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Another Trump Flip Flop: From Anti-Bitcoin to Pro-Bitcoin.

by Rod Williams, Aug. 17, 2024- Much is being made of Kamala Harris's recent flip flops on a bunch of issues. I will share my opinion on that later. However, for Trump to criticize Harris for changing her opinions on things is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. For Trump supporters to criticize Harris's flip flops and ignore Trumps, is hypocritical. The only difference is that Harris' flips or mostly more recent than Trumps in many cases. And, of course, Trump saw the light and Harris flip flops for political expediency. 

Recently at the Bitcoin conference here in Nashville, Donald Trump was greeted warmly. In his speech addressing the conference attendees he praised Bitcoin and said, "Bitcoin stands for freedom, sovereignty and independence from government." "The Biden-Harris administration’s repression of Bitcoin and crypto is wrong, and it’s very bad for our country. It’s really quite un-American."(link)   He also promised to create a US government Bitcoin reserve.  

While some of Trump's policy flip flops are older than some of Harris', Trump's Bitcoin flip flop is quite recent. In June 2021 Trump told a Fox Business reporter, "Bitcoin, it just seems like a scam. I don't like it because it's another currency competing against the dollar."

Trump is a super flip flopper. Trump registered as a Republican in 1987 and since that time, he had changed his party affiliation five times. In 2001 he was a registered Democrat. In a 2004 interview, Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, "In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat."  In a July 2015 interview, Trump said that he has a broad range of political positions and said, "I identify with some things as a Democrat." Trump was pro-choice before he was pro-life.

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Trump is Losing it! He is Delusional. Says Harris Crowds are AI Generated

by Rod Williams, August 15, 2024-  It is hard to keep track of all of the crazy and irrational and shocking things Trump says. Before you have time to process one thing, he has topped it with something else.

Recently Trump said that the large crowds at Harris' rallies were not real, that they were images generated by Artificial Intelligence. This is nuts! If your uncle said this, he would forever more be known as your crazy uncle. 

This is the kind of stuff you expect from the deep dark corners of the web and from people like Alex Jones. This is in the same category of stuff as saying that a school shooting was a red flag operation, and the dead children were actors. It is like claiming 9-11 was an inside job and that the airplanes that flew into the buildings were optical illusions and that the building collapsed from planted explosives. It is like believing a pizza parlor in D.C was part of a Democratic Party linked pedophile operation and ordering a "pepperoni" or a "bacon" was an order for a certain characteristic of a minor you wanted to abuse. It is like believing the moon landing was faked or that California wildfires are caused by Jewish space lasers. It may not be as evil as some of the things above, but it is as delusional and irrational. 

Reporters were there, including those from the Times and Washington Post, and local median, and many other news sources and numerous attendees posted video of her arrival on social media. To believe the crowds were not real is to believe anything.

Does Trump really believe this or is he lying trying to get other people to believe it? I am unsure. For a long time, I believed Trump was a liar. I am beginning to think he is not. If a person says something untrue but they actually believe what they are saying is true, they are not lying; they are delusional. I am starting to believe he believes the untruths he spouts. I think he is delusional. Maybe he really believes the 2020 election was stolen. Maybe he really believes Harris' crowds are AI generated fakes. Trump has always been obsessed with crowd size. I think he can't stand it that Harris is drawing larger crowds than is he. His response is to not believe and try to find an alternative explanation. He comes up with this explanation. He is getting worse. Can this guy be trusted with the nuclear code?

What concerns me as much as Trumps delusions, maybe more so, is that his followers don't care. They hear Trump say this about Harris' crowds being AI generated images and they either believe it or don't care. Someone should tell Trump he needs help, but they won't. The Trump public should be concerned, but they aren't. We are living in the fable of the king has no clothes. 

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To Save Conservatism from Itself, I Am Voting for Harris

David French

by David French, The New York Times, Aug. 11, 2024- ... Since the day Donald Trump came down that escalator in 2015, the MAGA movement has been engaged in a long-running, slow-rolling ideological and characterological transformation of the Republican Party. At each step, it has pushed Republicans further and further away from Reaganite conservatism. .... What allegiance do you owe a party, a movement or a politician when it or they fundamentally change their ideology and ethos? 

... Let’s take another assertion that should be relatively uncontroversial: Political violence and threats of violence have no place in the American democratic process. Yet threats and intimidation follow the MAGA movement like night follows day. ... But only one party has nominated a man who was indicted for his role in the criminal scheme to steal an American election, a scheme that culminated in a violent political riot. 

... we should make the argument — firmly but respectfully — that this is no ordinary race and that the old political categories no longer apply. ... how many Republicans would have predicted that voting for a Democrat would be the best way to confront violent Russian aggression and that the Republican would probably yield to a Russian advance? ... 

