Couldn't go to a better person!

[mpcook]

- POTUS will issue pardon(s) to his favorite people that were in his orbit, that is to say, people who did not write books or op-eds that were negative about him.

Bonus prediction (long term):

- After all of the dust has settled, probably in 2023 or slightly beyond, he will somehow pay (financially or legally) for his term in office.

- I predict POTUS will pardon himself, or, he will resign before Jan 20 and Pence will pardon him (he will be "Nixoned").
- The states of NY and VA (at the least) will indict, try and convict him of state crimes over the next several years, along with several family members.
- Before being sentenced, he will come down with COVID-19 for the first time, and he will be given a suspended sentence due to his ailing health and advanced age.

[rkawakami]

Like higher taxes? Get ready for more at ALL income levels.

I'm retired and live in CA. While not the highest in the nation, (property) taxes here are pretty high and are inequitable due to Prop 13, and combined with the high cost of living in the Bay Area, doesn't make it easy. I'll be happy to see that the 1%ers are taxed more, along with the corporations. Not enough to force them out of the state/country, but enough to make it fair on everybody. I highly doubt that the low and middle class will see any increases under a Democratic administration.

Like paying for gasoline, fuel? It'll get MUCH more expensive, and you'll be forced to electric junk, but the liberal elites will still have their private planes, etc.

I live in CA (see above). We already pay a high price for gas, although I personally haven't paid for any gasoline for the last 2 1/2 years. And why should I care if wealthy people fly around in their own planes? And what do you mean by "forced to electric junk"? I drive a 2018 Tesla Model 3 (which I guess makes me a "liberal elite"). Paid cash. Not a junky car at all.

Like your health plan? goodbye.

I'm paying COBRA at the moment ($1180/mo). I'd be happy to ditch it and go on ACA.

Like your 2A rights? Stock up now in you can. But the elites will still have their private armed security.

Don't own and it doesn't bother me any if rich or powerful people can afford to hire their own security. They just better be well trained. BTW, what is it with conservatives about the "elites"? Is that any person who earns more than you? Or is it just limited to Democrats? If so, then wealthy Republicans running the NRA are not elites? Or is the definition of elite, "a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities", what constitutes your disdain and is not politically motivated? Sorry, I digress.

I'm wiling to support more legislation to make it harder to buy guns though implementation of universal background checks, blocking private transaction guns sales (only through licensed dealers), and other common sense actions which close straw purchases. I'm not against owning guns or taking away your right to own, merely making it much harder for "undesirables" to get their hands on one. I AM against owning "assault rifles", which I know is a loaded argument (pun intended). You can have as many handguns you want, with clips/speedloaders to boot. But something which was designed or has the intent purpose of killing as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time is not something that the general population needs to have. And don't give me the Bravo Sierra that they're for hunting game.

Furthermore, our 2nd amendment rights were conceived in a time when muskets were the common arms and the Continental Army had recently been formed. If you insist on sticking with the notion that the government (i.e., Democrats) is coming after your guns and is trampling on your 2A rights, then replace all your firearms with muskets and then we can continue to have a discussion on the matter.

- I predict POTUS will pardon himself, or, he will resign before Jan 20 and Pence will pardon him (he will be "Nixoned").
- The states of NY and VA (at the least) will indict, try and convict him of state crimes over the next several years, along with several family members.
- Before being sentenced, he will come down with COVID-19 for the first time, and he will be given a suspended sentence due to his ailing health and advanced age.

Hmmm... that resignation / Veep pardon sounds possible on face value, but I don't see POTUS as the type that will give up his seat on the throne. What would make my day is if he does resign with the intent on having Pence pardon him, Pence will finally grow some cojones and regain some respect from everyone and NOT follow through with the pardon. I don't think he trusts Pence all that much. My feeling is that Pence was put on the ticket to gain the support of the evangelicals. How those people can ignore the moral deficiencies of POTUS is beyond me. I guess that they just used him in order to get some of their goals accomplished. Like three conservatives on the SCOTUS.

As far as NY, VA and whoever else, I can only hope. What interests me is any personal lawsuit he might be exposed to later on.

[mpcook]

Like your 2A rights? Stock up now in you can. But the elites will still have their private armed security.

Did FDR take your guns?
Did Harry Truman take your guns?
Did JFK take your guns?
Did LBJ take your guns?
Did Jimmy Carter take your guns?
Did Bill Clinton take your guns?
Did Barack Hussein Obama take your guns?
No.
But gun manufacturers made you think they would. You got paranoid and bought more guns. They took your money...and laughed all the way to the bank.
So, go ahead and buy more guns.

