Category: US Politics
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Friday, March 03, 2017
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Trump... / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_T_Bucci
...Follow the money, Sens. Collins and McCain.
“We are well past the time for any political niceties or benefits of the doubt. We need an independent and thorough investigation of Russia’s meddling in our democracy and its ties to the President and his allies,” wrote veteran CBS newsman Dan Rather on March 2. “We don’t know what we don’t know.”
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Thursday, March 02, 2017
Trump Before Congress / Politics / US Politics
By: Stephen_Lendman
His Tuesday address was long on making America safe for Wall Street, war profiteers and other corporate predators, short on what’s most needed to serve all Americans equitably and promote world peace.
He focused on increased military spending at a time major cuts are needed, combating terrorism without explaining ISIS and likeminded groups are US creations, used as imperial foot soldiers.
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Monday, February 27, 2017
Hillary Planning a 2020 White House Run? / Politics / US Politics
By: Stephen_Lendman
She tried and failed twice. Does she have another run in mind?
Reports suggest she may launch a TV talk show, featuring her as host, perhaps intending it to be platform for a third presidential campaign.
She considers herself party leader in exile, likely seeks revenge for losing to Trump. A TV show would be a way to bash him and serve as a self-promotion vehicle.
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Monday, February 27, 2017
The Border Adjustment Tax Will Make The Jobs Problem Worse / Politics / US Politics
By: John_Mauldin
Under the border adjustment tax (BAT) plan, imports will be penalized and exports rewarded… which theoretically, in a perfect world without pushback, would leave our economy nicely balanced and undisrupted.
But I doubt it will happen that way, because the importers and exporters are not the same businesses. I’ve written extensively about this topic in my three part series, "Tax Reform: The Good, the Bad, and the Really Ugly" in Thoughts from the Frontline. (subscribe here for free.)
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Sunday, February 26, 2017
Trump Relinquishes Control of Foreign Policy / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
The war party is back in power and the odds of normal relations with Russia have dropped to zero.
The appointment of Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster to the position of national security adviser indicates that Trump has done an about-face on his most critical foreign policy issue, normalizing relations with Russia. General Michael Flynn– who recently stepped down from the post following allegations of lying to Vice President Mike Pence –was the main proponent of easing tensions with Moscow which is a position that had been enthusiastically embraced by President Donald Trump. But McMaster does not support normalizing relations with Russia, in fact, McMaster sees Russia as a “hostile revisionist power” that “annex(es) territory, intimidates our allies, develops nuclear weapons, and uses proxies under the cover of modernized conventional militaries.” So, what’s going on? Why has Trump put a Moscow-hating hawk like McMaster in a position where he’ll be able to intensify the pressure on Russia, increase the provocations and, very likely, trigger a conflagration between the two nuclear-armed superpowers?
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Friday, February 24, 2017
When Was America’s Peak Wealth? / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
A few days ago, I wrote an essay entitled “Not Nearly Enough Growth To Keep Growing”, in which I posited, among many other things, that “..the Automatic Earth has said for many years that the peak of our wealth was sometime in the 1970’s or even late 1960’s” along with the question “..was America at its richest right before or right after Nixon took the country off the gold standard in 1971?”
That same day, I received an email from (very) long time Automatic Earth reader and afficionado Ken Latta, who implied he thought the peak of American wealth was even earlier. That turned into a nice conversation. I really like the way his head works to frame his words. And Ken knows what he’s talking about by grace of the fact that he was a witness to it all.
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Friday, February 24, 2017
California, Nestle and Decentralization - CalExit / Politics / US Politics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
Nestle USA has announced that it will move its headquarters from Glendale, California, to Rosslyn, Virginia, taking with it about 1200 jobs. The once Golden State has lost some 1600 businesses since 2008 and a net outflow of a million of mostly middle-class people from the state from 2004 to 2013 due to its onerous tax rates, the oppressive regulatory burden, and the genuine kookiness which pervades among its ruling elites.* A clueless Glendale official is apparently unconcerned about the financial repercussions of Nestle’s departure saying that it was “no big deal” and saw it as an “opportunity,” whatever that means!
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Why the US Democratic Party Is Dead / Politics / US Politics
By: Jesse
One more time.
My fear is that well-meaning people will focus on 'getting rid of Trump,' without considering what sort of leadership will replace him.
Hillary Part Deux? Or some other corporatist stooge from the GOP who runs a smoother, more polished con on the working class?
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Trump Chooses Hawkish National Security Advisor / Politics / US Politics
By: Stephen_Lendman
On Monday, Trump named hawkish Army Lt. General HR McMaster to replace Michael Flynn as National Security Advisor (NSA).
Political pressure lead to his unfortunate sacking for harmlessly discussing sanctions with Russia’s US ambassador.
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Sunday, February 19, 2017
Deep State Power v. Trump / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
America’s deep state is divided on Trump. He couldn’t have been elected without enough support.
Post-inauguration, things changed. The balance of power shifted against him, leaving him vulnerable, already weakened this early in his tenure, unprecedented for a US president.
His record so far in office is another matter, though too soon to judge him definitively. Still, disturbing signs aren’t encouraging. More on this below.
