Republican National Convention: Trump Promises $5000 Rebate If Republicans Keep Congress, John Fetterman Endorses Pennsylvania Republican Senator Dave McCormack, Promises to Work With Trump

"In 55 days, Americans will be going to the polls in one of the most important elections in our country's history. Your vote will decide whether our country stumbles at the starting gate of the next 250 years or surges forward and never ever looks back," he said.
"We hand America's future to the radical left Democrats, and our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet. It will be a tragedy. Vote Republican, and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come. There'll be nothing like it," he added.
Trump stressed that 35 key races will decide the majorities in the Senate and House come November. Republicans hold the Senate with a 53-47 majority over Democrats and independents in their caucus, and in the House, Republicans hold a 218-214 majority. Republicans look to defend key Senate seats in Texas, North Carolina, Iowa, and Ohio, and can flip Democrat seats in Michigan, Maine, and Georgia. Trump carried all of these states, except for Maine, in 2024. He intends to visit every state where a race is on a knife's edge.
"We have a very short period of time, and we really have 35 races. They all count, but we have 35 races that are, I guess you'd call swings, right? Like we had seven swing states, we won all seven, right? Yeah. So I said, not that I'm looking for the work. You know, I said the other day I got so much of a schedule. I said, 'I thought I won. What do I have to do? I'm campaigning,' But I am. We're campaigning to make it incredible," he said.
"The ones that are very close--they might be winning by a little, or losing by a little, or tied--we can win every one of those races," he said. "But I'm going to go to every one of those states for congressmen and Senators... and we're going to have rallies just like this."

As part of his pitch -- and to combat the Democrats' "affordability" op -- Trump promised that he would rebate $5000 to every adult, to be paid out of tariffs collected from foreign producers.

This almost certainly won't happen and there's not enough money collected from tariffs to even do this.

President Donald Trump pledged that he will send a $5,000 dividend to all American adults if Republicans hold their majorities in Congress in November.
Trump made the promise in what he called maybe "the best part" of his keynote address at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday before a packed crowd at the American Airlines Center.
"If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our... tremendous economic success--like in history we've never had anything like what's happening--but because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000," Trump said.
"Very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders, or like last year when I gave our great members of the military $1,776. Remember?" he added.
Trump tethered one condition to the incentive.
"The only caveat I have is that the dividend that we're making must be spent in the United States of America," he said. "We don't want you going to Canada to spend the money. We don't want you going to China, to Germany. You got to spend the money in the United States of America."
He reiterated that the pledge will only kick in if Republicans win, and said that Democrats cannot make such a promise because they do not have a tariff policy.
"The reason the Democrats can't do that is because they don't do tariffs, they don't take in money. All they know is poverty and how to ruin our country. But we're making a fortune. So if the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000," he said.

I see Democrats complaining -- except, all they do is promise to give some Americans money from other Americans. "Vote for us and we'll cancel your student debt and force other taxpayers to cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars you borrowed." "Vote for us and we'll give you free health care and free child care."

At least this promise, were it carried out, would be a rebate paid to everybody.

And, in theory, this is a rebate of taxes collected from foreign sellers. In other words, it's a rebate of a tariffs, which are tax-like. So it's a rebate for taxes paid.

I also see the Fake Corporate-Paid Cash-Money "Professional Conservative" Grifters showing how Severely Conservative they are by claiming this is Socialism and Illegal.

So I'm not really worked up about it. It's not going to happen -- Trump has made a similar promise before about rebating tariff money before, and that didn't happen.

Pro America Politics
@proamericapol
10h
Democrats: "How dare Trump offer a $5000 dividend. This is bribery."
Also Democrats: "We'll give you free groceries. Free healthcare. Free daycare. Free buses. Forgive your student loans and $1M in reparations."

The Misfit Patriot
@MisfitPatriot
8h
Unpopular opinion: This is a brilliant political strategy, even if it's a dumb idea.
Let's be honest, Trump isn't going to lose any votes from his base because of this. A lot of fiscal conservatives (myself included) will point out giving out 1.2 trillion in stimulus checks when we're already 40 trillion in debt is just digging us deeper into a hole we already don't know if we can get out of, but at the end of the day what's the difference between 40 trillion and 41 trillion when we borrow almost 2 trillion a year anyway. 2.3 billion was given out in stimulus after COVID and we're still here so anyone screaming about hyperinflation is being dramatic.
Now, here's why it might actually be a brilliant move that could save us from economic collapse even though it makes no sense economically.
Trump didn't get this country 40 trillion in debt, Congress did. Yet regardless of that, every single year the left tells their voters they're going to spend more money and give them free shit and they keep, fucking, voting for them because they care about free shit more than they care about the debt.
The problem they're facing now is the only people getting free shit from the democrats are illegals, drug addicts, criminals, and fraudsters. The working class has been completely ignored and hasn't seen a dime from democrat leadership and they're the majority of the party.
Now think about all those forgotten men and women who just saw Trump offer them $5000 just for being an American citizen if they help us win instead of their leaders promising to spend their tax dollars on giving citizenship to illegals, getting criminals out of jail, and putting a vending machine with free heroin needles on every corner.
How many people do you think will take that deal and vote red in November for the first time? It's definitely not zero.
Democrats will destroy this country, and 1.2 trillion added to the debt will be nothing compared to what they'll spend if they regain power and push through their socialist agenda. So while I don't love the idea of Trump digging us a little deeper in the hole we're in, it's a lot better than handing the shovel to the left so they can dig our grave.

Lumpy Jack also made a surprise appearance at the Convention, introducing Republican Senator Dave McCormack, who is standing for re-election in Pennsylvania.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) crossed party lines Wednesday to address Republicans at the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, saying that he stands with America and rejects socialism.
Fetterman addressed a room full of Republicans at the GOP's midterm convention, describing himself as a "common-sense Democrat" who rejects socialism and anti-American extremism.
In a video message played at the convention, Fetterman acknowledged that he was speaking to a Republican audience despite belonging to the opposing party.
"A big room of Republicans in Dallas. Yes, I'm Senator John Fetterman, Pennsylvania. Yes, I'm a Democrat," Fetterman said.
"Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I'm a common-sense Democrat," he continued. "I'm always going to stand with America. I'm always going to reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life."
Fetterman then praised Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and introduced the Republican senator to the crowd, putting their bipartisan friendship on display.
"Dave McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done, and he's going to fight for Pennsylvania. I'm proud to count him as my friend. Right back over my shoulder, that's the iconic U.S. steel mill, and that's exactly the kind of thing that will work together and will work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley," Fetterman added.
"I have this opportunity to introduce this great American, a great senator, and yes he's in a different party, but I'm proud to count him as my great friend."
...
Despite his frequent clashes with fellow Democrats and his video appearance before Republicans, Fetterman made clear in July that he has no plans to leave the Democratic Party. He said his positions on abortion, LGBTQ issues, and labor would not fit within the Republican Party, even though he breaks with Democrats on issues such as Israel.
"I don't think that Republican Party wants a pro-choice, pro-gay, trans communities, federal union, and you look at my voting record...I disagree with my party on some issues, like Israel, for example," Fetterman said. "But you know, I am a Democrat, and if someone is frustrated in the Democratic Party, I would be frustrated with someone like Bernie Sanders."

Black Conservative Perspective, Government Name Greg Foreman, opined that Fetterman has no plans to become a Republican, but he's essentially threatening Democrats to stop running ops against him -- an account of "former Fetterman staffers" keeps making derogatory claims, WITHOUT EVIDENCE, against him -- or maybe he will caucus with Republicans. That sounds right to me.

🚨 JUST IN: PRESIDENT TRUMP CONFIRMS THE $5,000 "TRUMP DIVIDEND"

A $5,000 payment to every US citizen adult if Republicans win the midterms

"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000, it will be called the Trump dividend."

Trump mentions TARIFFS as to how the� pic.twitter.com/RZVh6sJ9f1
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 10, 2026

SHOCKING MOVE: Democratic Sen. John Fetterman makes a surprise video appearance at the GOP midterm convention, declaring he will reject �the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.�

The appearance is a stunning turn for the first-term senator who skipped his� pic.twitter.com/dnbPPapjh0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 9, 2026

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:10 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Ace and everyone

Posted by: Skip at September 10, 2026 12:10 PM (5ZFmQ)

2 Nooded.

Posted by: Nazdar at September 10, 2026 12:11 PM (NcvvS)

3 SPONGE!!!

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 10, 2026 12:11 PM (Rm1ix)

4 We can't afford it, but it's a better use of money we can't afford than nearly anything else the federal government does.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at September 10, 2026 12:11 PM (N1tpc)

5 I have to say I don't like the proposal. At the same time, I understand the tactics of it.

Still don't like it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:11 PM (Y/06r)

6 These Republican assholes don't deserve Trump trying to carry them over the finish line.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:12 PM (b+pJs)

7 Fetterman is strange. By his voting (aside from some issues) this is just talk. At the same time, he seems to be drifting.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:12 PM (Y/06r)

8 Fetterman is going for the gusto

Posted by: Skip at September 10, 2026 12:12 PM (5ZFmQ)

9 This almost certainly won't happen and there's not enough money collected from tariffs to even do this.

=======

If you space it out over 3 years or so, there's enough.

But, yeah, probably not going to happen.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:14 PM (qE8uT)

10 >>I have to say I don't like the proposal. At the same time, I understand the tactics of it.

Still don't like it.

+1

Posted by: Nazdar at September 10, 2026 12:14 PM (NcvvS)

11 Don't like it but even if I did, the Dem's will always promise more.

Posted by: WisRich at September 10, 2026 12:15 PM (G0vdT)

12 We’re getting an allowance?

Posted by: Cow Demon at September 10, 2026 12:15 PM (WB/3O)

13 Great strategy. No, I don't think it will happen. But for campaign fodder, it's brilliant.

And not for just the obvious, that it's a bribe for voting GOP. No, I don't like bribes for voting, but that ship sailed decades ago and the Democraps have been fisting our asses with it. If you can't beat em, join em. It's all our fucking money anyway at the end of the day. I'd like some of my own money back, please.

But the strategy is also brilliant for a more subtle reason: it highlights how much money the tariffs are bringing in, and how badly foreign cuntpricks were fucking Americans over for decades.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:15 PM (iFTx/)

14 This almost certainly won't happen and there's not enough money collected from tariffs to even do this.

The point of something like this is to make the Democrats and a few non-MAGA Republicans stop it

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:15 PM (sKqQm)

15 Fetterman is puttin' on the ritz.

Posted by: far cry at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (fmbc9)

16 "What if the filthy communists ran it" has to asked of all these proposals. Always remember that you're dealing with a crime syndicate, not a political party

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (/d5KG)

17 This is patently absurd, you can never out spend or out rebate the democrats.

Besides, for this not to be inflationary, you need to "destroy" an equal amount of money, ie taxes or fees or whatever da f***.

Again, resolve the situation in Iran, stabilize markets, bring down the price or petroleum and energy.

That alone would bring massive relief with economic knock on effects.

Keep dicking around in Iran and Trump, and by extensions, us, are going to be up Schlitz Creek come the mid-terms.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (XV/Pl)

18
Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.

Posted by: I may have just made that up at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (2Ez/1)

19 7 Fetterman is strange. By his voting (aside from some issues) this is just talk. At the same time, he seems to be drifting.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:12 PM (Y/06r)

========

He's a leftist with one heterodox view that is going to sink him in the primary in 2028 so he can't win as a Democrat.

He's wondering if party switching will help, and gauging support.

I suspect that if he does try the party switch, he'll tank badly in the primary and end up with no one liking him because he is such a leftist.

I'd love to see him run as an independent, like Sinema didn't have the balls to do, just to tank the party he's part of that he obviously has growing disdain for. Even if he just pulls 5%, it's going to be majority Democrats uncomfortable with the new direction of the party which will be more than enough to give the senate seat to the GOP in a presidential year.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (qE8uT)

20 But the strategy is also brilliant for a more subtle reason: it highlights how much money the tariffs are bringing in, and how badly foreign cuntpricks were fucking Americans over for decades.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:15 PM (iFTx/)

cuntpricks?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (Y/06r)

21 I have to say I don't like the proposal. At the same time, I understand the tactics of it.

Still don't like it.

Concur. I'd rather the money go to paying down the debt.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:17 PM (Riz8t)

22 Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.

Will Marcel Marceau translate?

Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:17 PM (Riz8t)

23 But the strategy is also brilliant for a more subtle reason: it highlights how much money the tariffs are bringing in, and how badly foreign cuntpricks were fucking Americans over for decades.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:15 PM (iFTx/)

cuntpricks?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (Y/06r)
________

I despise these foreigners -- or certain foreigners -- so badly that in my mind they are both cunts and pricks. Neither term alone encapsulates the full extent of their scumbaggery.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:17 PM (iFTx/)

24 It's a write off, Jerry.
They just write it off.

Posted by: Kramer at September 10, 2026 12:18 PM (2Ez/1)

25 1) It won't happen
2) If it does, $1.2T is a drop in a swimming pool of debt we already have.

