Has U.S. Democracy Been Trumped?

[Winstonm]

I am still a cynic. I think Sinema and Manchin saw writing on the wall that the House will not stay Democrat so now or never.

[Chas_P]

I genuinely thought this piece was a tongue-in-cheek parody until I looked up M.B. Matthews. He appears to be something of a crackpot. As an example, he begins his article on US elections with:

 

 

 

Or there is his piece on abortion:

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

Yeah. Beyond the simple discussion of foetus versus baby, which apparently does not exist in conservative circles, the argument that women (and girls) are evil through the "indiscretion" of allowing themselves to get raped is more than just a little abhorrent.

 

There is also plenty more of this trash, most of it much worse than the quoted parts. If this is the guy that conservatives want to promote on forums such as this, they must have truly run out of sensible arguments and ideas.

There is absolutely nothing in this observation that has anything to do with the abortion issue. What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a classic example of, "If you don't like the message, kill the messenger." Don't change the subject Gilligan. Address the issue. As far as "crackpot" goes.......well that's in the eye of the beholder.

[kenberg]

Often when a piece is cited I look it up as I did with the M. B.Matthews article. It's at https://www.american...bout_trump.html

I found, as Chas says,

 

This most sensitive area of politics is a disaster. I believe the election was stolen and millions of others do. We now have evidence from many quarters that this is so. It cannot be permitted a repeat or there will be severe repercussions that will dwarf the current ones.

 

Ok, Mike Pence risked his life to certify the electoral results. He could well have been killed by the Trump inspired mob. I suggest listening to Pence instead of M. B. Matthews.

 

Gilithin went further, legitimately so. He looked up other articles by M. B. Mathews. One is on abortion. https://www.american...d_and_evil.html

Killing babies in or out of the womb is evil. It is a way for the baby to suffer the consequences of the mother's (and father's) indiscretion.

 

You, Chas, did not actually say what your opinions are. You cited an article by M. B. Matthews. I had never heard of M. B. Matthews before, but you brought him up. The part about stolen elections was enough for me, no reason to read anything else of what he said. But for anyone who wants to see more, Gilithin provides more.

 

 

So, in summary, you said nothing of what you think. You posted something by M. B. Matthews that denies the legitimacy of the election but you have an out, M. B. Matthews said it, you didn't say it, you just quoted it. And if anyone posts anything else by M. B. Matthews you can of course claim this is unfair since you did not post that piece by M. B. Matthews. Anyway, M. B. Matthews said it, you didn't, so that's that.

 

 

So you get us to waste a bunch of time.Well, if I waste my time I have no one to blame but myself. Anyway, enough said about someone who still thinks the election was stolen. Let M. B. Matthews slide back into well-deserved obscurity.

[Winstonm]

When will the Republican Party adopt brown shirts as their uniform?

[y66]

Zero inflation in July. The dude is on a roll.

[Winstonm]

It occurs to me that I have been wrong all this time, that indeed, there truly is a gigantic conspiracy, a global conspiracy of the reasonable and sane to marginalize and reduce the power of the irrational and the conmen.

How I missed seeing this before, I can't say. But now I say, sign me up. Irrationality rules!

[y66]

Quote of the day: "I had no choice".

[Winstonm]

Trump has suggested on many occasions that people who invoke their right against self-incrimination are guilty. "You see the mob takes the Fifth," Trump said during a 2016 rally in Iowa. "If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?"

Today, Trump invoked the 5th amendment over 400 times.

[akwoo]

It occurs to me that I have been wrong all this time, that indeed, there truly is a gigantic conspiracy, a global conspiracy of the reasonable and sane to marginalize and reduce the power of the irrational and the conmen.

How I missed seeing this before, I can't say. But now I say, sign me up. Irrationality rules!

 

 

I think there is something serious to say about this.

 

We are slowly creating a world that in which those with certain types of cognitive gifts have huge advantages and those without such gifts have very little of a future.

 

What we're seeing everywhere now in politics is a rebellion, a refusal of the less intelligent to be marginalized by a society organized in such fashion.

 

If we don't make sure that the stupid have a future in our society, we will not have a future society.