I’m often asked by Trump voters if I’m “still conservative,” and I respond that I can’t vote for Trump precisely because I am conservative. ... The only real hope for restoring a conservatism that values integrity, demonstrates real compassion and defends our foundational constitutional principles isn’t to try to make the best of Trump, a man who values only himself. If he wins again, it will validate his cruelty and his ideological transformation of the Republican Party. If Harris wins, the West will still stand against Vladimir Putin, and conservative Americans will have a chance to build something decent from the ruins of a party that was once a force for genuine good in American life. (Read it all)

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Eliminating Taxes on Tips was a Bad Ideal when Proposed by Trump, and a Bad Idea when Copied by Harris.

by Rod Williams, August 13, 2024- This last weekend while in Nevada, Kamala Harris proposed the same bad idea that Trump proposed while in Nevada on June 9th. That idea is to end taxes on tips. 

Isn't it strange that both proposed the idea while in Nevada? Not really. It is called pandering or buying votes. Nevada has a larger percentage of its people working in the hospitality industry than anywhere else and Navada is a battleground state. If Tennessee was a battleground state, Harris and Trump might come to Nashville and propose removing taxes on earnings from income received from songwriter royalties. It would make about as much sense. 

Much has been made over Kamala copying Trump's idea. I don't fault a person for adopting the idea of his opponent if it is a good idea. Cutting taxes on tips is a bad idea. 

Under current law, tips are treated as ordinary income and subject to both federal income and payroll taxes. In many professions, tips are the major portion of a person's income. In addition to ending the taxing of tips, Harris said she would also raise the minimum wage.  According to The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget these two proposals together would add between $100 and $200 billion to the deficit over ten years. 

This is an insane thing to propose at this time. We are headed for a financial cliff. Government Debt to GDP in the United States is at an all-time high of 126% and interest on the debt is exceeding the total defense budget and is almost as much as we spend on Medicare. Runaway inflation is a real possibility. Under current laws Social Security will exhaust its trust funds by 2034, and then benefits will be cut by 23%. I don't think benefits will really be cut. Congress will pay the money that was coming out of the trust fund out of the general fund, which means larger deficits and more borrowing. 

I favor cutting taxes if the tax cuts are revenue neutral or if offset by reduction in government expenditures.  Cutting taxes, especially targeted corporate taxes, may actually result in an increase in tax revenue. Money not taxed can be used for job creating expansion and new investments. Cutting personal tax rates or increasing tax credits may result in greater consumer spending which may be beneficial for the economy.  However, that is not always the case. Just cutting taxes unless targeted and strategic leads to a reduction in tax revenue. With our massive national debt and looming Social Security crisis, we do not need to be cutting taxes, just for the sake of cutting taxes.  Some conservatives have favored cutting taxes whenever they have the chance in order to "starve the beast." That doesn't work. When revenues fall short of covering expenditures, government does not cut expenses but simply borrows more money. The only way "starving the beast" works is if we had a requirement for a balanced budget. 

If any of my liberal friends are reading this, their response will be to cut taxes on middle income and poor people and make the rich "pay their fair share." The rich already pay most of the income tax. Corporate taxes are a business expense, and taxes paid by corporations are actually indirectly paid by their consumers. I know many don't want to believe it, but raising tax rates, specially making them more progressive can actually raise less revenue and lead to a shrinking economy. Making the rich pay their "fair share" is not a solution to our financial problems. That is not to say that some tweaking of some taxes could not be beneficial, but soaking the rich is not a solution. 

Not only would exempting tip income from taxation increases the speed at which we barrel toward the financial cliff, it would also be very difficult to enact and would encourage more tax cheating. Already tip income is notoriously under reported and tax evasion among people who earn their money from tips is rampant. If tip income is to become exempt from taxation, one would see a shift in how people charge for services. The actual charge for a service would drop and a large gratuity would become the norm. Millions of people would figure out a way to call their income "tips," and since employers must pay FICA on employees' income, employers would be motivated to help employees earn more tips and less wages. 

Not only would this proposal to not tax tips be bad for America's fiscal health and difficult to enact, but it is also unfair. A lot of people get most of their income from tips. Some restaurant workers and certain entertainers make a lot of money and most of it is in tips. Why should the income of the waitress be except from taxation but not the income of the dishwasher, the cook, or the busboy? There are a lot of musicians playing in bands on lower Broadway playing for tips only. Is it fair that they be except from all income taxation and the person cleaning up the trash on lower Broad not be exempt? 

Why stop at excepting tip income? A lot of people get a bonus at the end of the year if the company does well or if the owner is feeling generous. Is a bonus, not sort of like a tip? Maybe all bonuses should be exempt from taxation. And, what about commissioned salesmen, ... 

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