I don't like admitting this, but the one issue I'm almost all the way blackpilled on is our national debt. I'm sorry, we're not growing our way out of a $40T hole when we add $2T to it every year. Not happening. We are also not going to conjure up a Congress of fiscal hawks that have the means and stones to cut the Federal budget back to bare-bones so we can start paying it down. There will be a reckoning and it will suck, bad.
So, we might as well make blustery commitments to giving everyone "free" money for the time being because it really isn't going to matter.

Posted by: ballistic at September 10, 2026 12:18 PM (oqH4h)

26 I despise these foreigners -- or certain foreigners -- so badly that in my mind they are both cunts and pricks. Neither term alone encapsulates the full extent of their scumbaggery.
Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:17 PM (iFTx/)

'mewling quims' has a certain élan and dash about it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:18 PM (Y/06r)

27 The "affordability crises" is a real thing. The immediate cause is Bidenflation doubling costs but this is actually a long term problem.

The price of goods and services should go down over time. Take a look at the historical number of hours to get a gallon of milk or something similar over time.

For many categories this process stopped in the US years ago because of government regulation, inflation, and our legal culture.

But solving that is no trivial thing.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:18 PM (sKqQm)

28 If you search back, you will find that the first mention of the domestic dividend, was here in the AoSHQ comments, by meh.

There was a guy on twitter had the same idea, same name, great minds and all that, but I said it here first.

Sefton and CBD are against it. I said it was just plain rhetorically smart. It's an election winner.

Posted by: meh at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (kK7U2)

29 I worked with a few Pennsylvanians in the .mil, the old school kinda "youse guys". Tough, and scrappy, let me tell ya. I liked 'em.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (X/q9i)

30 22 Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.

Will Marcel Marceau translate?
Posted by: Archimedes
-------
Seance. Everyone holds hands in the darkness in that Dallas arena so that the medium can channel Mitch and his spirit animal, the Turtle.

Posted by: whig at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (E4rtv)

31 Fetterman is strange. By his voting (aside from some issues) this is just talk. At the same time, he seems to be drifting.

I think he's already decided he can't win the Dem nom, so he's just having fun. He may be that rarest of DC creatures - a person who actually has a code of ethics, and lives by it.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (Riz8t)

32 cuntpricks?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (Y/06r)

They can literally go fuck themselves.

Posted by: Paulie Walnuts at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (fmbc9)

33 As much as I despise the idea of using public funds to buy votes--no matter who does it or how--a part of me would love to be in some way compensated for loss of opportunity, ravages of inflation, and all that. Especially while I'm trying to sleep in my car in Alabama heat with my health issues.

Roman generals promised their troops land holdings from conquered territories. I suppose whoever offers a modern equivalent wins all the marbles, but everyone's just too scared to cross that Rubicon.

Posted by: Brother Tim is tired at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (OUMaO)

34 Fetterlump can be the turd in the commie punchbowl.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (/d5KG)

35 Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.

Will Marcel Marceau translate?
Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:17 PM (Riz8t)

Set up the Ouija boards.

Posted by: Diogenes at September 10, 2026 12:20 PM (2WIwB)

36 $5000. I think I've heard this song and dance before.

Posted by: Case at September 10, 2026 12:20 PM (noln+)

37 If you had predicted that the debt would reach $40 trillion by 2026 all the way back in 2012 when Paul Ryan's VP choice represented the high watermark of wonky fiscal conservatism, you'd say that we'd already defaulted.

Being the reserve currency papers over a lot of sins. Being the lone country on earth with halfway decent property rights does a bit more.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:20 PM (qE8uT)

38 I thought we agreed that 'stimmy' checks kicked off a huge amount of inflation, no?

Why not just promise a tax holiday for those making under $120k? Or any number of other things that don't require taking tax money and giving a small amount back? Not feeling the genius part.

Posted by: weft cut-loop at September 10, 2026 12:20 PM (HeG1i)

39 Fetterman is a 2010 era leftwing Democrat.

The problem is he seems to have some actual internal views on politics and by this point according to the FNM/Democrats that makes him right wing.

Whatever most elected Democrats believe they just repeat the approved narrative which of course keeps going further and further left

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:20 PM (sKqQm)

40 Sorry, but this reeks of desperation.

And what do you think handing every American $5k would do for inflation? It would spike to worse than it was under Covid. I just get tired of having to defend terrible ideas with "but Democrats do it!". Bad policy is bad policy.

I dont think Trump really understands that most of why he was elected in 2024 was because inflation was breaking people economically. It's why hispanics and blacks voted for him in record numbers, they were feeling real economic pain under Biden/Harris.

Inflation is "less bad" than it was, but it really should be zero right now.

I'll await the usual chorus of being a concern troll.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 12:21 PM (9dTNV)

41 I despise these foreigners -- or certain foreigners -- so badly that in my mind they are both c***s and pr***s. Neither term alone encapsulates the full extent of their scumbaggery.

You're neglecting other bodily orifices which would give your neologism added punch.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:21 PM (Riz8t)

42 How much fraud is built into the budget currently?

Posted by: meh at September 10, 2026 12:21 PM (kK7U2)

43 20th century me is laughing at how stupid it is to tax people to give them back their money and take credit for it. 21st century me is not surprised this is a Republican idea.

Posted by: Ted Torgerson at September 10, 2026 12:21 PM (wGerL)

44 The price of goods and services should go down over time.
---

That's crazy talk. The "expert" economists admonish us that 2 to 3% currency inflation on an annual basis is "good for the economy". This means your savings AND investments are cut in half every 20 years. And of course, you owe tax on the nominal number "gains".

Good for whom, exactly?

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:21 PM (X/q9i)

45 I know math is frowned upon around here but there are around 250M US adults. at $5,000 a piece, the price tag is $1.25 Trillion.

Posted by: WisRich at September 10, 2026 12:22 PM (G0vdT)

46 My suggestion for a "stimulus" - stop collecting income tax. Send the IRS agents that work in those departments to go shovel snow in Alaska and let people know they no longer have to submit taxes.

And give people even one year of this and it would be very, very hard for the government to bring it back...

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:22 PM (sKqQm)

47 You're neglecting other bodily orifices which would give your neologism added punch.

Posted by: Archimedes

Look, I tried to tell ya...

Posted by: Gary Johnston, Team America at September 10, 2026 12:22 PM (OUMaO)

48 Seance. Everyone holds hands in the darkness in that Dallas arena so that the medium can channel Mitch and his spirit animal, the Turtle.
Posted by: whig

Boo!

Posted by: Songbird McCain at September 10, 2026 12:22 PM (/d5KG)

49 18
Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.
Posted by: I may have just made that up at September 10, 2026 12:16 PM (2Ez/1)

Anyone else thinking of Captain Pike with a blinking light?

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at September 10, 2026 12:22 PM (N39Ws)

50 Trump's "dividend" payola scheme isn't going to fly. But I appreciate the offer.

It's better than having the Democrats and their foot soldiers making death threats to me if I don't vote "the right way."

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 10, 2026 12:23 PM (2Cry5)

51 45 I know math is frowned upon around here but there are around 250M US adults. at $5,000 a piece, the price tag is $1.25 Trillion.

Posted by: WisRich at September 10, 2026 12:22 PM (G0vdT)

=======

If this is tied to tariff revenues, it's actually not inflationary because the Fed wouldn't be printing new dollars for it.

They'd be taking dollars they're already receiving from importers and just handing them over to taxpayers.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:23 PM (qE8uT)

52 Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.

Brought to you by OpenAI.

Posted by: WisRich at September 10, 2026 12:23 PM (G0vdT)

53 Anyone else thinking of Captain Pike with a blinking light?

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed

It could be worse. It could be the dawn of the Mitchleks.

Posted by: Brother Tim is tired at September 10, 2026 12:24 PM (OUMaO)

54 r/TheBulwark

fiscally responsible party btw, $1 Trillion stimulus for no reason when we supposedly have “the greatest economy in the history of our country”

Hear me out. Use it. Promise 7k checks if every Republican loses. Dems need to go all “6 minute abs” on this stupid idea.

Make it $8,647 checks, just to trigger some dipshits.

Proposing to bribe people by increasing inflation EVEN FURTHER instead of ending his idiotic tariffs or wars is definitely a choice.

Idiocracy shit. And of course the likes of Fox News and the New York Post are promoting this today like it isn’t the absolutely insane, stupid, and corrupt move that it is. I hate it here.

The lie isn't designed to sway voters to vote for his party, it's to make a reason Republican voters should be violent towards Democratic voters should the latter take the Senate and House

Posted by: Intercepted Reddit Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison at September 10, 2026 12:24 PM (t19vo)

55 The American republic will survive until the Congress figures out it can bribe the public with the public's money.

Posted by: Alexis de Tocquiville at September 10, 2026 12:24 PM (wGerL)

56 Republicans have been talking about the debt for decades. The voters simply do not care. Frustrating, yes, but there it is.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:25 PM (2UnvF)

57 Make it $8,647 checks, just to trigger some dipshits.

OK, at least this one understands the Way of the Troll.

Posted by: Brother Tim is tired at September 10, 2026 12:25 PM (OUMaO)

58 56 Republicans have been talking about the debt for decades. The voters simply do not care. Frustrating, yes, but there it is.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:25 PM (2UnvF)

==========

"Cut theirs, not mine."
-The American public's approach to the national debt

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:25 PM (qE8uT)

59 Again, the entire "affordability" claim, is tied almost exclusively to the price of fuel and transportation.

The optimum price for a gallon of gas is around 2.50, it's over 4 f***ing dollars for regular and in some places diesel is over 8 bucks, that make filling up a tractor trailer a $2500 dollar proposition.

And for regular folks that turns a 30 dollar fill-up into an 80 or 100 dollar fill-up depending on the size of their gas tank.

Lower fuel costs means more money in peoples pocket and lessens the impression that "everything" is too expensive, both literally and figuratively.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (XV/Pl)

60 Why not just promise a tax holiday for those making under $120k?
----

Simply revert to the 1916 income tax tables. 2% starting at wages equal to $500,000 in today's confetti-bucks.

Nobody making 150 grand a year should be paying anything to a government with a printing press in the first place.

The government needed revenue in 1916 because the money supply was fixed, to some degree. What is there excuse now?

"It's the right thing to do" was Barky's answer, when a reporter asked him why would he be in favor, if taxing people at a higher level actually resulted in less revenue. Which it does.

Now that's a retarded SOB that thinks that way. And he didn't come up with that on his own. Somebody filled his head with that shit.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (X/q9i)

61 Good view of last night's rally.

https://tinyurl.com/yvrkva6e

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (C0oZI)

62 Here is some date of what I was talking about - how many hours of labor to afford 1 gallon of milk by year in the US

1800: 6h
1850: 3h
1900: 2h
1950: 40m
1980: 20m
2000: 12m
2020: 12m
2025: 16m

Note that how the last few increments reverse the trend

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (sKqQm)

63 Make Democrats come out againat buying votes.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (b+pJs)

64 54 Make it $8,647 checks, just to trigger some dipshits.

Posted by: Intercepted Reddit Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison at September 10, 2026 12:24 PM (t19vo)

======

Why would this trigger someone?

Just recreating random shell formations on beaches?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (qE8uT)

65 One year tax holiday. I like it !

Posted by: runner at September 10, 2026 12:27 PM (AKptf)

66 Morning.

Posted by: Robert at September 10, 2026 12:27 PM (dpXJq)

67 So I'm not really worked up about it.

The federal government has confiscated wealth from me at gunpoint my whole working life. And it's spent vast sums on deadbeats and grifters.

To say "I'm not really worked up about" getting some of that back is a Godzilla-sized understatement. And I don't give a rat's hindquarters if CATO or Mitt Romney or someone thinks otherwise.

I'm tired of Potemkin conservatism that is obsessed with form and process, rather than substance and results.

Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (zpcJA)

68 Afternoon Ace.
Republicans have got to convince people that the economy is getting better. Jobs are up , the markets are up, orders are up, but on the ground things are still costly. That is what the voter cares about. If gas drops the Republicans win walking away. If not problems in the House. The Senate is Republican

Posted by: Smell the Glove at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (N2HNb)

69 "I'll just put it on my credit card. I'm never paying that off."
*strums guitar*
"Because I have 30 thousand dollars in credit card debt..."

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, buy ammo at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (xcxpd)

70 Again, the entire "affordability" claim, is tied almost exclusively to the price of fuel and transportation.

The optimum price for a gallon of gas is around 2.50, it's over 4 f***ing dollars for regular and in some places diesel is over 8 bucks, that make filling up a tractor trailer a $2500 dollar proposition.

And for regular folks that turns a 30 dollar fill-up into an 80 or 100 dollar fill-up depending on the size of their gas tank.

Lower fuel costs means more money in peoples pocket and lessens the impression that "everything" is too expensive, both literally and figuratively.
Posted by: Thomas Bender

===

And getting fuel prices down from $5 gas under Biden was maybe the most real world view that Trump's leadership was paying off.

