This time next year, President Trump moves back into the Whitehouse...

[Bwana]

Bizarrely I heard criticism of Trump wearing a bandage for dramatic effect. FFS he's just had a bullet rip his ear, do they really think he's going to walk around with an open wound!

Pretty sure most of us have had grazes to the skin in the past that we didn't bandage.

Not suggesting his didn't require one, I have no idea, but let's not get carried away. He wasn't 'shot' - he was shot at, and got a booboo. And he's being a big, brave soldier

I had a client's dog flip out during a nail trim. He had some rather talon like toenails and was flailing - about a 60lb dog. He got my right earlobe with one of his back feet. I saw a couple of drops of blood on the floor and reached up to my ear. Just a wee bit of blood, mopped it off with a paper towel. I took the dog back out to the owner, gave them heartworm test results, chatted a little bit and went back inside to inspect the damage. I had a nice slice in the earlobe, about where an earing would go. And a nice two inch swath of blood down my neck, across my collarbone and onto my shirt. It was quite obviously blood and enough that should have drawn attention to its presence. I was talking to the fuckers for several minutes while facing them directly. Notably, it wasn't present when I'd gone outside to collect their dog 15 minutes or so earlier. Not a word from them and no signs of alarm.

[Bwana]

Moron, lol! He turned a £300 million inheritance into a $6billion+ empire and achieved the highest office in the free world. I'd say he's a bit smarter than your average Joe!

Well, kind of... he took the companies he inherited and the $400m and made that grow... as has been often pointed out though, if he'd just stuck that money in the stock money he'd likely have made way more. Most of his businesses have been spectacular failures, often ending in lawsuits, bankruptcies, unpaid debts and scandals.

He's currently valued at Forbes at $7.1bn, but most of that is shares in Truth Social which has a very high theoretical value due to some oddities I barely understand, and is hardly down to any business acumen on his behalf.. it's just a way of him bypassing existing social media so he can lie to his cultists and grovel for more cash. If you ignore that $5.6bn, you're left with under $2bn. So he's managed to increase the size of his wealth by 5 times in 40+ years! Jeez, I mean, I've invested some money in shares and made around 15x my investment in around 10 years, so I must be 12 times as good at business as he is, and I've done fuck all!

Of course, we could just look at his tax and business records, right, to prove how rich he really is? Well, no, because he refuses to release them and tries to sue anyone that tries, for some reason, not that he has anything to hide of course.

As for not being a moron... have you heard him try to form a sentence? And why then did his professor at uni repeatedly tell people that "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had," and one of his secretaries of state reportedly say he was "a fucking moron"?

Of course, we could just look at his university records, right, to prove how well he did? Well, no, because he's threatened them with legal action if they ever release them, for some reason, not that he has anything to hide of course.

I'll just leave you with a couple of typical Trump quotes that show his true genius... the knowledge, the expertise, the eloquence....!

“You know what uranium is, right? It’s this thing called nuclear weapons. And other things. Like lots of things are done with uranium. Including some bad things. But nobody talks about that.”

"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that."

I'd suggest to you that the man has the emotional development of, say, a 12 year old, and an IQ of around 90-100. He just happened to be born into incredible wealth, and given a company and an extraordinary amount of money to play with, much of which he's lost due to incompetence and fraud. The fact that he's rich now isn't that relevant... he was born a millionaire.

The commentary is quite annoying but WTF?

[Bwana]

Moron, lol! He turned a £300 million inheritance into a $6billion+ empire and achieved the highest office in the free world. I'd say he's a bit smarter than your average Joe!

Well, kind of... he took the companies he inherited and the $400m and made that grow... as has been often pointed out though, if he'd just stuck that money in the stock money he'd likely have made way more. Most of his businesses have been spectacular failures, often ending in lawsuits, bankruptcies, unpaid debts and scandals.

He's currently valued at Forbes at $7.1bn, but most of that is shares in Truth Social which has a very high theoretical value due to some oddities I barely understand, and is hardly down to any business acumen on his behalf.. it's just a way of him bypassing existing social media so he can lie to his cultists and grovel for more cash. If you ignore that $5.6bn, you're left with under $2bn. So he's managed to increase the size of his wealth by 5 times in 40+ years! Jeez, I mean, I've invested some money in shares and made around 15x my investment in around 10 years, so I must be 12 times as good at business as he is, and I've done fuck all!

Of course, we could just look at his tax and business records, right, to prove how rich he really is? Well, no, because he refuses to release them and tries to sue anyone that tries, for some reason, not that he has anything to hide of course.

As for not being a moron... have you heard him try to form a sentence? And why then did his professor at uni repeatedly tell people that "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had," and one of his secretaries of state reportedly say he was "a fucking moron"?

