(06-07-2016, 08:12 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(05-17-2016, 12:34 PM)Cynic Hero Wrote: As I mentioned before an unspoken reason for trump's policies is our entire economy's dependence on petrodollars. Because of this, the saudis, the russians or the chinese can simply cut of our oil (in the case of the saudis) or shift the world's reserve currency to something other than the dollar (in the case of China and Russia). If That occurs the US economy would immediately crumble and we would be reduced to a pre-industrial subsistence economy practically overnight. Zerohedge has published many articles explaining how this process would come about.

The Chinese can decide at a moment's notice, and at their convenience, that all dealings with business in China will be made in the yuan.

They are onto something: people throughout the world are placid because of cheap manufactured goods, especially entertainment devices, from China. Like them or not for their domestic politics, one can't deny that they are smart enough to know how to hurt us at a time of their choosing and convenience.

(06-07-2016, 11:29 AM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Our household this November:
Clinton (me)
Some 3rd party (her)

(06-07-2016, 08:59 AM)radind Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 08:12 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(05-17-2016, 12:34 PM)Cynic Hero Wrote: As I mentioned before an unspoken reason for trump's policies is our entire economy's dependence on petrodollars. Because of this, the saudis, the russians or the chinese can simply cut of our oil (in the case of the saudis) or shift the world's reserve currency to something other than the dollar (in the case of China and Russia). If That occurs the US economy would immediately crumble and we would be reduced to a pre-industrial subsistence economy practically overnight. Zerohedge has published many articles explaining how this process would come about.

The Chinese can decide at a moment's notice, and at their convenience, that all dealings with business in China will be made in the yuan.

They are onto something: people throughout the world are placid because of cheap manufactured goods, especially entertainment devices, from China. Like them or not for their domestic politics, one can't deny that they are smart enough to know how to hurt us at a time of their choosing and convenience.

I am concerned about China long term( ~20 years out) as they continue to develop on military front. However, in the near term we seem to be mutually interdependent in terms of trade. China has internal struggles and cannot afford to end exports to the USA. Also, there has been some migration of production out of China.
The question becomes: when does  one want to start a trade war or a military war?
I hope that the US maintains a military strong enough to deter military action.

Quote:Florida AG asked Trump for donation, then nixed fraud case
Bondi solicited political contribution in 2013, received $25,000

Florida’s attorney general personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump around the same time her office deliberated joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates.

The new disclosure from Attorney General Pam Bondi’s spokesman to the Associated Press on Monday provides additional details around the unusual circumstances of Trump’s $25,000 donation to Bondi. After the money came in, Bondi’s office nixed suing Trump.

...The timing of the donation by Trump is notable because the now presumptive Republican presidential nominee has said he expected and received favors from politicians to whom he gave money.

Quote:Former Texas official says he was told to drop Trump University probe

...Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton moved to muzzle a former state regulator who says he was ordered in 2010 to drop a fraud investigation into Trump University for political reasons.

Paxton's office issued a cease and desist letter to former Deputy Chief of Consumer Protection John Owens after he made public copies of a 14-page internal summary of the state's case against Donald Trump for scamming millions from students of his now-defunct real estate seminar.

...According to the documents provided by Owens, his team sought to sue Trump, his company and several business associates to help recover more than $2.6 million students spent on seminars and materials, plus another $2.8 million in penalties and fees.

Quote:Trump University Targeted Students With Financial Woes

Internal documents of Trump University, a defunct online education program co-founded in 2005 by Donald Trump, revealed a moneymaking scheme that targeted students with "problems," presumably financial. Nearly 400 pages of documents were unsealed by a federal judge Tuesday after a lawsuit was filed alleging that the institute scammed thousands of people who enrolled in a program by giving the impression it was an accredited academic institution.


The documents include "playbooks" regarding running the enterprise and how to sell programs to customers. The playbook reportedly guides employees to assign ranks to potential students based on “who has the most and least liquid assets.” The courses at the university started at $1,495, with the most expensive option, known as gold elite, costing $34,995, the Time reported.


“Money is never a reason for not enrolling in Trump University; if they really believe in you and your product, they will find the money. You are not doing any favor [sic] by letting someone use lack of money as an excuse," one of the documents, which provided training and sales tips for Trump University employees, stated.


“When you introduce the price, don’t make it sound like you think it’s a lot of money, if you don’t make a big deal out of it they won’t,” the document reportedly said. “If they can afford the gold elite don’t allow them to think about doing anything besides the gold elite.”


The university's playbook also outlined a strategy for targeting people mostly under financial trouble.
“Urgency is proportional to pain,” the document said. “Problems are like health. The more a problem hurts now, the more the need for a solution now. And the more it hurts, the more they’ll be prepared to pay for a speedy solution. It’s got to hurt enough!”


Two examples of personal problems potential Trump University buyers may be experiencing included: "Are they a single parent of three children that may need money for food? Or are they a middle-aged commuter that is tired of traveling for 2 hours for work each day?” the document said.