But now its just under $5 in my area, with diesel around $6. And it's not getting better before the election. Iran is determined to sink the GOP and Trump.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (9dTNV)

71 See, this way those who pay taxes, get to keep more moneys, and then stimulate the economy by buying stuff.

Posted by: runner at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (AKptf)

72 Where's my money?

Posted by: I Vote For A Living at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (Z8Kuq)

73 56 Republicans have been talking about the debt for decades. The voters simply do not care. Frustrating, yes, but there it is.
Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:25 PM (2UnvF)

I think it did when fiscal responsibility was actually a matter of fact with people. Did not have the money, could not buy shit. So people had to be aware of how much they made vs how much they spent. Add to that the depression and it fiscally traumatized a couple generations, so it was popular.

Now we are at a weird nexus where people have never had to want for anything or even think about finances to survive. Add to that that they think the government operates by completely different rules (or no rules at all) and you are where we are at.

Hard times-->Hard Men-->Easy Times-->Soft Men (you are here.)-->Hard Times, etc.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (Y/06r)

74
Nobody making 150 grand a year should be paying anything to a government with a printing press in the first place.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (X/q9i)

The federal government spends a bit above 20% of gdp each year. If it weren't collecting much of that, we'd be seeing similar inflation due to money printing.

Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at September 10, 2026 12:29 PM (okun6)

75 What years was it that everyone received a $2,500 rebate?

Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 12:29 PM (E0Et6)

76 The federal government spends a bit above 20% of gdp each year. If it weren't collecting much of that, we'd be seeing similar inflation due to money printing.

The core problem is the government spends way too much but cutting any of the big ticket items has proven difficult to say the least.

That said I like Trump's approach. There is no interest in cutting spending in general from the public so let's cut all the explicitly leftwing things we can find like USAID because they only people that want that continued are leftwing activists...

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (sKqQm)

77 The "affordability crises" is a real thing. The immediate cause is Bidenflation doubling costs but this is actually a long term problem.

The price of goods and services should go down over time. Take a look at the historical number of hours to get a gallon of milk or something similar over time.

For many categories this process stopped in the US years ago because of government regulation, inflation, and our legal culture.

But solving that is no trivial thing.
Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:18 PM (sKqQm)
_______

True, but ... there has never been a moment in my life -- I'm Gen X -- where prices weren't a concern or people weren't complaining about them. My mom can't remember any moment in her life either.

Prices have been endlessly rising -- to varying degrees of inflationary deltas -- since cavemen times. It's inevitable.

The key to combat this is to (i) enact policies that grow wages and wealth, (ii) reduce taxes, and (iii) for consumers to use discretion in what they choose to buy vis-a-vis their income and wealth.

Trump is doing what he can on (i). Sadly, (iii) is beyond anyone's control, and has become a yuge problem.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (iFTx/)

78 59 Again, the entire "affordability" claim, is tied almost exclusively to the price of fuel and transportation.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at September 10, 2026 12:26 PM (XV/Pl)
----

Now do housing.

$100,000 in "housing cost" in 1967 is equivalent to roughly $1.16 million today.

It used to be that a blue-collar worker could get a decent job and go buy a small starter home or at least find a decent rental to get started. Good luck with that shit today. You'll live with your parents or have roommates until you're 45 years old.

Posted by: ballistic at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (oqH4h)

79 70 And getting fuel prices down from $5 gas under Biden was maybe the most real world view that Trump's leadership was paying off.

But now its just under $5 in my area, with diesel around $6. And it's not getting better before the election. Iran is determined to sink the GOP and Trump.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (9dTNV)

=======

Eh.

Current oil prices are tied to speculation, not facts on the ground. All the oil that was getting out of the region pre-conflict is now getting out of the region mixed between pipelines and the ship to ship transfers. The speculation will hit the wall of reality soon enough.

Gas prices are tied to refinery capacity and the fact that summer just won't end. Also, Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, in particular for diesel.

Iran can't influence the oil market anymore except through press releases about things that didn't happen.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (qE8uT)

80 Not sure the promise of 5000 checks was a good move.... The dems and media, the same of course, are all crying "bribery." Trying to figure out Trump's angle on this because he always has one... I'm just not seeing it...

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (+gK6I)

81 54 r/TheBulwark
--

There's a Bulwark sub on reddit? Oof, the cringe levels must be Goldbergian there.

Posted by: J. Frank Parnell at September 10, 2026 12:31 PM (0bjKf)

82 57 Make it $8,647 checks, just to trigger some dipshits.

OK, at least this one understands the Way of the Troll.
Posted by: Brother Tim is tired at September 10, 2026 12:25 PM (OUMaO)

Probably also loves Clancy and is celebrating Kirkaversary today.

Fuck that bitch.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:31 PM (Y/06r)

83 He may be that rarest of DC creatures - a person who actually has a code of ethics, and lives by it.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:19 PM (Riz8t)

With a (D) behind his name? I doubt that.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (b+pJs)

84 You're neglecting other bodily orifices which would give your neologism added punch.
Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:21 PM

I saw Bodily Orifice Neologism at a club in Vegas in the late 90s.
Don't remember much about it. I was high.

Posted by: Stoner Dude at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (2Ez/1)

85 Republicans have been talking about the debt for decades. The voters simply do not care. Frustrating, yes, but there it is.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and a stop at Buc-ee's.

Posted by: Archimedes at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (Riz8t)

86 Prices have been endlessly rising -- to varying degrees of inflationary deltas -- since cavemen times. It's inevitable.

Look at the data I posted.

Price in terms of hours worked have been going down for centuries due to a move to capitalism and scientific advance. That has now stopped.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (sKqQm)

87 If it weren't collecting much of that....
-----

Yeah, if it weren't "collecting that" they might not have any money to allocate for interpretive transexual dance lessons for death row inmates in Peru, and all that bullshit.

It has to stop. This is one way to do it. It's not the only way, but it's a good way.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (X/q9i)

88 I can remember paying 50cents a gallon for gasoline.

Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (E0Et6)

89 'mewling quims' has a certain élan and dash about it.

Joss Whedon is a sleazebag but he wrote some damn good lines.

Posted by: Ian S. at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (2ocoG)

90 80 Not sure the promise of 5000 checks was a good move.... The dems and media, the same of course, are all crying "bribery." Trying to figure out Trump's angle on this because he always has one... I'm just not seeing it...

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (+gK6I)

Appeals to the Democrats' target voters without making much fuss.

Also contingent on Republicans winning both the House and Senate. While the Senate is likely, the House is not.

Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (okun6)

91 It used to be that a blue-collar worker could get a decent job and go buy a small starter home or at least find a decent rental to get started. Good luck with that shit today. You'll live with your parents or have roommates until you're 45 years old.
Posted by: ballistic at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (oqH4h)

Yeah. Trying to go by the old rule of thumb as 10% of the value as downpayment means you have to save between 20 and 50k. That is insane.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (Y/06r)

92 I don't think the FNM accusing Trump of trying to bribe voters is bad for him.

Remember a non-trivial percentage of voters vote primarily based on who they think will give them the most $$$.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:33 PM (sKqQm)

93 73 56 Republicans have been talking about the debt for decades. The voters simply do not care. Frustrating, yes, but there it is.
Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:25 PM (2UnvF)

I think it did when fiscal responsibility was actually a matter of fact with people. Did not have the money, could not buy shit. So people had to be aware of how much they made vs how much they spent. Add to that the depression and it fiscally traumatized a couple generations, so it was popular.

Now we are at a weird nexus where people have never had to want for anything or even think about finances to survive. Add to that that they think the government operates by completely different rules (or no rules at all) and you are where we are at.

Hard times-->Hard Men-->Easy Times-->Soft Men (you are here.)-->Hard Times, etc.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (Y/06r)

It will take a total collapse for anyone to care about fiscal responsibility. Boiling your shoes for dinner kind of collapse. It's like limited government or separation of powers: totally correct but irrelevant because no one gives a shit about either. Politics has completely moved on.

Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 12:34 PM (zpcJA)

94 Mitch is completing his Appalachian Trail through-hike. He just crossed the border into Maine. Will be available for comment soon.

Posted by: Shy Turtle Outdoor Adventures, Inc. at September 10, 2026 12:34 PM (Fn+3X)

95 Also contingent on Republicans winning both the House and Senate. While the Senate is likely, the House is not.
Posted by: Red Turban Someguy at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (okun6)

This I still wonder about, given the redistricting.

But what do I know?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:34 PM (Y/06r)

96 Quato is running that bald headed puppet.

I find it refreshing that, for once, an alien symbiote inhabiting one of our elected representatives appears to be reasonable.

Posted by: Aliens at September 10, 2026 12:35 PM (anL5R)

97 I’ll trade Murkowski for Lumpy straight up, no questions asked. Lumpy would make a terrible republican (as he pointed out), but Murkowski is already a worse republican than he’d ever be

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 12:35 PM (uTFcg)

98 Yeah. Trying to go by the old rule of thumb as 10% of the value as downpayment means you have to save between 20 and 50k. That is insane.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (Y/06r)
----

20% down is the standard I've always heard what what my banks have asked of me, but your point stands.

Even here in Central Texas, finding a decent house in a decent school district and not a 2+ hour drive from your work or anywhere else you'd need to be for less than $200k is a fool's errand. Unless you have mommy and daddy fronting you a down payment and a really good job right out of school, that's already out of reach, so good luck starting that family!

Posted by: ballistic at September 10, 2026 12:35 PM (oqH4h)

99
This I still wonder about, given the redistricting.

But what do I know?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:34 PM (Y/06r)

At this point none of us do... Wish I did..

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:35 PM (+gK6I)

100 He give us all Tre-fiddy.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 12:36 PM (Gqar8)

101 It will take a total collapse for anyone to care about fiscal responsibility. Boiling your shoes for dinner kind of collapse. It's like limited government or separation of powers: totally correct but irrelevant because no one gives a shit about either. Politics has completely moved on.
Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 12:34 PM (zpcJA)

The irony is is that that is what leads to total collapse. Meh.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:36 PM (Y/06r)

102
Current oil prices are tied to speculation, not facts on the ground. All the oil that was getting out of the region pre-conflict is now getting out of the region mixed between pipelines and the ship to ship transfers. The speculation will hit the wall of reality soon enough.

Gas prices are tied to refinery capacity and the fact that summer just won't end. Also, Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, in particular for diesel.

Iran can't influence the oil market anymore except through press releases about things that didn't happen.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

===

Maybe shouldn't matter, but it does.

The price of gas before and after Iran has almost doubled, consumers notice and they ask if this is really worth it.

Politics and markets aren't always fair.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 12:36 PM (9dTNV)

103 One year tax holiday. I like it !
Posted by: runner at September 10, 2026 12:27 PM (AKptf)

I suggested yesterday, that instead of paying 5 grand to every U.S. citizen, pay out the money to all citizens who are record as having paid income tax for at least 4 of the last 5 years. Or who have a lifetime record of being steady taxpayers.

Let the beast compensate those who have been feeding it, and not those who have been sucking on its teats.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 10, 2026 12:37 PM (1z8ji)

104 Where my EBT card at?

Posted by: La'Shondra at September 10, 2026 12:37 PM (2Ez/1)

105 Prices have been endlessly rising -- to varying degrees of inflationary deltas -- since cavemen times. It's inevitable.

Look at the data I posted.

Price in terms of hours worked have been going down for centuries due to a move to capitalism and scientific advance. That has now stopped.
Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (sKqQm)
_______

Yea, I saw that. But that was for one item -- milk -- whose price uncharacteristically spiked in the last few years. Steak probably also would show the same thing.

If you chose an item like computing power, or size of TV screens, or neon green dildos, the hour-per-X would be falling off a cliff.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:37 PM (iFTx/)

106 Prices have been endlessly rising -- to varying degrees of inflationary deltas -- since cavemen times
------

But in the ordinary course of events, in the absence of crooked kings and potentates and politicians, prices for things go down. Not up. We've been trained to accept that half of our wealth is confiscated every 20 years, at minimum. And we owe tax on the "gains". Think about that, that's insane.

Better than an outright debt default overnight, and reneging on bond payments, and "cash on the barrelhead" for imports, like so many countries have undergone.

Is there a single currency still in existence from say, 1914? Other than the Dollar I mean. Sure, it's lost 99 per cent of its purchasing power since then, but technically it still spends. That has to be some sort of record.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:37 PM (X/q9i)

107 95 This I still wonder about, given the redistricting.

But what do I know?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:34 PM (Y/06r)

=======

Redistricting brought the number of safe GOP seats to about 213. Safe Democrat seats are about 205.

That leaves less than 20 total seats that are up for grabs for real this election.

We're talking coin flip results across those races that can go one way or the other.

Pure numbers, advantage does seem to be to the GOP, but turnout differential is always going to be a thing that advantages the party out of power.

a 50/50 split leads to a GOP majority. A 70-30 split advantage to Ds leads to a Democrat majority, but a bare one.

The 2020 redraw and the subsequent redistricting fights really just exploded the number of safe seats on both sides.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:37 PM (qE8uT)

108 Sorry if someone has already reported on this, but Insty has a post about Congresscritter Brandon Gill's based "land acknowledgement" last night. It's a hoot.

