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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Political Discussion Thread

Well 2 more resigned...& they're republicans.

Moore won't step down and I don't think McConnell will keep his word on not allowing Moore to be seated (as he said just a month or so ago).
 
I've become obsessed with Baron Waqa. I don't know why exactly. Maybe it's because his tiny country doesn't have even half the population my entire rural county does. Maybe it's because Nauru sounds like a planet from Star Trek, or maybe from the Avatar universe. It could be because his Wikipedia picture strikes me as funny. Whatever it may be, I wish the best for President Waqa and his tiny island nation of Nauru.
 
We didn't elect a pedophile! The fact that this is what I have to be proud of in America is a sad day.
 
So Franken resigned and was a democrat was appointed. Moore lost (and rightfully so). But will John Conyers resign knowing that he would likely be replaced by a republican? My guess it will be party over doing the right thing. I don't care what letter is behind your name, if you do something like this, you should not be in office. Trump included.
 
michaelskis said:
So Franken resigned and was a democrat was appointed. Moore lost (and rightfully so). But will John Conyers resign knowing that he would likely be replaced by a republican? My guess it will be party over doing the right thing. I don't care what letter is behind your name, if you do something like this, you should not be in office. Trump included.
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Conyers has already resigned. His last day in office was December 5th.

The Governor of Michigan cannot appoint replacements for seats in the House of Representatives (they must be elected). However, Snyder has announced he will not call a special election for Conyers' seat until the regularly scheduled Nov '18 election, leaving Michigan's 13th Congressional District without representation for nearly a year. :r:

I expect that some voter rights group will file a suit against the state to attempt to force them to hold an election sooner than that.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
Conyers has already resigned. His last day in office was December 5th.

The Governor of Michigan cannot appoint replacements for seats in the House of Representatives (they must be elected). However, Snyder has announced he will not call a special election for Conyers' seat until the regularly scheduled Nov '18 election, leaving Michigan's 13th Congressional District without representation for nearly a year. :r:

I expect that some voter rights group will file a suit against the state to attempt to force them to hold an election sooner than that.
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Same district has been disenfranchised before, thanks to Snyder's emergency manager shenanigans.

For those following along from elsewhere, it was the governor-appointed EM in Flint who decided to "save money" by switching to the Flint River as a water supply.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
Conyers has already resigned. His last day in office was December 5th.

The Governor of Michigan cannot appoint replacements for seats in the House of Representatives (they must be elected). However, Snyder has announced he will not call a special election for Conyers' seat until the regularly scheduled Nov '18 election, leaving Michigan's 13th Congressional District without representation for nearly a year. :r:

I expect that some voter rights group will file a suit against the state to attempt to force them to hold an election sooner than that.
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I was not aware that he resigned. But I think that what Snyder is doing is stupid. They should have representation before the end of the day... not the end of the term.
 
A tRump judicial nominee couldn't answer simple law questions. This shouldn't surprise me. It's par for the course. But :-o:-c
 
JNA said:
Potential thread split ?

What is your take on the current end of net neutrality ?
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There's a lively, ah, discussion of it on another board I frequent. The participants are largely split into three camps:

1. No big deal, just moving back to pretty much what we had in 2014.

2. Big deal? Maybe, maybe not - let's see what happens before we rush to judgement.

3.

 
The new seven dirty words
“Vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”
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"The Trump administration is full of dangerous science deniers who have no business near American public health systems like the CDC,"
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http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/16/health/cdc-banned-words/index.html

In a turn of events that is just begging to be described as Orwellian (or perhaps Carlin-ian), the Centers for Disease Control has told employees to refrain from using a list of seven words in upcoming budget proposals, according to a Washington Post report.
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http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/cdc-tells-staff-avoid-seven-words.html

Would love to hear what George Carlin would say about this.
 
There is something that I am trying to wrap my mind around and maybe you all can help me.

In 5 or so years, I know the wealthy will still pay less taxes than they do now. But what about the middle and lower income levels. Will we continue to pay less in taxes than we do know. I completely understand that the savings will not be what the wealthy will get, but will it still be less?

The other side of this is what programs and/or departments will they cut to make the budget balance? Or do they not care about balancing the budget?
 
michaelskis said:
There is something that I am trying to wrap my mind around and maybe you all can help me.

