(headline from https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/giuliani-calls-for-probe-to-end-says-we-have-tortured-this-president-enough)
Giuliani Calls For Mueller Probe To End: ‘We’ve Tortured This President Enough’
. . . in a country that refuses to help itself . . .
(from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-morally-unfit-be-president-comey-says-tv-interview-n866196)
". . . President Donald Trump is such an indiscriminate liar that he sometimes doesn't even know he's lying, former FBI Director James Comey said in an interview with ABC News that aired Sunday night. He said Trump was "morally unfit" to hold his office. . . "Our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country, the most important being truth," Comey said last week, according to a transcript of the entire interview that ABC News published Sunday night. "This president is not able to do that. He is morally unfit to be president.". . . Trump lies are so promiscuous that "sometimes he's lying in ways that are obvious, sometimes he's saying things that we may not know are true or false, and then there's a spectrum in between," Comey said, according to ABC News. . . "
". . . Article I of the US Constitution vests the power to set tariffs in Congress. The president has the power to impose tariffs at his discretion only because Congress has passed laws granting him that power. If Republicans in Congress think Trump has a bunch of dumb, destructive ideas about trade, they should pass new laws that strip him of that power. . . Trump is expected to justify his proposed metal tariffs by invoking a 1962 law that authorizes the president to impose tariffs unilaterally if doing so is necessary for "national security." Congress could pass new legislation that would require the president to seek a vote of Congress to certify his (bizarre) claim that our dependence on Canadian steel is a national security threat — and that would block his tariffs from going into effect absent such a vote. . ."
". . . we don't watch the NFL anymore for 'obvious' reasons . . . "
(from https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/4539225/take-a-knee-nfl-us-national-anthem-donald-trump/)
". . . NFL players across America are continuing to "take a knee" during the country's national anthem in a display of protest and defiance. . . NFL players and owners across the US knelt or stood with arms their arms linked during the national anthem to highlight racial injustice and police brutality in America . . . "
(from https://www.snopes.com/do-police-kill-more-whites-than-black-people/)
Any “analysis” of police killings will of course show that in absolute numbers, more white people are killed in police shootings than black people, because (non-Hispanic) whites comprise a roughly five times greater share of the U.S. population (62% vs. 13%). So any “analysis” that is based on nothing more than absolute numbers and does not take demographics into account is inaccurate and misleading. . . Because the federal government doesn’t keep an accurate log of police shootings, news outlets such as the Washington Post and journalists such as D. Brian Burghart have begun tracking such data independently. The Post described the statistical breakdown of fatal police shootings in 2015 thusly: According to the most recent census data, there are nearly 160 million more white people in America than there are black people. White people make up roughly 62 percent of the U.S. population but only about 49 percent of those who are killed by police officers. African Americans, however, account for 24 percent of those fatally shot and killed by the police despite being just 13 percent of the U.S. population. As The Post noted in a new analysis, that means black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers. . . According to Fatal Encounters, the database created by former Reno News & Review editor and journalism instructor Burghart (which tracks all deaths resulting from interactions with police), a total of 1,388 people were killed by police in 2015, 318 (23%) of them black, and 560 (40%) of them white. So roughly 23 percent of those killed by any police interaction in 2015 were black and just over 40 percent were white. According to those statistics (adjusted for racial demographics), black people had a 2.7 higher likelihood of being killed by police than whites. . . ."
(Thomas Jefferson declining the invitation to attend festivities celebrating the the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence [from John Adams, by David McCullough])
". . . May it be to the world, what I believe it will be (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. . . . All eyes are opened or opening to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God. These are the grounds of hope for others; for ourselves, let the annual return to this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them. . . "
(http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-dismisses-criticism-by-flake-and-corker/ar-AAu1poX?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=ientp)
". . . On the Senate floor . . . (R-Sen Jeff) Flake denounced the "complicity" of his own party in what he called an "alarming and dangerous state of affairs" under Trump, blaming the President for setting the tone. In his speech, Flake assailed a "flagrant disregard for truth or decency" and attacked a "regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms.". . . "When such behavior emanates from the top of our government, it is something else: It is dangerous to a democracy," Flake said. . . Corker, meanwhile, said he wouldn't support Trump for president if given the opportunity again, saying he has "great difficulty with the truth" and that "debasing" the US would be his prime legacy as President. . . "I think many of us, me included, have tried to, you know, intervene, and I have had a private dinner and have been with him on multiple occasions to try and create some kind of aspirational approach, if you will, to the way that he conducts himself," Corker said. "I don't think that that's possible. He's obviously not going to rise to the occasion as president.". . ."