Posted by: Martin Tell at September 10, 2026 12:37 PM (tSPGB)

109 Not sure the promise of 5000 checks was a good move.... The dems and media, the same of course, are all crying "bribery." Trying to figure out Trump's angle on this because he always has one... I'm just not seeing it...

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (+gK6I)

The DNC has scripted Narratives it is waiting sometimes years to deploy. Trump likes to disrupt those games by making his own headlines and reframing debates.

Bottom line he wants headlines and narrative and to disrupt their games. He knows like they do that voters are not deep thinkers.

D'swant to make it about ideology or a bad economy and "struggling" voters. This disrupts all of that and what's more they can't ignore it, they HAVE to fight it because it's like chum to the voter sharks.

Everyone, most of all potential D voters, wants their "cut" - and he does it without even flinching.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:37 PM (b+pJs)

110 97 I’ll trade Murkowski for Lumpy straight up, no questions asked. Lumpy would make a terrible republican (as he pointed out), but Murkowski is already a worse republican than he’d ever be

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 12:35 PM (uTFcg)

=======

This would be an even trade and lead to no changes at all.

At least Murkowski seems to be disliked by everyone in Alaska.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:38 PM (qE8uT)

111 A Federal Tax Holiday. That’s funny right there.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 12:38 PM (Gqar8)

112 The price of gas before and after Iran has almost doubled, consumers notice and they ask if this is really worth it.

I do have to laugh though when viewed in the lens of actual American history...

Korea: 50K dead was it worth it?
The WoT: 5K dead was it worth it?
The Current Iran conflict: $4.09 for gas was it worth it?

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:38 PM (sKqQm)

113 I can remember paying 50cents a gallon for gasoline.
Posted by: Ben Had

Those were the days weren't they Ben?

Posted by: Tuna at September 10, 2026 12:38 PM (lJ0H4)

114 What years was it that everyone received a $2,500 rebate?
Posted by: Ben Had

From April 2020 to Dec. 2021 a series of payments were authorized.

April 2020 - was up to $1200
Dec. 2020 - was up to $600
March 2021 - was up to $1400

Posted by: weft cut-loop at September 10, 2026 12:38 PM (HeG1i)

115 we watched Trump's speech last night and were taken back to October 22, 2018 when he landed in Houston for one of his rallies

the man is impressive, his enthusiasm is unbounded

Posted by: DanMan at September 10, 2026 12:38 PM (8uzBS)

116 18
Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.
-------------------------------------------
Seance? "Mitch, rap twice for tax cut."

Posted by: Martin Tell at September 10, 2026 12:39 PM (tSPGB)

117 Dems - "We know you are struggling. We are fighting for YOU. Trump has failed you. Socialism is the answer." and on and on and on. For months to November.

Dummy Voter: "But Trump said he's giving me 5 grand."

It really is that simple.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:39 PM (b+pJs)

118 I'm tired of Potemkin conservatism that is obsessed with form and process, rather than substance and results.

Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (zpcJA)

Yes, exactly.

Here's the thing...Yes, the national debt is important, but-

the Democrats have become such a bizarre chimera of corruption, insanity, Chinese and Iranian bribery, political murder, feminism, anti-infantism, and just plain ole anti-humanism,

that they've actually become an existential and civilizational threat to the USA.

As a thought experiment: extend the Biden administration 4 more years into the future and what do we have at that point?

Nothing good or sustainable in my estimation.

So, a conservative party unho0lding the norms of American and Western civilization is just fine with me.

And if we have to use to same financial tricks as the Democrats to get it, so be it.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 10, 2026 12:40 PM (iJfKG)

119 102 Maybe shouldn't matter, but it does.

The price of gas before and after Iran has almost doubled, consumers notice and they ask if this is really worth it.

Politics and markets aren't always fair.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 12:36 PM (9dTNV)

========

Actually, it would surprise you.

But there's almost no relationship between gas prices and relative performance in midterms.

https://x.com/TonerousHyus/status/
2097832343964668203

It's a relationship that seemingly makes sense but actually has no real world backing.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:40 PM (qE8uT)

120 Fetterman's actions are only surprising because we dont see any '70s and '80s Democrats anymore. Closed borders, protectionist tariff policies, America first - this was the Dick Gephardt wing of the party before they abandoned the working man in favor of the non-working man, trannies, 9th month abortions, and foreigners who hate America.

Posted by: Wally at September 10, 2026 12:41 PM (sj4AY)

121 20% down is the standard I've always heard what what my banks have asked of me, but your point stands.
-----

Prior to the Depression, home loans were 50% down, usually in gold, 7 year notes, callable at any time.

It was the GI Bill and Home Loans that extended low interest, low down payments into 30 year mortgages. It worked beautifully, and then it turned into a huge scam. First collapse for Fannie Mae was in 1968. Milk it for all its worth, and then offload it back to the Government. Uncle Sam is good for it.

Mortgage Backed Securities. The notion that throwing a couple AAA loans into a tranch of shit, will magically make the whole thing AAA. Remember that nonsense? They did it all over again.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:41 PM (X/q9i)

122 Actually, it would surprise you.

But there's almost no relationship between gas prices and relative performance in midterms.

https://x.com/TonerousHyus/status/
2097832343964668203

It's a relationship that seemingly makes sense but actually has no real world backing.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:40 PM (qE8uT)

Hope you're right because the IRGC continues to lob missiles..

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (+gK6I)

123 Seance at 8pm Eastern Time!!!

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (Gqar8)

124 True, but ... there has never been a moment in my life -- I'm Gen X -- where prices weren't a concern or people weren't complaining about them. My mom can't remember any moment in her life either.

Prices have been endlessly rising -- to varying degrees of inflationary deltas -- since cavemen times. It's inevitable.

Posted by: Elric The Blade

==

Also Gen X, but I think people complaining about inflation specifically has just not been much of a thing in my adult life. Things being expensive yes, but we really havent seen something like this since the late 70's/early 80's.

There were a lot of tailwinds that kept it in check, like globalization, e commerce, technology, etc.

But inflation for real world people has been way worse than the stats make them out to be. I would say the dollar has been devalued nearly 50% since 2020/Covid.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (9dTNV)

125 AOP. Pay for it with tariffs and eliminating fraud. Fraud hurts everyone. Where's SS/D going to be when we can't pay the interest on the debt? We all buy imported goods.

If you will pay voters, pay them all. Also, do you live in Canada? That's a bad place. Last time I was in Toronto Airport, non-whites were allowed to skip the border control line with a passport. Non-white airport officials were opening the line guards and waving them through. I talked the two white male Canadian Citizens into inquiring if they could also skip with Canadian passports, and they got were given a stern "No Sir, stay in the line".

Posted by: meh at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (kK7U2)

126 It used to be that a blue-collar worker could get a decent job and go buy a small starter home or at least find a decent rental to get started. Good luck with that shit today. You'll live with your parents or have roommates until you're 45 years old.
Posted by: ballistic at September 10, 2026 12:30 PM (oqH4h)

No one is building small starter homes anymore. The developers are all building McMansions, all the same color, crammed cheek by jowl onto tiny lots, with scarcely enough room to drag a cigarette paper between adjacent houses. Same here in Canada. I saw an ad for a basement suite in my little town: $1000/month. Sheesh!

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (1z8ji)

127 112 I do have to laugh though when viewed in the lens of actual American history...

Korea: 50K dead was it worth it?
The WoT: 5K dead was it worth it?
The Current Iran conflict: $4.09 for gas was it worth it?

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:38 PM (sKqQm)

==========

Iraq and TDS has broken the average American mind about warfare.

We can't see that Iran's currency has inflated by 5% in the last three days (which it has) as anything like the US winning. No, it's all about a strait and whether it has the same amount of energy flowing through it as before the conflict started.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (qE8uT)

128 But now its just under $5 in my area, with diesel around $6. And it's not getting better before the election. Iran is determined to sink the GOP and Trump.
Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 12:28 PM (9dTNV)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If we are WINNING, then HOW is IRAN having more influence on our price of gas than we ourselves. Didn't we already get OVER this hump? What gives??

Posted by: Garfunkel's Sowed Oats at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (V87Oy)

129 $5,000 rebate is both eloquent and tacky.

It's eloquent because it, somewhat, neuters the main campaign issue of costs (grocery, insurance, gas). Somewhat. At the same time, it sends a message to foreign countries that if they continue to challenge our negotiation tactics, there are more tariffs to be gifted.

It's tacky in that is akin to bribery for votes. And, a decade ago I would have drop kicked the idea like I would like to do to tiny yapping dogs. But, that's how our opposition plays the game, and I was adamant in my belief that the Republicans didn't know how to level the field and play the game to win. This is fighting....as distasteful as it is.

Posted by: Orson at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (dIske)

130 "And, in theory, this is a rebate of taxes collected from foreign sellers. In other words, it's a rebate of a tariffs, which are tax-like. So it's a rebate for taxes paid."

Hate to break it to you Ace, but the taxes are collected from American importers. It's an excise tax on Americans paid by Americans. That's just what it is.

Posted by: Earl Schlobodowicz at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (VUSYV)

131 Yea, I saw that. But that was for one item -- milk -- whose price uncharacteristically spiked in the last few years. Steak probably also would show the same thing.

I checked Bread and it has a similar pattern.I don't think there are publicly available prices over time on dildos (but there is a reason that those old stories had witches "riding" brooms...)

Next I checked Doctor visits, that reached a minimum price in hours worked in the 1970s and has been increasing since then.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (sKqQm)

132 George McGovern promised voters a $1000 stipend if he were elected

(younger readers might not recognize the name or comprehend the reference)

Posted by: Don Black at September 10, 2026 12:43 PM (ZxPkt)

133 122 Hope you're right because the IRGC continues to lob missiles..

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (+gK6I)

=======

Half explode in the air. 75% of the rest get intercepted. The final 25% just land in the desert or water without hitting anything.

They lauded themselves for using brand new tech in their missiles...which is 50 years old.

All while S2S transfers continue to healthfully rise because no one believes Iran anymore.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:43 PM (qE8uT)

134 A little late to the party but I will offer my 5 sheckels. I served on a murder trial in Boston in 1994. (I happened to be in law school in Boston.) Though I did acknowledge in the jury room that I was in law school, I did not play an active role in jury matters. I chimed in here and there on factual things but did not make an @ss of myself. One thing that I noticed is that despite admonitions not to talk about the case during breaks, that's what we did during breaks (not much else to do pre-smart phones). I found that that brought the jury together and we wanted to make the right decision. We were invested in doing the right thing and not just getting outta there ASAP. It was a fascinating experience all around, including earning $155 while I was on Spring break.

Posted by: Dark Lixtiquatal at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (Fv808)

135
I didn't watch Trump's speech last night, but I did watch it this morning.

I pretty much wore a goofy grin through the whole thing. Just entertaining as hell.

There will never be another Trump but hopefully, at least, the Republicans are taking notes on what he does and how he does it.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (iJfKG)

136 AOP, do still have the same phone number?

Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (E0Et6)

137 The price of gas has not doubled… hyperbole. In my AO it was around $3.30 per gallon in Feb… now it hovers around $3.75…. Not even close to double

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (uTFcg)

138 Seance at 8pm Eastern Time!!!
Posted by: tubal

Be there or be square, my friendshhh.

Posted by: Songbird McCain at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (/d5KG)

139 Price in terms of hours worked have been going down for centuries due to a move to capitalism and scientific advance. That has now stopped.
Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:32 PM (sKqQm)

Or the price curve is asymptotically approaching the true value curve. Trend lines never go on forever.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (1z8ji)

140 Misfit Patriot about the $5K rebate: "How many people do you think will take that deal and vote red in November for the first time? It's definitely not zero."

Concur.

I watched Foreman's Fetterman post last night, and I'm thinking that there are a LOT of sane Dems that prefer Fetterman to Hasan Piker and that bunch. They won't identify as MAGA or even GOP-e, but if Fetterman thinks it's OK to vote for a non-threatening Republican who will defend America and its children, well, maybe they won't pull the lever for a Pikerite.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (rj6Yv)

141 The personal cost to me of the President crushing a mortal enemy of the Republic is what, exactly? A few less trips to an overpriced coffee for a few months?? The horror. The suffering of a nation, that is.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (Gqar8)

142
There will never be another Trump but hopefully, at least, the Republicans are taking notes on what he does and how he does it.

You can see elements of Trump in his closest allies and subordinates. It will be a tough, tough question as to who the standard bearer should be to continue MAGA in 2028...

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (sKqQm)

143 What new-ish argument can Democrats make in a sentence that can't be easily answered with "But Trump is giving me 5 grand."

"Trump doesn't care about you."
"But Trump is giving me 5 grand."

"Republicans have failed."
"But Trump is giving me 5 grand."

"The war in Iran is terrible. Look at gas."
"But Trump is giving me 5 grand."

"We are for the Workers."
"But Trump is giving me 5 grand."

"You have been forgotten."
"But Trump is giving me 5 grand."

"The Palestinians are suffering."
"But Trump is giving me 5 grand."

This isn't to convince *everyone*. It's to defuse the D's before they even start their bs.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (b+pJs)

144 137 The price of gas has not doubled… hyperbole. In my AO it was around $3.30 per gallon in Feb… now it hovers around $3.75…. Not even close to double

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (uTFcg)

========

Yeah, that's the other thing.

