OT Biden will lead America out of the darkness and into the light. LOL

[johnl...@gmail.com]

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/499065-lies-damned-lies-and-the-truth-about-joe-biden

Sanders would have been a much better choice than Biden, maybe even a better choice than Trump.

[Cindy Hamilton]

On Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 8:11:54 AM UTC-5, johnl...@gmail.com wrote:
> https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/499065-lies-damned-lies-and-the-truth-about-joe-biden
>
> Sanders would have been a much better choice than Biden, maybe even a better choice than Trump.

He's not the Messiah. He's an old, center-right politician whose best feature
is he's not Trump.

America will have to lead itself out of the darkness. 74 million of those
idiots voted for Trump.

Cindy Hamilton

[Dave Smith]

Yep. It's not as if Trump had admirable personal traits and an
unblemished public image going into his first presidential election, but
he got enough votes to win the election. After a clusterfuck of a
presidency, he still had 74 million people supporting him. I suppose
that can be explained by the left hand side of the Bell Curve.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Strangely, some of his partisans are quite intelligent. They like tax breaks
for the rich, "owning" the liberals, and not paying for other people's health
care. Trump didn't do as well as promised on that last one.

Cindy Hamilton

[GM]

Cindy Hamilton wrote:

> Strangely, some of his partisans are quite intelligent. .


What I *really* liked about Trump's tenure was US energy independence, exiting the fraught Paris Climate and Iran "deals", shaming certain NATO allies into paying their fair share of defense costs, the First Step Act, solid diplomatic accomplishments in the Middle East (remember the SHOCK when Trump moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, lol!)...let's not forget his economic policies encouraged a very good employment climate, including near - record low unemployment for minorities...OH, and swift implementation of Operation Warp Speed...

Heck, an increasing number of those stupid blacks, Hispanics, and LGBTQA's even voted for him in 2020...AMAZING, ain't it, Cindy...???

--
Best
Greg

[Cindy Hamilton]

I could say the exact same things, but it would be with sarcasm.

Cindy Hamilton

[Master Bruce]

Is he more left-wing than Pocahontas? Personality-wise, I'd prefer her
if I was an American.

[Master Bruce]

On Tue, 29 Dec 2020 05:40:06 -0800 (PST), Cindy Hamilton
<angelica...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 8:11:54 AM UTC-5, johnl...@gmail.com wrote:
>> https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/499065-lies-damned-lies-and-the-truth-about-joe-biden
>>
>> Sanders would have been a much better choice than Biden, maybe even a better choice than Trump.
>
>He's not the Messiah. He's an old, center-right politician whose best feature
>is he's not Trump.

Sanders is center-right? Who is there to the left of him then?

[Cindy Hamilton]

Biden is center-right. Sanders is pretty far left (for the U.S.) My comment was
in the context of "Biden will lead America out of the darkness".

Cindy Hamilton

[Master Bruce]

On Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:50:35 -0800 (PST), Cindy Hamilton

<angelica...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 2:46:51 PM UTC-5, Master Bruce wrote:
>> On Tue, 29 Dec 2020 05:40:06 -0800 (PST), Cindy Hamilton
>> <angelica...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> >On Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 8:11:54 AM UTC-5, johnl...@gmail.com wrote:
>> >> https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/499065-lies-damned-lies-and-the-truth-about-joe-biden
>> >>
>> >> Sanders would have been a much better choice than Biden, maybe even a better choice than Trump.
>> >
>> >He's not the Messiah. He's an old, center-right politician whose best feature
>> >is he's not Trump.
>> Sanders is center-right? Who is there to the left of him then?
>
>Biden is center-right. Sanders is pretty far left (for the U.S.) My comment was
>in the context of "Biden will lead America out of the darkness".

Oh, ok. Yes, Biden seems like a non-event, which, compared to Trump,
is a huge improvement. He could even do a Reagan and snooze through
his presidency in an Alzheimer's haze and he'd still be better than
Trump.

[Graham]

On 2020-12-29 10:07 a.m., GM wrote:
> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>
>> Strangely, some of his partisans are quite intelligent. .
>
>
> What I *really* liked about Trump's tenure was US energy independence,

Nothing to do with him! The shale fracking revolution was going full
tilt long before he arrived in DC.

exiting the fraught Paris Climate and Iran "deals",

Both stupid and short-sighted moves!

shaming certain NATO allies into paying their fair share of defense costs,

Their share? The allies are the US's forward defence.

the First Step Act, solid diplomatic accomplishments in the Middle
East (remember the SHOCK when Trump moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem,

Pouring gasoline on a smouldering fire!!!

lol!)...let's not forget his economic policies encouraged a very good
employment climate, including near - record low unemployment for minorities.

