Roads Not Taken

Trump is so now toxic, he's turned free money into a political negative.

Belle

Reports of the demise of the Republican Party are greatly exaggerated - but that don't mean it ain't comin'.

Belle

"... really cool World War II reenactments."

Belle

My Econ 101 class gave me a low-level understanding of the overall economy. Which, you may surmise, is almost nothing, so it puts on par with what Trump has in his tiny little pea-sized brain.

And it was 55 years ago, when they were still trying to figure out if it was OK that we'd been fully moved off the gold standard. 

So from what I can piece together:

• Producer Price Index (PPI) is a kind of "leading indicator" (ie: Prospective) because it hints at what we can expect to see at the grocery store.
• Consumer Price Index (CPI) is more or less a "lagging indicator" (ie: Retrospective) because it tells us what actually happened at the grocery store.

The two indices measure different - though very much related - aspects of the economy.

Producer Price Index (PPI)

• What it tracks: Wholesale prices received by domestic producers for their output.
• What is inside: Raw materials, intermediate goods, machinery, and exports.
• Taxes: Excludes sales and excise taxes because they are not revenue for the producer.Main use: To measure real output growth and act as an early sign of future consumer inflation.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

• What it tracks: Retail prices paid by typical urban households.
• What is inside: Finished goods, services, housing/rent, medical care, and imports.
• Taxes: Includes sales and excise taxes because consumers pay them.Main use: To measure changes in the cost of living.

Belle

Trump is losing the whole of the middle east.

I think the bad actors in Yemen and Iran and Saudi Arabia would've gotten around to acting badly anyway, but it's likely that Trump's ignorant bumbling would've led us into the same predicament we're in now no matter what. Put Trump's ignorance together with Americans' gullible malleability where oil and trade are concerned, and you've got exactly what's happening now.

And while Trump has never needed anybody's help to fuck things up, he's got lots of willing helpers on this project. Because for example, we always have to consider the probability that he's doing Putin's bidding by getting our asses completely blown out of the region.

Belle-jitsu

Using the opponent's "strengths" again him.

Belle

It would be good if the Press Poodles could stop using GOP framing when reporting on the shenanigans in Congress.

Belle

She's smart, and she makes good sharp points without getting shitty with people. I learn alot from her posts and from how she presents herself.

And I absolutely love how she hacks her way thru the bullshit of another bad-faith "argument" against Medicare For All.

Belle

Just because you're convinced it's not happening doesn't mean it's not happening.

Denial is a helluva drug.

Belle

Won't someone please think of the poor downtrodden billionaires.

More Belle

It's really so simple, even Trump could understand it. But he doesn't - because he's such a fuckin' dumbass.

Belle

Trump's #1 preferred go-to response to everything is force - one kind or another, he's going to use or threaten force to get his way.

Kinda what a malignant narcissistic abusive rapist does, isn't it?

Belle

Doris "Dorie" Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) was a U.S. Navy sailor who was the first black recipient of the Navy Cross and a nominee for the Medal of Honor. As a mess attendant second class aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, Miller helped carry wounded sailors to safety during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then operated an anti-aircraft gun and, despite no prior training in gunnery, officially shot down one plane (according to Navy Department records), but Miller and other eyewitnesses claimed a range of four to six.

Miller received the Navy Cross from Admiral Chester Nimitz on May 27, 1942, but many sailors and naval officers believed that Miller's heroism deserved a Medal of Honor.[5] Miller was nominated for a Medal of Honor by a congressman from Michigan and a senator from New York, and the black press enthusiastically campaigned for Miller to receive this decoration. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, who opposed black sailors serving the United States in any combat role, recommended against Miller receiving the Medal of Honor.[6] No black sailor, soldier, or Marine was awarded the Medal of Honor between 1941 and 1945, and in 1996 Vernon J. Baker was the only black veteran of World War II to be awarded the decoration while still alive.

In June 1943, Miller was promoted to cook petty officer, third class. In November 1943, Miller was killed in action when his ship, the escort carrier Liscome Bay, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin in the Gilbert Islands, with the loss of 702 officers and sailors – the deadliest sinking of a carrier in the history of the United States Navy.

Frigate USS Miller (FF-1091) and aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) are named in honor of him.

Belle

Stop blocking the transition to green energy, and stop lying about Climate Change.

Belle

This shitty economy belongs to Trump and the dog-ass Republicans who aren't just letting it happen - they're helping him fuck it all up.

Belle

Daddy State Awareness

• The Daddy State lies as a means of demonstrating power.
• The lies have practically nothing to do with the subject of the lies.
• Lying about everything creates chaos, which helps condition us to stop thinking, and look to them for "guidance".
• Once we're totally dependent on them, we'll accept the premise that they can do anything they want.

