The New Lounge

[Dattier]

The border and the economy are two different issues. You don’t think it’s good that border crossings have slowed to a trickle? Or were you a de facto open borders kind of Dem?
...Most Americans see this as more a case of Trump cleaning up Biden’s mess than a due process issue.

I'm not addressing certain things that I've deleted from your post as I've quoted it because I see it as largely anecdotal and no route forward w/o it devolving into nastiness. I would think you know at the very least I'm not afraid of nastiness or a "spin challenge," so I hope you'll accept my explanation in good faith.

I am philosophically an open borders guy. Repeat, PHILOSOPHICALLY. In practice, I know that's not realistic, and I agree that it is a good thing that our President has apparently slowed border crossings by a lot. He seems to have reigned in chaos there.

However, he has created chaos when it comes to how he is dealing with ICE detentions and deportations. If you get to use the singular example of Mahmoud Khalil as evidence of free speech hypocrisy on university campuses, I think it is valid to cite him as a singular example of due process denial. Those things are counterbalances. I don't know if you've heard of this guy Mussolini, who was the leader of Italy back in the day, but he promised to make the trains run on time. Apparently that was a real problem for all those Italian fellows back then. Well, he did it! He made the trains run on time. So he was pretty darn good when it came to efficiency. If you dig a little deeper, though -- and I don't mean to tell any tales out of school -- he was kind of a real jerk. Yeah, this Mussolini guy -- according to many people -- was a really bad dude. He did some things that -- according to many people -- were not cool. And you know what they did to that guy in the end? Well, it was pretty, pretty bad. I'll let you do your own research on that, but trust me, it was bad. Now, I don't think the United States of the Gulf of America is anything like Italy, even if we both think Christopher Columbus is awesome, but if that Mussolini dude could be really efficient and still end up like he did, I have an inkling of a thought of an idea wrapped in a vest that our President might just need to have a more developed style than just efficiency. But maybe that's just me.

 

[KDSTONE]

I'm not addressing certain things that I've deleted from your post as I've quoted it because I see it as largely anecdotal and no route forward w/o it devolving into nastiness. I would think you know at the very least I'm not afraid of nastiness or a "spin challenge," so I hope you'll accept my explanation in good faith.

I am philosophically an open borders guy. Repeat, PHILOSOPHICALLY. In practice, I know that's not realistic, and I agree that it is a good thing that our President has apparently slowed border crossings by a lot. He seems to have reigned in chaos there.

However, he has created chaos when it comes to how he is dealing with ICE detentions and deportations. If you get to use the singular example of Mahmoud Khalil as evidence of free speech hypocrisy on university campuses, I think it is valid to cite him as a singular example of due process denial. Those things are counterbalances. I don't know if you've heard of this guy Mussolini, who was the leader of Italy back in the day, but he promised to make the trains run on time. Apparently that was a real problem for all those Italian fellows back then. Well, he did it! He made the trains run on time. So he was pretty darn good when it came to efficiency. If you dig a little deeper, though -- and I don't mean to tell any tales out of school -- he was kind of a real jerk. Yeah, this Mussolini guy -- according to many people -- was a really bad dude. He did some things that -- according to many people -- were not cool. And you know what they did to that guy in the end? Well, it was pretty, pretty bad. I'll let you do your own research on that, but trust me, it was bad. Now, I don't think the United States of the Gulf of America is anything like Italy, even if we both think Christopher Columbus is awesome, but if that Mussolini dude could be really efficient and still end up like he did, I have an inkling of a thought of an idea wrapped in a vest that our President might just need to have a more developed style than just efficiency. But maybe that's just me.

So what one of the, if not the most popular Dem Presidents in our lifetimes, did at the border and how he ignored due process in the vast majority of cases is irrelevant because what Trump’s done stands as a singular example using logic that probably makes sense in your head.
Then you go on to compare Trump to Mussolini because even though Benito got the trains to run on time, he was a really bad dude. And I guess that means Trump is a really bad dude.

Trump hasn’t created chaos. The media is framing it that way, because they want to impeach him so bad they can’t stand it. I think you should be convicted of an actual crime before being shipped to a prison like the one Garcia is in, but at the same time this is sadly more common than we might think.
Now that the border crossings are under control I hope going forward due process will be honored and deportees will have their day in court.

 

[KDSTONE]

Not to put too fine a point on the matter, but it was repeated on this very message board recently that Biden couldn’t get the border under control because the Republicans wouldn’t pass sweeping legislation because Trump wanted to use the issue as a key part of his campaign. The second part may be true but as for the first part?
No new legislation yet Lo and Behold March 2025 reports the lowest border crossings in history. Oops.