That was just a continuation of the trend started by your bête noir Obama!

..OH, and swift implementation of Operation Warp Speed...

It was underway while he still spouted hoax conspiracies!

>
> Heck, an increasing number of those stupid blacks, Hispanics, and LGBTQA's even voted for him in 2020...AMAZING, ain't it, Cindy...???

Indeed! but many, many more voted against him!
>

[GM]

Graham, how you are sputtering on...maybe you need a big mug of some hearty glogg to "relax"...

In any case, I extend you my sincere Best Wishes for the New Year...

:-D

--
Best
Greg

[Graham]

The only one sputtering is that orange head loser in Florida:-)

> In any case, I extend you my sincere Best Wishes for the New Year...
>

As I do to you!

[GM]

Fair enough, Graham... ;-)

Are you doing any baking for the New Year...???

--
Best
Greg

[Graham]

No! The convection element blew a few days before xmas and I had to use the
conventional bake feature in the oven. This resulted in variable "bakes"
despite rotation etc with some overdone and some barely done. I'm now
tussling with whether to replace the element, which isn't easy as the oven
is obsolete, or buying a new range, which will involve cutting into the
worktop and removing a base cabinet unit.
If I do replace the oven, I know it will NOT be a Bosch!!!

[Dave Smith]

At the risk of sounding like Julie, you might have trouble finding a
replacement oven. I was talking to a guy a couple months ago who was
looking for a new fridge and there was almost nothing in stock locally.
A woman who was there with us had just bought something and was sure
they would have something. The guy called and that store and the only
fridges they had in stock were several inches wider than the space it
was to fit into.

I just have an inexpensive Frigidaire. It takes a long time to warm up
but it bakes reliably and evenly. Cookies, biscuits, muffins etc turn
out beautifully. I set a timer for the minimum cooking time and things
are almost almost always done nicely. I have not done bread in it, but I
am starting to think I should try it again. I just don't eat enough
bread for it to keep reasonably well before it is used up.

It's a funny thing about Bosch appliances. They seem to have a good
enough name to command premium prices, but everyone I know who has had
their appliances has been badly disappointed.

There is a good chance that the element is the same as the newer models.
There aren't that many different types of oven elements. Of course,
there is always the chance that Bosch makes them different on purpose.

[Master Bruce]

On Tue, 29 Dec 2020 17:43:26 -0500, Dave Smith
<adavid...@sympatico.ca> wrote:

>On 2020-12-29 4:54 p.m., Graham wrote:
>> On Tue, 29 Dec 2020 13:07:40 -0800 (PST), GM wrote:
>>
>>> Are you doing any baking for the New Year...???
>>
>> No! The convection element blew a few days before xmas and I had to use the
>> conventional bake feature in the oven. This resulted in variable "bakes"
>> despite rotation etc with some overdone and some barely done. I'm now
>> tussling with whether to replace the element, which isn't easy as the oven
>> is obsolete, or buying a new range, which will involve cutting into the
>> worktop and removing a base cabinet unit.
>> If I do replace the oven, I know it will NOT be a Bosch!!!
>>
>
>At the risk of sounding like Julie, you might have trouble finding a
>replacement oven. I was talking to a guy a couple months ago who was
>looking for a new fridge and there was almost nothing in stock locally.
>A woman who was there with us had just bought something and was sure
>they would have something. The guy called and that store and the only
>fridges they had in stock were several inches wider than the space it
>was to fit into.

That's just plain shocking.

[Graham]

There was a salesman on the radio this morning bemoaning the shortage of
appliances and the very long wait times.
I have just this minute ordered a replacement element, not readily
available for an old oven. To replace the oven would be too much of a
hassle and potentially run into major problems with ctting into the work
top etc.
This Bosch was the first European style, true convection oven to be made
that was 30" wide and I bought it on reputation, along with a separate
Bosch cooktop and a Bosch dishwasher when I renovated the kitchen. The
cooktop has been excellent but the oven soon proved to be an appalling
waste of money. I have used it exclusively in convection bake mode (even
for roasting a turkey) as the poorly placed thermostat results in huge
temperature swings in any other mode.
The Bosch dishwasher became noisy just after the warranty expired. It still
works after 24 years and when it eventually gives up the ghost, I'll
replace it with a different brand.

