Interesting stuff

Nice post VJ, though it feels like re your first paragraph we’re talking at cross purposes.

...what johnno said...

he (and bannon) saw a massive political opportunity, and they took it...

the left had tied themselves so tightly in knots with . . and . . they resembled this monkey...

https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailypetition.com%2FJu...

they literally couldn't get anything done, and / or address any of the world's contemporary problems

loved obama, still do to a certain extent, but the last two years of his presidency just became embarrassing as he endeavoured to never say the words 'islamic' and 'terrorism' in the same sentence. actually, he avoided the words altogether...

an observation: since trump, not only has ISIS, been pretty much wiped out, but terrorism across the glode seems hugely in decline. I have no numbers or evidence, but there seems to have been way less attacks, everywhere! I kinda cannot believe the right wing press haven't made a big deal about this. whether it lasts, is yet to be seen...

the economy is booming, but questionable, as the US debt shyrockets. he's running the country like he runs his businesses. recklessly, and debt laden - with other people's money. again, whether that pans out well is yet to be seen

yeh i focus hate may well be the currency of the right, but the idealism of the left had become so vehement, uncompromising, and ridiculous, that they were hating on everybody, unless you were a bit brown, yellow, feminine, or gay, then you had a free pass to do whatever you wanted (excluding RW women of course - more hypocrisy!), this really wasn't working out that well...

'love trumps hate'

yeh right, whatever

they ran the most hate filled campaign ever

most US people don't love trump at all, they still think he's a narcicissistc fuckwit, but the alternative was worse, and still is...

"Anyone know if he’s done anything positive for US based manufacturing?"

This guy, Jocko Willink, owns a factory in the US making gi (BJJ) uniforms and jeans and boots. He says current trade tarrifs on Chinese goods have helped his company. I just happened to be listening to it this morning. It's one example of what you asked (I don't know much about the topic beyond that)

Trump's not my guy- narcissistic fuckwit sums it up- but I sure as hell see why steelworkers in Michigan love him.

Foreign policy - not that much substantial change from the Obama era, except for the more confrontational stance with China.

Trump dropped bombs on Syria, Afganhistan and Iraq.
Drone strikes on militants and enemies continue.

Pretty much same as Obama, who oversaw the major withdrawal of troops from the Iraq war.

Trump finished off the battle against Isis waged by Obama.

Obama finished off Al Quaeda with drone strikes, Trump pretty much finished off Isis.

Trump and Kim have shaken hands but there's been no major change in North Korean nuclearisation.

thanks Andy,
The fucked thing is there’s still people who’d vote for them.

How do you explain his interference in Venezuela. Most of the problems facing Venezuela are from tough trade sanctions because they nationalised assets and became a socialist democracy. And they are still failing in there coup attempts
Wasn’t there a military threat towards Venezuela in the state of the union address.
And what of his son in laws recent plan for Israel/Palestine. An Israeli land grab.
Yep, read between the lines.

1hr a week constitutes a job according to Betsy DeVoss, that’s what’s counted in thier jobs figures.

Trump is (when not lining his own pockets) foremost a populist / nationalist neither end well for countys having such leaders think Latin America.

The trends for rising manufacturing and GDP were well established during the previous administration as was jobs in those sectors the trend trajectory has not increased under Trump despite massive stimulus, little invested and mostly wasted from a economic development perspective.

As for globalism the distribution of its wealth was largely gathered by the top end note that hasn't changed under Trump.

Trump's global leadership has (similar to his domestic leadership) centred around attacking / creating divisions with allied countries and sucking up to dictators.

I would urge others to fact check Trump's SOTU address before commenting.

Fact double check on Venezuela, ✔️
Juan Guaidó recognised as President aswell as implied threat to Maduro. One of a number of threats towards Maduro over the course of his presidency.

It’s a great thread, no doubt. No better place to go see what the average punter thinks. I appreciate everyone’s having a say, I am more informed for having read as much as I have, but have missed a lot due to work pressures etc.

Stu, you asked earlier about, and linked to what I can assume was an article about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).