 

[Dattier]

So what one of the, if not the most popular Dem Presidents in our lifetimes, did at the border and how he ignored due process in the vast majority of cases is irrelevant because what Trump’s done stands as a singular example using logic that probably makes sense in your head.
Then you go on to compare Trump to Mussolini because even though Benito got the trains to run on time, he was a really bad dude. And I guess that means Trump is a really bad dude.

Trump hasn’t created chaos. The media is framing it that way, because they want to impeach him so bad they can’t stand it. I think you should be convicted of an actual crime before being shipped to a prison like the one Garcia is in, but at the same time this is sadly more common than we might think.
Now that the border crossings are under control I hope going forward due process will be honored and deportees will have their day in court.

Uh, didn't mean to compare our President to Mussolini, exactly. I was just doing a bad Norm MacDonald impersonation.

There was much less coverage of how President Obama handled immigration. Unfair? Biased? Okay. Different times? Different style? Yeah, that, too. More than EIGHT FREAKIN' YEARS since he left office? Uh, yeah. There are things about President Obama I didn't like when he was in office, and there have been things I've learned since that I don't like, either. None of it was done with the same fanfare President Trump deliberately stirs up.

Which media is framing our President's actions as chaos? The WH press conferences I've seen have largely been softball questions from sycophants. Perhaps those questions seem entirely appropriate and normal to you. It sounds like you're accepting that the method of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation was awful, which is an odd thing to pair with a complaint about madia framing. Like your stance on that debunked Amazon rumor about itemizing tariffs on invoices, it sounds like you're objecting to people being informed of things, not focusing on how those things themselves are objectionable.

And that final line, about how now you hope due process and day-in-court is honored? That's a Constitutional right, including for noncitizens. You should be demanding, not hoping, and you should have demanded it all along.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

Not to put too fine a point on the matter, but it was repeated on this very message board recently that Biden couldn’t get the border under control because the Republicans wouldn’t pass sweeping legislation because Trump wanted to use the issue as a key part of his campaign. The second part may be true but as for the first part?
No new legislation yet Lo and Behold March 2025 reports the lowest border crossings in history. Oops.

i think w/ Biden in control, you had a chance and it was worth the trek, your best interest would be taken into account....Trump has def been a deterrent and to many that trek and expense aint worth what could happen to you upon arrival..??

 

[KDSTONE]

i think w/ Biden in control, you had a chance and it was worth the trek, your best interest would be taken into account....Trump has def been a deterrent and to many that trek and expense aint worth what could happen to you upon arrival..??

“Biden in control”. I know what you mean, but he was never in control.
Deterrent. Bingo

 

[KDSTONE]

Uh, didn't mean to compare our President to Mussolini, exactly. I was just doing a bad Norm MacDonald impersonation.

There was much less coverage of how President Obama handled immigration. Unfair? Biased? Okay. Different times? Different style? Yeah, that, too. More than EIGHT FREAKIN' YEARS since he left office? Uh, yeah. There are things about President Obama I didn't like when he was in office, and there have been things I've learned since that I don't like, either. None of it was done with the same fanfare President Trump deliberately stirs up.

Which media is framing our President's actions as chaos? The WH press conferences I've seen have largely been softball questions from sycophants. Perhaps those questions seem entirely appropriate and normal to you. It sounds like you're accepting that the method of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation was awful, which is an odd thing to pair with a complaint about madia framing. Like your stance on that debunked Amazon rumor about itemizing tariffs on invoices, it sounds like you're objecting to people being informed of things, not focusing on how those things themselves are objectionable.

And that final line, about how now you hope due process and day-in-court is honored? That's a Constitutional right, including for noncitizens. You should be demanding, not hoping, and you should have demanded it all

Much less coverage? Try zero coverage. No constitutional crisis. No Dem Senators visiting El Salvador or Nicaragua, etc

Y’all didn’t care about due process for noncitizens when Obama or Clinton was President, so your faux outrage is performative at this point.
You’re constitutional scholars when it’s convenient but when good old Barack took out US citizens in a drone strike? Crickets.
Could you imagine the sh storm if Trump did that? It would be George Floyd 2.0
Yet again, you deliberately distort my position on the Amazon labels You say it’s a debunked rumor. Translation= Amazon realized it would open Pandora’s box so they’re disavowing the idea.
Newsflash: Obama was like two Presidents ago It’s not like I’m referencing Teddy Roosevelt

 

[Dattier]

Much less coverage? Try zero coverage. No constitutional crisis. No Dem Senators visiting El Salvador or Nicaragua, etc

I already said okay.

