Politics Princess' Sweet Sixteen

[smjjames]

 

 

Citigroup Becomes First Major Bank to Restrict Some Gun Sales

 

Citigroup Inc. plans to prohibit retailers that are customers of the bank from offering bump stocks or selling guns to people who haven’t passed a background check or are younger than 21.

 

The bank is imposing the restrictions on companies that use it to issue store credit-cards or for lending and other services, according to a memo Thursday. The lender also barred the sale of high-capacity magazines.

 

Thoughts?

 

Seems weird to be coming down from a bank, on the other hand some banks give you a gun when opening an account.

 

Policy-wise, I think it's fine. I'm all for tighter gun restrictions.

 

 

Banks have put similar restrictions for example for porn and legal gambling quite lot. And sometimes they are just jerks and close accounts, without giving any reason or warning, for businesses involved in mentioned industries. Usually banks target industries that aren't seen favorably by society.  

 

 

 

Well yeah, theres legal concerns with porn and it'd be understandable why they wouldn't want to touch gambling. Outside of stuff seen as unfavorable by society, banks don't generally tell their customers what to sell or not sell.

 

Speaking of industries not seen favorably by society, does that mean the gun industry is now not seen favorably by society? There could arguably be a bandwagoning effect here or they're jumping in ahead of a big trend they see coming,

[Guard Dog]

 

Wow, three responses with three very different opinions. injurai thinks its great. I'm indifferent, and Val thinks this moves us one step closer to the tyranny of moral busybodies. Or the subjugation of the word under the reign of Satan , depending on who literally you want to read his response.

 

 

...

 

from a practical standpoint, the citicorp decision is akin to dunkin donuts announcing they will no longer allow bump stocks and expanded magazines to be sold at any o' their franchise locations.  this is a whole lotta nothing.

 

HA! Good Fun!

I was trying to say the same thing subtly with the Kroger comment. 

[Gromnir]

 

 

Wow, three responses with three very different opinions. injurai thinks its great. I'm indifferent, and Val thinks this moves us one step closer to the tyranny of moral busybodies. Or the subjugation of the word under the reign of Satan , depending on who literally you want to read his response.

 

 

...

 

from a practical standpoint, the citicorp decision is akin to dunkin donuts announcing they will no longer allow bump stocks and expanded magazines to be sold at any o' their franchise locations.  this is a whole lotta nothing.

 

HA! Good Fun!

I was trying to say the same thing subtly with the Kroger comment. 

 

yeah, am thinking folks is getting distracted by the headline.  am not certain how many smaller retailers this change will impact, but it can't be many.  do same thing with dolphin-safe fishing practices and people would laugh at the inanity o' such a move. as o' march 22, 2018, citibank won't make its lending services available to retailers who provide massive trawling nets... 'cause citibank weeps for the dolphins?

 

whatever.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[ShadySands]

Wow, three responses with three very different opinions. 

That's why I love this place

 

Echo chambers are boring

[Hurlshort]

 

Wow, three responses with three very different opinions.

That's why I love this place

 

Echo chambers are boring

I agree.

 

 

Wait. :/

[Katphood]

Guys, any chance we will have a World War 3 on our hands soon? I'm really getting bored here.

[Lexx]

Would sadden me a lot to see Teheran getting bombed to rubble. It'd be such a waste and stupid act.

[Katphood]

It would Saddam me, too. 

[HoonDing]

at this rate Cheney and Wolfowitz will return

[Bartimaeus]

didn't Wolfowitz say he was voting for Hillary

[BruceVC]

https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/23/trump-exempts-some-allies-steel-aluminum-tariffs/451936002/

 

Chinese steel tariffs and now counter tariffs from China of about 3 billion, minor impact to USA but we should be  concerned about a trade war between USA and China 

 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/22/john-bolton-replacing-hr-mcmaster-trump-national-s/

 

And now Mcmaster is fired and Bolton is hired in his place ...I wonder what outcome Trump is expecting?

Edited March 23, 2018 by BruceVC

[Malcador]

Would sadden me a lot to see Teheran getting bombed to rubble. It'd be such a waste and stupid act.

Not entirely sure the US could do that.

[Zoraptor]

at this rate Cheney and Wolfowitz will return

 

What's Ronald Dumsfeld, chopped liver?

 

No coincidence that Mohamed bin Salman is in the US at the moment and an arch anti Iran hawk gets appointed. Best case scenario for Iran is Saudi gets militarily involved, given MBS's military genius they'd be in Riyadh in a month- dude even manages to get planes shot down by air to air missiles when fighting a foe who has literally no operative air force.

[HoonDing]

[Bartimaeus]

[smjjames]

Heh, yeah, he learned the lession Obama learned which is to not attach yourself too closely to the vagaries of the stock market.

[Guard Dog]

And so, the nearly 2300 page omnibus spending bill has been passed by the Congress. I would say kudos to Rand Paul, the last sane man in Washington DC, for being the only Republican to vote against it. But he dropped his procedural challenges and let it go to a vote.

 

The bill was released 48 hours prior to the vote. Not enough time foe the members to actually read what they were voting for considering this is what it looked like:

 

 

 

You know I seem to recall a certain political party pitching a fit over that very thing not too long ago when a certain OTHER political party was doing it. Like I always say Republicans = Democrats and Democrats = Republicans. When you are being forcible f----d in the rear does it really matter which is holding you by the hips?