In 5 or so years, I know the wealthy will still pay less taxes than they do now. But what about the middle and lower income levels. Will we continue to pay less in taxes than we do know. I completely understand that the savings will not be what the wealthy will get, but will it still be less?

The other side of this is what programs and/or departments will they cut to make the budget balance? Or do they not care about balancing the budget?
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I think the answer is "for a while". A lot of these individual tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2025, the corporate cuts are a permanent feature. Itemized deductions go away, but the standard deduction doubles (12k for single filers, 24k for couples). The standard deduction goes back to the current rate if it's not extended in 2026.

Even further, in 2021, taxes for those making 30k or less with go UP, and in 2023 those making 40k or less will also see higher taxes. Essentially by 2027, all income levels will pay higher taxes if these individual deductions aren't extended.
 
AG74683 said:
I think the answer is "for a while". A lot of these individual tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2025, the corporate cuts are a permanent feature. Itemized deductions go away, but the standard deduction doubles (12k for single filers, 24k for couples). The standard deduction goes back to the current rate if it's not extended in 2026.

Even further, in 2021, taxes for those making 30k or less with go UP, and in 2023 those making 40k or less will also see higher taxes. Essentially by 2027, all income levels will pay higher taxes if these individual deductions aren't extended.
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When you say go up, are you saying increase from current levels or increase from the reduced levels if the tax plan gets approved?

I guess my biggest question is 5 or 10 years from now, will I pay more in taxes than I do now. (Assuming that I don't get any raises for anything during that time period, but for discussion's sake) Because I think this is the alarming factor here. If we will pay more in taxes in a few years than we did in 2016.... I question why the media is not making this known.

Yes, it would be terrific to save money for a few years, but not if it is going to cost me more in the long run.



More so, there as a photo opp of Trump with two stacks of paper indicating that the tax code is simplified. Is there any truth to that?
 
michaelskis said:
When you say go up, are you saying increase from current levels or increase from the reduced levels if the tax plan gets approved?

I guess my biggest question is 5 or 10 years from now, will I pay more in taxes than I do now. (Assuming that I don't get any raises for anything during that time period, but for discussion's sake) Because I think this is the alarming factor here. If we will pay more in taxes in a few years than we did in 2016.... I question why the media is not making this known.

Yes, it would be terrific to save money for a few years, but not if it is going to cost me more in the long run.
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My interpretation of every article I have read so far is yes, come 2026 or 2027 if the individual standard deductions are not kept in place. Those expire in 2026 and will revert back to the current rate while itemized deductions will largely be removed permanently. I think the GOP expects there to be no issue re-upping the deduction increase (which logically there shouldn't be because it would look good on BOTH parties). It's a shitty tax bill that only really benefits the wealthiest of Americans and corporations long term while shrouding itself in a disguise that makes it appear fair to the middle class and working poor.
 
michaelskis said:
When you say go up, are you saying increase from current levels or increase from the reduced levels if the tax plan gets approved?

I guess my biggest question is 5 or 10 years from now, will I pay more in taxes than I do now. (Assuming that I don't get any raises for anything during that time period, but for discussion's sake) Because I think this is the alarming factor here. If we will pay more in taxes in a few years than we did in 2016.... I question why the media is not making this known.

Yes, it would be terrific to save money for a few years, but not if it is going to cost me more in the long run.



More so, there as a photo opp of Trump with two stacks of paper indicating that the tax code is simplified. Is there any truth to that?
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Start saving now, so you can pay for the huge deficits (and inevitable tax hikes to reduce it) that are coming in 10 years.
 
Why would anybody be surprised that we're all going to get effed in about 10 years or sooner? That's what Congress does the best, kick the can down the road.
 
Hink said:
Start saving now, so you can pay for the huge deficits (and inevitable tax hikes to reduce it) that are coming in 10 years.
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I am all for simplifying the tax system, but I read more into the details this morning and yes, this will be short term savings for a long term loss. But then again, DC is not all that good at understanding finances.
 