Y’all didn’t care about due process for noncitizens when Obama or Clinton was President, so your faux outrage is performative at this point.

Wait a minute. There was no coverage, as you said in the sentence directly proceeding this, but the issue was that we didn't care? How about we didn't know?
Was outrage over the Vietnam War performative, or was it the first war with TV cameras on the battlefield?
And "performative"... that's a real conversation killer. You're accusing people of being disingenuous. It's a character attack. Is that the road you wanna go down yet again?

 

[Th0r]

Imagine, if you will…

A world where Joe Biden launches a cryptocurrency called $BIDEN. The more you own, the more access you get. The top two hundred and twenty holders are promised a gala dinner. The top twenty five? VIP perks and a private White House tour. The coin’s value surges. Behind the scenes, Joe, Hunter, and a handful of private entities quietly control most of the supply. At the same time, the administration starts peeling back crypto oversight. Lawsuits disappear. Enforcement teams shut down. Nobody connects the dots. Nobody asks questions.

Sounds like an episode of The Twilight Zone.

But it’s not Biden. It’s not Hunter. It’s Trump and his family.

Just days before his second inauguration, Trump launched the $TRUMP coin. Not some fan made novelty. This is the real deal, officially promoted and tied to promises of access. Dinner invitations, private events, presidential proximity. All linked to how much you hold. And who controls most of the supply? Two Trump owned entities: CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC.

As the coin’s value spiked, his administration moved in lockstep. The SEC quietly dropped major lawsuits. The Justice Department dissolved its crypto fraud unit. His campaign started accepting crypto. MAGA influencers and former staff poured into the space. Meanwhile, regulators who’d been cracking down just months earlier stepped aside.

This is the most blatant grift ever executed by a Commander in Chief. Launch a coin. Tie it to access. Centralize control. Remove the guardrails.

And now, foreign money’s flooding in. An Abu Dhabi backed firm called MGX is investing two billion dollars in Binance using USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, where a Trump affiliated business owns 60% and is entitled to 75% of revenue from token sales. The Trump family and its allies were also granted 22.5 billion units of WLFI, the core token of World Liberty Financial. Those holdings alone are now worth billions of dollars on paper, with potential for much more depending on how the market moves.

And it’s not just cash flowing in. Foreign governments now have a stake in assets tied directly to the president’s name. That’s not just a financial story. It’s a national security issue.

You know what always cracked me up? The “he doesn’t even take a salary” crowd. Like that was some badge of honor. Meanwhile, this guy was raking in millions hosting government events at his own resorts, selling MAGA merchandise, launching his own social network, and now this, selling crypto tied to presidential access. Giving up a paycheck while building an empire off the office isn’t selflessness. It’s strategy.

So here’s the question. If this exact scheme would’ve triggered investigations, hearings, and headlines under any other name, why’s it getting a pass now? When political access becomes something you can buy, the damage isn’t just reputational. It cuts straight through the foundation of public trust. If you spent years yelling about corruption, this is your moment to show it wasn’t just about who held the power. If not now, when?

We spent years debating whether a nonprofit dinner or a personal laptop posed a conflict of interest. Now we’ve got a coin literally named after the president being sold to foreign investors, and somehow it’s treated like a novelty.

Because this isn’t just about crypto. It’s about what happens when the highest office in the country gets treated like a personal business venture. While Trump and his family are turning access to power into a billion dollar portfolio, the people who put him there are about to get hit the hardest. The trade war he promised would hurt China is already landing on American shelves. Tariffs are here, prices are climbing, and the fallout’s starting to show up at the register. The same working class voters sold on economic nationalism are now staring down higher grocery bills, more expensive imports, and fewer choices at the checkout.

Better stock up on dolls now, gentlemen.

 

[Dattier]

Draining the swamp indeed.

 

[GhostOf301]

Well. I guess the sky is falling and our king is the one knocking out the pillars. Guess it's about to be to the bread line for me.

 

[Dattier]

Well. I guess the sky is falling and our king is the one knocking out the pillars. Guess it's about to be to the bread line for me.

What happened now?

 

[GhostOf301]

What happened now?

Well, our king using the free market to increase wealth and provide opportunities for others to use the free market to gain perks and unique opportunities, for starters. So much worse than what the Biden crime family did. So I'm told.

