence, probably three months or something light like that.

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Spoken by the man with the blatantly rascist avatar viciously denigrating Native Americans.

 

Its called projection.

First 'quoque' now 'rascist'. You seem to have a problem with the English language. 

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Spoken by the man with the blatantly rascist avatar viciously denigrating Native Americans.

 

Its called projection.

First 'quoque' now 'rascist'. You seem to have a problem with the English language. 

31 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

I bet you got a reputable source for you tu quoque. By the way, you a Yank?

'quoque'? Do you mean the Latin quoque?

52 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

They've made him into a martyr.

 

All the Republicans need now is Hillary to make a speech calling his supporters nasty names and it will be a slam dunk for the GOP.

 

Come on Hillary, think about Monica and let rip with that bile. Maybe Obama could do a speech as well, he managed to secure Brexit so let's hear his empty threats again.

This is always very confusing to me.

In America there is a continuing discussion about letting the rule of law follow it's course versus the political consequences that may or may or not have.

Pundits on talk shows take that position sometimes (leave it up to the voter!), rabid politicians do it, posters like JonnyF do it, and even the famed AG Merrick Garland, handpicked by Biden, was quivering in his boots just thinking about the possibility of investigating and prosecuting a former president for obvious crimes. Most of which he swept under the carpet, for political reasons I guess.

All very strange. To me.

2 hours ago, Walker88 said:

2. Theoretically he could run things from prison, though his Presidency was primarily golfing ($175,000,000 cost to the US Taxpayer), doing rallies, calling into Fox, grifting off his properties by hosting foreigners who wanted something.

Correct. The question remains, why hasn't the DOJ taken any action about the obvious corruption of Trump and his administration? No consequences whatsoever.

Apparently corruption will be ok for whatever administration comes next?

24 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

This was part of infrastructure bill.

Buttigieg kicks off building of high-speed rail line (spectrumlocalnews.com)
 

Yes, I know that. There's another high speed railway along the East coast that is not doing all that well I believe.

I was going a bit deeper. Car dependency has much more to do with urban it suburban planning. To put it simply: how often do you need your car to do simple daily things: shopping, commuting, schools, etc. How much can you do by walking or riding a bicycle, or decent public transport?

30 years ago I stayed in LA for a while, in Studio City. I walked and rode my bicycle on Ventura Boulevard. I was the only one.

Lots of people living there, nobody walking.

51 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

 Meanwhile, back in fact-based-land, Former Manhattan D.A. prosecutor Elliot Felig today admitted that if his name was not Trump, the case would not have been brought, AND all the appeals judges are Dem appointees.

Ok, you don't know the difference between facts and opinions. Figures.

8 minutes ago, Roo Island said:

Perhaps find a better source for your information. Dodgy source

 

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/american-enterprise-institute/

Overall, we rate American Enterprise Institute Right Biased based on a political policy in line with Republicans and Mixed for factual reporting based on minimizing scientific consensus regarding climate change.

Was Saudi Arabia's crude oil production raised because of Biden's begging, or was it lowered?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/18/oil-price-rises-joe-biden-saudi-output-petrol-diesel-prices?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

23 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So let’s just game this out:

 

During the election campaign Biden makes statements regarding policy towards (Major Oil and Gas producer) Saudi Arabia.

 

Biden gets elected (roundly thrashing his opponent by millions of votes).

 

Russia invades Ukraine.

 

Global oil prices surge, gas prices at the pump surge creating a knock on impact onto inflation.

 

Biden makes a decision it’s better under these circumstances to park planned policy towards Saudi Arabia in the interest of getting oil prices down, gas prices down and inflation down.

 

Now you think he should have stuck to Plan A and if he didn’t he’s a liar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did he really 'park planned policy' or was it just all bluster? What we do know is that he granted immunity to MBS, and that Saudi Arabia's oil production didn't increase.

What we also know: while gas prices in the US are significantly lower than in many other industrialized countries, the constant whining is deafening. And opportunistic politicians like Biden pander to that whining.

Which brings me to: car dependency. An unknown concept to Americans I believe, but nevertheless relevant if you want to address the burden of gas prices.

I've tried many times to find out, but wasn't able to do it. Does Biden's 1.2 trillion infrastructure plan address in any way car dependency? As far as I know it's about filling potholes and repairing bridges, which is all existing infrastructure. But what about the future?

Biden was humiliated by MBS (as he is humiliated by Netanyahu):

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/with-so-much-untapped-u-s-oil-why-does-biden-beg-dictators-to-add-production/

12 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

What’s wrong with a President doing the right thing for America, even if it means changing policy along the way?

