Cigar Aficionado posted:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...1ced_story.html

Romney is "reassembling his campaign apparatus". So I guess this is really happening? Awesome.

Joementum posted:

The article has been updated now with a fantastic specimen of John McCain not giving a gently caress any more.

Deptfordx posted:

Oh man the voices in the boy on the right's head are softly chanting 'Kill them all, Burn the World', over and over again.

sbaldrick posted:

Also Hucks campaign is over before its begun because of the Sasha and Malia hardcore, hardcore right crap.

quote:

“It’s a tragedy -- a human tragedy – that the middle class in this country by and large doesn’t believe the future won’t be better than the past or their kids will have a brighter future of their own,” Romney said. He added, “People want to see rising wages and they deserve them.”

Good Citizen posted:

It's one of the most obvious angles of attack and Romney will have spent a silly amount of time and money preparing a well crafted counter to it. Romney is going to wreck the first person who thinks they can take him off guard at a debate with that poo poo.

Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:

Thank you Breitbart

HUGE PUBES A PLUS posted:

I missed this article and didn't see it posted, but wholly chao this paragraph is the one that gets me.

quote:

Now the Kochs’ network will embark on its largest drive ever to influence legislation and campaigns across the country, leveraging Republican control of Congress and the party’s dominance of state capitols to push for deregulation, tax cuts and smaller government. In 2012, the Kochs’ network spent just under $400 million, an astonishing sum at the time. The $889 million spending goal for 2016 would put it on track to spend nearly as much as the campaigns of each party’s presidential nominee.

sbaldrick posted:

So according to the New York Times, The King of Jordan has been paying Christie's travel and football bills. So he's out.

shadow puppet of a posted:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/nyregion/in-christies-career-a-fondness-forluxe-benefits-when-others-pay-the-bills.html

quote:

As United States attorney for New Jersey, Mr. Christie developed a reputation for flouting the rules on travel. A Justice Department report after he left office found that he was the prosecutor who most often exceeded the charges allowed for hotel stays in different cities, without properly searching for a cheaper alternative, or justifying any exemption from the rules. He stayed at a Four Seasons in Washington and a new boutique hotel in Boston, for example, at more than double the cost allowed for those cities.

The report concerned hotel stays, but Mr. Christie’s preference for car services over taxis earned a footnote: He paid $236 to travel four miles from the airport in Boston, and $562 for a round-trip between Central London and Heathrow. Mr. Christie, who by then was governor, declined to be interviewed by investigators preparing the Justice Department report.

The revelations in the report prompted the Justice Department to tighten rules about exemptions to stay in costly hotels.

FAUXTON posted:

Jump up and down, and move it all around
Shake your head to the sound, put your kids in the ground

Del Capitan posted:

If I recall properly, haven't there been a few nonscandals like this over the past couple years, where someone uses a personal email address in defiance of recordkeeping and security rules? I swear there was something about Palin doing similar, some years back.

Joementum posted:

Chris Christie posted:

LOL. I believe Donald Trump is an egomaniac and an rear end-hole but this is just a transparent media hit-job using decades old divorce b.s.

Every single divorced man in America has had the pleasure of having absurd lies thrown at them, lies that are mysteriously retracted once the angry divorcee gets a huge chunk their ex's assets and future earnings.

I can easily see a good bump from this. Lends 100% credibility to all his bemoaning of the media being liars and frauds.

Chris Christie posted:

"[O]n one occasion during 1989, Mr. Trump and I had marital relations . . . . [T]he love and tenderness, which he normally exhibited towards me, was absent. I referred to this as a ‘rape,’ but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense."