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. " -John Adams
(http://www.factcheck.org/2014/04/false-tax-claims/)
". . . Q: Did Democrats increase federal income tax rates in 2014 under Obamacare?
A: No. Tax increases mentioned in a viral email went into effect a year earlier, as part of a budget
"Is this information correct? I have tried to check it out but get terribly confused.
It came as an email from a friend in Colorado.
Viral email: THE FIRST THREE MONTHS!
Happy New Year America
Here is what happened on January 1st 2014:
Top Income Tax bracket went from 35% to 39.6%
Top Income Payroll Tax went from 37.4% to 52.2%
Capital Gains Tax went from 15% to 28%
Dividend Tax went from 15% to 39.6%
Estate Tax went from 0% to 55%
Remember this ‘fact;’ if you have any money, the Democrats want it! All these taxes were passed with only Democrat votes. Not one Republican voted to do these taxes. Remember this come election time. And make sure your friends and neighbors know this info too!
These taxes were all passed under the affordable care act, otherwise known as Obama care."
FULL ANSWER
We started getting dozens of queries about this one about three weeks before tax filing day. It’s nonsense. Some of these figures aren’t accurate, and none of these increases took effect on Jan. 1, 2014, or had anything to do with the Affordable Care Act. And the claim that “not one Republican voted to do these” is false.
Here’s what really happened, and when:
The top income tax rate went back up to 39.6 percent over a year ago — for singles making more than $400,000 a year or couples making more than $450,000. The increase was part of the “fiscal cliff” package that Congress passed on New Year’s Day of 2013.
Capital gains rates also increased in 2013 under the same “fiscal cliff” deal — but not nearly as much as this email claims. For long-term gains (on assets held more than one year) the top rate went from 15 percent to 20 percent (not 28 percent), and also applied to individuals making more than $400,000 and couples earning more than $450,000.
The top rate for dividends also went up to 20 percent (not 39.6 percent) in 2013 as part of the same fiscal cliff package, and also only for those with more than $400,000 individual or $450,000 joint taxable income.
It’s true that the estate tax was once effectively zero percent — but only for people who died in 2010, not last year. The top rate went back up to 35 percent for those who died the following year, and (under the fiscal cliff deal) to 40 percent for those who died in 2012 and thereafter. Furthermore, the rate is still zero percent for any individual who dies this year and whose estate is valued at less than $5,340,000. The threshold for filing an estate-tax return was set at $5 million in 2011, and is indexed for inflation each year.
The claim that the fiscal-cliff tax increases were “passed with only Democratic votes” is false. The deal passed by a vote of 89-8 in the Senate (including 40 Republican votes in favor) and by a vote of 257-167 in the House (with 85 Republican votes in favor). The package made permanent the 2001 Bush tax cuts for all but very high-income earners, avoiding tax increases that otherwise would have taken effect Jan. 1, 2013, when the “temporary” Bush tax cuts were scheduled to expire.
The email’s claim about “income payroll tax” is a head-scratcher, since no tax expert we know of uses such a term. Our best guess is that the anonymous author meant to refer to the combined effect of the federal income tax and the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, and did not understand how these taxes work. No combination of payroll and federal income taxes would produce a top marginal rate of 52.2 percent, so far as we can figure.
Back in 2008, when Obama was first running for president, conservative commentator Larry Kudlow claimed that Obama’s tax proposals would amount to “a 52.2 percent combined income and payroll tax.” But even that claim was wrong, because of the simple fact that the top marginal income-tax rate applied at that time only to income above $349,701 and Social Security taxes applied only to wage or salary income below $97,500. Any income taxed at the top income-tax rate would incur zero Social Security tax.
And the same is true today: Taxable Social Security wages now stop at $117,000, and the top marginal income-tax bracket doesn’t kick in until $406,751 for singles and $457,601 for joint filers. All of these levels are adjusted for inflation each year.
Having said all that, we’ll note that taxes have gone up for some as a result of Obamacare. The law imposes a 3.8 percent tax on net investment income that applies to people who earn more than $200,000 a year for singles, or $250,000 for joint filers. It also levies an additional Medicare tax of 0.9 percent on wages, salaries and self-employment income for people in those income groups. However, these changes also took effect in 2013, not 2014.
— Brooks Jackson
Sources
Tax Foundation. “U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1862-2013 (Nominal and Inflation-Adjusted Brackets).” 17 Oct 2013.