Been reading up on this for about 3 years. There’s a Professor Bill Mitchell from Newcastle uni who is as much a world expert as anybody. He has ventured far and wide in his thinking on it, and these days is an advocate for a universal jobs guarantee, as opposed to a universal basic income, both representing some of the most interesting thinking in economic terms.

Here’s a few hundred thoughts to consider. The simple part is recognising that a country that has a fiat currency (that means they print there own money) is not like a household. A household has to cover its debts, one way or another. A country that can print its own money doesn’t have to cover its debts with taxes, because it can print its own money. I know, rocket science right.

I think it was blowin calling bs on that, assuming that we would have to become isolationist to do that, or that it would lead to inflation. Neither is correct. Apologies blowin if it wasn’t you.

It’s esoteric, I know, but it’s actually true. The only reason for a fiat currency government to run a surplus is to take money out of an economy, probably you would only do that if it was overheating. There is no need for our federal government to ‘balance the books’ over the short term or the long term. The federal debt, as long as it is in Australian dollars, is not a real debt. They can actually print money, like it was growing on trees, or these days as a petrochemical polymer product.

I know this offends everything you thought you knew about economics, but you don’t really know much about economics, and I know that because I also know that seriously highly trained and educated economists don’t know much either. It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I also don’t know much, but I can remember theories and test them against what is happening in the real world.

First to the problem of inflation. There is no reason to believe that printing more money will lead to inflation. What evidence? Well the USA has been doing the equivalent of printing money at unprecedented, phenomenal rates for 11 years now, calling it quantitative easing. The problem with QE is they have been giving the money to banks, I’d rather they printed money and gave it to people, but I’m a big fan of universal basic income. What do the banks do with it? Well, for every dollar they have, they lend about $9, called fractional banking. You should by now be saying “he’s making this shit up”.

I wish I was.

A former Chancellor of the Exchequer, (Uk treasurer) once famously described our modern banking system as “imagine the worst possible way to do banking and finance, and its much worse than that”, or words to that effect, I’m going from memory.

So the US, oh, and Europe and China have been doing this for more than a decade, and yet inflation is at its lowest ebb in modern economic times.

So something causes inflation, but by fark it ain’t from printing money. Let’s go further back and look at times when the world was experiencing high inflation and without exception it could not be explained by classical economics. The 70s and stagflation, but it’s impossible to have economic stagnation and inflation at the same time, so the theory goes, but there it was. In all other events of high inflation, low inflation and hyper inflation the theory was always trying to catch up with the reality. Nobody has ever got it right, apart from the stopped clock being right twice a day type.

E
Virtually everything you thought you knew about national and international economics is wrong, and the reason for that is that you DO know how economics works in a household, and you assume the same rules apply. I’m here to tell you they don’t.

To make it easier, get seriously educated on quantum mechanics and learn how iron laws of nature break down at the sub atomic level. That would be a much simpler way to understand economics.

Was versus Jules. I know that.

And FWIW I don't think he deserved a 10.

Bullshit combo but.

2014

It all gets so much worse. So how do international currencies trade if they can just print their own money, how do they decide how much an Aussie dollar is worth compared to a euro or a US dollar or a renminbi. Well, there are arcane theories built on economic fundamentals and mathematical theorems produced by maths PhDs, the smartest freaking numbers and conceptual people in the world, and the answer is.....

Whatever the market is paying that day. You may be gagging with disbelief at this point, but it’s that simple. It’s not worth a cent more than what people will pay for it. Sure, demand is there, supply less so as supply is unlimited, but nobody sets the market, everyone is a follower. You might well be ready to argue this, and possibly cogently, but at the end of the day money is just a conceptual invention to replace IOU notes, salt, beads, silver talons and everything else we have used. It has no actual worth except what we believe it to be. This whole economics thing is much more ethereal than you think. We think an economy exists, but there is no such thing as an economy, just individuals and families trading work for goods and other services. (Thank you. Maggie Thatcher)

Back to MMT, now it only applies to the federal government, the states don’t print their own money so they have to play by the rules that the Feds and the banking system can blithely ignore. For the states, and councils and households and individuals the normal rules apply. But even then, bankruptcy laws are sort of a get out of gaol free card, so the rules apply to most of us.