 

[KDSTONE]

Imagine, if you will…

A world where Joe Biden launches a cryptocurrency called $BIDEN. The more you own, the more access you get. The top two hundred and twenty holders are promised a gala dinner. The top twenty five? VIP perks and a private White House tour. The coin’s value surges. Behind the scenes, Joe, Hunter, and a handful of private entities quietly control most of the supply. At the same time, the administration starts peeling back crypto oversight. Lawsuits disappear. Enforcement teams shut down. Nobody connects the dots. Nobody asks questions.

Sounds like an episode of The Twilight Zone.

But it’s not Biden. It’s not Hunter. It’s Trump and his family.

Just days before his second inauguration, Trump launched the $TRUMP coin. Not some fan made novelty. This is the real deal, officially promoted and tied to promises of access. Dinner invitations, private events, presidential proximity. All linked to how much you hold. And who controls most of the supply? Two Trump owned entities: CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC.

As the coin’s value spiked, his administration moved in lockstep. The SEC quietly dropped major lawsuits. The Justice Department dissolved its crypto fraud unit. His campaign started accepting crypto. MAGA influencers and former staff poured into the space. Meanwhile, regulators who’d been cracking down just months earlier stepped aside.

This is the most blatant grift ever executed by a Commander in Chief. Launch a coin. Tie it to access. Centralize control. Remove the guardrails.

And now, foreign money’s flooding in. An Abu Dhabi backed firm called MGX is investing two billion dollars in Binance using USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, where a Trump affiliated business owns 60% and is entitled to 75% of revenue from token sales. The Trump family and its allies were also granted 22.5 billion units of WLFI, the core token of World Liberty Financial. Those holdings alone are now worth billions of dollars on paper, with potential for much more depending on how the market moves.

And it’s not just cash flowing in. Foreign governments now have a stake in assets tied directly to the president’s name. That’s not just a financial story. It’s a national security issue.

You know what always cracked me up? The “he doesn’t even take a salary” crowd. Like that was some badge of honor. Meanwhile, this guy was raking in millions hosting government events at his own resorts, selling MAGA merchandise, launching his own social network, and now this, selling crypto tied to presidential access. Giving up a paycheck while building an empire off the office isn’t selflessness. It’s strategy.

So here’s the question. If this exact scheme would’ve triggered investigations, hearings, and headlines under any other name, why’s it getting a pass now? When political access becomes something you can buy, the damage isn’t just reputational. It cuts straight through the foundation of public trust. If you spent years yelling about corruption, this is your moment to show it wasn’t just about who held the power. If not now, when?

We spent years debating whether a nonprofit dinner or a personal laptop posed a conflict of interest. Now we’ve got a coin literally named after the president being sold to foreign investors, and somehow it’s treated like a novelty.

Because this isn’t just about crypto. It’s about what happens when the highest office in the country gets treated like a personal business venture. While Trump and his family are turning access to power into a billion dollar portfolio, the people who put him there are about to get hit the hardest. The trade war he promised would hurt China is already landing on American shelves. Tariffs are here, prices are climbing, and the fallout’s starting to show up at the register. The same working class voters sold on economic nationalism are now staring down higher grocery bills, more expensive imports, and fewer choices at the checkout.

Better stock up on dolls now, gentlemen.

Dolls? They’re called action figures. Ha.
Building an empire? He already had an empire.
Unfettered access? How is this different than other admins?
The rich and powerful have always met with Presidents. Always slept in the Lincoln Bedroom, always had the Pres on speed dial. Now it’s above board, as opposed to shell companies and Hunter being on the board of Burisma.
The same Dem Party that overwhelmingly supports noncitizens’ right to vote is opposed to foreign influence in any form now.
The same Dem Party that was silent about inflation for four years is now suddenly concerned about the working man’s grocery bills. As for rising price of imports, this is how tariffs are designed to work. They shift demand to domestic products. Whether they have this effect remains to be seen. They could shorten supply overall in the short run, while domestic capacity is ramping up, leading to a price jump. Entirely possible. Too soon to ring the alarm bells just yet though.

 

[KDSTONE]

Doesnt look like it’s being ignored.

Maxine Waters will get to the bottom of it.

https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/democrats-lambast-trumps-crypto-corruption

 

[KDSTONE]

Imagine, if you will…

A world where Joe Biden launches a cryptocurrency called $BIDEN. The more you own, the more access you get. The top two hundred and twenty holders are promised a gala dinner. The top twenty five? VIP perks and a private White House tour. The coin’s value surges. Behind the scenes, Joe, Hunter, and a handful of private entities quietly control most of the supply. At the same time, the administration starts peeling back crypto oversight. Lawsuits disappear. Enforcement teams shut down. Nobody connects the dots. Nobody asks questions.