Hollander, Catherine. “Here’s What’s in the Fiscal-Cliff Deal.” National Journal. 1 Jan 2013.
Fidelity Brokerage Services. “A taxpayer’s guide to 2013.” 27 Feb 2013.
Ruffenach, Glenn. “Navigating the Dividend Storm; Tax rates on corporate payouts are heading higher for some. Don’t just sit there.” Wall Street Journal. 10 Jan 2013.
Cook, Douglas C. “Current & Historical Federal Estate Tax Structure, Exemptions & Rates.” Cook & Cook law firm website. 17 Dec 2012.
U.S. Internal Revenue Service. “Estate Tax” Web page. 9 Apr 2014.
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 112th Congress – 2nd Session. “On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 8, As Amended ).” 1 Jan 2013.
U.S. House of Representatives. “Final Vote Results for Roll Call 659.” 1 Jan 2013.
Kudlow, Larry. “Obama’s Big-Government Vision.” National Review Online. 14 Feb 2008.
Social Security Administration. “Contribution and benefit bases, 1937-2014.” Undated Web page accessed 15 Apr 2014.
Internal Revenue Service. “Questions and Answers on the Net Investment Income Tax.” 5 Mar 2014.
Internal Revenue Service. “Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions.”
Internal Revenue Service. “Questions and Answers for the Additional Medicare Tax.”. . . "
Yes, I've left all the sources intact in case you want to read further. Scott Biao (and others) obviously have not burning desire to read much further at all.
(from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-g-20-summit-trump-appeared-agreed-russia-did-not-n780961)
". . . According to U.S. and Russian officials, the two leaders have agreed to create a "working group" that would jointly monitor cyber threats and prevent election interference in future elections in both countries and abroad. . . Putin said he hopes the joint project will quell the allegations of Russian hacking. . . "I hope we'll be able to set this scheme up and this will put an end to all the speculation on this subject," he said. . .' . . . of-fucking-COURSE he does!!!???
(https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/us/politics/trump-russia-classified-information-isis.html?_r=0)
". . . President Trump boasted about highly classified intelligence in a meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador last week, providing details that could expose the source of the information and the manner in which it was collected, a current and a former American government official said Monday. . . Mr. Trump’s disclosure does not appear to have been illegal — the president has the power to declassify almost anything. But sharing the information without the express permission of the ally who provided it was a major breach of espionage etiquette, and could jeopardize a crucial intelligence-sharing relationship. . ."
(http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/15/trump-reportedly-revealed-classified-info-about-isis-to-russians.html)
"I was in the room," McMaster concluded. "It didn't happen."
Which is true?
The latter, incidentally, from the Administration of a "President" (and I use the term loosely) who gave us:
1. On 9/11, he personally saw thousands of Muslims in Jersey City cheering.
2. There are actually 93 million people not working and the real unemployment rate is about 40 percent.
3. The Obama administration is sending Syrian refugees to red states.
4. Climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese.
5. He opposed the Iraq War and has dozens of news clippings to prove it.
6. Among white homicide victims, 81 percent are killed by blacks.
7. America has the highest tax rate in the world.
8. CNN lied when it reported that a speech he gave in South Carolina was one-third empty.
9. His criticism of Ford prompted the company to move a factory from Mexico to Ohio.
10. Vaccines cause autism.
11. The Obama administration wants to admit 250,000 Syrian refugees.
12. ISIS built a luxury hotel in the Middle East.
13. He was on 60 Minutes with Vladimir Putin and "got to know him very well."
14. He was never interested in opening a casino in Florida.
15. November 17: The United States only started bombing ISIS oil fields "two days ago."
16. His campaign is 100 percent self-funded.
17. Mexico doesn't have birthright citizenship.
18. The Iran deal forces us to "fight with Iran against Israel" if Israel attacks Iran.
19. We still "really don't know" if Barack Obama was born in the United States.
20. More than 300,000 veterans have died waiting for VA care.
21. The Bush White House begged him to tone down his "vocal" opposition to the Iraq War.
. . . so blind that I can't see
Don't wanna fight
When there's no way I'm gonna win
Don't wanna take
All the lies that someone feeds me
If there's a way I can find . . .
I can find the truth within
So I hope
You will come along and join me
and take the road
rarely traveled through the din
We'll find a way
Yeah a way, a way around all these problems
and look ahead to where we'll be
not where we've been
“Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is THE BEST.”
My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