 

I don't know how we accomplish this.

[johnu]

Today, Trump invoked the 5th amendment over 400 times.

I feel I have to defend the former Manchurian President Trump. In Trump's defense, when asked to state his name, he was completely honest and did not say he was John Barron, John Miller, David Dennison, or Jim, his best friend and very very substantial guy.

[Winstonm]

Today, Trump invoked the 5th amendment over 400 times.

 

It wasn’t so much he did it but what he said to his lawyer, “isn’t that the one about Thou shalt not commit adultery?”

[y66]

BLS reported today that the producer price index for final demand of goods and services fell 0.5% in July mainly as the result of a 9% decrease in energy prices.

[y66]

What is not open to doubt is that the Republican party, which seemed to be flirting with post-Trumpism just a few weeks ago, has now come roaring back as an authoritarian cult. Trump has not changed. But he has changed Republicans.

[y66]

The GOP's main campaign plank is getting sawed off.

 

Wonking Out: The Meaning of Falling Inflation

[kenberg]

Everyone has noticed that gas prices have fallen and I have seen some of the welcome data about inflation but it is too early to pop open the champagne, especially regarding the effect on the election. I watch news, I read news, I am not exactly stupid but if someone were to ask me to explain the various indices I would suggest that they ask someone else. People have to eat, and prices at the grocery store are up. That's what a lot of voters will see. Maybe they will fall. Maybe substantially. We can hope so for all sorts of reasons.

 

 

This is not disagreeing with Krugman's economic comments, I sometimes (often?) do, but my point here is different. There are actually good reasons for voting D this fall and not just that the Republicans have lost their collective minds. Although that is a pretty good reason. I am saying it is way too early to think that gas prices going down is going to, in itself, change votes. Dems have some serious thinking to do.

 

I am actually fine with hearing what Krug thinks. Just don't open the champagne yet.

[Winstonm]

One of the main reasons to reject Republicans is that they are willing to eliminate free and fair elections. At this point a vote for a Republican is a vote for autocracy.

[y66]

I am saying it is way too early to think that gas prices going down is going to, in itself, change votes. Dems have some serious thinking to do.

I'm pretty sure the majority WC opinion is that presidents can only do so much to affect the economy and that there are more important reasons than recent price movements to vote for candidate X, Y or Z. But good news is better than bad news and I am very happy to see this trending in the right direction for Biden and the country. Let's hope it continues.

[kenberg]

I'm pretty sure the majority WC opinion is that presidents can only do so much to affect the economy and that there are more important reasons than recent price movements to vote for candidate X, Y or Z. But good news is better than bad news and I am very happy to see this trending in the right direction for Biden and the country. Let's hope it continues.

 

I have heard it often but I am not sure what is meant. I heard only a small part of what Biden said the other day about inflation, he talked about the good news, but I am pretty sure he did not say "Of course this good news has nothing to do with anything I or the Dems have done". The Inflation Reduction Act has tings in it that have little to do with inflation, and of course the naming of bills is an exercise in publicity, but is it a total misnomer?

 

Consider climate change. Joe Biden cannot command it to rain tomorrow, but presumably policy decisions will affect climate, for better or worse, over the next decade. Is the economy not similar? Does it not matter whether we follow the advice of Krugman or of Summers?

I suppose I grew up with the idea that the attack on Pearl Harbor, rather than Roosevelt's policies, brought an end to the depression. Perhaps so. No doubt the attack on Ukraine has had bad effects on the world economy.

The president, by himself, cannot alter the course of the economy all that much. He needs congress to enact some or all of his suggestions. I like to think that if the suggestions are good and if congress enacts good suggestions, this will have a good effect on the economy. The argument that I put in red, is it saying that "No, well, maybe the effect will be a tad around the edges but really the economy just goes its own way regardless"? My guess is that this is not what is meant, but I am far from sure what is meant. I like to think that good choices will produce good results. Naive?

[y66]

I have heard it often but I am not sure what is meant. I heard only a small part of what Biden said the other day about inflation, he talked about the good news, but I am pretty sure he did not say "Of course this good news has nothing to do with anything I or the Dems have done". The Inflation Reduction Act has tings in it that have little to do with inflation, and of course the naming of bills is an exercise in publicity, but is it a total misnomer?