Combine that with the wage increases and the fact that increased energy prices are not actually leading to increased prices anywhere else, and you've got a situation where what little effect gas prices may have had in previous elections is just incredibly muted now.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (qE8uT)

145 Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.

Scientists detected him starting to draw a breath at 12:00 pm today.

Kind of like how we get solar flare warnings.

Posted by: t-bird at September 10, 2026 12:46 PM (hwv1/)

146 Fetterman dems don't have to vote republican. They can just not vote.

Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 12:46 PM (E0Et6)

147 Posted by: Dark Lixtiquatal at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (Fv80

Did you convict or acquit?

Posted by: Bulg at September 10, 2026 12:47 PM (77rzZ)

148 I can remember paying 50cents a gallon for gasoline.

I can remember when gas was 29cents and it shot up to 45cents - circa 1974 or so

I could fill up the tank on my dad's Maverick for $5 before the crippling gouge.

"Dad!! are we going run out of oil!!!" as a Getty Oil guy his calm response was..."it will never happen"

Posted by: DanMan at September 10, 2026 12:47 PM (8uzBS)

149 Loved when Trump was criticizing Talarico with "He doesn't eat meat" Said he was running on beat meat.... LOL

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:47 PM (+gK6I)

150 Mitch will speak tonight at 8:00 pm.

Calling this right now the top threads on reddit will be:

This is obviously a body double

Mitch is AI generated I asked ChatGPT to prove he wasn't and it couldn't!

Who cares of Mitch is alive or dead, why hasn't Trump released the secret Epstein files?

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:47 PM (sKqQm)

151 > You can see elements of Trump in his closest allies and subordinates. It will be a tough, tough question as to who the standard bearer should be to continue MAGA in 2028...
---------
It'll still be Trump. From the sidelines. Just like Obama. But, you know, not an asshole.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 10, 2026 12:49 PM (2Cry5)

152 OK, so it was disgusting to him but he was convinced in the end that she wasn't guilty? I don't get this reasoning at all.
----------------------------------------

A male juror in the mistrial of Lindsay Clancy said the lone holdout on the 12-person panel wrapped one of the exercise bands the mom used to kill her children around a water bottle to mimic their strangulation in the deliberation room.

Juror number 10 Nick Dargie said the holdout had every right to his opinion but that the reenactment using the same exercise bands left the room speechless.

“I was so shocked. We’re not here to play detective – it’s not a game of Clue. This is serious,” Dargie, 25, the fifth juror to come forward in the macabre case out of Duxbury, Mass., told ABC’s “GMA” in an interview that aired Thursday morning.

“I asked him why are you doing that? That’s a band that was used to strangle a child. That’s disgusting.”

Posted by: beckster at September 10, 2026 12:49 PM (kX27y)

153 All while S2S transfers continue to healthfully rise because no one believes Iran anymore.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:43 PM (qE8uT)
=======

The YT channel "What's Going On With Shipping?" covered that pretty well in yesterday's video. The USN convoy system "pulses" ship and cargo passage through the strait, so the best trendline is the total number of ships passing through over a week's time to get an accurate picture of success.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 12:50 PM (rj6Yv)

154 Oh and pulled the numbers on the earlier more accurate inflation numbers (the one we used in the 80s)

2021: 10%
2022: 15%
2023: 9%
2024: 7%

This is something the GOP should be running on

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:50 PM (sKqQm)

155 152
“I was so shocked. We’re not here to play detective – it’s not a game of Clue. This is serious,” Dargie, 25, the fifth juror to come forward in the macabre case out of Duxbury, Mass., told ABC’s “GMA” in an interview that aired Thursday morning.

“I asked him why are you doing that? That’s a band that was used to strangle a child. That’s disgusting.”

Posted by: beckster at September 10, 2026 12:49 PM (kX27y)

====

"We're not here to play detective. Now, listen to this nurse juror introduce new evidence and interpretations based on her expert testimony not shared in open court."

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:50 PM (qE8uT)

156 “I asked him why are you doing that? That’s a band that was used to strangle a child. That’s disgusting.”

Posted by: beckster at September 10, 2026 12:49 PM (kX27y)

I'm speechless...

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:51 PM (+gK6I)

157 “I asked him why are you doing that? That’s a band that was used to strangle a child. That’s disgusting.”

Posted by: beckster at September 10, 2026 12:49 PM (kX27y)

--------------

Proving yet again that Massachusetts is retarded.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:51 PM (2UnvF)

158 LMAO The jury is madder at the guy for strangling a water bottle than at the woman for doing it to her three kids.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:51 PM (b+pJs)

159 153
The YT channel "What's Going On With Shipping?" covered that pretty well in yesterday's video. The USN convoy system "pulses" ship and cargo passage through the strait, so the best trendline is the total number of ships passing through over a week's time to get an accurate picture of success.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 12:50 PM (rj6Yv)

========

And despite Iran announcing this missile launch or that minor strike on a cargo ship of grain that was allowed to dock at Bandar Abbas, the rest of the oil world doesn't care.

Because these ships are making like $1 million a day in wartime premiums for doing the work.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:51 PM (qE8uT)

160 It will be a tough, tough question as to who the standard bearer should be to continue MAGA in 2028...

I nominate Marco Rubio for the Cabinet. The entire Cabinet.

Posted by: t-bird at September 10, 2026 12:52 PM (hwv1/)

161 That's not eco friendly!!! Harangue harangue!!!!!

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:52 PM (b+pJs)

162 The best argument for the Clancy jury/girls I've run across is that they are viewing this through the mindset of their own abortions.

If she was wrong to kill her kids so were they, so better to argue she wasn't to blame...

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:52 PM (sKqQm)

163 The price of gas has not doubled… hyperbole. In my AO it was around $3.30 per gallon in Feb… now it hovers around $3.75…. Not even close to double

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (uTFcg)

========

Yeah, that's the other thing.

Combine that with the wage increases and the fact that increased energy prices are not actually leading to increased prices anywhere else, and you've got a situation where what little effect gas prices may have had in previous elections is just incredibly muted now.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:45 PM (qE8uT)
_______

Yea and add in the stock market values that have drastically increased wealth.

Sure, a big chunk was taken out of the purchasing power of a dollar because of Biden's runaway inflation. But DJ is over over 50% in the last 5 years. NASDAQ over 70%. Certain blue-chips like AAPL are up 125%.

So while the dollar lost some of its power, anyone with money in the market now has many more dollars.

Some people won't feel this because most if not all of their money is in 401k or retirement accounts. But they will feel the benefit of that when they retire.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 12:53 PM (iFTx/)

164 AOP, do still have the same phone number?
Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (E0Et6)

Yes. I have two numbers. The one beginning with "7" is used when I am in the USA, and the one with "5" when I am at home. I will try sending you a text from the latter.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 10, 2026 12:53 PM (1z8ji)

165 Giving a $5000 rebate is a terrible idea. What is to stop the Democrats from upping the ante to $10,000?

Our yearly fiscal deficit is out of control. The last thing we need to do is add another trillion dollars to it, and that is about what this move would do.

Posted by: Ralph at September 10, 2026 12:53 PM (8WZD4)

166 What is to stop the Democrats from upping the ante to $10,000?
-------

Their own greed? Thats THEIR money.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 12:54 PM (b+pJs)

167 A given is that the Left will say the 5K is just blatant vote buying.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 12:55 PM (Gqar8)

168 >> I can remember paying 50cents a gallon for gasoline.

I remember the first day I saw it go over $1.

Posted by: garrett at September 10, 2026 12:55 PM (zRd05)

169 I'm at the point that if they Dox Mr. Holdout Juror I'll contribute to a GoFundMe so he can sue everyone from his fellow jurors, the defense and the State of Massachusetts into fucking oblivion.

Posted by: Robert at September 10, 2026 12:55 PM (dpXJq)

170 That jury was a complete fucking mess. It just keeps getting worse.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 10, 2026 12:55 PM (/d5KG)

171 LMAO The jury is madder at the guy for strangling a water bottle than at the woman for doing it to her three kids.
==
What that person thinks is disgusting is perfectly inverted. Frankly, he is disgusted by being reminded that he hasn't been disgusted by the crime and should be.

Posted by: Awaken before you dream yourselves to death at September 10, 2026 12:55 PM (anL5R)

172 In politics, as in all things, the ends justifies the means.

If the $5000 bribe drives GOP turnout among young people, let's make it happen. Hell, the GOP should run on wiping out student loan debt to really bring in the youth vote -- it's all government chicanery anyway.

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at September 10, 2026 12:55 PM (qwx/I)

173 Oh you want to know how retard MA is? I worked for a company in a town there. Most of my cow-workers lived in the town and they were excited about a new enviro-nut running for mayor.

Her platform included forcing office parks to repaint their parking spots so 50% were reserved for small cars.

She won. They cheered. The company that owned the office park repainted the lines. Since they mostly drove big trucks and SUVs and many were personally large they started banging each other's cars with their doors.

And then...they were outraged! Someone should sue the company! Someone should make them change parking spot size and on and on.

I pointed out the mayor they wanted did this and aren't they happy they were saving the earth? The answer...it wasn't her fault the company did it so stop blaming her.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:56 PM (sKqQm)

174 Sure, a big chunk was taken out of the purchasing power of a dollar because of Biden's runaway inflation. So while the dollar lost some of its power, anyone with money in the market now has many more dollars.
-----
So, you owe tax on the nominal "gains" if you sell. In terms of purchasing power upon sale, well it's a wash, or even a loss. Nice!

I'm sure the Zimbabwe stock market had nice returns too. As has often been said, they can save the dollar, or they can save the markets, but they can't save both.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 12:56 PM (X/q9i)

175 And despite Iran announcing this missile launch or that minor strike on a cargo ship of grain that was allowed to dock at Bandar Abbas, the rest of the oil world doesn't care.

Because these ships are making like $1 million a day in wartime premiums for doing the work.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:51 PM (qE8uT)

------------------

Every time Iran lobs a missile, oil markets are affected. This latest escapade has pushed WTI around $101.21 and Brent around $106.60. Higher oil -> inflation fears -> higher for longer from the fed -> lower equities markets.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:56 PM (2UnvF)

176 Posted by: Dark Lixtiquatal at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (Fv80
Did you convict or acquit?
Posted by: Bulg

Unfortunately I did nothing, though I knew it was going to be an acquittal. MA chooses alternates right before the jury is sent to deliberate and I got chosen. And boy was I pissed because I'd paid attention and wanted to participate. But the dude was clearly not guilty under the law; this was practice for the really bad state's attorney. And it later turned out the vic was a "debt collector" and I-95 drug runner. ME said the evidence was 50/50. Kinda hard to convict with that.

Posted by: Dark Lixtiquatal at September 10, 2026 12:57 PM (Fv808)

177 175 Every time Iran lobs a missile, oil markets are affected. This latest escapade has pushed WTI around $101.21 and Brent around $106.60. Higher oil -> inflation fears -> higher for longer from the fed -> lower equities markets.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:56 PM (2UnvF)

========

It's definitely not every time.

They've been launching and announcing strikes that never happened every 2-3 days since the MOU went away.

Oil was mostly in the 80s the entire time.

And it's not actually affecting the flow of actual oil.

https://x.com/phileeppos/status/
2098026112936706334

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:58 PM (qE8uT)

178 156 “I asked him why are you doing that? That’s a band that was used to strangle a child. That’s disgusting.”

Posted by: beckster at September 10, 2026 12:49 PM (kX27y)

I'm speechless...
Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 12:51 PM (+gK6I)

Yes. Yes it is disgusting. This bitch you are defending did it three times. To the same children you are mentioning.

These fucking retards are fucking retarded.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:59 PM (Y/06r)

179 So, you owe tax on the nominal "gains" if you sell. In terms of purchasing power upon sale, well it's a wash, or even a loss. Nice!

Get paid some dollars. Government takes half

Put some of those dollars in stock. Government inflates the currency so your Bidenbux are worth half of what they were.

But the inflation drives the price of the stock so you pay 15% tax on that inflation.

Its insane.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 12:59 PM (sKqQm)

180 Prices have been endlessly rising -- to varying degrees of inflationary deltas -- since cavemen times. It's inevitable.
-
I'm old enough to remember when conservatives believed that market forces and competition would naturally cause a decrease in prices over time.

A theory that was easily observable in consumer electronics, before government insisted on putting unlimited resources into the pursuit of AI.

Posted by: Methos, inauthentic X-bot account at September 10, 2026 12:59 PM (vSvIl)

181 It's definitely not every time.

They've been launching and announcing strikes that never happened every 2-3 days since the MOU went away.

Oil was mostly in the 80s the entire time.

And it's not actually affecting the flow of actual oil.

https://x.com/phileeppos/status/
2098026112936706334
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:58 PM (qE8uT)

To my mind, I think we are seeing a lot of rampant speculation for political points.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:59 PM (Y/06r)

182 Giving a $5000 rebate is a terrible idea. What is to stop the Democrats from upping the ante to $10,000?

Our yearly fiscal deficit is out of control. The last thing we need to do is add another trillion dollars to it, and that is about what this move would do.
==
No its a terrible idea. It opens the door to all kinds of moral hazard -UBI reparations - how do you stand on principle when you just agreed to buy votes. You don't. Cat's out of the bag, not going back in.