If there was one idea I could get into the heads of Australians it would be this idea of MMT. It would free you from thinking that budget surpluses meant anything at all, you would understand that this LNP government is running the economy into the ground for no apparent reason and you could base your assessments of relative economic performance of the parties of government on things that do matter, like freedom, earning a fair wage, not destroying the environment and taking real action on climate change before it destroys humanity.

And I got a good laugh about planting trees in the desert to fix the climate problem.

And the one from the guy who insists the ABC are biased because he could almost hear the grudging in their voices as they reported that the US economy was doing well. Beautiful.

Google ‘confirmation bias’ and see if you can be a bit more circumspect, and less sure of your opinions.

I’m completely unsure of my opinions and recommend you doubt them as much as I do.

The trouble with this world is that the ignorant are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell)

Doubt is unpleasant, but certainty is ridiculous. (Voltaire)

"I moved on her, and I failed. I'll admit it.
I did try to fuck her. She was married.
And I moved on her very heavily. In fact I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said 'I'll show you where to get some nice furniture'. I took her out furniture...I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn't get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything, she's totally changed her look....I better use some tic tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you are a star, they let you do it, You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything." Blowin's hero.

Batfink, an interesting series of posts.

70's:
From late 50's US starts running up trade deficits, it's the global reserve currency redeemable at $35 an ounce ->
Mid 60's nationalists like DeGaulle take issue with this 'exorbitant privilege', calling the US bluff, as massive Vietnam war and Great Society costs start seeing persistent big US deficits paid for in printed USD->
1968 - the USD peg is broken on the London Gold Exchange, starts trading higher than the $35/oz. There is a run on physical gold as those importing would rather have the real ounces than the paper scrip. One could say an arbitrage develops, eg I can earn $35 off the US for my widget I sold them, convert it to 1 oz gold, and that gold has a market price of $50, voila, profit. Gold flows from US coffers ->
1971 -> Nixon defaults, the USD is no longer redeemable in gold (apart from a select window at NY Fed??)
also 1971 -> Arab oil exporters have enjoyed being paid in gold weight per the oil they sell. They notice they are getting paid less now the USD is no longer pegged to gold. In gold terms, they are getting a lot less for their oil ->
So... ->
They jack the oil price to get the relative amount of gold they were getting before ->
Crisis! ->
A decade of (mainly commodity) inflations occurs in the West in the 1970s. Economists are baffled. Pretty soon the USD gets tied to oil via the petrodollar, setting the scene for the continued asset bubbles of my entire life.

the whole idea of MMT and continued fiat printing and debt increase looks wonderful until anyone with half a brain finds other assets to compare its value to, and then makes the exchange to save themselves.

@batfink

The ABC is bias no doubt about that, but i never mentioned anything about bias, most media have openly be negative/moking about Trump from day one, i think most of us including myself didn't think he would last and would be a total disaster some are still trying to paint this picture, but it's just not stacking up.

I listen to ABC radio regularly the guy I'm talking about that guy that does the stock market report thing has openly bagged Trump out in the past and mocked him, he has made no secret what he thinks of Trump, but just thought it was interesting how recently he has been having no choice to say he is doing a good job, and he basically admits when he says it that he wish he didn't have to admit it...so if people like that, that dont like Trump are giving him praise, you kind of believe it when he says what he is doing is a good thing.

Anyway i know nothing about printing money etc but you sound like you are a know it all, explaining how everyone is wrong but you are right..yeah okay.

“The ABC is bias no doubt about that”

Haha talking rubbish again!