Personally I don't like lying just to get an election won, and then changing out of opportunism. I makes politicians look cheap 

6 minutes ago, Caldera said:

The idiocy of having nothing but a basic state pension and thinking that you're entitled to retire abroad.

 

Stay at home, where among other things, you have access to government-funded healthcare. Try to get health insurance in Thailand as a foreigner that age.

I can tell you what the health insurance at that age will cost in Thailand. Considerably more than 1 year of her UK state pension ...

4 minutes ago, Expatwannabee said:

The article says she is 87 yrs old and left 24 yrs ago at age 63.( women qualified for their pension at age 60 then. Men at 65). The article does not tell us if she was getting a full state pension or not. Only that it was frozen at £300. If she remained in the UK she might also have claimed a supplementary means tested benefit to help her survive. Also she would have been able to claim help with her rent and council tax. So while it does seem small it could easily be correct. You also have to factor in that the UK state pension is one of the least generous of the main European economies. So losing all her extra help (if any) and getting no increase on her pension for 24 years leads to where she is now. It's not right but it is the case for many.

Thanks. Very different from NL. My (reduced) 'state pension', the AOW, hasn't been adjusted to inflation since I got it, four years ago. Until this year, 2024. A slight rise! Yoopee! 

7 minutes ago, Expatwannabee said:

It is a pittance but that was the amount she was receiving when she left the country 24 yrs ago.

If I read the article correctly, she left the country at an older age than I did. So she must have lived in the UK longer than I lived in NL. That makes it a little mysterious.

UK state pension, is that Social Security? Only 300 pounds per month?

Where I come from (NL), it's called AOW. The amount is calculated by the years you resided in NL and paid taxes. So I don't get a 100%, since I moved here when I was 58. So that's reasonable I'd say. But 300 pounds seems like a pittance.

Btw, has anyone watched Trump's press conference in Trump Tower?

Man, does he look deflated. And that incessant whining and complaining, it's everybody's fault and he's done everything. 

And that stream of consciousness way of talking. Hopping from one subject to another, unrelated subject and so on and so forth. Like turning over a vat of grievances and lies.

4 minutes ago, atpeace said:

I thought Obama's election didn't overly concern most conservatives I knew.   They definitely didn't vote for him the second go around but I didn't sense hatred.  Bill brought  much more loathing to the forefront.  

 

What I felt started this whole extreme divisiveness was the election of Trump.  Democrats and many independents like myself were butt hurt and determined to let everybody know how despicable Trump is on almost every level.  I got over it in a couple months, after losing a good friend over the election, and now just put into the basket of things that will never be understood.  

I remember a couple of especially vicious and racist anti-Obama (and Michelle Obama) websites from that time.

And of course there was the 24/7 full blast spewing of derogatory remarks by Fox News. And it's affiliates I assume.

6 minutes ago, riclag said:

Its congress responsibility to change laws  ,not bidens. 

While Biden was in Congress, which is basically most of his life.

Besides, presidents are not powerless in influencing lawmakers. You can't have it both ways, Biden bragging about his achievements, like the Infrastructure bill or that bill about the chips industry, and then suddenly he is powerless for the laws he didn't manage to get through Congress. Like any serious voting rights bill.

7 minutes ago, riclag said:

Im American,Pardon Trump,it will Never happen!

The left painted Trump as Hitler!That being said ,

Go catch a Youtube Megyn Kelly podcast on the  dem attempts in New York show trial.

You’ll get a good idea at whats coming  in a non violent fashion!

Why do you think Biden will never pardon Trump? Biden is a lifelong career politician that whatever happens believes in bipartisanship and healing the country.

And his promises mean zilch. Remember Biden promised, on the campaign trail, to turn Saudi Arabia into a pariah state? 

We all know how that worked out. The fist bump, begging for lower oil prices, and granting MBS immunity.

That's simply who Biden is.

1 minute ago, earlinclaifornia said:

Trump tax cuts for the wealthy grows the debt, fool. Try google if you really want to list the accomplishments.

But MAGA only believe his lies

You might want to have a look at some statistics. Trump added 7.8 trillion during his four years, Biden will add c. 7.6 trillion. Biden had a budget deficit every single year. Just look it up, it's not hard.

9 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

I think that the turnout will be much larger than 2020 as Democracy is on the ballot. 

It was in 2020. Trump gained 10 million more votes than in 2016.