All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[aja_christopher]

"An alcoholic, a gambler, a perjurer and an alleged gang rapist walk into a bar, and the bartender says "Hey, judge Kavanaugh."

[aja_christopher]

And that's why I'm angry at this abominable mess which could easily have been avoided two years ago.

And I'm angry at myself for leaving Reagan off my list of reprehensible Republicans given his legacy with regards to "minorities" as well -- we tend to give the Republican party way too much slack when it comes to their unethical and criminal behavior.

The line has to be drawn somewhere and if anything, Trump is a sign that it should have been drawn long, long ago.



No more of that "both sides" garbage -- it's obvious that one side is the main problem here in America.

[aja_christopher]

This story may have been posted before -- haven't had time to check. Regardless, it never hurts to back up your arguments with more facts.

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"Trump metal tariffs snatched away $1 billion in profits, CEO says"

Tariffs on imported steel and aluminum can still cause big hits to companies that get most of their metal from the US.

The Trump administration tariffs on steel and aluminum have cost Ford approximately $1 billion in profits, Reuters reports, citing comments from Ford CEO Jim Hackett at a Bloomberg conference in New York. "If it goes on any longer, it will do more damage," Hackett said at the conference.

The problem could be much worse if Ford wasn't already getting most of its metal from tariff-free sources. According to Hackett, Ford sources a majority of its steel and aluminum from the US. A tweet from Automotive News reporter Nick Bunkley says 95 percent of Ford's steel and 98 percent of Ford's aluminum comes from domestic sources, but Ford has not confirmed any specific figures.

But extra costs don't come from imported steel and aluminum alone. As its competition gets slapped with tariffs (25 percent on steel, 10 percent on aluminum), US producers have raised their prices to increase profits while still being cheaper than foreign imports. Some of Ford's increased spending has likely gone toward these price hikes...

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/f...ariffs-impact/

[WestPhillyPunisher]

This story may have been posted before -- haven't had time to check. Regardless, it never hurts to back up your arguments with more facts.

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"Trump metal tariffs snatched away $1 billion in profits, CEO says"

Tariffs on imported steel and aluminum can still cause big hits to companies that get most of their metal from the US.

The Trump administration tariffs on steel and aluminum have cost Ford approximately $1 billion in profits, Reuters reports, citing comments from Ford CEO Jim Hackett at a Bloomberg conference in New York. "If it goes on any longer, it will do more damage," Hackett said at the conference.

The problem could be much worse if Ford wasn't already getting most of its metal from tariff-free sources. According to Hackett, Ford sources a majority of its steel and aluminum from the US. A tweet from Automotive News reporter Nick Bunkley says 95 percent of Ford's steel and 98 percent of Ford's aluminum comes from domestic sources, but Ford has not confirmed any specific figures.

But extra costs don't come from imported steel and aluminum alone. As its competition gets slapped with tariffs (25 percent on steel, 10 percent on aluminum), US producers have raised their prices to increase profits while still being cheaper than foreign imports. Some of Ford's increased spending has likely gone toward these price hikes...

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/f...ariffs-impact/

Before you know it, those F-150 trucks Denis Leary snarkily hawks in those TV commercials will cost as much, if not more than a low end Porsche. But hey, tariff wars are easy to win, Dolt45 said so!

[aja_christopher]

Before you know it, those F-150 trucks Denis Leary snarkily hawks in those TV commercials will cost as much, if not more than a low end Porsche. But hey, tariff wars are easy to win, Dolt45 said so!

And if you're waging wars -- "trade" or otherwise -- against some of your closest allies (like Canada) then you're not really a trustworthy ally to begin with.

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"Trump says he rejected meeting with Canada's Trudeau"

"President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he rejected a meeting request from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau amid a bitter renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, also known as NAFTA.

"Yeah I did," Trump said during a news conference amid the United Nations General Assembly in New York. "(Trudeau's) tariffs are too high and he doesn't seem to want to move."

However, Cameron Ahmad, a spokesman for Trudeau, rejected the assertion that a meeting was ever requested, saying: "No meeting was requested and we do not have any comment beyond that."

The President also suggested there is deep mistrust in Chrystia Freeland, the lead Canadian trade negotiator, and her team.

"We're not getting along at all with their negotiators," Trump said, warning that the US would soon go after Canadian auto imports..."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/26/polit...ing/index.html

[MindofShadow]

The "shame" lies in the fact that many of said voters -- and non-voters -- only acknowledge their mistake once they start personally suffering due to Republican policies but (as they aren't normally the demographic being attacked by Republicans) that only tends to occur once we fall into the inevitable recession that usually happens, almost like clockwork, as a result of equally reprehensible Republican economic policies.

THen you just blame and put the focus on poor people, minorities, gays, and child murderers (what they call abortion) and trailer park Pat forgets all about it

[aja_christopher]

THen you just blame and put the focus on poor people, minorities, gays, and child murderers (what they call abortion) and trailer park Pat forgets all about it

Made all the more ominous by the fact that many of them seem to revel in seeing black and brown people incarcerated or killed by those in positions of authority.

[ZombieHavoc]

That cuts both ways. As tiring as he can often be to listen to, it's just as tiring to deal with everyone else still trying to vote shame at any opportunity.