On Tuesday, former managers of Trump University in testimony portrayed it as an unscrupulous business that relied on high-pressure sales tactics.



“I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme,” one sales manager for Trump University, Ronald Schnackenberg, wrote, “and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money.”


Lawyers for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Tuesday challenged the testimony of the former Trump University employees saying it “was completely discredited” in depositions taken for the California lawsuit. Trump's lawyers declined to release those depositions on Tuesday.

Quote:Trump's War Against 'Mexican' Judge Shatters GOP's Fragile Unity

Donald Trump's latest attacks against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel have left his party grappling with buyer's remorse with five agonizing months left until the November election.

Just weeks after clinching the nomination, Trump has doubled down on his divisive rhetoric, most recently ignoring calls from GOP leaders to back off of his racially-charged comments about Curiel's "Mexican" heritage and work to unite the party.

Republican lawmakers seem to be caught in an awkward dance– clinging to their endorsements on one hand all the while criticizing their nominee. Just last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) finally lent his support to Trump. By Tuesday he was at a podium condemning him.

"Claiming a person can't do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment," Ryan said at a news conference in Southeast D.C. "I'm not going to defend these kinds of comments because they're indefensible."

Trump's supporters, however, have stopped short of withdrawing their support for their nominee. They sharply jab Trump, but resist abandoning him. Whether they persist in doing that delicate dance until November is an open question.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) who is running for re-election told Politico that he didn't agree with Trump's comments, but he that wouldn't stop him from endorsing him.

“If they were inconsistent with things we’ve seen up to this point in the election, I would tell you it might. But I think we’re all sort of used to remarks being made that we don’t expect," Politico reported Burr said.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), who is also running for re-election, re-upped her own opaque position on Trump.

“I felt that his comments were wrong and offensive, and I’ve urged him to retract them," Ayotte said, according to Politico, before adding “I’m running my race and focusing on the people of New Hampshire. I’ve said he’s our nominee; I plan to vote for him, but I’m not endorsing.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) reiterated that he planned to run "a very independent campaign," according to the Associated Press.

Beyond the Hill, Trump's comments against Curiel have struck a party-wide nerve. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed Curiel to a state court judgeship, tweeted Monday: "Judge Curiel is an American hero who stood up to the Mexican cartels. I was proud to appoint him when I was Gov."

Erick Erickson, a conservative commentator who has been outspoken against Trump, penned a column over the weekend blasting his party for not taking more action.

"Damn the GOP for its unwillingness to speak up on this," Erickson wrote. "The leaders of the party, confronted by Todd Akin, abandoned ship for his stupid statements on rape and abortion. But the Party of Lincoln intends to circle the wagons around a racist. Damn them for that."

Even Trump's most fervent supporters seem tired of his attacks on a federal judge. In an interview with CNN, Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), a Trump surrogate, warned it was "time to just let go of this" and "move on."

And, just as Republican lawmakers are struggling to contend with Trump's unorthodox campaign, there is a growing schism within the campaign itself. Bloomberg reported Monday that in a conference call with his surrogates Trump bulldozed over his campaign advisers' directive that surrogates stop talking about Judge Curiel.

According to Bloomberg,Trump instructed his surrogates to "take that order and throw it the hell out."

Trump's comment was just the latest indication for Republican leaders that their hopes to soften and redefine their nominee have been dashed. Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer offered Trump a stark admonishment.

“You all better get on the page,” she warned Trump about his campaign's mixed messages.

Trump's intensified attacks and his party's growing unease come just as Clinton prepares to clinch the Democratic nomination and pivot to the general election. In a stirring foreign policy speech last week, Clinton revealed she is geared up and ready to let Trump's own words sink him.

Some Republicans are warning their colleagues that it is not too late to backtrack.

In a New York Times story Monday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) fired off a warning for his fellow Republicans who'd decided to endorse Trump up to this point.

“This is the most un-American thing from a politician since Joe McCarthy,” Graham said according to the New York Times. “If anybody was looking for an off-ramp, this is probably it. ... There’ll come a time when the love of country will trump hatred of Hillary.”

(06-07-2016, 01:40 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 11:51 AM)playwrite Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 11:29 AM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Our household this November:
Clinton (me)
Some 3rd party (her)

You should get her to write the apology to your kids and grandkids for her enabling a President Trump, and a SCOTUS that will be at least as scary and longer lasting.  

In 2000, I suggested this to the Naderites that gave us 'W,' 9/11, Iraq Invasion, Great Recession, Financial Meltdown, income inequity, etc. 
-- all that will be chump change by the time the Talking Yam is done with us.

Our votes don't matter. We are in one of the deepest blue precincts, in a deep blue county, in CA. No offspring (after all, we are inadvertent negative population growth practitioners - typical X).

