[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

In your not so expert opinion, which is devoid of any facts, as usual. I can only assume that you mourn the end of the left-wing censorship that was taking place.

I would have a hard time "mourning" the loss of left-wing censorship ( I assume of Mr. Musk).......because I HAD and still have no clue that there is such a thing going on. I simply believe that many (not all) people of whatever stripe are critical of Mr. Musk because of his actions during his takeover of Twitter. He fired 1/2 of the employees there. Some people have commented that it was a GOOD move on his part. I see it as selfish and cold-hearted. I do have an inclination to side with employees OVER upper management because upper management is often out-of-touch with the key elements that make a business run smoothly. They often have an inclination to be elitist and authoritarian. I do NOT believe in top-down management. I believe in the principles of Circles of Management
which involve even the lowest line worker in the functioning of a business. That is ACTUALLY a good business decision because those businesses tend to be the MOST profitable because the workers can actually FEEL that they are important to the business. Toyota and other Japanese car makers used those principles back in 1970 to overtake and outcompete the established US car manufacturers EVEN here in the US. So I know that it works.

And the point being that at Twitter Elon Musk has broken ALL THE PRINCIPLES of Circles of Management. And he has gotten INCREDIBLY BAD press that he may never recover from. And for what? .......a personal VANITY project.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Yes, the resurrection of the US middle class is a DIFFICULT problem. The 1st step in solving a problem is to RECOGNISE the problem. The "slipping away" of the middle class has happened S-L-O-W-L-Y. So slowly that the public KNEW that each generation after 1950 became LESS "well off". They did NOT know WHY.
........The answer being OUTSOURCING to China, which we see now as a BIG mistake.

The "dumpster fires" of Twitter and crypto-clown SB-F are just the EXPECTED results of the overall LOSS of the US middle class.

All dumpster fires and clowns are in the mind when one is unable to grasp reality and truly absorb the actual truths of the situations they try to perpetuate as ruination. An independent, truth-seeking mind is a gift. Losing touch with reality is a calamity.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by tvbound

Musk is NOT revealing any big conspiracies, he has simply removed the controls that tried limiting completely false rumors/conspiracies that the old Twitter tried to minimize. Now, the ridiculous lies, crazy conspiracies, antisemitism and pent-up hate by certain demographics - are being allowed to proliferate.

Why and how, would any decent person (especially those claiming to be Christians)...applaud what is currently happening?

Hate Speech’s Rise on Twitter Under Elon Musk Is Unprecedented, Researchers Find - The New York Times


Before Elon Musk bought Twitter, slurs against Black Americans showed up on the social media service an average of 1,282 times a day. After the billionaire became Twitter’s owner, they jumped to 3,876 times a day.

Slurs against gay men appeared on Twitter 2,506 times a day on average before Mr. Musk took over. Afterward, their use rose to 3,964 times a day.

And antisemitic posts referring to Jews or Judaism soared more than 61 percent in the two weeks after Mr. Musk acquired the site.

These findings — from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups that study online platforms — provide the most comprehensive picture to date of how conversations on Twitter have changed since Mr. Musk completed his $44 billion deal for the company in late October.

That is a GREAT post and I agree with all of it. I heard a prediction on a TV news program that groups like the Proud boys and the Oath Keepers are ZEROING in on transgender people and are likely to engage in serious violence against that group of Americans. It reminds me of the beginning of Hitler's rise to power that I read about in a book titled. "The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich". The idea being to pick a weak group and flex their muscles against that weak group thereby feeling stronger by tearing at a weak seam in society. History seems to be repeating itself.
......Another discussion on the news channel was that Europe and other countries are looking at the US violence-prone groups with GREAT concern. Europe is a co-dependent with the US as freedom-loving countries. Europe needs a strong US and seems HORRIFIED by what it sees as cracks and weaknesses in US society.
.......For a long time, I have felt that Russian trolls have been successful at exploiting group differences and hatreds which exist in the US. It is hard to quantify the amount of chaos that they have succeeded in creating in the US. Yet, we can quantify the increase in membership among the Proud Boys and ALL the other extremist groups. To me, these groups seem to feel left out of society for various reasons, so they get together and BOND either in person or on media and the HATE flows out of them.
........I also connect their DISPLEASURE to the general loss of economic and even spiritual strength of the US middle class. I am NOT sure that they are completely AWARE of the exact reasons for their despair. But, they know that SOMETHING has let them down and they then are willing to resort mindlessly to consoling themselves with violence. To me, they are only a SYMPTOM of a greater disease.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

