Rebane's Ruminations
January 2017
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[A little more than a week until the big spectacular at the nations capitol.  Given all the ongoing fireworks surrounding Trump and the floundering Democrats, I suppose we can continue staying involved in this 'Prelude to the Afternoon of a Yawn'.  gjr]

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318 responses to “Sandbox – 11jan17”

  1. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Come on Don I was being poetic. Just a few yards relative to our national boundaries. Can you get the concept or do I have to be precisely literate?

    Like

  2. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Come on PE, engage in some real intellectual discourse. You are a news director aren’t you my friend? 😉

    Like

  3. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Okay
    Do you think Trump is going to send our navy to block China from the enhanced reefs and force Mexico to build the Wall?
    Also all the Chinese have to do to bring us to our knees is pump up the interest on the loans we owe them and we’re sunk. By the way where do you think Trump is going to get he money to boost our military? Borrow from the Chinese most likely.

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  4. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Ok, so you don’t know what a demarche is, fine. Not being literate could be an excuse. Do you as a news director not know enough to form a cogent response to a real, important global topic? 😉

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  5. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Sure Don It’s a strongly worded line in the sand so to speak. We’ve got to be able to backit up. We’re not in a very good position when we’re dependent on China for our consumer goodies and owe them trillions of $$$$.

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  6. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Pump up the interest rates? LOL! Bonds are a fixed return investment with the rate set at the time of purchase. China has been liquidating assets massively in recent years to cover their systemic economic problems. We do not need them. Do you even understand what FOREX liquidation means? Japan is the largest holder of US debt.
    The world bank welcomes the Trump tax policy and said the world economy will boom from it. Repatriation of trillions of offshore corporate cash will provide a windfall to the treasury and massively grow the economy when that money is invested here. Then you have the business boom that will follow on the heels of the better business environment and consumer and business confidence. That will generate gobs of cash for the treasury.
    How would you propose to temper the expansionist, imperialistic communists in China? 😉

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  7. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Calling BS on you PE @ 851- What is your 2017 sourcing for ‘we owe them trillions’? Stand up or stand down. 😉

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  8. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    “The world bank welcomes the Trump tax policy”
    Can you document that Don? Never heard that before. I appreciate the education if it’s substantial

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  9. George Rebane Avatar

    The ‘When was America great’ game is usually played by the first person picking an interval, and the second person digging up all the warts of that age to prove the first person wrong. What our Left does not understand is that making America great does not entail seeking to replicate a time period, but selecting a set of salubrious social, economic, and political attributes which would serve as multi-attribute objective we as a nation would seek to achieve. And it definitely rejects the notion that any period of the future has to be exactly like some period in the past.
    But in the larger view, making America great again is to create a national environment in which significantly more than half of Americans feel that we are in good condition and again headed in the right direction as a nation. Given our present national state of mind, I’m not sure that this is achievable any more. But it’s worth a try to pick some desiderata and go for as many of them as we can. Playing the ‘when was America great’ game is a boring gotcha exercise.

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  10. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    George
    You can thank Trump for launching this discussion. Perhaps he is incapable of expressing the nuance you articulate George and that’s what concerns me about having an narcissistic egomaniac as President. He says what is convenient at the time to achieve his objective with a total disregard for the lemmings that flock to his message.

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  11. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    PE @ 1000, That would be you standing down. Thanks for your acknowledgement of the failure of your lines of BS on the worlds economic realities. Doesn’t your I phone have a search engine? The translation is that PE is saying NO MAS!
    What is your 2016 or 2017 source for ‘we owe them trillions’ PE? 😉

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  12. George Rebane Avatar

    PaulE 1010pm – I don’t recall Trump even implying that his ‘great again’ exhortation was connected to a certain period. The only reasonable way to understand his motto is as I have described. Everything else is another child-like attempt to start an empty exchange in place of a conversation. In short Trump launched no such discussion, but the bankrupt Left sure is trying to.

    Like

  13. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Come on PE, the world is watching and waiting for you to crush me on the china issues. 😉

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  14. L Avatar
    L

    Get Mexico to pay for the wall? No problem. Simply institute 25% withholding on all foreign remittances. 15% for both ends of SS and 10% to cover the lowest income tax bracket.
    Don’t owe it? Another ‘no problem’; simply claim it on your tax return, and the IRS refunds it. Now who’s paying for that wall again? L

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  15. Walt Avatar

    Maybe Paul can explain THIS….
    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/12/politico-ukrainian-officials-election/
    On the wrong side of the monkey business.