[Ibthink]

I highly doubt that the low and middle class will see any increases under a Democratic administration.

Taxes are slated to increase in the USA in the next years. But not because Democrats want to tax lower and middle incomes more - the Republican tax cuts were designed to automatically reverse for lower and middle incomes after a few years. Only high income people and corporations can enjoy permanently lower taxes.

[dr_st]

The thing about taxes... I would generally support somewhat higher taxes when they are used well. Of course, it's hard to get people to agree what "well" is and what causes are important enough to use taxpayers' money on. That is typically ground for serious debates, in particular between Democrats and Republicans.

However, as much as drastically increasing tax on the 1% sounds popular and "fair", this rarely works, because there is not enough money there to make any meaningful difference for the state. Besides, people in those tax brackets have the advisers and the know-how to "optimize" their taxes within the existing laws. They will always find ways to pay less. So who do you end up taking from? The group that actually has money to give, and does not have the means to do tax optimizations - that is, the middle class. It's not a Democrat vs Republican thing, it's just how the math always ends up working.

[TonyJZX]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... oronavirus

Yeesh would you even step inside the white house given the kind of disease trap it is... air drop a lysol bomb on it

[TonyJZX]

Like your 2A rights? Stock up now in you can. But the elites will still have their private armed security.

Did FDR take your guns?
Did Harry Truman take your guns?
Did JFK take your guns?
Did LBJ take your guns?
Did Jimmy Carter take your guns?
Did Bill Clinton take your guns?
Did Barack Hussein Obama take your guns?
No.
But gun manufacturers made you think they would. You got paranoid and bought more guns. They took your money...and laughed all the way to the bank.
So, go ahead and buy more guns.

Reagan and GHW Bush were the biggest gun grabbers but hey we like to lionise those guys....

[cadillacmike68]

Like your 2A rights? Stock up now in you can. But the elites will still have their private armed security.

Did FDR take your guns?
Did Harry Truman take your guns?
Did JFK take your guns?
Did LBJ take your guns?
Did Jimmy Carter take your guns?
Did Bill Clinton take your guns?
Did Barack Hussein Obama take your guns?
No.
But gun manufacturers made you think they would. You got paranoid and bought more guns. They took your money...and laughed all the way to the bank.
So, go ahead and buy more guns.

Clinton DID take away so called - in error - "assault weapons", and crime WENT UP after it went into effect. The definition of an "assault weapon" is one that is capable of selective fire - do you know what that means??. You need a special license to get one of those and you CANNOT get anything that was not registered in a federal registry by 1984 (I think). Learn what you are mouthing off about before stepping in it.

Obama tried and made further restrictions, so yes he did.

Carter just made a mess of everything, although I credit him with the courage to actually go to three mile island in the middle of it. He was a Navy Nuclear Power Officer and might have actually helped correct that mess.

FDR tried to pack the supreme court and got biatch slapped from his own party.

Truman was too much of a wuus to get the job done in Korea. Ike had to clear up the mess

LBJ - don't get me started on him. The gun control act of 1968??? Read up on this before you spout off.

JFK made a mess out of cuba and we are still living with the after effects. He wasn't in office long enough to do any real harm.

[exTPfan]

Guns, like motor vehicles, can be dangerous, and need to be regulated for safety. The US has 10x the death rate from guns as other similar countries. No one took your guns.

[MikalE]

Explain to me how I can legally import a Walther PPK or Walther TPH after 1968 if I don't work for the Government or am not a police officer.

Explain that to me please.

[mpcook]

...
JFK made a mess out of cuba and we are still living with the after effects. He wasn't in office long enough to do any real harm.

Ah yes, the inimitable "Cuba" argument against gun control.
We could play that game.
Did Trump take away your guns?
No, but he set the record for the number of administration members and campaign staff convicted of a felony (many of whom pled guilty) by his own DOJ, and the massive use of US government facilities and staff to further his personal political ambitions.
Bottom line, none of these presidents took away your guns, eh? You still have them all?
So, go ahead and buy more, and make the gun industry happy.

But, back to the OP.
Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is now infected with coronavirus. He has been close to the president and a number of administration officials in the past week, further spreading the White House infection. At least four other White House officials have now been infected, including Cassidy Hutchinson, one of Meadows’s closest aides. A senior Trump campaign aide, Nick Trainer, is also infected.