That is a GREAT post and I agree with all of it. I heard a prediction on a TV news program that groups like the Proud boys and the Oath Keepers are ZEROING in on transgender people and are likely to engage in serious violence against that group of Americans. It reminds me of the beginning of Hitler's rise to power that I read about in a book titled. "The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich". The idea being to pick a weak group and flex their muscles against that weak group thereby feeling stronger by tearing at a weak seam in society. History seems to be repeating itself.
......Another discussion on the news channel was that Europe and other countries are looking at the US violence-prone groups with GREAT concern. Europe is a co-dependent with the US as freedom-loving countries. Europe needs a strong US and seems HORRIFIED by what it sees as cracks and weaknesses in US society.
.......For a long time, I have felt that Russian trolls have been successful at exploiting group differences and hatreds which exist in the US. It is hard to quantify the amount of chaos that they have succeeded in creating in the US. Yet, we can quantify the increase in membership among the Proud Boys and ALL the other extremist groups. To me, these groups seem to feel left out of society for various reasons, so they get together and BOND either in person or on media and the HATE flows out of them.
........I also connect their DISPLEASURE to the general loss of economic and even spiritual strength of the US middle class. I am NOT sure that they are completely AWARE of the exact reasons for their despair. But, they know that SOMETHING has let them down and they then are willing to resort mindlessly to consoling themselves with violence. To me, they are only a SYMPTOM of a greater disease.

And I’ll bet that TV news program was one of those perpetuating violence and lies. As I said earlier, closed minds won’t search any further, won’t see the truth. Independent research and rational judgment escapes them.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Aces4

All dumpster fires and clowns are in the mind when one is unable to grasp reality and truly absorb the actual truths of the situations they try to perpetuate as ruination. An independent, truth-seeking mind is a gift. Losing touch with reality is a calamity.

Well, thanks a lot for that observation. I will act on it IMMEDIATELY by going down for a MIND-checkup at my local psychiatry GARAGE and asking for a tune-up.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Well, thanks a lot for that observation. I will act on it IMMEDIATELY by going down for a MIND-checkup at my local psychiatry GARAGE and asking for a tune-up.

That’s your decision. I won’t argue that point with you.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Paragraph 4.......The only way a worker could pay ZERO to the Federal Government is to be making the old minimum wages in some states and be married and have about 5 children. I would guess that 80% of all workers are paying something INTO the Federal Government which is getting the benefit of the "time value of money". I would NOT allow that many exemptions if I were making the laws so there would NOT be "50% of the people paying ZERO and getting $1,000s back". I imagine that the Federal Government does that because it is more efficient in preventing starving people on the streets than by paying OUT more in food stamps and housing allowances. Since the US middle class has been "outsourced" to China and created and built up their middle class, now WE HAVE no real MIDDLE CLASS ........so we have to pay for OUR non-working middle class. And the uber-rich laugh all the way to the bank !

Per the IRS, you would be wrong. It's nowhere NEAR 80%. It's actually just under the 50% number I stated...

Oh, and the numbers were even higher in 2020 (61%) and in 2021 (57%). But those years were skewed due to Covid shutdowns...

Here is an example from 2009...

Is it true that only 53 percent of Americans pay income tax? | HowStuffWorks

And it is my 1st and 2nd paragraph (that were ignored) that were the more IMPORTANT paragraphs. Where I gave the History from 1950-on about how US greed partnered up with China to decimate the US middle class. And I stated the FACT that subsequent generations kept being LESS well-off than their prior generations. That, I believe, was my "EVERYBODY KNOWS" statement that another poster had some (?) problem with.

Who are these imaginary "GREED" boogeymen you're talking about? Do they have meetings? A secret handshake?

And no, since the 50's subsequent generations did not do worse than their parents. That is a recent development...

No no, EVERYBODY does not know that false statement...

It is interesting that I just read this morning an article saying that some US companies are moving their manufacturing operations BACK from China to Mexico to punish China and get cheaper shipping. They MUST have read my recent posts. I guess that after Mexico becomes less attractive to them (murders of executives and etc.) they will move back to the US South. And then to get cheaper electrical energy or smarter workers, they will move back to NorthEastern US.........which is where they started in the 1950s. Humorous isn't it????? Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.

Yes, manufacturing in China started moving back some 5-6 years ago... I wonder what the cause was (your "tongue in cheek" delusions of grandeur not withstanding...).

But they will only return to the US if the politicians don't resume raising corporate taxes. Simple economics...

[tvbound]

Originally Posted by Aces4

A huge conspiracy was uncovered when Elon bought Twitter. Anyone who saw the released information by Musk regarding the previously owned Twitter and wasn’t alarmed as to what was happening, is deluding themselves and helping suppress free speech in this country. Those anti Semitic rates soared but those posters were quickly shut down.