Sounds like an episode of The Twilight Zone.

But it’s not Biden. It’s not Hunter. It’s Trump and his family.

Just days before his second inauguration, Trump launched the $TRUMP coin. Not some fan made novelty. This is the real deal, officially promoted and tied to promises of access. Dinner invitations, private events, presidential proximity. All linked to how much you hold. And who controls most of the supply? Two Trump owned entities: CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC.

As the coin’s value spiked, his administration moved in lockstep. The SEC quietly dropped major lawsuits. The Justice Department dissolved its crypto fraud unit. His campaign started accepting crypto. MAGA influencers and former staff poured into the space. Meanwhile, regulators who’d been cracking down just months earlier stepped aside.

This is the most blatant grift ever executed by a Commander in Chief. Launch a coin. Tie it to access. Centralize control. Remove the guardrails.

And now, foreign money’s flooding in. An Abu Dhabi backed firm called MGX is investing two billion dollars in Binance using USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, where a Trump affiliated business owns 60% and is entitled to 75% of revenue from token sales. The Trump family and its allies were also granted 22.5 billion units of WLFI, the core token of World Liberty Financial. Those holdings alone are now worth billions of dollars on paper, with potential for much more depending on how the market moves.

And it’s not just cash flowing in. Foreign governments now have a stake in assets tied directly to the president’s name. That’s not just a financial story. It’s a national security issue.

You know what always cracked me up? The “he doesn’t even take a salary” crowd. Like that was some badge of honor. Meanwhile, this guy was raking in millions hosting government events at his own resorts, selling MAGA merchandise, launching his own social network, and now this, selling crypto tied to presidential access. Giving up a paycheck while building an empire off the office isn’t selflessness. It’s strategy.

So here’s the question. If this exact scheme would’ve triggered investigations, hearings, and headlines under any other name, why’s it getting a pass now? When political access becomes something you can buy, the damage isn’t just reputational. It cuts straight through the foundation of public trust. If you spent years yelling about corruption, this is your moment to show it wasn’t just about who held the power. If not now, when?

We spent years debating whether a nonprofit dinner or a personal laptop posed a conflict of interest. Now we’ve got a coin literally named after the president being sold to foreign investors, and somehow it’s treated like a novelty.

Because this isn’t just about crypto. It’s about what happens when the highest office in the country gets treated like a personal business venture. While Trump and his family are turning access to power into a billion dollar portfolio, the people who put him there are about to get hit the hardest. The trade war he promised would hurt China is already landing on American shelves. Tariffs are here, prices are climbing, and the fallout’s starting to show up at the register. The same working class voters sold on economic nationalism are now staring down higher grocery bills, more expensive imports, and fewer choices at the checkout.

Better stock up on dolls now, gentlemen.

The optics here are clearly bad, especially to your point about Biden’s agency for oversight being shut down. The owner of a company normally controls supply if I’m not mistaken and demand causes the price to go up.
Are you saying that Trump has done anything illegal or just highly unethical in your view? I haven’t been paying much attention to the crypto market the last few years.

 

[Th0r]

The optics here are clearly bad, especially to your point about Biden’s agency for oversight being shut down. The owner of a company normally controls supply if I’m not mistaken and demand causes the price to go up.
Are you saying that Trump has done anything illegal or just highly unethical in your view? I haven’t been paying much attention to the crypto market the last few years.

I don’t think Trump has done anything illegal with this. I think he’s taking advantage of the lack of regulation around crypto. That said, I do think it’s highly unethical. Nobody in public service, whether elected, appointed, or otherwise, should be able to personally profit off their position. That includes things like members of Congress trading stocks or Supreme Court judges receiving “gifts”. This crypto setup probably ends up being the kind of thing that gets outlawed in the future, and it should be, because it effectively creates a legal way to bribe public officials.

 

[Th0r]

Dolls? They’re called action figures. Ha.
Building an empire? He already had an empire.
Unfettered access? How is this different than other admins?
The rich and powerful have always met with Presidents. Always slept in the Lincoln Bedroom, always had the Pres on speed dial. Now it’s above board, as opposed to shell companies and Hunter being on the board of Burisma.
The same Dem Party that overwhelmingly supports noncitizens’ right to vote is opposed to foreign influence in any form now.
The same Dem Party that was silent about inflation for four years is now suddenly concerned about the working man’s grocery bills. As for rising price of imports, this is how tariffs are designed to work. They shift demand to domestic products. Whether they have this effect remains to be seen. They could shorten supply overall in the short run, while domestic capacity is ramping up, leading to a price jump. Entirely possible. Too soon to ring the alarm bells just yet though.