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Saturday, February 18, 2017
The Flynn Fiascom, the Trump Revolution Ends in a Whimper / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
The Flynn fiasco is not about national security advisor Michael Flynn’s conversations with the Russian ambassador. It’s much deeper than that. It’s about Russia. It’s about Putin. It’s about the explosive rise of China and the world’s biggest free trade zone that will eventually stretch from Lisbon to Vladivostok. It’s about the one country in the world that is obstructing Washington’s plan for global domination. (Russia) And, it’s about the future; which country will be the key player in the world’s most prosperous and populous region, Asia.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
NSA, CIA, FBI, Media Establishment 'Deep State' War Against Emerging 'Trump State' / Politics / US Politics
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The latest actions in the established military, intelligence corporate, media complexes systematic war on the Trump Presidency was to takedown the Presidents National Security advisor, Michael Flynn following leaks of conversations recorded between Michael Flynn and the Russian Ambassador by the intelligence agencies to the New York Times amongst other establishment media outlets. With the Democrats jumping on board the lynch mob bandwagon with cries of Treason!
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Trump A New Jacksonian Era? The Fourth Turning (2) / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
In Part One of this article I documented the populist administration of Andrew Jackson and similarities to Donald Trump's populist victory in the recent election. I'll now try to assess the chances of a Trump presidency accomplishing its populist agenda.
The Trumpian Era
Read full article... Read full article..."But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes." - Andrew Jackson
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Americans Will Pay For Trump’s “America First” Plan / Politics / US Politics
By: John_Mauldin
Jared Dillian says the American consumer will pay for Trump’s “America First” plan.
In a recent video interview with Mauldin Economics, Jared Dillian notes that Trump’s new “America First” trade policy is anti-free trade. Plus, given the Republican Party has been the champion of free trade for decades, Trump’s new trade policy does not sit well with many in the party.
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Monday, February 13, 2017
Trump a New Jacksonian Era? / Politics / US Politics
By: James_Quinn
"Gentlemen! I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out!" - Andrew Jackson
Thursday, February 09, 2017
Trump Plays Cat and Mouse with Iran / Politics / US Politics
By: Mike_Whitney
Why is the Trump administration threatening Iran?
On February 1, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn announced that the administration was “putting Iran on notice” after it tested a ballistic missile which the US sees as a violation of Iran’s treaty obligations. Flynn’s frigid tone made it clear that the administration is considering the use of military force. But why?
Under current UN resolutions (Resolution 2231), Iran is forbidden “to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.” Read that over again. Iran is not forbidden from testing ‘all ballistic missiles’ just missiles that are ‘capable of delivering nuclear weapons.’ The resolution could not be clearer. There’s no gray area here, none at all. Flynn is just fudging the resolution’s meaning, so he can rattle a saber. But, why? And why are other members of the administration, including the president himself, making equally belligerent remarks? In a tweet last week, Trump said, “I won’t be as ‘kind’ to Iran as Obama” which was followed by a speech by US Defense Secretary James Mattis who called Iran “the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.”
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Wednesday, February 08, 2017
Trumpin' and Thumpin' Back to the 1930s / Politics / US Politics
By: Dan_Steinbock
With the Trump White House, America and a global economy will enter a highly divisive period – as evidenced by the debate about his economic, trade and infrastructure plans.
As long as Republicans sustain some unity in and between the White House, the Senate and the House of the Representatives, Trump will benefit from an unprecedented execution power.
Tuesday, February 07, 2017
Fake and False and Just Plain Nonsense News / Politics / US Politics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Two and a half weeks after the inauguration, and yes it’s only been that long, the media still don’t seem to have learned a single thing. They help the Trump campaign on an almost hourly basis by parroting whatever things, invariably judged as crazy, he says. One day it’s that negative polls are all fake news, the next it’s some list of underreported terror events. All of it gets an avalanche of attention provided by the very people who claim to be against Trump, but greatly help his cause by doing so.
Tuesday, February 07, 2017
Left Coast Liberals Dream for Secession / Politics / US Politics
By: BATR
As the consequences of losing control of the federal government seeps into their delusional entitlement, the ultimate statists of the Left scamper to find a method to regain power. A concept, whose day is gaining acceptance, is the Nation of Pacifica. With the incompatibility between the Trump Nation deplorables and the intolerant collectivists of Leftist state worshipers, the end game is rapidly approaching a final conflict that easily could erupt in a real civil war. Leave it to the beautiful people; their fantasia screen play scripts a peaceful dissolution of the disjointed union. A sample of their dialectic:
Thursday, February 02, 2017
Red States vs Blue States - What’s Next: A Third and Potentially Lethal Trigger / Politics / US Politics
By: Harry_Dent
This past Monday I updated my Boom & Bust subscribers about an important new development in the civil war that I see brewing… or at least the possibility that the United States of America won’t remain the way we know it for much longer. We’re certainly no longer united. In fact, we’ve not been this polarized and divided since the Civil War.Unfortunately, the state we find ourselves in today has been painted on the wall for a long time! And my hierarchy of cycles – which includes the Spending Wave Cycle, the Technology Cycle, the Geopolitical Cycle and the Boom/Bust Cycle – have shown me for many years now what we have in store. And now a near 100-year cycle in globalization has peaked, much like the last one did when World War I started.
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