.

with respect batfink, that sounds like a load of bullshit ...but you yourself admitted as much...

economics - the imperfect science - is basically people making up, and attributung, causes and effects to suit their political beliefs and agendas. the reality is, we cannot really know what caused what (we can a bit, hence why some economists are payed so much ...overpaid so much...). but really, what effects an economy and a currency value, happened years in advance, and both sides of politics claim the wins and blame the losses.

greg jericho had an article the other day saying basically governments make decisions on 6 month old information because of how we report the quarters for the measures we use. it's basically 'crystal balls' predictions ousethe horse has bolted' information. but there's obviously a skill to it, and some are better than others at it.

"Whatever the market is paying that day. You may be gagging with disbelief at this point, but it’s that simple. It’s not worth a cent more than what people will pay for it."

no gagging at all!

that's it, pure and simple, like all markets, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it - especially so with currency - not cutting you down, but no big revelations there.

however, as I said way back, that market price reflects the confidence other countries have in your country. you keep on just printing money, and that confidence wanes pretty quickly. not so at the moment, because everyone is printing money!

but, a time of reckoning will have to come eventually...

then we'll actually see the worth of each country and their currency

I was in nias right in the midst of 2008 gfc, chatting to a singapore dude, big money man, successful dude, shit surfer. he said to me he always keeps a large stash of aussie money, as long term it is always relatively reliable. that confidence comes from somewhere. If we embrace that funny money MMT thingy that confidence would be gone overnight. if the whole world embraces it, it may be a different story, but I still cannot see the long term outcome being a positive...

happy to be wrong, it's all smoke and mirrors and guesswork...

Good posts batfink. For want of a better Swellnet pun, "We are on the same wavelength."

You can lead a horse (or bull) to water, but you can't make it (them) drink.

adam12, have you ever stopped for even a minute to think about what conversations bill clinton may have had on the 'lolita express' on the way to epstien's pedo island?

.... I didn't think so...

re. confirmation bias

that shit works both ways...

I listen to RN religiously, and indod is right about being able to hear the begrudgingly-ness in many economic commentator's voices on the abc

not to mention them having to change the narrative from flat out dismissal...

Not saying this applies to you Syppo -
“there are folk whose political beliefs are so far to the right that just about all of Australia, and most of the world, is to the left. Any media that reflects this reality is necessarily left wing and biased.”

And certainly, for every Philip Adams there’s an Amanda Vanstone or Tom Switzer.

Something else to consider -
“But the very fact that so many commercial radio talkback hosts, especially in cities other than Melbourne, have sought to form communities of disgruntled, right-leaning listeners has meant almost inevitably that more progressive talk-radio listeners gravitate towards ABC metropolitan radio. ABC radio presenters know it, and respond to that audience. It’s a mutually reinforcing paradigm.”

In any case it’s a tired discussion that’s been put to bed by all but the most ideologically rusted on

"“The ABC is bias no doubt about that”

Haha talking rubbish again!"

...yeh nah...

sorry andym, I love to agree with you, you are one of the most reasonable commentators on here. but not this time.

the abc is jam packed full of bias. they have shamelessly displayed huge amounts of bias in the past, an issue, I would argue, they know themselves they needed to address, and have done so, by giving amanda vanstone and that switzer guy a run

planet america is an excellent example of this bias. pre trump's election, chas and co. used to just flat out bag and ridicule trump at every opportunity

then leading up to his election, chas went to america to cover the lead up to the election. the change in his tune was palpable from one episode to the next on his arrival in america, as he realised there was much more going on in the good ol' US than the bias america media were allowing us to know about. if you don't believe me watch the episodes pre chas in america and post. his tone took on a somewhat sombre mood.

now, planet america is one of the best, and least bias, accounts of all things trumpy available across all media. honestly, it is some of the best coverage anywhere, ever.

a similar change in tone can be seen with phillip adams on abc rn. adams, a self professed lefty nutter, has some excellent guests, and gives them a good run, whilst simultaneously still gratuitously sinking the boot in, and acknowledging his bias in the process, respect.

this bias (not abc), was also patently obvious when the simpsons dude came to oz pre trump's election, matt goering is his name I think. I forget which channel it was on, but the hosts interviewing him were indulging in the usual gratuitous trump ridiculing that all media were indulging in at the time. making pretty basic and childish assumptions about all things trumpy, assuming goering was in on the joke. he basically shut that shit down real quick, pointing out it was actually clinton and co., and the american system in general, that had become the joke

Trump’s such a soft target especially for satirists that I don’t see that as an example of bias.