I hear you on the imports angle. I’ve been trying to make sense of the approach myself, and after a month of watching it play out, I think I see the strategy through the BS. The rollout has been messy, but the goal seems clear: weaken the dollar without losing its reserve status, and use tariffs not just for protection but to pressure allies and rivals into shifting supply chains toward U.S. priorities, especially in energy, defense, and tech. It’s a bold attempt to reshape global trade with the U.S. still at the center. I get the logic, but I’m not convinced they can actually pull it off.

If this really is a reset, it needs structure. Labor strategy, raw materials policy, and serious investment in domestic capacity. Right now, none of that is clearly in place. And unless the tax legislation backs it up, the whole thing feels half built. Even if the plan works, it risks blowing up the system that has kept Wall Street humming for decades. We run deficits, other countries sell us goods, then reinvest those dollars into U.S. assets. Shrink the deficit, and that flow dries up. The same investor class that has quietly profited off the old system could end up taking the hit.

And that is before outside pressure kicks in. Automation means even if factories come back, the jobs will not. And if China cuts off key exports like semiconductors or rare earths, we are not ready. The trade war could kneecap the whole thing before it even starts. The clock is ticking before people feel the pain, and when they do, it will come down to how well the story is told. If it looks like a plan, maybe people stick with it. If it looks sloppy or self serving, the backlash will be severe. I could poke holes in it, but at this point, I would rather watch it play out. The theory is ambitious, and whether it works or not, it is going to leave a mark.

 

[smashmouth5]

But the real question to answer...

1 gorilla vs 100 men
😀

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

But the real question to answer...

1 gorilla vs 100 men
😀

a dozen or so guys will def have to take one for the team 🤣

 

[Dattier]

I don’t think Trump has done anything illegal with this. I think he’s taking advantage of the lack of regulation around crypto. That said, I do think it’s highly unethical. Nobody in public service, whether elected, appointed, or otherwise, should be able to personally profit off their position. That includes things like members of Congress trading stocks or Supreme Court judges receiving “gifts”. This crypto setup probably ends up being the kind of thing that gets outlawed in the future, and it should be, because it effectively creates a legal way to bribe public officials.

What about the Emoluments Clause?

 

[Dattier]

Dolls? They’re called action figures. Ha.
Building an empire? He already had an empire.
Unfettered access? How is this different than other admins?
The rich and powerful have always met with Presidents. Always slept in the Lincoln Bedroom, always had the Pres on speed dial. Now it’s above board, as opposed to shell companies and Hunter being on the board of Burisma.
The same Dem Party that overwhelmingly supports noncitizens’ right to vote is opposed to foreign influence in any form now.
The same Dem Party that was silent about inflation for four years is now suddenly concerned about the working man’s grocery bills. As for rising price of imports, this is how tariffs are designed to work. They shift demand to domestic products. Whether they have this effect remains to be seen. They could shorten supply overall in the short run, while domestic capacity is ramping up, leading to a price jump. Entirely possible. Too soon to ring the alarm bells just yet though.

Just so I'm understanding... you're taking the position that our President is doing something other Presidents have always done, and you respect that he is straight-forward and transparent about it?

You may say you believe Democratic oversight of elections results in noncitizens voting (despite there being no evidence of its happening enough to influence a single local election), but you go a step too far when stating it as if that's actual party policy. Unless you're going to own deliberate, intentional voter suppression.

 

[Dattier]

But the real question to answer...

1 gorilla vs 100 men
😀

The men get to attack all at once, right ? Because they'd definitely win that way, though they'd take some career-ending injuries.

But this feels like a distraction from political issues you don't want to discuss...

deliberate, intentional voter suppression.

Hey, speaking of which, anyone have any thoughts on the only 2024 election in the entire country that hasn't been decided?

 

[KDSTONE]

Just so I’m understanding.
Don’t you have a hissy fit when I start responses with “ So what I hear you saying”? Stating that it’s operating in bad faith and that you ignore everything that follows.
Are you trying to be funny or are you this blissfully unaware of your own double standards?
I wasn’t referring to Dem oversight of elections, or the lack thereof, but actual House votes to allow noncitizens to vote.

Once Again, House Democrats Vote to Allow Noncitizens to Decide American Elections

mikejohnson.house.gov

 

[KDSTONE]

The men get to attack all at once, right ? Because they'd definitely win that way, though they'd take some career-ending injuries.