I suspect they feel like they are in serious trouble and need this for the midterm. I suspect that is correct. I get it. There's no do overs at this point. Its win or we're done. To be honest, I'm surprised he was able to do as much as he has done. But the Titanic is still sinking despite his efforts.

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:00 PM (anL5R)

183 Every time Iran lobs a missile, oil markets are affected. This latest escapade has pushed WTI around $101.21 and Brent around $106.60. Higher oil -> inflation fears -> higher for longer from the fed -> lower equities markets.
Posted by: Duke Lowell at September 10, 2026 12:56 PM (2UnvF)
======

And after a week or so, the price of oil falls to the new market price.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 01:00 PM (rj6Yv)

184 I remember the first day I saw it go over $1
-----

The gasoline pumps back then were mechanical, with analog dials. There was no provision for a gallon over a dollar. They had to price it by the quart until new pumps were eventually installed.

Oil hovered around $2 a barrel for around 20 years. The oils shocks, embargoes, dollar devaluation pretty much nuked the middle class right then. The 1970s were just awful in a lot of ways.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 01:00 PM (X/q9i)

185
OrangeMan Bad !
OrangeMan Bad !!
OrangeMan Bad !!!

* little feet stamps of rage *
* spittle flicks *

Posted by: (D)emocrats & the MSM at September 10, 2026 01:01 PM (0sNs1)

186 Spend moar!!!

Posted by: Nick in Tallahassee at September 10, 2026 01:01 PM (wrEn7)

187 A given is that the Left will say the 5K is just blatant vote buying.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 12:55 PM (Gqar

Yeah we've been trying that argument for years. The vote buyer seems to take precedent.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 01:01 PM (b+pJs)

188 A substantial reverse in asset prices may be headed our way given the Fed's going to raise interest rates.

I think Housing especially is going to drop given the reduction in foreigners via cutting off illegals, TPSs, and H1Bs; we're also on the brink of the silver tsunami as Boomesr (and even us Xers) shift to smaller homes, managed care, or even head off to the great big HOA in the Sky. This could turn over pretty quickly.

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at September 10, 2026 01:01 PM (qwx/I)

189 But the Titanic is still sinking despite his efforts.
Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:00 PM (anL5R)

Ever notice how often we turn into gloomy, doomy bastards?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 01:01 PM (Y/06r)

190 181 To my mind, I think we are seeing a lot of rampant speculation for political points.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:59 PM (Y/06r)

========

It's more believable than the oil market actually believing anything Iran says at this point.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:01 PM (qE8uT)

191 > To my mind, I think we are seeing a lot of rampant speculation for political points.
----------
When literally everything's political these days.... you get a lot of "rampant speculation."

Our media betters... they live it.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 10, 2026 01:01 PM (2Cry5)

192 No its a terrible idea. It opens the door to all kinds of moral hazard -UBI reparations - how do you stand on principle when you just agreed to buy votes. You don't. Cat's out of the bag, not going back in.

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:00 PM (anL5R)
-----

The "blatantly buying votes" horse left the stable about seven decades ago, Tex. Might want to run after it.

Posted by: ballistic at September 10, 2026 01:02 PM (oqH4h)

193 166 What is to stop the Democrats from upping the ante to $10,000?

Normally I'd agree, but the chance of the Dems giving any money to anyone outside their special interest groups is pretty much nil. When was the last time a Dem admin gave a tax cut? Probably before my lifetime.

Posted by: Delurker at September 10, 2026 01:02 PM (2Drhq)

194 One man denied the commies power to alter events. For now.

These demented assholes love the power. Power to exonerate the guilty and jail the innocent. Evidence and facts be damned.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 10, 2026 01:02 PM (/d5KG)

195 The 2 cucks are pissed because if there were 3 cucks, they could feel like there were no cucks. But now they are just 2 sad cucks.

That's why they're "disgusted."

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice's at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM (BI5O2)

196 If I was Trump, I'd go all in on the message "if dems win, they will impeach me on Day 1, and what is that going to do to your 401k?"

A Democrat house will impeach Trump no matter what they say, probably multiple times.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM (9dTNV)

197 Siphon the dividend checks out of Social Security. Or at least pay it out as an advance on Social Security. Frankly as a Gen Xer I'd settle for that.

That would really boost the youth vote!

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM (qwx/I)

198 I assume Trump has gamed this out...

The Dems can respond one of two ways:

1) Damn him for bribing voters who we know don't care

2) Offer their own bribe BUT they can't offer a check to everyone based on the way they work and whatever qualifications they put on it Trump can say "See they are just going to take money from you for themselves"

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM (sKqQm)

199 No its a terrible idea. It opens the door to all kinds of moral hazard -UBI reparations - how do you stand on principle when you just agreed to buy votes. You don't. Cat's out of the bag, not going back in.

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine

We can't put the genie back in the Bible?

Posted by: Bulg at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM (77rzZ)

200 Dems are wailing and gnashing their teeth over John Fetterman, but the Dem Titanic is still sinking despite their anguish.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM (rj6Yv)

201 Trump: You deserve $5000.
Voters: Hey, where's my $5000?
Trump: Ask your congressmen.
Voters: Hey, congressmen. Where's my $5000?

Dem congressman: You don't get $5000. That $5000 should instead be spent on a homeless, drug-addicted, illegal alien homosexual.

Rep congressman: Harummph! Deficit reduction, capital gains reform, corporate welfare, my phony-baloney job...

Voters: That's enough. Get a rope.

Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at September 10, 2026 01:04 PM (PH3st)

202 196 If I was Trump, I'd go all in on the message "if dems win, they will impeach me on Day 1, and what is that going to do to your 401k?"

A Democrat house will impeach Trump no matter what they say, probably multiple times.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM (9dTNV)

========

Every single time a president has been impeached, they've gotten stronger politically.

Trump's first impeachment was so bad for Democrats that they released covid, did mail in ballot fraud for months, and then shut down ballot counting across six states (300,000 illegal ballots in GA alone) in the middle of the night to ballot box stuff like Tammany Hall to barely give Biden an electoral college victory.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:04 PM (qE8uT)

203 194 One man denied the commies power to alter events. For now.

These demented assholes love the power. Power to exonerate the guilty and jail the innocent. Evidence and facts be damned.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 10, 2026 01:02 PM (/d5KG)

Notice how the Clancy situation broke on party lines. (although one can argue more gender, you do not see too many vocal male defenders other than her Mephistopheles attourney.)

It is fucking insane.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 01:04 PM (Y/06r)

204 we're also on the brink of the silver tsunami as Boomesr (and even us Xers) shift to smaller homes, managed care, or even head off to the great big HOA in the Sky. This could turn over pretty quickly.
Posted by: Big Fat Meanie

==

The boomers will die in their mansions. I saw some survey where a pretty significant amount are actually looking at larger homes.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:04 PM (9dTNV)

205 It's definitely not every time.

They've been launching and announcing strikes that never happened every 2-3 days since the MOU went away.

Oil was mostly in the 80s the entire time.

And it's not actually affecting the flow of actual oil.

https://x.com/phileeppos/status/
2098026112936706334
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:58 PM (qE8uT)

To my mind, I think we are seeing a lot of rampant speculation for political points.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at September 10, 2026 12:59 PM (Y/06r)
______

And to stuff pockets with fat speculation profits ....

Part of the issue with prices of certain commodities -- such as oil -- is that they're futures markets. Those markets developed as a way to hedge against future prices to ensure a reasonably steady supply for acquiring the commodity itself.

But then pure speculators got into the futures markets, and they don't care about ever acquiring the commodity. They are solely interested in making profits on the delta. They are undesirable market participants, because the way they make money is generally to drive prices higher.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 01:04 PM (iFTx/)

206 @201 -- bingo, and Idaho Spud bars are awesome!

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at September 10, 2026 01:04 PM (qwx/I)

207 1928, Herbert Hoover: "A chicken in every pot."

2026, Donald Trump, "A chick, and some pot!"

Posted by: zombie at September 10, 2026 01:05 PM (Av6i5)

208 If you're trying to buy votes, give the $5000 to every citizen who votes Republican. Beat the Dems at their own game.

Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:05 PM (UjdFS)

209 The 2 cucks are pissed because if there were 3 cucks, they could feel like there were no cucks. But now they are just 2 sad cucks.

That's why they're "disgusted."
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice's at September 10, 2026 01:03 PM

If those 2 cucks weren't cucks, and had done their manly duty to pleasure those 9 women several times each, it would have been 12-0 to convict.

Posted by: J. Random 'Ron at September 10, 2026 01:06 PM (ayJY9)

210 >>What is to stop the Democrats from upping the ante to $10,000?

Not having the presidency.

Posted by: JackStraw at September 10, 2026 01:06 PM (viF8m)

211 201
Voters: That's enough. Get a rope.
Posted by: Idaho Spudboy
.......

I wish.

Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:06 PM (UjdFS)

212 208 If you're trying to buy votes, give the $5000 to every citizen who votes Republican. Beat the Dems at their own game.

Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:05 PM (UjdFS)

=======

This is the idea behind redirecting the daycare center federal money from daycares to stay at home married parents.

But redirecting those funds which are already appropriated and must be spent to more Republican constituencies is socialism. Instead, Trump should just keep paying daycares exclusively with this funding until Congress ends the fund completely which is going to happen any day now.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:06 PM (qE8uT)

213
"We're not here to play detective. Now, listen to this nurse juror introduce new evidence and interpretations based on her expert testimony not shared in open court."
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:50 PM (qE8uT)
-----------------
"No rational jury" - I bet there's a rational jury out there to be found:

Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer officially filed a Hail Mary bid Thursday asking a judge to find his killer client not guilty by reason of insanity – despite her high-profile case ending with a hung jury.

Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington argued in new court papers that prosecutors at her widely watched five-week trial failed to prove that the 36-year-old Duxbury, Mass., mother knew what she was doing was wrong and could follow the law when she strangled her three kids on Jan. 24, 2023.

“No rational jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that she had no mental disease or defect when the Commonwealth’s own proof established that she did,” Reddington, 75, wrote in the papers.

Posted by: beckster at September 10, 2026 01:06 PM (kX27y)

214 Notice how the Clancy situation broke on party lines. (although one can argue more gender, you do not see too many vocal male defenders other than her Mephistopheles attourney.)

The left sees Clancy as an argument about abortion and Misogyny and no they don't understand why a mother killing her kids would outage other people since it was "her choice"

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 01:06 PM (sKqQm)

215 If some party is gonna give away free money I’d much prefer that republicans do it. At least this way the handout goes to everyone, not just layabouts

Long live Emperor PDJT!

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 01:07 PM (uTFcg)

216 Can confirm. Fetterman has them incandescent with rage. I mean, more than the usual.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 10, 2026 01:07 PM (X/q9i)

217 Every single time a president has been impeached, they've gotten stronger politically.

Trump's first impeachment was so bad for Democrats that they released covid, did mail in ballot fraud for months, and then shut down ballot counting across six states (300,000 illegal ballots in GA alone) in the middle of the night to ballot box stuff like Tammany Hall to barely give Biden an electoral college victory.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

===

I would agree, but the base will demand it.

I remember you were a cuck if you didn't want Obama impeached. Even though to me anyway it was obvious that strategy a would have backfired for us terribly. Just like it did with Clinton.

Just like Trump getting shot helped him enormously, most Democrats still hope assasains keep trying.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:07 PM (9dTNV)

218 Random Question out of the blue: What ever happened to nic Hairyback Guy? Used to make me chuckle…. But it’s been a long long while

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 01:08 PM (uTFcg)

219 $5000. Believe it when you receive it. Until then file it under bullshit.

Posted by: Case at September 10, 2026 01:08 PM (noln+)

220 217 I would agree, but the base will demand it.

I remember you were a cuck if you didn't want Obama impeached. Even though to me anyway it was obvious that strategy a would have backfired for us terribly. Just like it did with Clinton.

Just like Trump getting shot helped him enormously, most Democrats still hope assasains keep trying.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:07 PM (9dTNV)

=======

Democrats getting a majority of less than 5, starting an impeachment special subcommittee on day 1, and eventually working their way to an impeachment vote where 3-8 Democrats who won their elections in Trump+5 or better districts have to make a tough call...

It's honestly one of the best case scenarios for the next Congress, and that includes the GOP hanging onto the majority.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:09 PM (qE8uT)

221 I suspect they feel like they are in serious trouble and need this for the midterm. I suspect that is correct. I get it. There's no do overs at this point. Its win or we're done. To be honest, I'm surprised he was able to do as much as he has done. But the Titanic is still sinking despite his efforts.
-
Congressional Republicans could at least run on their record if they'd done more than nothing at all these last two years.

Posted by: Methos, inauthentic X-bot account at September 10, 2026 01:09 PM (vSvIl)

222 Lindsay was just exercising her Free Will when she slaughtered her children, and how dare anyone obstruct the Free Will of an obviously upset woman??? It’s patriarchal Oppression to judge her!!