[mpcook]

Explain to me how I can legally import a Walther PPK or Walther TPH after 1968 if I don't work for the Government or am not a police officer.

Explain that to me please.

I believe you can order one from Cabela's. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/walther ... less-steel

[TonyJZX]

That's a ppks which is a modified ppk/pp etc. for the us market.

I put it to you the ATF is the enemy.

Some people want a truly open market so they can buy norinco valmet galil any sort of weapon currently restricted also the nfa ban 1986 short barrel rifles, suppressors the whole deal.

You arent ever going to get that perfect system you want.

[MikalE]

Explain to me how I can legally import a Walther PPK or Walther TPH after 1968 if I don't work for the Government or am not a police officer.

Explain that to me please.

I believe you can order one from Cabela's. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/walther ... less-steel

No, you can't. Tell me how I can import a German made Walther PPK.

[mpcook]

I believe you can order one from Cabela's. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/walther ... less-steel

No, you can't. Tell me how I can import a German made Walther PPK.

If you own one, we definitely won't be taking it away. Which was the original issue raised. Personally, I prefer to buy American. You can probably locate a German-made PPK used.

[dr_st]

And... yet another US politics thread comes down to guns.

[MikalE]

No, you can't. Tell me how I can import a German made Walther PPK.

If you own one, we definitely won't be taking it away. Which was the original issue raised. Personally, I prefer to buy American. You can probably locate a German-made PPK used.

That's not the point. I can buy used PPK's all day long that were imported before 1968. How do I get a brand new one from Germany today?

Question has still not been answered.

[mpcook]

And... yet another US politics thread comes down to guns.

Although I am not guilty of starting on guns, I am guilty of contributing, for which I am deeply sorry.

However, I did try and bring it back to the original topic. "Couldn't go to a better person!"

[ajkula66]

Let me offer a slightly different perspective here...

I'll be happy to see that the 1%ers are taxed more, along with the corporations. Not enough to force them out of the state/country, but enough to make it fair on everybody. I highly doubt that the low and middle class will see any increases under a Democratic administration.

It's always the middle class - whatever's left of it which isn't much - that eats all the tax increases. Low income folks pay no taxes apart from the sales tax and the rich ones have accountants who are in charge of finding their way through the (deeply outdated and just as corrupt) tax code.

I live in CA (see above). We already pay a high price for gas, although I personally haven't paid for any gasoline for the last 2 1/2 years. And why should I care if wealthy people fly around in their own planes? And what do you mean by "forced to electric junk"? I drive a 2018 Tesla Model 3 (which I guess makes me a "liberal elite"). Paid cash. Not a junky car at all.

My daily commute is 200 miles (320km) and the gas prices are a *huge* deal for me since I can't afford a Tesla. FTR, I don't drive a Dodge Ram, Ford Expedition or anything along those lines. It's still a big deal.

I'm paying COBRA at the moment ($1180/mo). I'd be happy to ditch it and go on ACA.

COBRA sucks, I've been there so I feel for you and everyone else in that boat. However, I have one of the best private insurance plans in the nation and would not be in favour of giving it up in exchange for some type of single-payer-coverage. Yes, I fully understand that's not what ACA was/is, but we're way past ACA with the current Democratic party and their demands for "Medicare for all" and abolishing of private insurance. I've lived in two countries with the government-run-healthcare and was not all that impressed with either of the systems.

I guess that they just used him in order to get some of their goals accomplished. Like three conservatives on the SCOTUS.

At least one of these three has proven his "conservative" credentials to be spotty at best. Another Justice has yet to be a part of any ruling. So yeah, one somewhat solid originalist made it through. Nothing to get excited about. SCOTUS may look like 6:3 from a distance, but it's realistically not.

[rkawakami]

So, with the 2020 Presidential Election behind us, and the current projections of Electoral College votes at 253 Biden vs 213 Trump, here are my 10 predictions on what's going to happen between now and January 20, 2021:

Note: all references to "he", "him" or "his" is Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States (POTUS)

- He will become the newest member of the single-term President's Club.

One down, nine to go....

[exTPfan]

The Roberts court has already:
(a) Struck down a bipartisan campaign finance law, to the great benefit of the billionaires wishing to influence elections.
(b) Part of the Voting Rights Act, to the great benefit of those wishing to suppress the (nonwhite) vote in the South.
(c) Part of the ACA, and perhaps the whole thing in a few weeks, to the benefit of no one.
Who knows what will be next.