But this feels like a distraction from political issues you don't want to discuss...


Hey, speaking of which, anyone have any thoughts on the only 2024 election in the entire country that hasn't been decided?

Nah I’ll bring up the topics I feel like discussing.
A poster on this board shared this gem not so long ago.
So it applies to you but not other posters?

 

[Th0r]

What about the Emoluments Clause?

Good question. The Emoluments Clause is meant to prevent federal officials from accepting gifts, payments, or titles from foreign states without congressional approval. It’s rarely been tested in modern contexts, and never in a case like this: crypto tied to presidential access, foreign investment, and entities structured to obscure ownership. The setup seems carefully designed to avoid a direct violation while still capturing the same benefits. That’s why I called it legal but unethical. And while technically legal for now, it clearly exposes how outdated and toothless our accountability tools have become.

My gut says this is a violation of the Emoluments Clause. But proving it is another story. Blockchain makes the flow of money hard to track, especially when it’s routed through anonymous wallets and foreign shell companies. In principle, this looks like exactly the kind of influence the clause was written to block. In practice, it’s a legal maze. That’s why legislation like the MEME Act is important. It would close these loopholes and make it explicitly illegal for public officials and their families to profit off digital assets.

 

[Dattier]

Just so I’m understanding.
Don’t you have a hissy fit when I start responses with “ So what I hear you saying”? Stating that it’s operating in bad faith and that you ignore everything that follows.
Are you trying to be funny or are you this blissfully unaware of your own double standards?
I wasn’t referring to Dem oversight of elections, or the lack thereof, but actual House votes to allow noncitizens to vote.

Once Again, House Democrats Vote to Allow Noncitizens to Decide American Elections

mikejohnson.house.gov

I phrased it that way specifically because I am avoiding that double standard. I'm sincerely asking if that's your stance, not jumping to the conclusion that that's the case. My question is about your apparent support of President Trump's profiting off the selling of favors.

Your link is to a Republican legislator's partisan claim about people who voted against the SAVE Act. Here's a more objective explanation of what the SAVE Act is, and here's an actual explanation for why many oppose it, which has nothing to do w/ how Rep Johnson characterized it.

Hey, @Mac9192 ! Can we get a ruling on whether KD is nitpicking my words in order to distract from the topic at hand?

 

[Dattier]

Nah I’ll bring up the topics I feel like discussing.
A poster on this board shared this gem not so long ago.
So it applies to you but not other posters?

That's flattering that you keep a file of things I've said to trot out later.
It applies to all of us, of course. I haven't implied otherwise. Not sure what you're getting at.

Hey, @Mac9192 ! Can we get a ruling on whether KD is nitpicking my words in order to distract from the topic at hand?

 

[KDSTONE]

That's flattering that you keep a file of things I've said to trot out later.
It applies to all of us, of course. I haven't implied otherwise. Not sure what you're getting at.

Hey, @Mac9192 ! Can we get a ruling on whether KD is nitpicking my words in order to distract from the topic at hand?

I don’t keep a file. You said it last week lol. The master of diversion and deflection doesnt like it when the tables are turned.
When other posters change the subject or simply have the temerity to post something of their own choosing, it’s a deflection.
When you do it, you’re merely exercising your freedom of expression. You’re fooling no one with your parlor tricks.
Hope this clears things up. You seem befuddled

 

[KDSTONE]

I phrased it that way specifically because I am avoiding that double standard. I'm sincerely asking if that's your stance, not jumping to the conclusion that that's the case. My question is about your apparent support of President Trump's profiting off the selling of favors.

Your link is to a Republican legislator's partisan claim about people who voted against the SAVE Act. Here's a more objective explanation of what the SAVE Act is, and here's an actual explanation for why many oppose it, which has nothing to do w/ how Rep Johnson characterized it.

Hey, @Mac9192 ! Can we get a ruling on whether KD is nitpicking my words in order to distract from the topic at hand?

Good link. The Save act won’t be passed as it won’t have the necessary votes in the Senate. If it were, the states would be required to solve the birth certificate issue for married women. Do you think Rep want to disenfranchise millions of married women, esp in red states?
It’s a poorly written bill and deserves to die on the Senate floor. You can’t get around the fact that many Dems believe noncitizens should have the right to vote independent of the SAVE ACT. They’re on record.