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  16. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Here you go Don
    The U.S. debt to China is $1.115 trillion, as of October 2016. That’s 29 percent of the $3.841 trillion in Treasury bills, notes, and bonds held by foreign countries
    https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-debt-to-china-how-much-does-it-own-3306355

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  17. Walt Avatar

    So much for state’s rights Paul. But then again Ca. LOVES land no one can set foot on.
    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/01/13/obama-orders-five-last-minute-monuments-presidential-history/

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  18. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Iguess you don’t like the Statue of Liberty Walt

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  19. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    PE- So you admit you were wrong about ‘trillions’ @ 954. Good for you. 😉

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  20. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Oh, by the way, 1 week to the inauguration. 😉

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  21. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Yeah Only around a trillion and a half. Just chump change.

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  22. Gregory Avatar
    Gregory

    PE you are math challenged, aren’t you? 1.115 trillion is not around a trillion and a half. That’s less than a trillion and an eighth.
    The Obama presidency increased the debt by about ten times that amount.

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  23. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Since when does 1.1 = 1.5 PE? At the rate china is burning through FOREX reserves that would last less than 3 years. They can not afford to dump them at a loss due to their domestic debt and productivity crisis. 😉

    Like

  24. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    The latest estimates are closer to 1.25. Also Trump himself owes millions to China
    According to the Times, a building on the Avenue of the Americas in New York City’s Manhattan borough that is partially owned by Trump has a loan of $950 million that was paid for by a few different entities, including the Bank of China and Goldman Sachs.
    and this
    China now has $1.24 trillion in Treasuries, making it the largest foreign holder of US debt, with Japan close behind at $1.13 trillion dollars.
    http://billmoyers.com/story/chinese-debt-explained/

    Like

  25. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    PE the conversation was about our ability to pressure china over their illegal land grabs. The Chinese can talk big all day long but the facts show THEY are the ones who are vulnerable economically. They can not grow internal consumption as hard as they try.
    Their last monthly trade surplus was the lowest in 8 months. They have a massive internal debt bubble set to burst, primarily for local governments squandering money and non-performing projects. That will chew up a lot of their 3T reserves. Then you have the massive internal social pressures. They are spending 100’s of billions at a clip to prop up their markets and currency.
    Dollar denominated debt is an appreciating asset they can not afford to sell since it is the underpinning of their reserves. It represents a full third of their piggy bank. Your data above is outdated. 😉

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  26. Walt Avatar

    You REALLY grasp at straws Paul. Statue of Liberty? get real some day. Did the states “O” just swiped land from give their approval? (many didn’t) Looks like your OK with “the FED gov.” going in and acquiring state lands with the stroke of a pen. yet a state can’t “take back” land stolen by the FEDS.

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  27. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    After the Senate voted late last night to end 0 care, the House just voted the enacting budget legislation too!
    They also voted for the waiver to allow retired General Mattis be SEC DEF! Semper Fi Mad Dog! 😉

    Like

  28. BradC Avatar
    BradC

    What is with the “When was America Great” question? America is already great. Great compared to what – compared to pretty much to every other country. The Entertainer-elect did not say ‘Greatest’, but it could be argued that we are already the greatest country since we are the leader of the free world. Trump just needed a catchy motto in order to BS his way into office.

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  29. Walt Avatar

    As for the debt Paul yaps about,, 9 Trillion under “O” alone. And how many years with no budget? Let me guess Paul,, it was all Bush’s fault.

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  30. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Correct me if I am wrong Walt but wasn’t the Statue of Liberty a gift from France? 0 didn’t make that PE. 😉

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  31. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    On this Friday the 13th 0’s real legacy has finally been identified! The FBI reports that murder in the big cities is up 21%. 0 must not have got the memo, in his recent editorial blowing smoke up his own butt he claimed that was no crime epidemic. 😉

    Like

  32. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Anecdotal info Walt. Illegal on this blog
    Bosh started the ball rolling. Clinton gave Bush a balanced budget with a surplus winch instead of paying down the National debt he returned to the taxpayers. Bush more thqn doubled the deficit and left Obama with the biggest financial crisis since the great depression. Obama then continued to run up the debt and here we are today. Trump is going to increase government spending and at the same time lower taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Nice trick. We’ll see if he can do it.

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  33. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    By the way, from now on Walt will be referred to as Hoover Republican Walt because that was the time that according to him America was great and it’s the era he wants to return to.