[ajkula66]

The Roberts court has already:
(a) Struck down a bipartisan campaign finance law, to the great benefit of the billionaires wishing to influence elections.
(b) Part of the Voting Rights Act, to the great benefit of those wishing to suppress the (nonwhite) vote in the South.
(c) Part of the ACA, and perhaps the whole thing in a few weeks, to the benefit of no one.
Who knows what will be next.

In all fairness...there would've been no ACA without Roberts himself siding with his liberal colleagues.

I don't expect to see any earth-shattering decisions coming from the SCOTUS anytime soon.

[TonyJZX]

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/202 ... rence.html

How the F is this even real.

Incompetence top to bottom.

These guys had the nuclear codes <shudder>....

[RealBlackStuff]

Giuliani & Co. have to look after Trump, so they came to the right place:
- to get someone to clean up the mess after they spread more fake news.
There are a few other useful things to do at that location, but I digress.

But now better things are ahead: From the Lincoln Project

[TonyJZX]

I'm sure Rudi could have used a few of those 'marital aids' on his Borat shirt tucking endeavours.

What I always find funny and will always funny is that so many millions of people hung their hat and their identity with these people.

Is that worth your dignity? Clinton was right about these 'deplorable' people and their slavish devotion to this family.

To this just about ended with that MAGA hat wearing moron on CNN shout over Telemundo 110% sure that "Biden raped his daughter".... I'm sure people here would expect Biden to respond to that at well.

And that's your lot. This group of 71 mil. people hung their hopes and dreams on this guy... and even as far away as the middle east india japan and africa there are supporters. This is a cult. I quite enjoy it and the good thing is this carnival show ride isnt over.

There's the joke period to Jan 20 and then the indictments will start rolling in. You cant pay for this kind of entertainment.

[TonyJZX]

https://www.boston.com/news/national-ne ... oronavirus

haberman

also a million cases in texas

[TonyJZX]

https://twitter.com/KFaulders/status/13 ... 6090636291

Ben Carson has it.

Absolutely clownshoes administration that is representative of its support base.

[TonyJZX]

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/12/poli ... index.html

The party never ends.

[rkawakami]

I know that some of you out there are not going to believe this story, since it originates from the NY Times, but here goes:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... break.html

Mr. Lewandowski and at least four others — Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, his political director, a campaign adviser leading the efforts to challenge election results and the housing secretary — attended an election night party at the White House where hundreds of people mingled for hours, many without masks.

They join at least 20 members of Mr. Trump’s administration, campaign and inner circle who have contracted the virus since late September, after an earlier outbreak among White House residence staff.

A total of 40 people surrounding Trump and the White House have been infected (tested positive) since September 26th.

On the other side of the news fence.... this is from FOX as of Oct. 4th, the latest that I could find that specifically mentioned Trump or the WH:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump- ... s-negative

A quick count lists 13 people positive.

When searching for Pence, this comes up (Oct. 25th):

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/5-clos ... ffice-says

On Biden's side, also from FOX published Oct. 15th:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kamala ... oronavirus

And my local newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News, which leans decidedly liberal and therefore could not possibly be trusted when reporting bad news about Democrats (sarcasm), has this on Oct. 15th:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/15/ ... ronavirus/

An update notes that a third person from the aviation company (i.e., flight crew) in Biden's plane has tested positive.

[ajkula66]

I know that some of you out there are not going to believe this story, since it originates from the NY Times, but here goes:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... break.html

Mr. Lewandowski and at least four others — Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, his political director, a campaign adviser leading the efforts to challenge election results and the housing secretary — attended an election night party at the White House where hundreds of people mingled for hours, many without masks.

They join at least 20 members of Mr. Trump’s administration, campaign and inner circle who have contracted the virus since late September, after an earlier outbreak among White House residence staff.

Most if not all of this has been reported elsewhere, so it's pretty believable.

I fail to understand what the big deal is, though. The virus has a 99%+ survival rate for individuals with no serious pre-existing conditions. Yes, I've personally known several people who have sadly passed away from it and a few dozen who had it and are still with us. I, for one, likely wouldn't survive getting it due to the aforementioned pre-existing conditions and am therefore careful - not paranoid - in my own daily dealings with people as much as possible, but the whole thing has been utterly overblown from day 1 and remains to be so. IMO, that is.