The goal is to destroy our ability

to experience reality directly,

so they can dictate reality to us.

Belle

There are 1,461 days in a POTUS term.

1,461

- 564

  897

There's over 60% of Trump's term left to go.

"Trump has been a disaster for the US, and the Republicans in Congress who co-signed for it are to blame."

Belle

Change your habit for just a month or two, and all of a sudden, you've got yourself a new and different habit.

Belle

Politics is mostly about building coalitions. And building a coalition that can hold together well enough, and long enough, to getting anything done - in a country of 330 million people - is pretty much the hardest thing ever.

But if you can start with a smallish gang of five, organized around one main issue, you can make a lot of trouble for a president - and a whole party - with approval ratings and actions that make it seem like they're bent on self-destruction anyway, so you might as well help it along a bit by touting a third party.

It's different from the rebellion that's going on with the Democrats. The progressives have numbers that keep getting bigger, and they're concentrating on a wider range of issues that touch most Americans, while MTG-Tucker are mostly talking up the vague-tho-still-totally-racist America First thing, with some Epstein Files thrown in as a little extra sauce.

Carolyn Moffa   Brian Glenn  MTG     Tucker Carlson    Joe Kent  Heather Kent  Thomas Massie

MTG and Tucker Carlson announce new ‘movement’ in photo packed with MAGA renegades

‘Our commitment is America First for all Americans, right, left, and center,’ Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X

Marjorie Taylor Greene announced a new political “movement” with a group of MAGA stalwarts who have broken with President Donald Trump over the ongoing Iran war.

On August 1, the former Georgia Republican posted a photo on X depicting her alongside media personality Tucker Carlson, Rep. Thomas Massie and Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Also pictured was conservative journalist Brian Glenn, whom Greene married in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

“We said no more foreign wars and we meant it and supported Donald Trump because he made that promise,” Greene wrote. “But he’s betrayed us all. Our commitment is America First for all Americans, right, left, and center,” she continued.”

“The movement has begun,” she added.

Greene, who resigned from Congress in January, had previously discussed the possibility of forming a new political party after growing “fed up” with Republicans.

MAGA and WH insiders say cabinet member ‘sucks donkey butt’ and needs to go: report
Trump appears to put himself on Mount Rushmore’s level with latest post

“I think there’s a group of us that if we decide to align, we could launch a true America-focused party that doesn’t fall into the traps of Democrats or Republicans, but could align some serious players from the right and the left,” she told Piers Morgan on June 30.

Carlson, a former Fox News host turned popular podcaster, echoed this sentiment in July, telling The Columbia Journalism Review: “There’s going to be a third party, and I’m going to do everything I can to bring that about.”

Greene and Massie, who lost his Kentucky primary earlier this year to a Trump-backed rival, also vacationed together in May, where they discussed “the future of politics in America.”

Greene, Massie, Kent and Carlson all turned against Trump over the Iran war, launched in February, arguing that it amounted to a betrayal of his campaign promise to end “forever wars.”

Carlson called the war “disgusting and evil,” while Kent — who served as Trump’s counterterrorism chief — resigned in March over his opposition to the conflict.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a letter posted to X. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Greene, meanwhile, had already broken with Trump over the Epstein files by the time the war began. After Trump publicly attacked her, she said she would resign from Congress rather than “endure a hurtful and hateful primary.” Massie had also split with Trump over the Epstein files and lost his primary in May to retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, a Trump loyalist. His current term ends in January.

In late July, Massie was among several Republicans who voted for a war powers resolution aimed at reining in Trump’s authority to wage the Iran war. The measure passed the House 214-208.

Trump has unleashed harsh attacks on the former MAGA allies who turned against him, calling Greene a “traitor,” Kent a “SLEAZEBAG,” Carlson a “Low IQ person” and Massie “Weak and Pathetic.”

In response to broader criticism of the war — which has led to the death of 18 U.S. service members and thousands of Iranians — Trump has said the conflict is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

While multiple polls show that most Americans oppose a war with Iran, history suggests that a third party would face steep odds of success. No third-party candidate has won the presidency in the modern era, and only a small number of lawmakers in Congress are not aligned with either major party.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.

More Numbers

• Inflation is up around 3.5%
• GDP growth is an anemic 1.5%
• We've got the lowest labor participation in 50 years

As soon as the Unemployment Rate pops up around 5%, and people start talking recession, we're going to tip into a round of stagflation that'll have us all wishing it was 1975 again.