Where’s your objective evidence?

Sounds like Matt Groening has awareness of the bigger picture.

"Where’s your objective evidence?"

there is none, this is post modernism baby...

objectivity is a misnomer

...and so 1970's!

“It’s the vibe” just doesn’t cut the mustard

I'm actually serious

there is no objective reality

Its just the post marxist ip bridgade took that thinking too far...

way way too far down the garden path

I love phillip adams

I dont mind vanstone's 'counterpoint' either

but yeh, the nutty RW bridgade have gone too far too. appealling to one's basic instincts way too much

both extremes can get fukd as far as Im concerned

Blowin,I'm not the leader of the free world, a job that should require a degree of decency, a person who can spell, knows the difference between the state of Kansas and Kansas City Missouri, has read and understands the US Constitution, is not a petulant childlike sociopath mysoginist nepotist racist gaslighting "fucking moron" (as his former Sec. of State described him). A person who abides by emoluments conditions. A person who doesn't need to paint his face orange. A president who doesn't denigrate the fundamental democratic institutions and norms in favour of Russian or other autocrats, and on and on and on I could go. Call me a fuckwit but tell me, is this the guy to take on the CCP? If that's your guy then you are the fucking fuckwit in my opinion, but to each his own. Carry on with your bullshit Blowin, at least it's good for a laugh.

Skypan, did I mention Bill Clinton? Are you assuming I'm some sort of leftie because I dared to comment on Trump? What's your point bringing up Clinton and Epstien when I was taking a shot at Blowins' fan boy man love for the current President? FWIW I don't have a great opinion of either Clinton but would take either of them as President ahead of Blowins' guy. At least they can spell.

Blowin

"Nationalism works perfectly" Gasp.....every despot that ever existed used nationalism and yes it works perfectly to cover up crimes against the peasantry if you love your country then you have to love the great leader surely they are both the same?
Sound familiar Trump to a tee.

" Trump trend is up whilst the rest of the Western Hemisphere is down."

Couldn't find a Western Hemisphere chart but global growth as a whole has continued up.
Not aware of recessions wide spread in Western Counties?

"He has made irrefutable headway in improving the plight of the US working class irrespective of neoliberalism’s constant flow towards inequality."
If so why did the tax cuts go to the top end?
The American minimum wage is still $7.25.

" Trump is the only global leader who DIDNT suck up to the biggest dictator of all ...Xi Jinping."
True not sure getting the US taxpayers to pay for the tarifs is the way to do it.
In regards to Europe and other Allies note the US projected its economy into the heartland of all those countries many station US forces as the US also projected its military to support its business interests and counter Russian interests etc all under the guise we are all great mates.

"I urge you to fact check his SOTU address if you doubt the veracity. Then get back to us."
There is plenty of commentary on this for you to read up there was a large % of taking a grain of truth and adding over the top BS with a smattering of total BS remember "reality TV personality".

"...is this the guy to take on the CCP? "

...well no one else was gonna do it

it wasn't even on the agenda before trump brought it up. the lies and cover ups going on by the other side to protect their billionaire mates making a fortune off of china's peasants were astounding. we didn't know how messed up china had become until trump pulled back the curtain. if that makes me a fuckwit in your eyes i'll wear it with pride.

trump was ahead of his time, ahead of the curve on this issue. he obviously had a sniff of what was actually going on because he, and his billionaire mates, were killing the pig. clinton and co. didn't even want to talk about it. whether they were covering for the globalist billionaires, or hobbled by political correctness, I hate to think how bad things would have gotten if clinton had got in - especially now with this coronavirus!

imagine how fucked up this could have been with china still protected by the ip zealots !! ...fucken scary...