Sorry, but you're dead wrong on a few points. In trying not to cross that 'P' line here, my quick response is: 1. Twitter was simply following its own internal rules of not passing on unsubstantiated and unproved, at the time, conspiracies right before an election. 2. Just like this, or any other site, the 1st A has absolutely NOTHING to do with private speech or businesses (other than the yelling fire in a theater/similar utterances). 3. The antisemitic and racist/bigoted comments are continuing at a record rate and are not being shut down or deleted, primarily because those people who previously would see them and stop it - were long ago fired.

So saying that Twitter was "suppressing free speech" is actually quite silly. Particularly given all of the other private sites, businesses and people, that never met a wacko conspiracy or outrageous lie that they didn't love...and publish or pass on. lol

[Caymus]

Originally Posted by tvbound

Sorry, but you're dead wrong on a few points. In trying not to cross that 'P' line here, my quick response is: 1. Twitter was simply following its own internal rules of not passing on unsubstantiated and unproved, at the time, conspiracies right before an election. 2. Just like this, or any other site, the 1st A has absolutely NOTHING to do with private speech or businesses (other than the yelling fire in a theater/similar utterances). 3. The antisemitic and racist/bigoted comments are continuing at a record rate and are not being shut down or deleted, primarily because those people who previously would see them and stop it - were long ago fired.

So saying that Twitter was "suppressing free speech" is actually quite silly. Particularly given all of the other private sites, businesses and people, that never met a wacko conspiracy or outrageous lie that they didn't love...and publish or pass on. lol

So, don't use Twitter.

[Normal]

Evidently Musk has done quite well with Tesla this year.

Tesla reports 1.31 million deliveries in 2022, growth of 40% over last year

Tesla reports 1.31 million deliveries in 2022, growth of 40% over last year

We need to see what Twitter will do. He hasn’t owned it more than a couple months. The overhaul could bring very good results.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Per the IRS, you would be wrong. It's nowhere NEAR 80%> It's actually just under the 50% number I stated...

Oh, and the numbers were even higher in 2020 (61%) and in 2021 (57%). But those years were skewed due to Covid shutdowns...

Here is an example from 2009...

Is it true that only 53 percent of Americans pay income tax? | HowStuffWorks



Who are these imaginary "GREED" boogeymen you're talking about? Do they have meetings? A secret handshake?

And no, since the 50's subsequent generations did not do worse than their parents. That is a recent development...

No no, EVERYBODY does not know that false statement...



Yes, manufacturing in China started moving back some 5-6 years ago... I wonder what the cause was (your "tongue in cheek" delusions of grandeur not withstanding...).

But they will only return to the US if the politicians don't resume raising corporate taxes. Simple economics...

Ok, I read the link which states, "Only 49% of Americans owed money on their Federal income tax returns. I can accept that as TRUE. THAT MEANS 51% DID not OWE money to the Fed. government for that particular year. NOW.......The 1040 is an end-of-year RECONCILIATION to determine who owes and how much. Does the taxpayer owe more money OR did they overpay the Fed. government and the government OWES them a REFUND.
........Many, many, many people do not budget well enough to break even with the Fed Government at the end of the year, which would be fiscally ideal, because then the taxpayer gets the time value of money throughout the WHOLE year instead of the Government. Many, many taxpayers HATE to owe money at the end of the year. Because of this desire, they tend to OVERPAY throughout the year. They will do things like ......they may have 4 total exemptions, BUT, they only DECLARE 3......Why because they decide, "better to be safe than sorry" when dealing with the IRS. They do NOT want to pay taxes AND a penalty for the year.

So, since many, many are OVERPAYING to the Fed government throughout the year.....THAT is the reason that 51% of taxpayers do NOT pay ADDITIONAL taxes at the end of year. (refer back to my 2nd sentence) What it DOES NOT mean is that 51% paid ZERO taxes INTO the government on a month-by-month basis.

In general, working people PAY taxes. Exceptions would be like low wages and married with 5 children or more and lots of medical bills or itemizations. Massive US workers on the dole are an urban legend. Now people that can't work through no fault of their own and can only survive by the Federal government paying them in food stamps, public housing and other ways.........are a different story. But, we were talking about WORKING people here.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Per the IRS, you would be wrong. It's nowhere NEAR 80%> It's actually just under the 50% number I stated...

Oh, and the numbers were even higher in 2020 (61%) and in 2021 (57%). But those years were skewed due to Covid shutdowns...