LOL

Chris Christie posted:

Not to mention the new voters Trump will pull into the General Election. You think the polls were bad underestimating Obama's margins of victory? HA, what 'till you see how WRONG the likely voter models are for a general election featuring Donald Trump. Obama got plenty of pop-star votes from idiots who never voted before and won't again, but Trump is an ACTUAL pop-culture star. This time the GOP will get in on those sweet, sweet moron votes. Hell, Democrats ALWAYS win the stupid vote and the loser vote - Obama, Kerry, Gore, Clinton - they ALL won the poverty-level income and below vote and the high-school drop-out vote by HUGE margins. The Donald is going to TRUMP their performances and turn the stupid loser vote in favor of the GOP nominee.

Millions of mouth-breathing, American Idol/The View/Price is Right-watching retards who have the good sense to sit at home on election day every year will find themselves compelled by an irresisitable urge to put on their cleanest pair of sweat-pants and head on down to their local church/grade school/post-office/wherever their polling place is and vote for that entertaining guy with the hair from The Apprentice.

magiccarpet posted:

http://gawker.com/ben-carson-wouldnt-meet-ucc-shooting-victims-families-t-1735027922

He'll just go 'to the next one.'

Chamale posted:

"I would probably have so many things on my agenda that I would go to the next one."

To me it sounds like he was saying that he would go to the next engagement on his agenda, not taking time out of his schedule to visit shooting victims. You'd have to really contort his words to think he meant the next mass shooting.

Smoothrich posted:

Someone thought that Creative Assembly gave African and Russian factions bonus charge damage in a Total War game because Africans and Russians "don't understand technology" which I thought was legitimately racist, to project that kind of thinking on the intent of CA. Like they've never seen Rocky or watched UFC or anything where some monstrously strong Russian beats the poo poo out of everybody routinely.

Eastern Europeans dominate wrestling and weightlifting as an international sport, with the top athletes going undefeated in world competition for years. Aleksandr Karelin for example has like 900 wins and 2 losses in wrestling and people celebrated a miracle when an American heavyweight stopped him from his fourth straight Olympic gold medal in 2000. I was actually a (half Polish) wrestler in high school and was amazed at the lack of strength most people even bigger than me had when I never bothered weight training.

Is it really considered "racist" to talk about Slavs being strong? I feel that is almost.. intolerant of multiculturalism. Slavs were as much of a target in the Holocaust as Jews and I've been called a stupid polack more times than I can count by my fellow Americans.

So yes, I was banned off the Something Awful Forums for openly talking about my "race" when a bunch of (presumably not slavic) posters were speaking in generalizations about it. Boy that certainly taught me a lesson about racism!

gradenko_2000 posted:

What is Matt Drudge's glitch that he doesn't want to be seen on camera?

William Bear posted:

It's hard to say. The source of the quote is this Hannity interview, at shortly after the 4:00 mark.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/10/15/jeb-is-no-romney-and-thats-his-problem/

My impression, just from hearing this kind of rhetoric, is that Bush used the word "recession" as an attention-grabbing way of highlighting a promise to shift resources away from DC. Republicans have this thing against the actual city itself, not just metonymically.

When Scott Walker goes on Hannity, a common complaint is that DC is too rich. He points out how the median household incomes of the surrounding counties are the highest in the nation. My guess is that Bush feels a similar way and wants to shrink government to stop this.

Third World Reggin posted:

Carl Icahns letter to congress

http://carlicahn.com/needed-legislation-letter/

October 20, 2015



For the past 40 years I have worked diligently to see that errant CEOs and boards were held accountable, and few would disagree that my efforts greatly enhanced the value of hundreds of companies, making many billions of dollars for shareholders. I believe the time has come to also hold Senators and Congressmen accountable for the current gridlock in Congress that prevents important legislation from being passed. This is why I’m currently preparing to form a Super PAC with an initial commitment of $150 million from me personally. The first thing the PAC will do is focus on the pernicious effects that are occurring and will continue to occur as a result of Congress’s failure to immediately stop so many of our great companies from leaving our country. This exodus has often been called “corporate tax inversions.” While I plan to raise third party funds, I believe my own commitment of $150 million to the PAC will be more than enough to make voters fully aware of the horrible consequences that will ensue if Congress fails to pass legislation immediately to stop these “inversions.” I recently received an outpouring of emails and letters after pointing out the absurdity of this situation in a recent video (which is posted on my website: https://www.carlicahn.com). Many individuals are asking me to take action and I have obviously decided to do so.