 

Consider climate change. Joe Biden cannot command it to rain tomorrow, but presumably policy decisions will affect climate, for better or worse, over the next decade. Is the economy not similar? Does it not matter whether we follow the advice of Krugman or of Summers?

I suppose I grew up with the idea that the attack on Pearl Harbor, rather than Roosevelt's policies, brought an end to the depression. Perhaps so. No doubt the attack on Ukraine has had bad effects on the world economy.

The president, by himself, cannot alter the course of the economy all that much. He needs congress to enact some or all of his suggestions. I like to think that if the suggestions are good and if congress enacts good suggestions, this will have a good effect on the economy. The argument that I put in red, is it saying that "No, well, maybe the effect will be a tad around the edges but really the economy just goes its own way regardless"? My guess is that this is not what is meant, but I am far from sure what is meant. I like to think that good choices will produce good results. Naive?

I think the effect of individual presidents is greater than a tad around the edges but still quite limited relative to the effect that Federal Reserve Board policy has. Obama had a rare opportunity to accelerate the economic recovery by pushing for more stimulus in 2009 which he was not likely to get from Congress. Still, I think it was a big mistake for him and Summers not to have tried harder. Carter had a rare opportunity to tackle inflation which he handled by appointing Paul Volcker as Fed Chair in 1979. Supporting the Fed and letting it do its job while also guarding against excessive optimism in the self-correcting power of free markets is probably the most we should expect from presidents.

[Winstonm]

How much damage did a Trump presidency do and is it still doing it?

 

 

On the Sunday after the election, when Biden was declared the president-elect and foreign leaders began to offer their congratulations, the New York Times discussed the deeper reactions of European leaders to Biden's election:

 

David O'Sullivan, former European Union ambassador to the United States, said he looked forward to a renewal of American leadership — if not the hegemony of the past, then at least "America's role as the convening nation" for multilateral initiatives and institutions.

 

But the world has changed, and so has the United States, where the Biden victory was relatively narrow and not an obvious repudiation of Mr. Trump's policies. A fundamental trust has been broken, and many European diplomats and experts believe that U.S. foreign policy is no longer bipartisan, so is no longer reliable.

 

[Winstonm]

Donald Trump is like the hotshot who has lorded it over the local duplicate for years, but now he's finally playing the Spingold Knockout Teams and his first opponents are Hamman and Wolff who look at him and say, "We play hardball here."

[Chas_P]

Often when a piece is cited I look it up as I did with the M. B.Matthews article. It's at

You posted something by M. B. Matthews that denies the legitimacy of the election but you have an out, M. B. Matthews said it, you didn't say it, you just quoted it.

That's not my point at all. Here's my point:

A large part of Trump’s appeal was that he was a bona fide outsider. He distrusted the experts who believe they knew better than the average American how to run the country. This distrust was appealing to Trump’s base who believed, and with good reason, that it is the experts who created the despotic mess in which we find ourselves.

I, like you, know very little (if anything) about M. B. Matthews other than what I read on the internet. I like his opinion. You don't. That's OK. I think none the less of you. We just don't all see things the same way.

[y66]

You don’t claim, without a shred of evidence, that law enforcement planted documents during a search and seizure unless you believe that they found something incriminating.

[johnu]

You don’t claim, without a shred of evidence, that law enforcement planted documents during a search and seizure unless you believe that they found something incriminating.

 

And you certainly don't claim without a shred of evidence except your own word (a serial and compulsive liar) that you magically declassified those "planted" documents that you know nothing about before you took them from the White House. Those 2 claims are pretty much mutually exclusive.

[hrothgar]

That's not my point at all. Here's my point:

I, like you, know very little (if anything) about M. B. Matthews other than what I read on the internet. I like his opinion. You don't. That's OK. I think none the less of you.

 

I'd say that we judge you by the company you keep, however, in your case there's really no need.

 

We have plenty of firsthand evidence that you're a racist f*ckwit...