Here is an example from 2009...

Is it true that only 53 percent of Americans pay income tax? | HowStuffWorks



Who are these imaginary "GREED" boogeymen you're talking about? Do they have meetings? A secret handshake?

And no, since the 50's subsequent generations did not do worse than their parents. That is a recent development...

No no, EVERYBODY does not know that false statement...



Yes, manufacturing in China started moving back some 5-6 years ago... I wonder what the cause was (your "tongue in cheek" delusions of grandeur not withstanding...).

But they will only return to the US if the politicians don't resume raising corporate taxes. Simple economics...

I am afraid that after 1950 subsequent generations DID do WORSE than the preceding generations. That is when OUTSOURCING to Mexico and our southern states began.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

OK, I will give an OPINION of mine that is almost entirely mine. Although somewhere in this big, wide, beautiful world someone, somewhere may have expressed a similar OPINION.
.......I believe that Richard Nixon's trip to China to open trading between the two countries - and contrary to popular History and belief - was a COLLASAL mistake. And I have previously posted the DETAILS of WHY I came to that conclusion. So, that is merely MY opinion. And if someone cares to post a counter-argument, I would be VERY interested to read it.

You don't think we were buying crap from China BEFORE Nixon?

Oh, and it wasn't Nixon who did what you said he did. It was Carter & Clinton...

"President Bill Clinton in 2000 pushed Congress to approve the U.S.-China trade agreement and China's accession to the WTO, saying that more trade with China would advance America's economic interests: "Economically, this agreement is the equivalent of a one-way street..."

And, if you want to go back farther, It was Carter who got the ball rolling...

"In 1979 the U.S. and China reestablished diplomatic relations and signed a bilateral trade agreement. This gave a start to a rapid growth of trade between the two nations: from $4 billion (exports and imports) that year to over $600 billion in 2017."

Nixon's main goal in meeting with China was the SALT Agreement...

Facts trump OPINIONS...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Ok, I read the link which states, "Only 49% of Americans owed money on their Federal income tax returns. I can accept that as TRUE. THAT MEANS 51% DID not OWE money to the Fed. government for that particular year. NOW.......The 1040 is an end-of-year RECONCILIATION to determine who owes and how much. Does the taxpayer owe more money OR did they overpay the Fed. government and the government OWES them a REFUND.
........Many, many, many people do not budget well enough to break even with the Fed Government at the end of the year, which would be fiscally ideal, because then the taxpayer gets the time value of money throughout the WHOLE year instead of the Government. Many, many taxpayers HATE to owe money at the end of the year. Because of this desire, they tend to OVERPAY throughout the year. They will do things like ......they may have 4 total exemptions, BUT, they only DECLARE 3......Why because they decide, "better to be safe than sorry" when dealing with the IRS. They do NOT want to pay taxes AND a penalty for the year.

So, since many, many are OVERPAYING to the Fed government throughout the year.....THAT is the reason that 51% of taxpayers do NOT pay ADDITIONAL taxes at the end of year. (refer back to my 2nd sentence) What it DOES NOT mean is that 51% paid ZERO taxes INTO the government on a month-by-month basis.

In general, working people PAY taxes. Exceptions would be like low wages and married with 5 children or more and lots of medical bills or itemizations. Massive US workers on the dole are an urban legend. Now people that can't work through no fault of their own and can only survive by the Federal government paying them in food stamps, public housing and other ways.........are a different story. But, we were talking about WORKING people here.

You didn't understand what you read...

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

Per the IRS, you would be wrong. It's nowhere NEAR 80%> It's actually just under the 50% number I stated...

Oh, and the numbers were even higher in 2020 (61%) and in 2021 (57%). But those years were skewed due to Covid shutdowns...

Here is an example from 2009...

Is it true that only 53 percent of Americans pay income tax? | HowStuffWorks



Who are these imaginary "GREED" boogeymen you're talking about? Do they have meetings? A secret handshake?

And no, since the 50's subsequent generations did not do worse than their parents. That is a recent development...

No no, EVERYBODY does not know that false statement...



Yes, manufacturing in China started moving back some 5-6 years ago... I wonder what the cause was (your "tongue in cheek" delusions of grandeur not withstanding...).

But they will only return to the US if the politicians don't resume raising corporate taxes. Simple economics...

"your delusions of grandeur notwithstanding". That is about the 150th insult that you have hurled my way since you moved to The Villages. Are you keeping score? Are you PROUD of yourself? I have not insulted you in over a year. And there were MANY opportunities. I will continue to take the high road and NOT insult you. But, I don't expect to have that courtesy reciprocated any time soon.