[Dave Smith]

On 2020-12-29 6:00 p.m., Graham wrote:
> On Tue, 29 Dec 2020 17:43:26 -0500, Dave Smith wrote:
heir appliances has been badly disappointed.
>>
>> There is a good chance that the element is the same as the newer models.
>> There aren't that many different types of oven elements. Of course,
>> there is always the chance that Bosch makes them different on purpose.
>
> There was a salesman on the radio this morning bemoaning the shortage of
> appliances and the very long wait times.

I am wondering how this is going to affect an item I ordered. I had been
looking for a new recliner and a friend whose family runs the furniture
store in town showed me what he had in stock but and advised that
anything ordered would take at least 5 months. I didn't see anything I
liked and went elsewhere. I found what I was looking for,but was advised
that it would not be delivered until the end of January. Now we are in
lockdown for a month and I don't know if that is going to translate to a
longer wait.

> I have just this minute ordered a replacement element, not readily
> available for an old oven. To replace the oven would be too much of a
> hassle and potentially run into major problems with ctting into the work
> top etc.

As long as everything else is working it is likely worth the cost of the
replacement part.

> The Bosch dishwasher became noisy just after the warranty expired. It still
> works after 24 years and when it eventually gives up the ghost, I'll
> replace it with a different brand.

I don't recommend Maytag. Some time back I bought a Maytag fridge and
stove (glass top). I quickly got to know the Maytag repairmen pretty
well, I had a lot of trouble with the front burners shutting off. The
repairman was out several times. They ended up taking it away and giving
me another one, and I had the same problem with that one. The fridge
worked well enough but the butter shelf kept falling off. It fell so
many times that it broke. I never was able to find a replacement for it.
>

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 12/29/2020 4:54 PM, Graham wrote:

>> Are you doing any baking for the New Year...???
>
> No! The convection element blew a few days before xmas and I had to use the
> conventional bake feature in the oven. This resulted in variable "bakes"
> despite rotation etc with some overdone and some barely done. I'm now
> tussling with whether to replace the element, which isn't easy as the oven
> is obsolete, or buying a new range, which will involve cutting into the
> worktop and removing a base cabinet unit.
> If I do replace the oven, I know it will NOT be a Bosch!!!
>

I bought a Bertazzoni for the last house. We really liked it. Ours was
all gas but there are other variations now. Would not hesitate to buy
one again.

https://us.bertazzoni.com/products/ranges?qCaratteristiche=148||30%20in

This house came with GE appliances. Not my first choice but the range
has been good and I like the griddle in the center.

[dsi1]

He's our first Russian assets president, and one that openly admires the dictators of regimes hostile to the United States. He's our first president to organize a coup against the United States. OTOH, he's the first president to use a coup against the U.S. as a scam to raise money to pay off his debts. He got some republicans to jump on the votergate scamwagon to raise money for their money needs. He also made a formally taboo word popular in the American vernacular, easily surpassing Roosevelt and his "Teddy" bear. My guess is that "pussy" will be his most enduring legacy. Like his bromance buddies, he enjoys killing people "just because he can." A lot of people would probably agree with his policy of executing murderers unfortunately, the prez will also pardon mass murderers too - just because he can.
The pres has also changed the landscape of the dissemination of information. Previously, getting caught in a lie while in public office would be shameful. After Trump, it ain't all that big a deal to continuously lie with every breath one takes. In the end, America is going to get everything it deserves. We are witness to no less than the end of the United States of America.

[Master Bruce]

It's going to be interesting in 4 years. Will Americans, in their
understandable dislike of regular politicians, vote for a clown again?
And will it be an evil clown again?

[Hank Rogers]

And will you still be here, sniffing asses?

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 12/29/2020 7:53 PM, Master Bruce wrote:

>> He's our first Russian assets president, and one that openly admires the dictators of regimes hostile to the United States. He's our first president to organize a coup against the United States. OTOH, he's the first president to use a coup against the U.S. as a scam to raise money to pay off his debts. He got some republicans to jump on the votergate scamwagon to raise money for their money needs. He also made a formally taboo word popular in the American vernacular, easily surpassing Roosevelt and his "Teddy" bear. My guess is that "pussy" will be his most enduring legacy. Like his bromance buddies, he enjoys killing people "just because he can." A lot of people would probably agree with his policy of executing murderers unfortunately, the prez will also pardon mass murderers too - just because he can.
>> The pres has also changed the landscape of the dissemination of information. Previously, getting caught in a lie while in public office would be shameful. After Trump, it ain't all that big a deal to continuously lie with every breath one takes. In the end, America is going to get everything it deserves. We are witness to no less than the end of the United States of America.
>
> It's going to be interesting in 4 years. Will Americans, in their
> understandable dislike of regular politicians, vote for a clown again?
> And will it be an evil clown again?
>

Given his age, in four years his health my not allow it but if he does,
you can be sure he will have some support from the present Trumpets.