I bring up clinton because everybody seems to overlook the womanising 'mysoginists' before trump. clinton hanging with epstien ffs!!!

kennedy!! hardly an inpotent fagbag, he was the manwhore of manwhores!

wienstien!!! apparently 'a serial rapist', one of the democrats biggest donors, hiding behind an open secret that was dismissed and ignored for years. the hypocrisy burns!!!

yeh I'm a fuckwit!!

blowin too I guess, but he ain't the fanboy you make him out to be. just someone who had the balls to ask questions

where's your balls hilary gimpboy?

eve using them as a purse?

fuckwit!

Skypan, Hahaha. Classic. Wasn't calling you a fuckwit but you can wear it if you like. Yes, Trump has the balls to take them on, I agree, and no one else was, too true. My point is has he got what it takes to win, and is he fit and proper to be in that position?
The CCP play the long game, they cheat and they are smart and ruthless and will run rings around a President like Trump. He has taken on a job he is not up to, both as President or as the guy to tame Chinese expansionism. He's a dumb fuck, with flaws that have driven away anyone capable in his Administration. If you think Trump and Kushner and Miller have the smarts to take on the CCP I have to disagree, they don't. If that makes me a Hillary Gimp then send me a mask and I'll wear it. By the way I think she's a cunt FWIW.

batfink "The federal debt, as long as it is in Australian dollars, is not a real debt."
Is this not a fundamental flaw in your discussion? Is our national debt not borrowed internationally?

All the worlds leaders play for the same team. The grand chessboard. Its all a ruse. Scripted. We are not even pawns in their cruel game. The division above ^ regarding left vs right etc is part of the obfuscation-feudalism foisted upon us proles. Obfuscation and propaganda are historical precursors to war also. Its foretold we are the final generation, so effectively we don't matter. There's lots to read about the final generation.

My comment is well intended surfing friends.

Peace.

http://thefinalgenerationbymikeevans.com/

https://prophecywatchers.com/defining-last-generation/

Luke 21v25:
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring..

Matthew 24v6:
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Revelation 6v8:
Then I looked and saw a pale horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

Whether we believe in God or not matters little. Our controllers do believe.

“I'm actually serious
there is no objective reality”

You been dropping acid and aligning chakras with Dave the Rave?

Flat earth cop out.

In response to Waldorf Salad's comment:

Those quotes, or any doomsaying quotes, will seem accurate to many people at many points in history or location.... Europeans during the second world war, north east asians during the reign of Genghis Khan, people around the world when Krakatoa erupted, South Americans when the Spanish landed... if they read those quotes they would give them weight.

It's bullshit, a concept used to keep people fearful.

"Whether we believe in God or not matters little. Our controllers do believe."
While some people have power disproportionately compared to others, believing that you have controllers is what empowers others to control you. You thus give away your own responsibility and your own power, your own power to change your life and inspire others to change theirs.

All this God/gods/heaven/hell nonsense feeds paranoia like 'Trump is the anti christ', 'muslims are demons', 'blacks are abominations', 'whites are the devil', etc.

Anyone looking for a sign to justify their fear will find said sign.

"Audiences deserted Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp mastheads in 2019 with its tabloid tub-thumper The Daily Telegraph losing a massive 15.5 per cent of its readership across both print and digital editions, according to research house Roy Morgan."

Now there's some good news.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/02/07/news-corp-rup...

it's nothing personal, it's just how it is...

"Yesterday’s really gone.

In 1993, liberal America sang along at the Bill Clinton inaugural ball with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks (and Michael Jackson, whoops). “Don’t Stop” was “Ding, dong, the witch is dead!” for the smart set. The New Democrats ushered in a new reign for youth and modernity against Reagan-Bush reaction.

That’s done. After a vote in Iowa that reeked of third-world treachery — from monolithic TV propaganda against the challenger to rumors of foreign intrusion to, finally, a “botched” vote count that felt as legitimate as a Supreme Soviet election — the Democrats have become the reactionaries they once replaced.

Coinciding with the flatulent end of the party’s impeachment gambit, and the related news that Donald Trump is enjoying climbing approval ratings, the blue party was exposed as an incompetent lobby for doomed elites, dumb crooks with nothing left to offer but their exit."