Yeah but it's also tiring to listen to people complain about stuff that's going on when they maybe coulda cast a vote that could've helped it not happen, but chose not to for a variety of reasons that are way less important than the fact that Trump has 2 judges in his pocket, tilting the court to the right permanently, and there's a good chance he will get some more judges in his remaining 6 years.

It's a big deal.

[ZombieHavoc]

While I know this one won't really be something that appeals to everyone, it seemed like it was far enough under the radar that a mention might be in order...

https://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/09/2...ts-fundraiser/

Ah yes forgot about this...will be snatching up some stuff.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The President also suggested there is deep mistrust in Chrystia Freeland, the lead Canadian trade negotiator, and her team.

"We're not getting along at all with their negotiators," Trump said, warning that the US would soon go after Canadian auto imports..."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/26/polit...ing/index.html[/I]

Hmm! Now that mistrust wouldn't have anything to do with the fact Freeland is a woman, and Trump, a knuckledragging misogynist of the first order, considers women who aren't brainless sex objects as beneath him? Nahhhhhhh! Say it ain't so!

[aja_christopher]

Hmm! Now that mistrust wouldn't have anything to do with the fact Freeland is a woman, and Trump, a knuckledragging misogynist of the first order, considers women who aren't brainless sex objects as beneath him?

Conversely, everyone respects Trump's very large brain.



Always remember -- this is the man that Republican voters elected to the Presidency of the United States.

Yeah but it's also tiring to listen to people complain about stuff that's going on when they maybe coulda cast a vote that could've helped it not happen, but chose not to for a variety of reasons that are way less important than the fact that Trump has 2 judges in his pocket, tilting the court to the right permanently, and there's a good chance he will get some more judges in his remaining 6 years.

This entire situation feels like an episode of Black Mirror that doesn't know when to end.

[Mister Mets]

And, within six months, maybe less, Kavaugh will be impeached and kicked off the Supreme Court. Especially if criminal charges are filed against him.

There will be a higher standard for those procedures.

That the Republican Party has devolved into a bunch of corrupt and partisan hacks who will do anything and everything that they have to in order to get their socially backwards and regressive agenda through.

They had no problem keeping a Supreme Court seat open for over a year when Scalia died even though Obama had appointed a perfectly qualified candidate with 10 times the integrity of someone like Kavanaugh. But now apparently, there's this huge rush to get ol' Bretty boy on the Court because Trump needs someone who will vote to protect him if he's impeached.

They were honest about what they wanted in that situation.

Maybe I'm just jaded, but I just don't see impeachment happening in today's hyper-partisan environment, even if the worst allegations are proven true, and especially not if Republicans lose the majority.

Cards on the table, I think the Svetnick claims are ridiculous and overwhelmingly likely to be unfounded. But if it were true, this would make Kavanaugh more nasty than anyone in public life. Defending him would be the equivalent of defending Cosby.

I'm not discussing the other charges here because most people here seem to find the habitual gang rape conspiracy plausible, so that's the standard.

Going on the assumption that most folks agree that this guy is so completely unacceptable that he should be kept off of the court at all costs...

Trump loves a win. He also sees himself as a brilliant deal maker. If it was really about keeping this particular guy off of the court based on is all-around lack of fitness, you just offer Trump win that he could not pass up.

By tonight, it's too late. Trump has a guy who did exactly what he wanted.

Earlier in the week? I think that Dems absolutely could have proposed a fair hearing for any other nominee along with a unanimous approval(barring anything like what has come out when it comes to the current nominee) vote, and got Trump to pull his nomination.

Another option would be Democrats openly agreeing to a lame duck vote since it would be immoral for penalizing the other side for agreeing to a thorough investigation on such an important topic.

So, basically, the argument is, "If only the Democrats had given the Republicans a win, then the...uh...the Republicans would get a win?"

The Republican party is holding our country hostage. They demand money, they demand power, they demand the right to abuse and disenfranchise people, and if the Democrats don't give it to them...they threaten to shut down the government. Or break all rules of precedent and decorum to get their way anyway. What I wouldn't give for a RICO case to be filed against the entire criminal racket they call a political party...

I'm sure many agree with you that a priority is denying Republicans a win. This might be why Republicans think the Democrats' requests and stated concerns are pretext.

[Tendrin]

I'm sure many agree with you that a priority is denying Republicans a win. This might be why Republicans think the Democrats' requests and stated concerns are pretext.

I'm sure a large amount of projection is involved here, given how they treated Obama from day one.

[aja_christopher]

I'm not discussing the other charges here because most people here seem to find the habitual gang rape conspiracy plausible, so that the standard.

Pure hyperbole -- most people here just want all of the relevant facts to be known while others defend the rights of congressmen to block relevant documents and individuals like Mark Judge not to testify under oath: if Mark Judge claims in his books that he and "Bart O' Kavanaugh" participated in drug filled orgies, then the only way to confirm or deny the "plausibility" of both parties in question is to get all of the relevant facts.

I might not want to "debate" you on these issues Mets but I'm not going to let you get away with falsifying the positions of those -- like myself -- whom you disagree with.

[Tami]

Kavaugh has made it through Committee along party lines. When it was clear that this was going to happen, Booker and Harris abstained in protest to this vote.

How can Jeff Flake vote for Kavanaugh today after this?

Good question, why did Flake decide to vote with the other Republicans?