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  34. L Avatar
    L

    In re: US foreign debt. There’s an old saying: “If I owe the bank $10,000 and can’t pay, I’m in trouble. On the other hand, if I owe the bank $1 billion and can’t pay, the bank’s in trouble.”
    If, somehow, the US were unable to pay back China and Japan, how do you expect they would be able to collect? Confiscate foreign remittances their citizens send us? Too bad there aren’t any of those available.
    No, our debt isn’t a good thing. But, like California will soon demonstrate, you can’t squeeze blood out of turnips, so if it can’t be paid, it won’t. See Weimar Germany ca. 1923. L

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  35. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Interesting to note that the two biggest financial debacles in the 20th and 21st centuries were after Great America times of total Republican control-1921-1931 under Harding, Coolege and Hoover and 2000-2006 under Bush. Yikes! Here we go again.

    Like

  36. Gregory Avatar
    Gregory

    No Paul, the latest as published by the Treasury is that mainland China holds $1.116 trillion of our debt, they’ve been selling small amounts.
    http://ticdata.treasury.gov/Publish/mfh.txt
    It’s still below 1 1/8 trillion which is, in decimal representation, 1.125 🙂

    Like

  37. Gregory Avatar
    Gregory

    Regarding when America was “Great”, I think it arguable the best answer is “Not Now”.

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  38. Walt Avatar

    Paul must think the 60s was the best of times. There was a time when being an American in a foreign land was a safe bet. No one would mess with you. Back then our government would come find you and bring you home. Good old “gunboat diplomacy”. Today, set foot outside U.S. soil, and your a target. Just as the idiots that decided it was a good idea to “hike” Afghanistan. Grabbing U.S. citizens is a money making proposition these days.
    there was a time that just didn’t happen. Which is/was better Paul? then, or now?
    Being “great” doesn’t always revolve around money.

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  39. Walt Avatar

    Uh,, “Bosh”??,, Paul? Where is Boardman? he decided to be the spell’n police yesterday.

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  40. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    The underlining current of Trump’s win was not the majority of Americans thinking America is heading in the wrong direction, but rather, a surging number of voters thinking America is in decline. Quite a shift….to “Not Now”.
    “Make America Great Again” or ‘I’m With Her”. Which bumper sticker slogan encapsulated voter sentiment? Which campaign bumper sticker slogan articulated why the candidate was running for office? “I’m With Her” tells me little.

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  41. George Rebane Avatar

    “Clinton gave Bush a balanced budget” is firmly ensconced in the liberal mindset. This happened when Newt Gingrich and the Republican House were just potted plants on the federal landscape.

    Like

  42. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    In might be interesting to note that neither candidate ran on smaller government or balancing the budget. As far as deficit vs debt goes, I believe the debt will never be paid off. The debt is just too damn high. Reducing the growth of government is not the same as smaller government.

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  43. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    I’ve given the Newt his just accolades several times on these pages George and I’ll give it to him again. Bubba knew how to work the room better than anybody in recent times.
    ^50’s were a bad time Walt. 50,000 Americans killed in a useless war for a start.

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  44. Todd Juvinall Avatar
    Todd Juvinall

    the fifties were great.

    Like

  45. Walt Avatar

    Well Paul, I say the war “of independence” was a good war.
    How bout the civil war Paul? good or bad?
    It’s easy to bitch about war, whine about “money”, and just ankle bite about how “bad” war is. Yup, war isn’t pretty. It don’t take two to start one.. JUST one.
    “O” was/is a pussy in the world’s eyes, and the thug dictators and war mongers capitalized on that. What did “O” do? bend over and grabbed his ankles, and said “thank you. A little deeper please.”
    Since you don’t like war, then genocide at the hands of others is OK in the book of Paul.
    #stopthekilling is sure going to get things done… Right Paul?

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  46. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    I’ve always liked the Newt George. My thoughts is were that if we were going to be inflicted with a Conservative Republican for President Newt would be my first choice next being Lindsay Graham . Brilliant man with a great knowledge of history. Kind of an odd character. I though nobody that weird would ever get elected President but I was wrong on that one.

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  47. Walt Avatar

    Three words for Paul.. “Freedom isn’t free.”

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  48. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    I agree Walt. Freedom isn’t free that’s why we shouldn’t waste American blood and treasure on useless and unconstitutional wars such as in Iraq and Vietnam.
    The Civil War should have never happened. It was not about freeing the slaves although that was part of it. What it really was about was the expansion of Federal power as a response to the desire of certain States to leave the Union. it was American nationalism exerting and establishing itself. Next came the Indian wars which displayed our ability to take land from those weaker than us to expand our boundaries. From there we go on and on and on and on………

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  49. Paul Emery Avatar
    Paul Emery

    Yes Todd I liked the 50’s as well. It was a time of divided government when Eisenhower was Pres. I prefer divided government. Look what happened when Obama had a full house and Bush as well. History is not kind in that situation. .

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