The issue of corporate tax inversions is so important because many of this country’s great companies are currently merging with or being purchased by foreign companies. In the last few years over 50 companies have left the country through “inversions,” representing over half a trillion dollars in market value, hundreds of millions in tax dollars, and tens of thousands of jobs. If this exodus is allowed to accelerate, there will be disastrous consequences for our already fragile economy, as well as meaningful and unnecessary job losses. Foundational American companies, such as Pfizer, Walgreens, Monsanto, Omnicom, etc., have been reported publicly to be considering corporate “inversions” and currently many others are planning the same behind closed doors.

I credit my success as an investor in large part to understanding markets and the motivations of large companies. Companies have “interests.” They do not have “beliefs.” While they can contribute greatly to America, they are not “patriots.” They are motivated to take actions that are in the best economic interests of their shareholders, which include leaving the country if it offers a compelling opportunity to dramatically increase profits. Ironically, it is the “short term” oriented shareholders (mostly hedge fund managers) who benefit the most when, through an inversion, a foreign company pays a premium for an American company. In fact, these large holders are currently pressuring companies in which they own large positions to expatriate through “inversions” so that the value of the stocks they hold will afford them large “short term” profits. Some have argued that I am “short term” oriented. To preempt this possible criticism of my record, the average holding period for stocks in our portfolio is five to seven years.

We can solve the dangerous problem we face by passing legislation for international tax reform as outlined in the framework put forth by Senators Charles Schumer and Robert Portman, and supported by Chairman Paul Ryan, to fund the Highway Bill.

How does international tax reform prevent further inversions? The answer is simple. American corporations currently have over $2.2 trillion deposited abroad. They earned this money abroad and have already paid taxes on it to the country in which it was earned. These companies want to bring this money back to the United States, but they choose not to because we require they pay a “double tax” if they do. We are the only country in the world that does this, and it’s counterproductive because it creates an incentive to keep the money abroad. A lower “double tax” would solve this problem. Most of these companies would be willing to pay a 5% to 10% incremental tax on this money upon bringing it back to the United States where much of it would be invested in new capital and used to create new jobs. Additionally, the nearly $200 billion in new taxes thus realized could be used in part for the Highway Bill which is vital given that our nation’s infrastructure is recently ranked at a D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Presently, Congress has only identified half the funding for a six-year Highway Bill, which itself contains inadequate spending to sustain our highways because it fails to include international tax reform. Also, as proposed, this inadequate version of the Highway Bill does nothing to stop corporate inversions.

It’s a no-brainer for Congress to pass a Highway Bill that includes international tax reform because, if it does not, many of our companies, currently holding $2.2 trillion abroad, will invest this money outside the United States rather than pay the double tax we are now foolishly demanding, and which they will obviously not pay. Even worse, they might elect to be acquired by foreign companies through “inversions,” in which case the United States would not only lose the $2.2 trillion that would be invested in this country if we had passed a Highway Bill with international tax reform, but also lose all future taxes and job creation that these companies would have contributed. Additionally, our country would forfeit the $200 billion tax these companies would immediately pay, a portion of which would be used to fund the Highway Bill. Not passing this bill immediately makes absolutely no sense. The Senators and Congressmen to whom I have spoken, including Charles Schumer and Paul Ryan, all agree we should enact this legislation immediately, and that after this December, because of elections, etc., it will be almost impossible to pass this legislation until the next administration. I’m certain, if we wait two years it will be too late. The obvious question: why hasn’t a bill that makes so much sense already passed through the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and been presented for passage before December? The American public has the right to an answer. There can be no defense for even a gridlocked Congress not passing legislation regarding the repatriation of $2.2 trillion, saving tens of thousands of jobs, stopping the exodus of hundreds of companies, as well as providing much needed capital for the Highway Bill. I promise, the PAC we have started will leave no stone unturned to find out who is most responsible for this ridiculous and unconscionable situation and what can be done about it. The inability of Congress to enact desperately needed legislation because of certain members not willing to compromise is reprehensible, and the members responsible must and will be held accountable. Intransigence and the unwillingness to compromise is a form of corruption that has ruined many businesses, as well as countries, and is now afflicting our great democracy. If it is not stopped now, I fear we will soon suffer the dire consequences.