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 01:09 PM (Gqar8)

223 Can we start calling Senator Fetterman the Maverick? The previous one is dead and below the Earth's surface (exact magnitude of distance in dispute).

Posted by: Another anon at September 10, 2026 01:09 PM (4h45B)

224 The left sees Clancy as an argument about abortion and Misogyny and no they don't understand why a mother killing her kids would outage other people since it was "her choice"

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 01:06 PM (sKqQm)

I don't even think it goes that far.

Democrats want to be able to kill who they want when they want with extreme prejudice.

They keep telling us - and we keep trying to ferret out their justification with maybe the faint hope we can argue them out of it. But they don't NEED justification.

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (b+pJs)

225 192 No its a terrible idea. It opens the door to all kinds of moral hazard -UBI reparations - how do you stand on principle when you just agreed to buy votes. You don't. Cat's out of the bag, not going back in.

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:00 PM (anL5R)
-----

The "blatantly buying votes" horse left the stable about seven decades ago, Tex. Might want to run after it.
Posted by: ballistic at September 10, 2026 01:02 PM (oqH4h)

People who talk about moral hazard and principle about such things at this point are pretty much just cranks.

May as well pound your copy of Robert's Rules of Order on the lectern and repeatedly yell, "Point of order!"

Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (zpcJA)

226 The PRC, Russia, and Iran are all playing the "oil market" with finger puppets.

The PRC desperately wants cheaper oil. The Rooskies desperately want higher oil prices.

Iran desperately wants to ship their oil AT ANY PRICE. Because, since the MOU went south, the oil shipment embargo shuts down everything except domestic consumption, and Persian consumers are waiting hours, sometimes days, to put gas in their vehicles.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (rj6Yv)

227 223 Can we start calling Senator Fetterman the Maverick? The previous one is dead and below the Earth's surface (exact magnitude of distance in dispute).

Posted by: Another anon at September 10, 2026 01:09 PM (4h45B)

======

No.

McCain voted for a bunch of Democrat priorities.

Fetterman votes for zero Republican priorities.

He's an arch leftist who just likes Israel.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (qE8uT)

228 Just throwing out there that Fetterman says cool things. And then he votes like a Democrat.

Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (ZdaMQ)

229 Long live Emperor PDJT!
Posted by: LinusVanPelt
......

And may the Emporer's Wife be wearing no clothes!

Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (UjdFS)

230 The boomers will die in their mansions. I saw some survey where a pretty significant amount are actually looking at larger homes.
Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:04 PM (9dTNV)

Of course we need bigger homes. We need them to store all the good stuff we bought, that you'll never have.

Oh, and all the good drugs and good sex? We already took them all and had it all, so you can never have them, either.

Posted by: The Boomers at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (PH3st)

231 226 Iran desperately wants to ship their oil AT ANY PRICE. Because, since the MOU went south, the oil shipment embargo shuts down everything except domestic consumption, and Persian consumers are waiting hours, sometimes days, to put gas in their vehicles.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (rj6Yv)

=======

Probably shouldn't have let their refining capacity degrade over the last couple of decades.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (qE8uT)

232 228 Just throwing out there that Fetterman says cool things. And then he votes like a Democrat.
Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (ZdaMQ)

99% of the time

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (+gK6I)

233 The best argument for the Clancy jury/girls I've run across is that they are viewing this through the mindset of their own abortions.

If she was wrong to kill her kids so were they, so better to argue she wasn't to blame...

Close but not it. Remember the inverted heat map: leftists care most about the things farthest from them personally and the least about their immediate family/friends/etc. So they want to make everyone's abortions OK even if they haven't had one themselves and are unlikely to be in that situation.

Posted by: Ian S. at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (tUj8P)

234 It will take a total collapse for anyone to care about fiscal responsibility. Boiling your shoes for dinner kind of collapse. It's like limited government or separation of powers: totally correct but irrelevant because no one gives a shit about either. Politics has completely moved on.
Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 12:34 PM (zpcJA)

The American people and government had their chance to do something about the debt and deficit last year. It was called DOGE. The media, the Dems (BIRM), and most Republicans didn't want it, and were happy that Elon's dealerships got torched and he was run out of DC. The bigger problem was that after the GFC in '08, the Fed exploded the debt by injecting money into the economy, increasing the debt by almost an order of magnitude. The world didn't end, and we got out of the crisis. That taught lawmakers that the Chicken Little act was little more than an act. We took the wrong lesson from it, and short of a huge crisis down the road, Americans will never tackle the debt again. We're left with hoping we grow our way out of it - which Trump could pull off with reshoring and AI.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (0CU3H)

235 1928, Herbert Hoover: "A chicken in every pot."

2026, Donald Trump, "A chick, and some pot!"

Posted by: zombie at September 10, 2026 01:05 PM (Av6i5)

If the Republic's going down, might as well party like it's 1999.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at September 10, 2026 01:13 PM (8Tj5b)

236 232 228 Just throwing out there that Fetterman says cool things. And then he votes like a Democrat.
Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (ZdaMQ)

99% of the time
Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (+gK6I)

Ahem. It's my soft Irish heart - I can't help myself.

Posted by: Daniel Patrick Moynihan at September 10, 2026 01:13 PM (0CU3H)

237 228 Just throwing out there that Fetterman says cool things. And then he votes like a Democrat.
Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (ZdaMQ)

That is because he is. And he makes no bones about it either. He is not even trying to deceive anyone.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 01:13 PM (Gqar8)

238 232 228 Just throwing out there that Fetterman says cool things. And then he votes like a Democrat.
Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (ZdaMQ)

99% of the time
Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (+gK6I)

Which is a better track record than how often Murkowski votes like a republican! Lol

Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:13 PM (ZdaMQ)

239 People who talk about moral hazard and principle about such things at this point are pretty much just cranks.

Back under Shrub I remember endless discussions by the NRO types about how we just couldn't do X or Y because it wasn't polite and wasn't how politics was done.

Then Obama got elected and did all those sort of things and the NRO argument became "well we have to beat the Democrats at the ballot box if we want to stop them from doing all these things".

And if you questioned this you'd be labelled a far right crank and they'd try to cancel you.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 01:13 PM (sKqQm)

240 Just throwing out there that Fetterman says cool things. And then he votes like a Democrat.
Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:10 PM (ZdaMQ)

Very true. However, Murkowski says annoying non-cool things and also votes like a dem. Plus Fetterman has that cool Lumpy nickname. You take what you can get with politicians…

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 01:13 PM (uTFcg)

241 Is the $5000 tax free?

Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:14 PM (UjdFS)

242 241 Is the $5000 tax free?
Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:14 PM (UjdFS)

Heh. Good one.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 01:14 PM (Gqar8)

243 Very true. However, Murkowski says annoying non-cool things and also votes like a dem. Plus Fetterman has that cool Lumpy nickname. You take what you can get with politicians…
Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 01:13 PM (uTFcg)

See my 238. It’s okay if you are scared now. 🤣

Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (ZdaMQ)

244 I'm not sure if this was mentioned before, but the entire idea of a midterm convention is genius. I continue to believe we got this, that we're gonna hold both chambers, but we need to get off our asses and turn the fuck out and vote.

We're facing a blizzard of ops and lies and defeatist doomsaying bullshit from loathsome Democrap toads (and sadly, some from our side too).

So why not a midterm convention to drum up some excitement and set the record straight? Compare this to that jihadi homunculus in MI who is giving speeches at Al-Zutt conventions.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (iFTx/)

245 241 Is the $5000 tax free?
Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:14 PM (UjdFS)

No... It has a 5000 dollar tax on it...

Posted by: It's me donna at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (+gK6I)

246 Of course we need bigger homes. We need them to store all the good stuff we bought, that you'll never have.

Oh, and all the good drugs and good sex? We already took them all and had it all, so you can never have them, either.
Posted by: The Boomers at September 10, 2026 01:11 PM (PH3st)

This reminds me of the George Carlin my stuff vs your shit routine

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (uTFcg)

247 If the Rats take the midterm house (may it be cursed), and impeach Trump on Day One (as promised), the Senate should just refuse to hear it at all. Chuckie Shumer set that precedent with the impeachment of Mayorkas, the Homeland "Security" dude who refused to police our borders.

Posted by: Martin Tell at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (tSPGB)

248 I give props to Fetterman for not lying to us, like so many pols.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 01:16 PM (Gqar8)

249 The boomers will die in their mansions. I saw some survey where a pretty significant amount are actually looking at larger homes.

While I'm not saying this is you personally I do notice that most people arguing our big issues are due to boomers not retiring and not downsizing their housing situation also tell me importing tens of millions of people has no impact on the cost of housing or wages.

Posted by: 18-1 at September 10, 2026 01:16 PM (sKqQm)

250 244 I'm not sure if this was mentioned before, but the entire idea of a midterm convention is genius. I continue to believe we got this, that we're gonna hold both chambers, but we need to get off our asses and turn the fuck out and vote.

We're facing a blizzard of ops and lies and defeatist doomsaying bullshit from loathsome Democrap toads (and sadly, some from our side too).

So why not a midterm convention to drum up some excitement and set the record straight? Compare this to that jihadi homunculus in MI who is giving speeches at Al-Zutt conventions.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (iFTx/)

Trump is a political genius. The media will never give him his due, but he's more of a genius than even Bill Clinton was.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at September 10, 2026 01:16 PM (0CU3H)

251 See my 238. It’s okay if you are scared now. 🤣
Posted by: Piper at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (ZdaMQ)

Cue Twilight Zone theme….

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 01:17 PM (uTFcg)

252 A gain of 5 in the House and 2 in the Senate.

Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 01:17 PM (E0Et6)

253 247 If the Rats take the midterm house (may it be cursed), and impeach Trump on Day One (as promised), the Senate should just refuse to hear it at all. Chuckie Shumer set that precedent with the impeachment of Mayorkas, the Homeland "Security" dude who refused to police our borders.

Posted by: Martin Tell at September 10, 2026 01:15 PM (tSPGB)

======

It's what Mitch himself did with Trump's first impeachment.

Thune would do the same thing.

Impeachment is deeply, deeply unserious in American federal politics (it has some teeth in certain states, but not all). Any party leadership that's pushing it is just doing it for donations from stupid people.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:17 PM (qE8uT)

254 No its a terrible idea. It opens the door to all kinds of moral hazard -UBI reparations - how do you stand on principle when you just agreed to buy votes. You don't. Cat's out of the bag, not going back in.

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:00 PM (anL5R)

The ENTIRE Democrat platform is 'we'll buy your vote.'

I don't understand people who would rather lose as gentlemen than win as cutthroats.

Posted by: Washington Nearsider: Gotterdammerung at September 10, 2026 01:18 PM (PGK1w)

255 252 A gain of 5 in the House and 2 in the Senate.
Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 01:17 PM (E0Et6)

Call that shot, sis.

I'm right there with you, BTW.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at September 10, 2026 01:18 PM (0CU3H)

256 We're left with hoping we grow our way out of it - which Trump could pull off with reshoring and AI.
==
Do you even hear yourself Darrell?

reshoring/AI /inflating away debt/ balanced budget

of those, the only one that will actually be pursued long term is inflating away the debt

AI, if we are lucky, will only do as much financial harm as it does good.

Oh wait, I forgot, if democrats get control again they'll go also for mass deaths of seniors via bioweapon, and eventually confiscating 401k savings to be managed by social security for fairness . . .

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:18 PM (anL5R)

257 Not carrying the Boomers water in the Generational Wars, but lots of us carry the blame for the shit we are in right now. So much blame to go around.

Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 01:18 PM (Gqar8)

258 252 A gain of 5 in the House and 2 in the Senate.

Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 01:17 PM (E0Et6)

=======

3 in the Senate would be hilarious.

Hold onto NC (definitely possible). Hold onto Maine (no one really thinks Collins is anywhere close to losing, right?). Lose MI (white rurals ain't turning out for a terrorist). Lose GA in a surprise (can't ballot stuff 300,000 extra ballots with the DNI looking over your shoulder). And then either NH or MN.

Not a prediction, but it would entertain me.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:19 PM (qE8uT)

259 A gain of 5 in the House and 2 in the Senate.
Posted by: Ben Had at September 10, 2026 01:17 PM (E0Et6)

Call that shot, sis.

I'm right there with you, BTW.
Posted by: Darrell Harris at September 10, 2026 01:18 PM (0CU3H)
________

The Blade, he would take that. In a heartbeat. I think the 2 in the Senate is more realistic than 5 in the house, though. 5 isn't impossible, but it would require everything to break our way. I'd love that to happen, but that's not the way to bet.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 01:19 PM (iFTx/)

260 That E T plant sign behind Fetterman is not a comment on the neck lumps origin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Edgar_Thomson_Steel_Works

DadA spent much time there.

Posted by: DaveA at September 10, 2026 01:19 PM (FhXTo)

261 *in your best Dark Helmet voice*

Evil will always triumph here, because MA is dumb.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at September 10, 2026 01:20 PM (Rm1ix)

262 While I'm not saying this is you personally I do notice that most people arguing our big issues are due to boomers not retiring and not downsizing their housing situation also tell me importing tens of millions of people has no impact on the cost of housing or wages.
Posted by: 18-1

===

The answer is "both".