There is supposed to be a bunch of lawsuits just waiting for him to not
be president that will potentially keep him busy. It may get very
interesting.

[Master Bruce]

Trump's father died at the age of 93, his mother at the age of 88. So
maybe he's good for another term. Powered by cheeseburgers!

[Graham]

According to Consumer Reports, GE is one of the more reliable brands.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 12/29/2020 8:36 PM, Graham wrote:

>>>
>>
>> I bought a Bertazzoni for the last house. We really liked it. Ours was
>> all gas but there are other variations now. Would not hesitate to buy
>> one again.
>>
>> https://us.bertazzoni.com/products/ranges?qCaratteristiche=148||30%20in
>>
>> This house came with GE appliances. Not my first choice but the range
>> has been good and I like the griddle in the center.
>
> According to Consumer Reports, GE is one of the more reliable brands.
>

Based on my experience with warranty replacement on the garbage disposal
it is not so reliable and customer service sucks. I should have just
bit the bullet and put in an InSinkErator. I took the easy way out since
no drain pipe would have had to be changed. Under warranty, a $90
service charge and $50 labor to swap it.

The dishwasher cleans as well as my KitchenAid but I found the KA a bit
better to load the top rack. Microwave has been good.

Range has been no problem. I'd change the layout for the burners. Both
front are large while both back are small. I can get good low heat on
the large but when you have a small pan the burner itself has a wide
diameter. That is personal preference though.

The center griddle is nice for pancakes as well as other uses where a
flat pan is needed.

[S Viemeister]

On 29/12/2020 21:54, Graham wrote:

> No! The convection element blew a few days before xmas and I had to use the
> conventional bake feature in the oven. This resulted in variable "bakes"
> despite rotation etc with some overdone and some barely done. I'm now
> tussling with whether to replace the element, which isn't easy as the oven
> is obsolete, or buying a new range, which will involve cutting into the
> worktop and removing a base cabinet unit.
> If I do replace the oven, I know it will NOT be a Bosch!!!
>

So far (she said, crossing her fingers) the Smeg dual-fuel cooker we
bought last year has been performing well.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Thanks, Graham. I thought about doing the same, but there's no point.
He's got Views, and we can't change his mind.

Cindy Hamilton

[Cindy Hamilton]

There could be a different evil clown. The Republican party has no shortage
of morons available for the nomination.

Cindy Hamilton

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 12/30/2020 6:45 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

>>> It's going to be interesting in 4 years. Will Americans, in their
>>> understandable dislike of regular politicians, vote for a clown again?
>>> And will it be an evil clown again?
>>>
>> Given his age, in four years his health my not allow it but if he does,
>> you can be sure he will have some support from the present Trumpets.
>
> There could be a different evil clown. The Republican party has no shortage
> of morons available for the nomination.
>
> Cindy Hamilton
>

I've always been a registered Independent. While I lean slightly to the
right people like McConnell, Graham, Rubio, assure I will never be a
Republican.

[GM]

Cindy Hamilton wrote re: Trump supporters:

> Strangely, some of his partisans are quite intelligent. They like tax breaks
> for the rich


https://wirepoints.org/2017-tax-federal-cut-turned-out-to-be-progressive-a-few-lessons-for-illinois-and-beyond-wirepoints/

2017 Federal Tax Cut Turned Out To Be Progressive. A Few Lessons For Illinois And Beyond

Wirepoints
December 29, 2020
By: Mark Glennon and John Klingner

To countless politicians and critics nationally and locally, it was perhaps the most vile thing Congress ever produced.

The “worst bill in the history of the United States Congress,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“The American plutocracy gets its immoral tax bill,” wrote Jesse Jackson in the Chicago Sun-Times.

“Sheer greed, an effort by the…. ‘malefactors of great wealth’ to escape more of their obligations to the society,” wrote the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

It was TCJA, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and its alleged sin was a massive give-away to the rich at the expense of the poor and middle class.

When the bill was passed in 2017 we said to hold off on that judgement. “One thing for sure,” we wrote, “is that wildly hysterical opponents have convinced the middle class they’ll be getting a tax increase, and that’s nonsense.”

It turns out that may have been understatement.

