• Speaking of Sowell..

    From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to All on Monday, December 18, 2023 14:29:48
    Ahead of the 2020 election, Thomas Sowell said "If Biden wins the election then it may be the "point of no return for America" and "similar to the fall of the Roman empire."

    Does anybody listen to economists? I know that I will from now on.

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  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to Aaron Thomas on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 10:24:02
    Ahead of the 2020 election, Thomas Sowell said "If Biden wins the
    election then it may be the "point of no return for America" and "similar to the fall of the Roman empire."

    Does anybody listen to economists? I know that I will from now on.

    I wonder why Americans fall for that kind of stuff?

    Presidents do not run the country, but the administration does, and Congress.

    You cannot vote a president in office and expect him/her to change policies with 90 degrees and go a totally different direction.

    Administrations are bothered for decades by what previous administrations decided. It happens to Biden, it happened to Trump and everyone before him. Trumps wall wasn't build either ... it's not that easy ... Desert Storm still hasn't been paid in full.

    As a multiple visitor (over 150 times) I can assure people when crossing the border there was no noticeable difference between Biden's rule, or Trump, or Obama ... the last big noticeable change was right after 9/11. Other than that still the same great country.

    Politicians don't make the country, it's the people that do.

    \%/@rd

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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Ward Dossche on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 08:02:23
    Ward Dossche wrote to Aaron Thomas <=-

    I wonder why Americans fall for that kind of stuff?

    Because of how things are supposed to be set up (as opposed to how they actually are) and that's what we were taught in school.

    Presidents do not run the country, but the administration does, and Congress.

    Presidents, Biden especially, are like the Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy's President of the Galaxy.

    "The President in particular is very much a figurehead - he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. On those criteria Zaphod Beeblebrox is one of the most successful Presidents the Galaxy has ever had - he has already spent two of his ten presidential years in prison for fraud."
    - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    Politicians don't make the country, it's the people that do.

    But the Elitists have been working for literally decades to prevent the people from running the country.


    ... ...I multi-task, I read in the bathroom.
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  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to Ron L. on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 14:09:48
    Politicians don't make the country, it's the people that do.

    But the Elitists have been working for literally decades to prevent the people from running the country.

    Time for another revolution ... I'm not talking left or right ... none of them are fit to run the country ...

    Back to basics ... and that goes for many countries ...

    \%/@rd

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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ward Dossche on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 06:42:34
    Presidents do not run the country, but the administration does, and Congress.

    That is the the way it's supposed to be, and to some extent you are correct. However, there are certain gigantic issues that both Trump and Biden have personally controlled with executive orders, without any assistance from Congress, such as the border and the so-called "aid to Ukraine."

    You cannot vote a president in office and expect him/her to change policies with 90 degrees and go a totally different direction.

    I wish that this were true, but it doesn't match news reports or reports from local leaders about "unprecedented quantities of undocumented migrants" and "unprecedented quantities of fentanyl" which are turning up since the Biden regime took over in 2021. "A 90 degree turn" is a perfect way to describe it.

    Administrations are bothered for decades by what previous administrations decided. It happens to Biden, it happened to Trump and everyone before him. Trumps wall wasn't build either ... it's not that easy ... Desert Storm still hasn't been paid in full.

    These are excellent points and I agree with you. Thank you for pointing out that Desert Storm still hasn't been paid in full. I didn't realize that, but I believe you and I hope that other people take note of it. Neither Biden nor Trump have pointed that out, but they should.

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 11:18:00
    Does anybody listen to economists? I know that I will from now on.

    Other economists do. I supposed serious investers, who are smart, will
    listen to them. Otherwise I am guessing that, like most sources, people
    will only listen to the ones that seem to hold similar political beliefs to their own.


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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to WARD DOSSCHE on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 11:21:00
    I wonder why Americans fall for that kind of stuff?

    Presidents do not run the country, but the administration does, and Congress.

    You cannot vote a president in office and expect him/her to change policies wi
    90 degrees and go a totally different direction.