Of course, we could just look at his university records, right, to prove how well he did? Well, no, because he's threatened them with legal action if they ever release them, for some reason, not that he has anything to hide of course.

I'll just leave you with a couple of typical Trump quotes that show his true genius... the knowledge, the expertise, the eloquence....!

“You know what uranium is, right? It’s this thing called nuclear weapons. And other things. Like lots of things are done with uranium. Including some bad things. But nobody talks about that.”

"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that."

I'd suggest to you that the man has the emotional development of, say, a 12 year old, and an IQ of around 90-100. He just happened to be born into incredible wealth, and given a company and an extraordinary amount of money to play with, much of which he's lost due to incompetence and fraud. The fact that he's rich now isn't that relevant... he was born a millionaire.

He's a businessman as well as an investor. They don't just leave money in stocks & shares. He used his acumen and increased his wealth dramatically . He's everything from a property developer to a venture capitalist. He changed zoning laws in NYC to suit his developments. He brought in multiple city projects under budget and before time. You don't get to be a multi Billionaire by being useless and stupid. He used every tax break possible because its the smart thing to do. Remember the famous interaction between him and Hilary Clinton over it? In case you dont...

He's ripped off many contractors in the process of obtaining all that wealth. Smart? Dishonest?

[Bwana]

Surely avoiding tax in that amounts is bad for people lower down the chain? so, yes, it's pretty bad!!

Sometimes it's illegal to avoid taxes.
Trump org tax fraud

[Mussels]

He'll probably have no recollection of quitting when he wakes up from his nap.

Probably because he didn't quit but will be told he did.

[Yambo]

He'll probably have no recollection of quitting when he wakes up from his nap.

Probably because he didn't quit but will be told he did.

If the Democrats don't want him any more, he could always stand as an independent.

Then he'd know for sure how popular he is.

[DefTrap]

It's a huge test for the shady people that run the Whitehouse now. Just which puppet will they put up against Trump to steal -this- election.?

[JackyJoll]

I have no doubt that Starmer avoids paying more tax then he needs to? I expect he pays more than the minimum into a pension scheme for starters.

Would you try to conflate his tax avoidance with evasion?

The system was introduced in order to encourage people to make adequate provision for retirement. (Tax is deferred not avoided). In which case he's setting a good example.

In my case higher rate tax was avoided by that deferment.

Same goes for anyone being paid above the threshold, who doesn’t need to spend all their income and isn’t stupid.

[Count Steer]

I have no doubt that Starmer avoids paying more tax then he needs to? I expect he pays more than the minimum into a pension scheme for starters.

Would you try to conflate his tax avoidance with evasion?

The system was introduced in order to encourage people to make adequate provision for retirement. (Tax is deferred not avoided). In which case he's setting a good example.

In my case higher rate tax was avoided by that deferment.

Same goes for anyone being paid above the threshold, who doesn’t need to spend all their income and isn’t stupid.

So it encouraged/incentivised you to invest more in your pension.

I took redundancy from an employer and put as much as I was allowed to into purchasing extra years pensionable service thereby a) reducing my immediate tax bill and b) bumping up my pension.

It's hardly avoidance if the system encourages you to do it in order to reduce the 'pensioner burden' and thereby benefit the state as a whole.

PS some pensioners pay the higher rates of tax.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Tax (or lack of) as an incentive is used loads by the government(s), for all kinds of things. I don't think you can really conflate that sort of activity with deliberate habitual 'squint at it to make it legal' tax avoidance on a large scale.

[Count Steer]

Tax (or lack of) as an incentive is used loads by the government(s), for all kinds of things. I don't think you can really conflate that sort of activity with deliberate habitual 'squint at it to make it legal' tax avoidance on a large scale.

Yup. Same with 'charitable/payroll giving' donations. It's encouraged/incentivised.

(I suppose some folk will set up their own charity, make themselves the boss, donate to it and claim lots of ££ in 'expenses'....like a spa in the back garden. ).

[Mr. Dazzle]

Well with any of these systems there will be people who take the piss. The trouble with any legal scheme is that there's the letter and then there's the spirit.

"You didn't say I couldn't do that"

[JackyJoll]

The system was introduced in order to encourage people to make adequate provision for retirement. (Tax is deferred not avoided). In which case he's setting a good example.

In my case higher rate tax was avoided by that deferment.

Same goes for anyone being paid above the threshold, who doesn’t need to spend all their income and isn’t stupid.

So it encouraged/incentivised you to invest more in your pension.

I took redundancy from an employer and put as much as I was allowed to into purchasing extra years pensionable service thereby a) reducing my immediate tax bill and b) bumping up my pension.