Short-sighted works for elections and worry about that other stuff later. UGH! and I thought this was the party of fiscal conservatives and no way should the deficit be increased, but I guess that's only when the other side is in power. Now the Republicans don't care about another $1.5 trillion added to the deficit. HYPOCRISY!!! Hypocrisy in all of them!
 
I love all the politically motivated deductions. Private jet companies and owners, vineyard owners, golf club owners, real estate investments. Granted just about all of these were not targeted for tRump, but for some senator's business or a prominent business in their state, but WTF. You were proposing to tax graduate tuition. WTF. How about a tax break for grocery store owners, or deli owners. You know, the small businesses or businesses that us common people use.
 
- Tax Cut for the business travelers who travel more than once a week from one state to Washington DC.

Alright fine it isn't that bad, but it might as well be.

Personally, I don't think that without trying to get the D's to support something (which I have no idea what the R's could have done to get any support), this wasn't going to be more than just trying to show the R's did SOMETHING. It doubles down on trickle down, which has been shown to be a joke. Banking on 3-6% growth is cute. I also like how the reasoning is that the D's policies didn't work for the last 8 years so why not try this. Please note, the D's had 2 years (in which they did the ACA), with the last 6 having R's in control of everything but the presidency. So ummm.... yea.
 
So, this is crazy. Y'all know how the VA elections pretty much wiped out the Republican majority in the House of Delegates. There are a few really close races that they were doing recounts on. The Republican candidate came out ten votes ahead initially (out of 23,000 votes total); after the recount, they Democratic candidate is ahead by ONE vote. The recount has not been certified yet, but that is freakin' awesome. This creates a 50-50 split in the House.

There's another district where some of the voters received the wrong ballots, so there's an effort to have those results thrown out and have a special election, which probably should happen. That will potentially flip the break-up to a Democratic-majority house.

http://www.richmond.com/news/virgin...cle_89f73889-cf56-5124-b4eb-0cd0794e6361.html

I don't follow state politics all that closely - local and national mostly. But this has become really interesting.
 
Frankly, I hope every nation in the UN votes against the United States.:-@ Ambassador Nikki Haley says the US will be taking names of countries that don't stand with the US and that Trump will take it personally. ^o)

What an embarrassment this administration is.
 
I'm all for tax reform (simplification really) but how can anyone voting for this package think it helps the "average" American?
 
MD Planner said:
I'm all for tax reform (simplification really) but how can anyone voting for this package think it helps the "average" American?
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I guess we'll be finding out. I mean, while being able to say "I told you so" is sweet vindication, it doesn't really help my pocketbook.
 
There will be a special place in Hell for Trump and his underlings, a special place in Hell for Nikky Haley. A special place in Hell for every Republican senator who voted for the Tax bill including Jeff Flake.
 
Now for the billion dollar question. Will Trump sign this bill into law before the 1st of the year? AT&T and a few other companies indicated that they will be giving employees bonuses once the bill is signed... however there is a lot of information out there that he might not sign it until January. Therefore it will have zero impact on any of our 2017 tax returns and I question if the amount taken out of our checks will actually go down after the first of the year.
 
michaelskis said:
<snip> Therefore it will have zero impact on any of our 2017 tax returns and I question if the amount taken out of our checks will actually go down after the first of the year.
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The tax reform will be on your 2018/pay 2019 taxes. It will have no effect this year, 2017/pay 2018.
 
The Terminator said:
There will be a special place in Hell for Trump and his underlings, a special place in Hell for Nikky Haley. A special place in Hell for every Republican senator who voted for the Tax bill including Jeff Flake.
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I'm getting a tax cut, as are most folks. I fail to see a problem here. So much hate...

Also, stuff like this:

https://twitter.com/Boeing/status/943542799726727169

#Boeing announces $300M employee-related and charitable investment as a result of #TaxReform legislation to support our heroes, our homes and our future.
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But, yeah, all Republicans belong in hell, and stuff. Perhaps Boeing should go to hell as well for giving money to charities and their employees? Good grief, kid, grow up at some point...
 
michaelskis said:
Now for the billion dollar question. Will Trump sign this bill into law before the 1st of the year? AT&T and a few other companies indicated that they will be giving employees bonuses once the bill is signed... however there is a lot of information out there that he might not sign it until January. Therefore it will have zero impact on any of our 2017 tax returns and I question if the amount taken out of our checks will actually go down after the first of the year.
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He'll wait until after the first of the year in order to avoid triggering mandatory spending cuts during the 2018 election cycle. Signing after January 1st pushes those cuts to 2019.
 