(06-07-2016, 01:40 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Our votes don't matter. We are in one of the deepest blue precincts, in a deep blue county, in CA. No offspring (after all, we are inadvertent negative population growth practitioners - typical X).

(06-07-2016, 08:12 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: The Chinese can decide at a moment's notice, and at their convenience, that all dealings with business in China will be made in the yuan.

(06-07-2016, 03:02 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 01:54 PM)playwrite Wrote: More HOLY SHXT!!!






The Talking Yam candidacy is blowing up today.



He's stuck.  He can't back down; if he does, he's no longer Donald Trump.  If he doesn't back down, he will not be the GOP's nominee.

The other possibility is he remains the GOP nominee, but the brewing GOP fracture accelerates. The 3rd party (nee "Establishment GOP") candidate - French or someone -  becomes the standard bearer for GOPers who can no longer abide by pretending to support Trump.

(06-07-2016, 04:09 PM)Odin Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 01:40 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Our votes don't matter. We are in one of the deepest blue precincts, in a deep blue county, in CA. No offspring (after all, we are inadvertent negative population growth practitioners - typical X).

Yeah, I'm in Minnesota, which will with 99% certainly go for Clinton, so I can vote 3rd Party without any of the guilt Playwrite is insinuating.

(06-08-2016, 05:35 AM)Mikebert Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 08:12 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: The Chinese can decide at a moment's notice, and at their convenience, that all dealings with business in China will be made in the yuan.

Yes they can.  This would be similar to deciding to exchange all those dollars and dollar-denominated securities for yuan (reminibi).  And that would have a similar impact as a US tariff on China, which I point is something Trump (and I) want.  My earlier point is the very things Classic brought up as scary things we should avoid and as reasons to support Trump are things Trump (and I) WANT to do, and which are not scary at all, IMO (Playwrite would disagree).

Quote:Here is my take on this from an article in 2005. (parts it bold have been added here)

Consider the situation the United States found itself in during the last Kondratiev winter (4T). The US had too little domestic demand to fully utilize the productive capacity built up during the Kondratiev Fall (3T) boom. The resulting sustained unemployment had persisted for years and showed no sign of ending despite the New Deal programs. The US only began to lift out of the Depression with the start of the Lend Lease program, which involved the US making and giving away goods to the British during WW II. Later, the US joined the war and started producing much larger quantities of goods and expending them in the war effort. US workers turned out prodigious amounts of goods, all of it financed by massive low-interest debt (courtesy of the US central bank which bought US treasuries as necessary to keep rates low). These goods were then given away (to the war effort). In other words, the American worker and American central bank during WW II played a role much like the one the Chinese worker and central bank is playing today.

The entire operation was financed by vast amounts of debt raised largely from American investors, which produced an enormous amount of economic stimulation (Figure 3), a substantial amount of price inflation, and flat interest rates (thanks to Federal Reserve interventions). This debt was eventually monetized, meaning that American bond investors took major losses as bonds came to be called "certificates of confiscation". Yet the outcome for the nation as a whole was favorable: three decades of post war prosperity. In the present Kondratiev Winter season, the Chinese are playing the same economic role as the Americans did in the last Winter season and can expect that the outcome will be as salutary for them as it was for postwar America.

(06-08-2016, 07:10 AM)playwrite Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 04:09 PM)Odin Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 01:40 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Our votes don't matter. We are in one of the deepest blue precincts, in a deep blue county, in CA. No offspring (after all, we are inadvertent negative population growth practitioners - typical X).

Yeah, I'm in Minnesota, which will with 99% certainly go for Clinton, so I can vote 3rd Party without any of the guilt Playwrite is insinuating.

Let's put aside the fact that some political analysts are suggesting MN could be a successful GOP target (i.e. White males dissatisfied with life blaming the government), and just note that you are not just talking with others of the Gopher State - maybe you are giving every reason for a reader in FL, OH, or NV to enable a Trump Presidency with yet another stupid Nader-like vote.

(06-08-2016, 07:10 AM)playwrite Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 04:09 PM)Odin Wrote:

(06-07-2016, 01:40 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Our votes don't matter. We are in one of the deepest blue precincts, in a deep blue county, in CA. No offspring (after all, we are inadvertent negative population growth practitioners - typical X).

Yeah, I'm in Minnesota, which will with 99% certainly go for Clinton, so I can vote 3rd Party without any of the guilt Playwrite is insinuating.

Let's put aside the fact that some political analysts are suggesting MN could be a successful GOP target (i.e. White males dissatisfied with life blaming the government), and just note that you are not just talking with others of the Gopher State - maybe you are giving every reason for a reader in FL, OH, or NV to enable a Trump Presidency with yet another stupid Nader-like vote.

(06-08-2016, 10:48 AM)Cynic Hero Wrote: Globalism is utter nonsense; Hillary's condescending attitude toward sanders supporters and her claims to entitlement towards being representative of women's issues will drive away post-boomer women and millennials to trump. Trump will be our next president if Hillary's nomination is allowed to stand.