 

But, if you work in the US and see 39% of your paycheck missing I'm sure it will comfort you to know that your labors were not entirely in vain. Your Senators carved out a $12.8 Million Dollar pay raise for themselves and their staff. If that does not make you want to give Old Glory a misty eyed salute I don't know what will. http://freebeacon.com/politics/congress-gives-bonus-omnibus/

 

So it's a race to national insolvency between the donkeys and the elephants. And since no one in the US appears to be considering perhaps it's time to vote for someone other than donkeys or elephants the only question is who is holding the whip when the team goes over the cliff. So what are we to do? I have a modest suggestion:

 

[smjjames]

As not-100%-serious as that idea is, the question is how would you split it. The North-South divide no longer exists, though traces of it remain. Urban vs Rural? The cities can't exist without the farms and the farms need the cities to sell food to. Red states vs Blue? No red or blue state is so homogenous as to be utterly one or the other. Even liberal California has lots of Republicans and ruby red Idaho has plenty of Democrats too.

 

If a dissolution of the union or a split ever does happen, it'll most likely happen along the path of least resistance, whatever that happens to be at the time.

[HoonDing]

I watch some Ron Paul vids now and then and it's nothing but "deep state" this, "cultural marxism" that. What happened?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I watch some Ron Paul vids now and then and it's nothing but "deep state" this, "cultural marxism" that. What happened?

Ronnie gotta pay the bills.

[Terminator]

 

First Alex Jones sounds like against Trump in that video. However if you watch it all though in the beginning a bit confusing to me until I understood he mentions signing the budget usage etc. then I finally understood that Alex Jones still supports Trump.

 

Yes I agree that president power in some matter is limited.

 

Here is what people don't understand. A president alone can not go against congress etc easily and make changes in some matters.

 

People are afraid of what Trump can do? The thing is I think his power is limited in some regards specially regarding budget.

 

However on warfare. Trump can start war tomorrow if he so wishes and people that think he can not do it are stupid! For example Trump says tomorrow we attack North Korea!

 

As for this Republicans vs Democrats to that I am neutral that is the American people who decide which of them should have power. I am from Europe, but I wish the best future for American people.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Terminator

[Guard Dog]

As not-100%-serious as that idea is, the question is how would you split it. The North-South divide no longer exists, though traces of it remain. Urban vs Rural? The cities can't exist without the farms and the farms need the cities to sell food to. Red states vs Blue? No red or blue state is so homogenous as to be utterly one or the other. Even liberal California has lots of Republicans and ruby red Idaho has plenty of Democrats too.

 

If a dissolution of the union or a split ever does happen, it'll most likely happen along the path of least resistance, whatever that happens to be at the time.

I was being 100% non serious. But there is at least a fair chance some kind of break up may occur someday. I do not think it will be along state lines like last time. What people today fail to understand about 1860 is the United States was a very different country then. The states were the principle organizing force. The idea of being loyal to the "United States" was a strange one and not commonly held. When a state seceded most folks did not see that as a betrayal so much as sticking by your kin and kind as they said in those days. The Civil War played a part in changing that and creating a national identity. The rail road played an even bigger part to tell the truth. 

 

If something like that were to happen again it would be organic. It would cross state lines. And it would likely not be into two entities but three or four. It takes more to make a country than lines on a map. Like tends to call to like. Look in Europe following the collapse of the USSR several nations that were held together only by soviet guns split apart because they were made up of different cultures and languages that had no common history. The entire 20th Century history of the middle east was written in the Syles-Picot agreement in 1917 before any of it ever happened when the British & French reneged on their promise to allow the Arab states to organize themselves and carved up the Ottoman Empire between themselves. Since then all there has been is blood because people who hate each other won't willingly organize with each other. 

 

No matter our political differences here Americans still share a common language and a common culture. That counts for a lot. The day may come when political differences become so great it won't count for enough. If the day ever comes where actually freedom is expected to be sacrificed in the name of legislative progress we may reach a breaking point. Therein lies the danger of the gun debate. But we are nowhere near that today. I hope it never happens. 

 

I figure you could tell from the tone of my post I was being sarcastic. We are far more likely to wreck our economy with the incompetence of our political leadership than any other demise I could imagine. They took another step down that road yesterday. 

[Fiach]

It's my understanding that Trump had to pass the bill and had no choice. If not passed there would be a shut down?

 

Is this because of lack of support from the Republican Party, he couldn't veto it?

 

I don't know enough about it tbh. Any insight would be appreciated.

[Raithe]

 

 

Also, for the amusing quote of the day for our American friends: "The only thing that should be fired inside a school in America, is Betsy DeVos."

[Guard Dog]

It's my understanding that Trump had to pass the bill and had no choice. If not passed there would be a shut down?

 

Is this because of lack of support from the Republican Party, he couldn't veto it?

 

I don't know enough about it tbh. Any insight would be appreciated.

He could have signed it, vetoed it, whichever he chose. It would be unusual for the President to veto a bill passed by a Congress controlled by his own party. But hardly unheard of. Obama did it once and George W Bush did it a number of times.  And if it shuts the government down then shut it down. Better to do nothing than the wrong thing. 

 

Cutting taxes cuts revenue in the short term but raises it in the long term. That may sound paradoxical but it is absolutely true. The reason is capital in the hands of consumers and investors gets used. The citizens want widgets. If they have more money they buy more widgets. The means revenue growth for the people who sell widgets, make widgets, deliver widgets, make the parts to make widgets. Revenue growth means re-investment, expansion, hiring, which means more taxes. More people with jobs means more taxpayers. More revenue means business pay more. The effect is exponential becoming larger  the further down the road you get from the cuts.  Ultimately the government has more money even though it cut taxes.

 

Buuuuuut, it DOES mean less revenue in the short term. So if you are earning a little less you need to spend a little less right? Not here. The spending is utterly and completely out of control. And no one is even suggesting cutting it any more. Now it's a race to see who can spend the most. So when you or I run out of money that's just tough tittie for us. Break out the Ramen noodles for dinner. Governments don't run out of money. They create deficits by spending money that does not actually exist. That can lead to currency devaluation due to inflation and other bad things.