Suburb Repairman said:
He'll wait until after the first of the year in order to avoid triggering mandatory spending cuts during the 2018 election cycle. Signing after January 1st pushes those cuts to 2019.
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Bingo! Another ploy to get what he wants while not actually doing what he says.
 
Wait! Wait! Everyone look at the uranium scandal. Which means something big is about to drop.
 
I'm sure I find this more interesting than anyone else here, but the super close delegate race in Virginia is now tied and the winner will literally be decided by drawing a name out of a hat!!!

https://wtop.com/virginia/2017/12/gop-questions-ballot-in-1-vote-margin-va-recount/


gtpeach said:
So, this is crazy. Y'all know how the VA elections pretty much wiped out the Republican majority in the House of Delegates. There are a few really close races that they were doing recounts on. The Republican candidate came out ten votes ahead initially (out of 23,000 votes total); after the recount, they Democratic candidate is ahead by ONE vote. The recount has not been certified yet, but that is freakin' awesome. This creates a 50-50 split in the House.

There's another district where some of the voters received the wrong ballots, so there's an effort to have those results thrown out and have a special election, which probably should happen. That will potentially flip the break-up to a Democratic-majority house.

http://www.richmond.com/news/virgin...cle_89f73889-cf56-5124-b4eb-0cd0794e6361.html

I don't follow state politics all that closely - local and national mostly. But this has become really interesting.
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Hey, look! Boeing is giving America three (3) free F-35 jets!

How generous.^o)

May I have some more kool-aid, please, Mr McConnell?
 
The Terminator said:
There will be a special place in Hell for Trump and his underlings, a special place in Hell for Nikky Haley. A special place in Hell for every Republican senator who voted for the Tax bill including Jeff Flake.
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Trump, definately. But I would put Ryan, Pence, McConnell, Roy Moore, Putin, The Koch Brothers, Pruitt and many others (mostly white males) on the bus to Hell before Haley. All of these have much more blood on their hands than her and those hands will only get bloodier as the months go by.

Pence, McConnell and Moore are the worst of them all because of their warped white-evangelical, "holier than thou" type beliefs and their "fire and brimstone" personas. Ryan is a religious hypocrite too and that smug look on his face makes me wish someone would just smash it with a waffle iron.

White evangelicals, by voting for Trump, have proven themselves to be the foulest hypocrites on the face of the earth . Instead of preaching forgiveness and tolerance, they preach bigotry and hate. Yet they always look the other way when one of their brethren is caught with their pants down, so to speak, or involved some other scandal. And don't forget than it was Moore that said 9/11 was punishment from God for the U. S. turning it's back on religion, yet he got almost 50% of the vote in Alabama.

Yes, Trump, Pence, Moore and their ilk are the reason there must be a Hell.
 
Super Amputee Cat said:
Trump, definately. But I would put Ryan, Pence, McConnell, Roy Moore, Putin, The Koch Brothers, Pruitt and many others (mostly white males) on the bus to Hell before Haley. All of these have much more blood on their hands than her and those hands will only get bloodier as the months go by.

Pence, McConnell and Moore are the worst of them all because of their warped white-evangelical, "holier than thou" type beliefs and their "fire and brimstone" personas. Ryan is a religious hypocrite too and that smug look on his face makes me wish someone would just smash it with a waffle iron.

White evangelicals, by voting for Trump, have proven themselves to be the foulest hypocrites on the face of the earth . Instead of preaching forgiveness and tolerance, they preach bigotry and hate. Yet they always look the other way when one of their brethren is caught with their pants down, so to speak, or involved some other scandal. And don't forget than it was Moore that said 9/11 was punishment from God for the U. S. turning it's back on religion, yet he got almost 50% of the vote in Alabama.

Yes, Trump, Pence, Moore and their ilk are the reason there must be a Hell.
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Not to argue, but I would venture to say that almost every one of the people who are in DC politics deserve to be on that bus.
 
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