I have been a student of the market and the economy for over 50 years, and I believe most would agree I have developed a keener insight than most concerning where the market and economy is going at any given time. I believe that today is an extremely dangerous time and have extensively outlined the reasons for why in my recently released video (https://www.carlicahn.com). Indeed, the current economic news is very disturbing. Even with interest rates close to zero, our economy is extremely fragile. The Fed can do no more to add stimulus and has already kept rates too low for too long, causing dangerous “bubbles.” And we certainly can expect no fiscal stimulus from our gridlocked Congress. This is by far the worst time imaginable to have an exodus of hundreds of companies. It would not only hurt our economy badly but would also meaningfully tarnish our reputation as a world power, giving our enemies abroad more ammunition to use against us. Not passing this legislation now will be recorded in history as a greater blunder then “Custer’s Last Stand.”

I have sent this letter to all the members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee as well as the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. I hope to be able to speak with you shortly. I intend to make the letter public in the next few days. However, if you do not wish me to make public any conversations I have with you, I will respect those wishes.

Throughout history, a country failing to take “simple actions” necessary to prevent what could turn into disaster often leads to the decline of its hegemony. I hope and pray that the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee will take the “simple actions” necessary. I am not exaggerating when I say if you do not, our country runs the risk of losing its hegemony and those of you who are in power will have only yourselves to blame.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to speaking with you in the very near future.



Sincerely,



Carl Icahn

Top Bunk Wanker posted:

I don't think making one apology for one mildly insensitive tweet is the final nail in the Trump coffin, or even actually a big deal at all. Trump's thing is more that he doesn't apologize when he isn't wrong, not that he rejects the entire concept of apologies. An intern hosed up, it was corrected and apologized for reasonably, he's moving on. The idiots posting here who think that Trump should start insulting those darn flyover Midwesterners who don't matter even harder are really, really stupid.

fronz posted:

Not really. The claim that this of all things will sink Trump is really stupid.

Smoothrich posted:

Trump NEVER called all Mexicans rapists, that's the Dem establishment spin ppl think is honest, but isn't. Its ridiculous, but it was repeated ad naueseum, despite being on camera. They don't even show clips of Carson or Trump unless its a Daily Show edit for maximum outrage, so people think they are literally retarded fuckups, not sincere reformists. You'll either question this crap when you see it, or think I'm stupid and take Left Wing News for granted because if it's not Fox News or CNN its real, cuz Jon Stewart said so for ten years unopposed like some Goebbels lol

This is why outsiders have momentum though, ppl tune this poo poo out nowadays

William Bear posted:

Also, great new NYTimes article about a retired hero coming out of retirement for one last ride.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/us/politics/watching-gop-race-bush-41-is-glad-to-be-old.html

Smoothrich posted:

. No one but extremely stupid people believe this, it's called Young Earth Creationism and is not part of Christian theology, it was only recently invented by some dumb hick fuckers trolling the media or something, not actual Christian philosophers or theologians.

Patter Song posted:

Carson's a vegetarian, anyways.

Mitt Romney posted:

They left out the part where Obama stole his immigration thunder via executive order in summer of 2012. It's rich that he's honestly complaining about gridlock in Washington as if he's not at all part of the problem.

Also:

Do It Once Right posted:

Murdering Trump or Carson (or anybody for any reason or no reason) would improve his polling with likely primary voters.