The Trump Presidency | Biden Inaugurated

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Fergies Gum

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Conservative pundits/media are getting excited over this breaking news.

Will be interesting to read what this FBI informant has to say in his testimony.

 

sglowrider

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I genuinely don't understand a psyche that always needs to impress on people that they are the best at everything and in every way. Do we think he actually believes it himself, or is it some learned behaviour to put up a front that always screams bravado?
The role of a con man is to give confidence to his/her victims/supporters/voters right. He is consistent at least.
 
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Carolina Red

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Alright. Power is back up after the tornado. I've been a bit out of the loop on this front. Can someone give me a quick rundown of what's turned up about the dossier and why it matters?
 

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This would be a big bad deal for the middle class. Just days before trump said 401k plans would be unaffected with his tax plan he now says he's willing to negotiate.

Republicans are reportedly looking to lower the annual cap on 401(k) contributions to about $2,400 — down from $18,000 for most savers, and $24,000 for people over 50.

If you look at the status of American's retirement planning you'd be horrified. This would make it even worse. Seems they want to make the gap to the 1%ers even greater.

Edit. Some stats for ya.

For example, a retiree needs about $1.18 million in retirement savings to generate a modest $40,000 a year for 30 years, according to the Chicago-based investment firm Morningstar. Half of baby boomers have only $100,000 or less for retirement, with one in four lacking any retirement funds at all and 27 percent without even $1,000 in emergency funds.

Perhaps most alarming, the average couple retiring at age 65 will need at least $275,000 to pay for medical bills in retirement, according to Fidelity Investments. Another firm, HealthView Services, estimates that with the annual rise in healthcare costs, the total cost of medical bills during retirement will be $607, 662 — and that’s not even counting the cost of long-term care.
 
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sun_tzu

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So Trump is off to China in a couple of weeks...
"currency manipulator" North Korea, artificial islands, Taiwan
I cant help but think there is the potential for this trip to go pretty badly wrong - especially if he is firing of tweets about things
 

senorgregster

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According to the LA Times, the 401K issue is really a thing of Traditional plans vs. Roth plans.

A really interesting article...
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-401k-taxes-20171023-story.html
The problem is most can't handle the math behind the Roth vs 401k, and If there's no immediate incentive they won't bother and think they can always catch up later missing out on the key component of retirement returns... the benefit of time and compound interest.
 

Pexbo

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So Trump is off to China in a couple of weeks...
"currency manipulator" North Korea, artificial islands, Taiwan
I cant help but think there is the potential for this trip to go pretty badly wrong - especially if he is firing of tweets about things
“A lot of people don’t know that there are ownership issues between China and Taiwan, very complicated”
 

Wednesday at Stoke

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The Kelly bandwagon is crashing and burning

Mr. Kelly’s speech last week, in which he criticized a Democratic congresswoman, shouldn’t have surprised anyone, the former defense secretary Leon Panetta said: “As somebody who worked with this guy, a lot of what he got up to say is a reflection of who John Kelly is.”
 

senorgregster

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The Kelly bandwagon is crashing and burning

Mr. Kelly’s speech last week, in which he criticized a Democratic congresswoman, shouldn’t have surprised anyone, the former defense secretary Leon Panetta said: “As somebody who worked with this guy, a lot of what he got up to say is a reflection of who John Kelly is.”
Didn't expect this.
 

Pexbo

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All hell should break loose if Mueller gets fired.
Of course it would. That's why they are trying to construct controversy around him and bring his credibility into question just like they have done with Comey.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the GOP is an organised crime unit closely tied with a terrorist organisation (the NRA).
 

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Remember - he can't fire Mueller. Only Rosenstein can, and he wont. Trump would therefore have to fire Rosenstein and probably Rachael Brand, then appoint a puppet deputy AG who is willing to fire Mueller. But that of course doesn't preclude Congress from preemptively making a veto proof law that makes it even more difficult for Trump to fire Mueller (as in, Trump would have to prove to a panel of 3 judges that Mueller is incapable of doing his job, which of course would be nonsense as he's the most qualified person anywhere to do what he's doing).
 

Wednesday at Stoke

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Remember - he can't fire Mueller. Only Rosenstein can, and he wont. Trump would therefore have to fire Rosenstein and probably Rachael Brand, then appoint a puppet deputy AG who is willing to fire Mueller. But that of course doesn't preclude Congress from preemptively making a veto proof law that makes it even more difficult for Trump to fire Mueller (as in, Trump would have to prove to a panel of 3 judges that Mueller is incapable of doing his job, which of course would be nonsense as he's the most qualified person anywhere to do what he's doing).
Does a deputy AG appointment need to go through Senate process?
 

Cal?

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So Trump is off to China in a couple of weeks...
"currency manipulator" North Korea, artificial islands, Taiwan
I cant help but think there is the potential for this trip to go pretty badly wrong - especially if he is firing of tweets about things
Would be funny if the Great Wall of China prevents him from tweeting
 

Raoul

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Does a deputy AG appointment need to go through Senate process?
I believe they do. Rosenstein needed confirmation when he was nominated.

Also bear in mind that any attempt to get rid of Mueller would impugne Trump as appearing guilty and authoritarian, which he would want to avoid at a delicate time when he needs Republican Senate support to push through his agenda. Therefore (imo) his game plan will likely be to appear conciliatory and cooperative with the Mueller probe with the exception that he will be exonerated.
 

Raoul

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Then Trump is pretty much stuck with Mueller if Flake, Corker and McCain add to the no votes.
And don't forget Rand Paul - who is likely to vote no on a lot of Trump's agenda items.

Then there are of course a good number of other moderate Republicans who may not support Trump if he tries something with Mueller. Collins, Murkowski, Heller, Portman, Sasse, Graham, Scott, Alexander etc. Colelctivelly that's enough to give Trump major headaches if he opts to threaten Mueller's job.
 

Pexbo

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And don't forget Rand Paul - who is likely to vote no on a lot of Trump's agenda items.

Then there are of course a good number of other moderate Republicans who may not support Trump if he tries something with Mueller. Collins, Murkowski, Heller, Portman, Sasse, Graham, Scott, Alexander etc. Colelctivelly that's enough to give Trump major headaches if he opts to threaten Mueller's job.

They may not support him on it and they may condemn it but they certainly won’t do anything about it.
 

Raoul

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They may not support him on it and they may condemn it but they certainly won’t do anything about it.
I'm talking if he fired Mueller. There would be a tsunami of outrage that would tip the already frail relationship many of these Senators have with Trump over the edge.
 

Pexbo

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Also if the GOP lose the House next year the Dems will surely take Trump to the cleaners on the various investigative committees.
What do you think the chances of this are? I know it's tradition that the President's party lose the house in the second term. Combine that with Trump's approval ratings being super low but I can't help but think that his supporters are going to do everything they can to get his men into the House while Republicans in general will support their candidate because they know how fatal it could be to the Republican Party if the Democrats gain control of the House while Trump is in power.

I think that's going to be quite hard to beat.
 
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