 

[Dattier]

I don’t keep a file. You said it last week lol. The master of diversion and deflection doesnt like it when the tables are turned.
When other posters change the subject or simply have the temerity to post something of their own choosing, it’s a deflection.
When you do it, you’re merely exercising your freedom of expression. You’re fooling no one with your parlor tricks.
Hope this clears things up. You seem befuddled

If you've turned the tables on me, I'm completely comfortable with it. I haven't even noticed.
If what you think I've been doing is a problem, I'm certainly not doing it now, so this should be what you want.

 

[Dattier]

Good link. The Save act won’t be passed as it won’t have the necessary votes in the Senate. If it were, the states would be required to solve the birth certificate issue for married women. Do you think Rep want to disenfranchise millions of married women, esp in red states?
It’s a poorly written bill and deserves to die on the Senate floor. You can’t get around the fact that many Dems believe noncitizens should have the right to vote independent of the SAVE ACT. They’re on record.

I think they potentially would disenfranchise millions of married women were it to be signed into law, whether it's intended or not.

I would not be surprised to learn a few people want noncitizens to be able to vote, but I'd need receipts.

I'd still like clarity on your stance about our President's use of cryptocurrency to sell access to him, if you have it to offer and it differs from my current understanding.

 

[KDSTONE]

It’s a different way for foreign investors to gain access, but they have always been able to gain access. Therefore, I’m against it. Clear enough?

 

[KDSTONE]

Don’t remember you being worried about national security issues back then:

Comer Reveals How Joe Biden Received Laundered China Money - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

oversight.house.gov

 

[Mac9192]

I would not be surprised to learn a few people want noncitizens to be able to vote, but I'd need receipts.

I'd still like clarity on your stance about our President's use of cryptocurrency to sell access to him, if you have it to offer and it differs from my current understanding.

On your needing receipts on people wanting noncitizens to be able to vote? We’ve gone over this. Goes back to one of our many conspiracies we touch on. Can’t prove it because of who is responsible. I know, I’m wearing my tin foil hat. Kind of like the tin foil hat we wore saying Ol Joe was never fit for office, or that the border was wide open, allowing drugs, and misfits in. Which on the border, I don’t remember any of you left leaners talking about that. Ever.

On Trump and cryptocurrency? It’s not the best of look for him if true. There are bigger issues I have than that though.
I hope he isn’t profiting off our soldiers, sleazy countries…like the long list of politicians over the last several decades.

But like you said, I would need receipts. Because we ALL know the media loves Trump. Cough, cough.

 

[GhostOf301]

Dattier is living proof that women shouldn't be allowed to vote or drive for more than 25 miles.

 

[KDSTONE]

Only receipt I could find re: noncitizens voting rights. Seems to have had a bit of a meltdown when noncitizen voting rights’ removal was discussed, but even AOC is not dumb enough to advocate for this nationwide.

AOC says GOP reviving 'legacy of slavery' by ending non-citizen voting rights in DC | Fox News

Ocasio-Cortez argued last week that Republicans were 'targeting women of color'

www.foxnews.com

 

[Dattier]

It’s a different way for foreign investors to gain access, but they have always been able to gain access. Therefore, I’m against it. Clear enough?

Yep! Thanks!

 

[Dattier]

Don’t remember you being worried about national security issues back then:

Comer Reveals How Joe Biden Received Laundered China Money - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

oversight.house.gov

First I've heard of it. Sounds very unethical, and if the Republican Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability was telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth, it would be.

But he isn't.
Rep Comer even acknowledges another explanation is plausible.
Jeff Bezos' newspaper has a harsher assessment.

I'm opposed to political corruption from either party and independents. What I'm not seeing y'all do is come up with examples that actually stand up under closer inspection nor which amount to how blatant our President is with it.

 

[Dattier]

Only receipt I could find re: noncitizens voting rights. Seems to have had a bit of a meltdown when noncitizen voting rights’ removal was discussed, but even AOC is not dumb enough to advocate for this nationwide.

AOC says GOP reviving 'legacy of slavery' by ending non-citizen voting rights in DC | Fox News

Ocasio-Cortez argued last week that Republicans were 'targeting women of color'

www.foxnews.com

It's about the city of DC allowing noncitizen residents of DC to vote in DC-related elections. That's like, a step above giving a non-citizen coworker a say in where they'd like to go for lunch.

I think the racism angle AOC is pushing in that article is a stretch. I think concerns about micromanaging DC are valid.

For a few years now, Durham has had a "participatory budgeting" process where residents have a direct say in where certain funds are allocated. If there's a neighborhood where bad sidewalks need fixing, should it matter whether it's a citizen or noncitizen bringing it to their attention?