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/iowa-caucus-demo...

"...They would steal financial support for Republicans by out-whoring them on economic policy. The left would be kneecapped via “triangulation,” i.e. the public reveling in the lack of choices for poor, minority, and liberal voters.

Young pols like Bill Clinton learned they could screw constituents and still collect from them. What would they do, vote Republican? Better, the parental scolding of disobedient minorities like Sister Souljah combined with the occasional act of mindless sadism (like the execution of mentally ill Ricky Ray Rector) impressed white “swing” voters, making “triangulation” a huge win-win — more traction in red states, less whining from lefty malcontents.

Democrats went on to systematically rat-fuck every group in their tent: labor, the poor, minorities, soldiers, criminal defendants, students, homeowners, media consumers, environmentalists, civil libertarians, pensioners — everyone but donors."

"...They sold out on Iraq, expanded Dick Cheney’s secret regime of surveillance and assassination, gave Wall Street a walk after 2008, then lost an unlosable election, which they blamed on a conspiracy of leftist intellectuals and Russians.

Still, if you were black, female, gay, an immigrant, a union member, college-educated, had been to Europe, owned a Paul Klee print, or knew Miller’s Crossing was a good movie, you owed Democrats your vote. Why? Because they “got things done.”

Now they’re not getting much done, except a lost reputation. That feat at least, they earned. To paraphrase Joker: What do you get when you cross a political party that’s sold out for decades with an electorate that’s been abandoned and treated like trash?

Answer: What you fucking deserve!"

World President Cheney is considered more devious & treacherous than Howard.
Starts wars-no bid contracts- for $20b/yr private Oil Troops to fund Republicans.
Howard starts wars to get rid Coalition of Willing Trade with the Butcher.(All mine!)
Howard then spoon feeds Cheney Oz Defence Contracts-
Uranium Rail,Gas Pipelines,Air/Space/Drone Ports, 3x Murdoch Press Plants.

Cheney's Republican Daughter now dripping in Oil & Defence handouts.

Trump closes outposts to divert military to his empty Outpost Resorts.
Trump's Defense Resorts entertain General sized Suites...needing $Gazillions.
President refuses to show accounts as Generals Golf bunkers are Top security.

Top 20 US Contracts are (Defense) No bids straight to Largest Republican Donors...
Top 20 Republican Donors are Defense > re: Marginal seat Contracts win the Vote.
These Marginal (Deadend) seats are swayed by $50b Defense / Prison town revival.
US cities actually bid for them like Olympics. (Kickbacks to win the Prison?) It's sick!
US are world leading Defense / Prison Contractors (For Christians by Christians)
Recall US love Guns & Military & Prisons...No Brainer...(Death / Hate Wins Elections)

Cheney's Republican Warlords...Tax > Rort > Rig > Prisons > War > Kill > Monopoly.
Howard's Liberal Warlords...GST > Rort > Rig > Boats > War > Kill > Govt Quangos
A mega hatefest to bankroll corrupted Christians...the meek can rot in Hell!
Nothing new to report here people...same as it ever was..Team Hate Wins Again!

Very infectious:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/10/804440928/diamond-p...

Having read a bit about it, from peer reviewed papers to rumours, this interview gives perhaps the most balanced account of it I've seen. Interviewee is one of the initial ER doctors and went full quarantine (SARS level) of his hospital at initial onset. He is a true hero!

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebook-life-and-...

No one goes near Big SARS...all froth & bubble!
No one drinks Corona...all froth & bubble & Virus!
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/coronavirus-corona-beer-not-related-g...

Qld / NZ Tourism are lumbered with crate loads of WSL Corona Pro Surfluenza.
Contestants are locked in a WSL VIP Tent for a month in 'Ultimate Surf Off' to win freedom.

1919 Spanish Flu...Cooly fenced off NSW Surfers to surf D'bah
Cooly could hose off the Quarantine Tents for the Corona Outbreak Pro.
Drastic measures to stop NSW D'bah from poaching Qld Comp.