It's hardly avoidance if the system encourages you to do it in order to reduce the 'pensioner burden' and thereby benefit the state as a whole.

PS some pensioners pay the higher rates of tax.

PS Come to Scotland and you’ll find that out about higher rate tax on pensions!

But, almost all pensions are smaller than the person’s highest wage, so a lot of higher rate tax is avoided.

We’re (you’re?) straying into a viewpoint where avoidance is somehow “good” when the Government wants me to do it, but “bad” when it’s my idea.

A small woman once told me that her man only married her because there’s no VAT on her clothes.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Classic David Mitchell rant on the subject. Obviously partly TiC cause its a lefty comedy show, but he's got a point...

[Saga Lout]

Surely avoiding tax in that amounts is bad for people lower down the chain? so, yes, it's pretty bad!!

Sometimes it's illegal to avoid taxes.
Trump org tax fraud

It may be different in the USA but in the UK avoiding tax is always legal. Evading tax is illegal. "Avoid" and "evade" have two very different legal definitions.

[Screwdriver]

Biden will be gone by the end of this month ... pure hunch, nothing more.

Nice try but I am not about to let you steal my thunder. Nice to see our little "conspiracy theorist" club has a new member. Be nice if you could give credit where credit is due.

As I said over a month ago:

Obviously they have some sort of backup plan and were never going to allow Biden to run for office.
-x-
Not sure how they're going to do it before the election cycle but they most certainly will.
-x-
This debacle was certainly part of the plan, whatever that plan may be.

Could the backup plan involve murdering Trump? Who would suggest such a thing and risk the inevitable "conspiracy theorist" ignorant response.

Oh. Me again. Here I am quoting myself (quoting myself)

What worries me more is this charade is too obvious now but the shadowy administration-behind-the-scenes do not appear to be really doing anything except propping up Bidens corpse. This is a group of massively wealthy people, keen to carry on going until they own everything. I don't believe for one minute they don't have a contingencyplan. Trump is going to walk this election by a mile. They can't use the same tactics last time to cheat the election. I fear something darker.

Oh well, looks like they ran out of options... Who'd a thunk it?

They seem to get away with murdering their own presidents every once in a while too. In a way, I'm surprised they didn't just shoot Trump and be done with it.

Omg you're a conspiracy nutjob <blah blah>

Assassination attempt #1.

"Oh, err, yeah but we knew they'd probably shoot him just in case".

But here's the most worrying thing. Never mind all of my "conspiracy theories" appear to play out and turn into reality. Never mind you insist its a conspiracy right up unto the moment it happens and then you're all like "we knew". I don't even mind people picking up something I wrote and presenting it as if they thought of it first - join the club. Forget that. Here is the most worrying observation I made, again some time ago:

This "so called" president is obviously a mere placeholder for the largely Obama/Clinton administration who are facilitating the hand over of authoritarian control to globalist corporate elites. It's not rocket science, so much has been as clear as day since they rigged the last election.

My guess is they'll keep Biden as a puppet for as long as possible and dump his lifeless body shortly before the election. I assume someone like Gavin Newsome will be the next puppet but Trump is so far ahead in popularity, even brilliantly orchestrated electoral interference won't swing it.

So the only possible way for the swamp to retain power and avoid the repercussion of their criminal activities is to start a war. Bonus being there's plenty of profit to be made during a decent war. Just ask Zelensky.

This is one time I hope I am wrong.

I don't think I am. Brace yourself and don't say I didn't warn you...

[Screwdriver]

PS I don't mean "you" @irie. You are one of the few people on here who are prepared to present a reasoned argument.

[weeksy]

God help us if the bar by which we're setting 'reasoned arguments' are you and Irie.

[Screwdriver]

Screwdriver gets a 7 day holiday for this post...You know the rules by now guys.

Worth it though. Sadly @weeksy I couldn't pick your brains over the extraordinary coincidence regarding the recent CrowdStrike incident.

You know they run the democratic party election servers? The ones that were allegedly "hacked" in a "Russian disinformation" campaign?

Turns out the company is based in Ukraine (not Texas!), owned by a Ukrainian billionaire.

What a coincidence don'tcha think? Biden fingerprints all over it and the subject of the infamous Trump telephone call to Zelensky. The one he was impeached for for daring to try and find out what the fuck Biden was up to.

What was the nature of the outage? What they were up to now they no longer need Biden and the instant he is no longer going to be installed again as a "president". Covering their tracks?

What next I wonder? Will the Biden mafia now be outed for the rather obvious corruption? Or will it be more profitable to just start WW3 and reset the game?

CONSPIRACY!!

[Gregor]

God help us if the bar by which we're setting 'reasoned arguments' are you and Irie.

Smite the pair of em