    Except in the US, this most recent President did and on his own. We have things called Executive Orders. They are not supposed to be used
    to create defacto laws, but they often do. The US President can also veto bills they don't like in order to prevent them from becoming law. Congress
    can override, but it takes more than a simple majority so unless the
    original vote was a landslide the veto will likely not be overridden.

    Administrations are bothered for decades by what previous administrations decid
    d. It happens to Biden, it happened to Trump and everyone before him. Trumps wa
    l wasn't build either ... it's not that easy ... Desert Storm still hasn't been
    paid in full.

    When I last took US History (1980's), we learned that the monetary costs of the Civil War were still affecting us.

    Politicians don't make the country, it's the people that do.

    That is an oversimplification and is not completely true here, although you could argue that it is in the sense that it is the people who vote for the politicians. However, the people don't vote for the upper-level bureaucrats that the excecutive leaders appoint and that carry out that leader's
    agenda. Those bureaucrats are often political actors themselves.

    Having worked for a government entity, I try to hold accountable (with my
    vote) any governor for the actions of their appointees. I am amazed that most people cannot connect the dots between their top executive and the actions of the appointed leaders of government under them. They seem to be able to at least somewhat when it comes to the Federal government appointees and the President, but they don't seem to understand that the same principle holds
    true at the state and local levels.


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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ward Dossche on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 10:36:32
    But the Elitists have been working for literally decades to prevent th people from running the country.

    Time for another revolution ... I'm not talking left or right ... none
    of them are fit to run the country ...

    I'm with you on that!

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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Mike Powell on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 11:36:52
    Does anybody listen to economists? I know that I will from now on.

    Other economists do. I supposed serious investers, who are smart, will listen to them. Otherwise I am guessing that, like most sources, people will only listen to the ones that seem to hold similar political beliefs to their own.

    Good point. I like Sowell's political beliefs, but if I tried to listen to other economists, I wouldn't be able to detect what they are pushing for.

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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Ward Dossche on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 08:17:47
    Ward Dossche wrote to Dr. What <=-

    Time for another revolution ... I'm not talking left or right ... none
    of them are fit to run the country ...

    Hence why you see new wars, or plans to reduce the availability of energy and food. If we are too busy just trying to survive, we won't rise up and remove these Ignorant Elitists.


    ... You used to be indecisive. Now you're not sure.
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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Aaron Thomas on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 08:17:47
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Ward Dossche <=-

    Presidents do not run the country, but the administration does, and Congress.

    That is the the way it's supposed to be, and to some extent you are correct.

    Congress is supposed to represent the people of the districts they were elected from. But they don't.

    The President is supposed to represent the country as a whole, but is supposed to have little power. But that's not the case either.

    Over many decades, the Elitists have used our gov't to subvert itself. They created the unconstitution 4th branch: The Bureaucracy. They made these people fire proof, so they aren't accountable (you are more likely to die in office than retire here) and then they unconstitutionally gave them power to, effectively, make law.

    The President has power over the Bureaucracy (the Executive Orders). The Elitists moved power from one branch to another and effectively made the President closer to a Dictator.


    ... I am not young enough to know everything.
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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ron L. on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 14:03:02
    The President has power over the Bureaucracy (the Executive Orders). The Elitists moved power from one branch to another and effectively made the President closer to a Dictator.

    I'm not sure if I know what you mean by that. Do you mean, for example, Secretary of State, FBI director, USSC justices, etc?

    Powerful people who can screw us over, without anyone ever having voted for them?

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to Aaron Thomas on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 18:09:39
    The President has power over the Bureaucracy (the Executive Orders). The Elitists moved power from one branch to another and effectively made the President closer to a Dictator.

    I'm not sure if I know what you mean by that. Do you mean, for example, Secretary of State, FBI director, USSC justices, etc?

    Powerful people who can screw us over, without anyone ever having voted for them?

    Yes, appointed officials (usually appointed by the top executive official -- President, Governor, Mayor, etc.) screw us over all the time. The way you hold them accountable is by not voting for the person(s) who appointed them.

    #
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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Mike Powell on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 21:04:08
    I'm not sure if I know what you mean by that. Do you mean, for example, Secretary of State, FBI director, USSC justices, etc?