For the first time, we have the actual results instead of estimates and assertions. In 2018, the first year for which we have hard numbers on TCJA’s effect, the wealthiest Americans paid a greater portion of the burden than they did before.

There’s more. TCJA, according to separate research, lopped a full trillion dollars off the value of high-end homes, not middle-class homes, which was part of a trade-off that accrued to the benefit of the country as a whole.

Here are the details:

The IRS publishes data on which income groups paid how much about two years after each year’s filing deadline. Those numbers for 2018 recently came out and were analyzed by the NTPU, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. Their conclusions:

'As a result of the TCJA, the share of federal income taxes paid increased for the top 1 percent from 38.5 percent in 2017 to 40.1 percent in 2018…. On top of this, the share of income taxes paid by the top 5 percent, top 10 percent, top 25 percent, and top 50 percent all increased. The bottom 50 percent of taxpayers saw their share of federal individual income taxes drop from 3.1 percent to 2.9 percent.'

Their full report is here:
https://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/who-pays-income-taxes-tax-year-2018

How can that be? TCJA cut rates for high earners and some supposed experts said at the time that the result would be a windfall for the rich.

The answer is due in part to lower rates for everybody, a higher standard deduction and additional provisions designed to ease burdens low-income earners such as the increased child tax credit, all of which were in TCJA.

But there’s clearly another reason why higher earners didn’t get a windfall, one that became immediately obvious to anybody paying high property taxes in states like Illinois. For high earners, TCJA slashed the SALT deduction – deductions for state and local income tax, sales tax, and property taxes, essentially capping them at $10,000. With a higher standard deduction protecting low and moderate incomes, that cap only hit big earners.

And it’s for that reason that the impact of TCJA goes far beyond NTPU’s study. High property taxes and reduced deductibility depress home prices. Moody’s Analytics quantified that effect in research last year.

Specifically, Moody’s estimates that TCJA’s reduction in SALT deductions means home prices are $1 trillion lower than they would be otherwise.

That loss is almost entirely concentrated on big earners and those with expensive homes in high tax states. The middle class gets the standard deduction, which TCJA increased, or if they itemize, they don’t hit the $10,000 cap. So, the tax code changes hurt home values most in the wealthiest areas in the highest property tax states – Illinois, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, according to Moody’s.

You can see it in Moody’s data below of the 40 hardest-hit counties below. They are all in high property tax states with relatively high incomes.

Notice that Cook County and all Chicago’s collar counties are on that list

The point is that the savings for the general public that resulted from reduced SALT deductions were paid for heavily by the wealthy through reduced home values. TCJA was indeed progressive.

The bigger lesson is to beware of claims about what’s progressive and what isn’t. Politicians often don’t know or truly care about the difference.

Supposedly progressive Senators like Senators Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, for example, want to double down on the hostility to TCJA by eliminating the cap on SALT deductions. That means they are directly supporting a tax cut for the rich. Schumer said, “I want to tell you this: If I become majority leader, one of the first things I will do is we will eliminate [the cap] forever…. It will be dead, gone and buried.” Pelosi has tried to remove the cap as part of various pandemic relief proposals.

Here in Illinois, the supposed regressivity of TCJA was sometimes used to support the case for a counterbalance through the failed Fair Tax proposal, which would have allowed for progressive tax hikes at the state level. That rationale was wrong, and the Fair Tax would have been a mistake for separate reasons that we often wrote about – Illinois already has an uncompetitively high tax burden. Trying to address inequality through state tax increases where the tax base is already fleeing because of high taxes is folly.

TCJA had other pros and cons not discussed here. Personally, I thought at the time it went too far too fast because, among other reasons, the economy was red hot, so some of the economic stimulus it provided would have been better to preserve for tougher times (like now).

But it’s good to see that the hysteria about it being regressive turned out wrong, at least so far.

In the coming year, we hope to write more about how to address income and wealth inequality focusing on what truly works and what doesn’t. That’s an extraordinarily complex matter in which sorting facts from political hyperbole isn’t easy, as TCJA has shown..."

</>

[GM]

johnl...@gmail.com wrote:
> https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/499065-lies-damned-lies-and-the-truth-about-joe-biden
>
> Sanders would have been a much better choice than Biden, maybe even a better choice than Trump.

There was an old bastard named Lenin
Who did two or three million men in.
That’s a lot to have done in
But where he did one in
That old bastard Stalin did ten in...

;-D

--
Best
Greg

[Master Bruce]

Graham?

[S Viemeister]

Lindsey Graham. US Senator.

[Master Bruce]

Ah.