I dont think boomers are the source of all our issues, but there's definitely a huge difference between the Greatest generation and the boomers.

I'm not waiting for a big house or a good job to "trickle" down from them, already have those.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:20 PM (9dTNV)

263 248 I give props to Fetterman for not lying to us, like so many pols.
Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 01:16 PM (Gqar

He lies to us every day...see his votes.

And he's truly doing it just to save his seat. It worked for Manchin a long time. But eventually, we should have 2 Rs from PA...

Posted by: Nova Local at September 10, 2026 01:20 PM (tOcjL)

264 Not carrying the Boomers water in the Generational Wars, but lots of us carry the blame for the shit we are in right now. So much blame to go around.
Posted by: tubal at September 10, 2026 01:18 PM (Gqar

======

That was then, this is now.

Posted by: mrp at September 10, 2026 01:20 PM (rj6Yv)

265 Is Fetterman setting up a gofundme for his Flak jacket, Kevlar vest, and new security?

Posted by: JM in Illinois at September 10, 2026 01:20 PM (llBIB)

266 1928, Herbert Hoover: "A chicken in every pot."

2026, Donald Trump, "A chick, and some pot!"

Posted by: zombie at September 10, 2026 01:05 PM (Av6i5)

Sorry, we own all the chickens and the pots and the pot.

They're ours now and you can't have any!

Just be glad we're letting you cook your bug burgers on the sun-heated sidewalks.

BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!

Posted by: The Boomers at September 10, 2026 01:20 PM (iJfKG)

267
Iraq and TDS has broken the average American mind about warfare.

We can't see that Iran's currency has inflated by 5% in the last three days (which it has) as anything like the US winning. No, it's all about a strait and whether it has the same amount of energy flowing through it as before the conflict started.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 12:42 PM (qE8uT)

The same commie cocksuckers who caterwaul about the Strait of Hormuz restricting the flow of oil will turn right around 2 minutes later and whine about how we need to stop using oil because it's destroying the planet.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at September 10, 2026 01:21 PM (bIVgK)

268 NUDE gay Euroweenies

Posted by: Elric The Blade at September 10, 2026 01:21 PM (iFTx/)

269 45 I know math is frowned upon around here but there are around 250M US adults. at $5,000 a piece, the price tag is $1.25 Trillion.

Posted by: WisRich at September 10, 2026 12:22 PM (G0vdT)

If you believe Biden and the Democrats caused inflation to rapidly rise in 2021-2023 by pumping Fed Dollars into the economy, using stimulus checks among other spending, you should not be in favor of Trump and Republicans pumping One Trillion Dollars or more into the pockets of consumers. consumer spending.

Posted by: Gref at September 10, 2026 01:21 PM (5rh/l)

270 already have those.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:20 PM (9dTNV)

Noice

Posted by: ... at September 10, 2026 01:21 PM (b+pJs)

271 Nobody has figured out Fetterlump. He's all over board. 98% of the time, he votes with the kooks - just remember that.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 10, 2026 01:22 PM (/d5KG)

272
The same commie cocksuckers who caterwaul about the Strait of Hormuz restricting the flow of oil will turn right around 2 minutes later and whine about how we need to stop using oil because it's destroying the planet.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur

===

That is the funny irony.

I saw some tweet where Bernie Sanders was complaining about high gas prices. This is the guy that wants to outlaw fossil fuels.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:22 PM (9dTNV)

273 271 Nobody has figured out Fetterlump. He's all over board. 98% of the time, he votes with the kooks - just remember that.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at September 10, 2026 01:22 PM (/d5KG)

======

Lot's of us have.

He's a leftist who likes Israel. That's it.

He's not complicated.

He's a radical Democrat from about 2011.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at September 10, 2026 01:22 PM (qE8uT)

274 I'm a Boomer and I'm having pockets sewn into a Shroud, so when I go I'm taking all my cool shit with me. You whippersnapper ingrates can go squeeze a breeze!

Posted by: 23 Skidoo!! at September 10, 2026 01:22 PM (Fn+3X)

275 Don't forget that the Enemedia is carrying Iran's water by constantly repeating the lies that gas prices are totally caused by the war in Iran.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 10, 2026 01:23 PM (1z8ji)

276 Nobody has figured out Fetterlump. He's all over board. 98% of the time, he votes with the kooks - just remember that.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory

==

He's another Joe Lieberman.

The guy basically voted 99% liberal but his stance on Israel somehow made us pretend he was a conservative-lite. Lieberman voted for Obamacare, that's all you need to know.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:23 PM (9dTNV)

277 Unpopular opinion: This is a brilliant political strategy, even if it's a dumb idea.

Let's be honest, Trump isn't going to lose any votes from his base because of this.

Pretty much said this last night after the announcement. The point is to get the attention of GOP voters who normally ignore the midterms. I wish it wasn't necessary but if these people stay home, we lose. Happy to discuss alternatives, but naked bribery, distasteful as it is, looks like the most effective tool for the job...

Posted by: Joe Kidd at September 10, 2026 01:24 PM (nbLIj)

278 Ugh.
Just saw an interview with one of the other "men" on the Lindsay Clancy jury.
He sounds like your typical MA leftist.
The story made it a point to mention how he was serving in the military overseas at the time of the murder. Didn't say in what role, however.
He really came across like one of the female harpies.

Posted by: Erebus- Ex Killer Whale at September 10, 2026 01:24 PM (R3ubA)

279 if democrats get control again they'll [...] be confiscating 401k savings to be managed by social security for fairness . . .

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:18 PM (anL5R)

Dems in the US House have been publicly saying they want to do this since November 4, 2008.

Posted by: Washington Nearsider: Gotterdammerung at September 10, 2026 01:25 PM (PGK1w)

280 Old hotness: muh Epstein !
New hotness: muh def sit !

The usual tried and true gas bag professional conn ser va tive grifters.

Posted by: Going deep. Out. at September 10, 2026 01:25 PM (aqrdH)

281 I've also noticed Boomers are super thin skinned to ANY criticism.

Like most of the stereotypes of Gen X, I'll own as mostly true for large swaths.

But boomers will fight to the last man that absolutely none of them are part of the "me generation".

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:25 PM (9dTNV)

282 Just to put this in a frame of reference. In 2000, a woman named Connie Milstein (a NY Socialite) was up in Milwaukee handing out free packs of cigarettes, cigars and lighters to homeless. All they had to do was get in a van, be driven to Town Hall to cast absentee votes of Al Gore.

She got caught doing so. And, her punishment?

Joe Biden installed her as US Ambassador to Malta while in office.

Posted by: Orson at September 10, 2026 01:25 PM (dIske)

283 I do sort of wonder what others expect Boomers to do exactly. Hook themselves up to Kevorkian-style suicide machines and off themselves so someone else more deserving can have their stuff?

Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 01:26 PM (zpcJA)

284 I do sort of wonder what others expect Boomers to do exactly. Hook themselves up to Kevorkian-style suicide machines and off themselves so someone else more deserving can have their stuff?

Posted by: it puts the lotion in the basket at September 10, 2026 01:26 PM (zpcJA)

I mean, basically, yes. That's what they expect. Old people control a HUGE percentage of the wealth in America and that's NOT FAIR!

Posted by: Washington Nearsider: Gotterdammerung at September 10, 2026 01:28 PM (PGK1w)

285 The same commie cocksuckers who caterwaul about the Strait of Hormuz restricting the flow of oil will turn right around 2 minutes later and whine about how we need to stop using oil because it's destroying the planet.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur

===

That is the funny irony.

I saw some tweet where Bernie Sanders was complaining about high gas prices. This is the guy that wants to outlaw fossil fuels.
==
Well their "logic" is that if we didn't use/need oil, then the middle east would not have any meaning to us or power over us and we could just tell them to fcuk off. Its a pipe dream. Like pretty much everything else they "believe" in. But any effort to develop domestic power supply is counterintuitively also squelched by them, because they are mindless puppets being used in a game. Its emotion and fear. Hypermarketing techniques. Focused Mass Hysteria. The left has been driven by fear and anger since Reagan. Every Republican is a boogieman.

Posted by: Mr. Sunshine at September 10, 2026 01:28 PM (anL5R)

286 I do sort of wonder what others expect Boomers to do exactly. Hook themselves up to Kevorkian-style suicide machines and off themselves so someone else more deserving can have their stuff?

==

Downsize, retire, understand the reality is you have maybe another 10 years on this earth and think of other people.

The boomers' parents did all of these things and were beloved by all generations.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:32 PM (9dTNV)

287 This too is stupid and would demolish the economy just like Biden's repeated "stimulus" checks. Someone needs to rein this guy's centrist Democrat insticts in.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 10, 2026 01:33 PM (K32Fz)

288 The boomers' parents did all of these things and were beloved by all generations.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:32 PM (9dTNV)

The parents of the boomers won WWII. They aren't called the Greatest Generation because they died early, willing all their money to their kids.

Posted by: Washington Nearsider: Gotterdammerung at September 10, 2026 01:34 PM (PGK1w)

289 The boomers' parents did all of these things and were beloved by all generations.

Those of us of the galaxy brain persuasion understand that infinite FDR terms, the New York Times gushing about the wonders of eugenics, socialism, and even Naziism pre-1940, and the teachers who made many Boomers into Communists all came from the boomers' parents (and grandparents).

Posted by: Ian S. at September 10, 2026 01:36 PM (2ocoG)

290 The parents of the boomers won WWII. They aren't called the Greatest Generation because they died early, willing all their money to their kids.
Posted by: Washington Nearsider

==

And the boomers lost Vietnam and still complain

But the Greatest Generation wasn't simply called that because of WW2.

Posted by: Sharpie at September 10, 2026 01:40 PM (9dTNV)

291 re: Milk ... labor req'd ... Look at the data I posted.
... That has now stopped.

ONE WONDERS, if you had finer granularity in those figures IF price spikes during 'events' (e.g. stk mkt crash, WWI, WWII, etc) would not show temporary price/labor spikes too.

Posted by: _Jim at September 10, 2026 01:48 PM (49jwS)

292 "The optimum price for a gallon of gas is around 2.50, it's over 4 f***ing dollars for regular and in some places diesel is over 8 bucks, that make filling up a tractor trailer a $2500 dollar proposition.

And for regular folks that turns a 30 dollar fill-up into an 80 or 100 dollar fill-up depending on the size of their gas tank."

Ummm. I understand your frustration, but $4 is 160 percent of $2.50. So that $30 fill-up is $48. Not nothing, but unless your gas tank is increasing in size along with inflation it's not 3 times as much.

Posted by: boatbuilder at September 10, 2026 01:48 PM (Me8Wr)

293 On February 19, 2026 the price of crude oil per barrel was $66
On July 3, 2026, the price of crude oil per barrel was $68.
This is temporary. The world is not coming to an end. Unfortunately the midterms are poorly timed.
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil

Posted by: boatbuilder at September 10, 2026 02:07 PM (Me8Wr)

294 The price of gas has not doubled… hyperbole. In my AO it was around $3.30 per gallon in Feb… now it hovers around $3.75…. Not even close to double
Posted by: LinusVanPelt at September 10, 2026 12:44 PM (uTFcg)

4.19 yesterday. 3.29 on March 7th this year. Jumped to 3.82 on March 21st.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy at September 10, 2026 02:11 PM (hmYU4)

295 Trump is an irredeemable asshat who stepped on a rake with Epstein and then stepped on a hornet's nest with IRAN. And then made everyone annoyed at him with petty, needless vanity projects. He's the ONLY reason this mid-term even a possibility for the Democrats. And his voters don't show up for the mid-terms anyway. Meanwhile the other side is as fired up as I've ever seen them. Pin your ears back folks, gonna be a bumpy ride come November.

Shame he couldn't just govern like an adult and keep us out of the Middle East. Makes me wonder what BiBi has on him.

Posted by: SMFH at September 10, 2026 02:14 PM (GKgcM)

296 re: "I can remember when gas was 29cents and it shot up to 45cents - circa 1974 or so"

Everyone here under 70 yrs of age?

I remember when it went over a quarter (per gal) in Michigan, in the Battle Creek area ... (73 and earlier)

Posted by: _Jim at September 10, 2026 02:22 PM (49jwS)

297 re: "Shame he couldn't just govern like an adult"

TDS got ya down, eh, Buckwheat?

Posted by: _Jim at September 10, 2026 02:23 PM (49jwS)

298 Late to the party.

I admit to having a brief cringe when I read that President Trump mentioned the $5k last night.

Ben Had's comment sort of calmed me down. Thanks!

I may go full blown WDBH say!

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at September 10, 2026 02:24 PM (hzuYO)

299 @ 241 Is the $5000 tax free? Posted by: wth at September 10, 2026 01:14 PM (UjdFS)

______________________________

It's every bit as tax-free as the first 'tariff refund' check we were supposed to get for $2,000. Can't pay taxes on money y' never got, yes … ?

Posted by: Dr_No at September 10, 2026 03:46 PM (ayRl+)

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