    Powerful people who can screw us over, without anyone ever having voted them?

    Yes, appointed officials (usually appointed by the top executive
    official -- President, Governor, Mayor, etc.) screw us over all the
    time. The way you hold them accountable is by not voting for the person(s) who appointed them.

    That's such a gentle way to punish them though! Especially with this border nonsense!

    But wouldn't it be equally logical for Biden (for example) to use his LOUSY Secretary of State as his scapegoat?

    "That isn't my fault, that's Mayorkas' fault! I need another term so that I can work with congress to FIX the border!" <- It's so easy to imagine Joe saying those words! That's all he's gotta say for a bunch of idiots to vote for him again!

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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Aaron Thomas on Thursday, December 21, 2023 07:52:35
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Dr. What <=-

    The President has power over the Bureaucracy (the Executive Orders). The Elitists moved power from one branch to another and effectively made the President closer to a Dictator.

    I'm not sure if I know what you mean by that. Do you mean, for example, Secretary of State, FBI director, USSC justices, etc?

    No. The non-elected gov't agencies that are supposed to do things like enforce the (actual) laws on things. A quick Google search turned up this: https://www.maine.gov/portal/government/state-agencies/
    Not my state, but you get the idea of the gov't agencies in a state, many of which are unelected and fireproof.

    ex: In our state, there's a gov't agency that's supposed to oversee business laws. Over the years, they have been "given" (there's nothing in the Constitution that says the Legislature can do that) power to create "rules" that have the backing of law enforcement (i.e. laws). So they can create a "rule" that all businesses must to <something> or be shut down. During the scamdemic they did just that.

    Powerful people who can screw us over, without anyone ever having voted for them?

    Yup. In Michigan, they did that.
    In addition to the Secretary of State violating the Constitution, and the AG failing to do her job.


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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Thursday, December 21, 2023 09:15:00
    Yes, appointed officials (usually appointed by the top executive official -- President, Governor, Mayor, etc.) screw us over all the time. The way you hold them accountable is by not voting for the person(s) who appointed them.

    That's such a gentle way to punish them though! Especially with this border no
    ense!

    There are other ways. If the top executive's office receives enough complaints, or if citizens are able to successfully bring a court case
    against the bureaucrat in question, the executive official can remove and replace them.

    But wouldn't it be equally logical for Biden (for example) to use his LOUSY Se
    etary of State as his scapegoat?

    He could, but he'd probably have to fire the SoS first to prove that he'd
    not retain him during a second term.


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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ron L. on Thursday, December 21, 2023 14:03:27
    The President has power over the Bureaucracy (the Executive Orders). Elitists moved power from one branch to another and effectively made President closer to a Dictator.

    I'm not sure if I know what you mean by that. Do you mean, for exampl Secretary of State, FBI director, USSC justices, etc?

    No. The non-elected gov't agencies that are supposed to do things like enforce the (actual) laws on things. A quick Google search turned up
    this: https://www.maine.gov/portal/government/state-agencies/
    Not my state, but you get the idea of the gov't agencies in a state,
    many of which are unelected and fireproof.

    I get this now. The governors have some of that same dictatorship ability also. The NY gov just ordered the state's senators to each hire an idiot of their own choosing to assemble a board of slavery reparations task force.

    If the task force decides to, they could made a decision to (for example) to arrest descendants of slave owners, or have them fired from their jobs and replaced by descendants of slaves.

    But the people who voted Kathy Hochul for governor, all they wanted was some extra food stamps and to be able to get out of jail if they rape someone; they didn't ask for all this other stuff. Maybe they'll vote differently next time.

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AARON THOMAS on Thursday, December 21, 2023 19:53:00
    I get this now. The governors have some of that same dictatorship ability also

    The President does it via executive orders, too.


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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Mike Powell on Friday, December 22, 2023 08:47:07
    Mike Powell wrote to AARON THOMAS <=-

    I get this now. The governors have some of that same dictatorship ability
    also

    The President does it via executive orders, too.

    Yup. The same creation of The Bureaucracy happened on both the state and federal levels.

    The Governor should not be able to sign an executive order that has the power of law.


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