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The Trump Effect

Why America's Most Famous Billionaire
May Soon Prove to Be Its Most Influential

 

 

Billionaire Donald Trump has put his celebrity status and business power behind Mitt Romney 

Business power? what does that even mean? How is there no explanation of that term? What is "business power" and how is it something that could be "put behind" a candidate?

and with his undeniable appeal among independent voters,

A voting bloc made up of the half-dozen or so people who don't loathe Donald Trump. (All of whom work for CNN)

and with his undeniable appeal among independent voters, a Newsmax magazine special report finds that he may prove to be a political kingmaker come this November. 

Ooooh, Newsmax. Now it makes sense. The online magazine for people who think the moon landing was fake and professional wrestling is real. 

Newsmax magazine's report — "The Trump Effect" — has just been released and reveals Donald Trump's pivotal role in the GOP primary and how he is working behind the scenes to engineer a victory for Mitt Romney. 

Oh, his pivotal role? His pivotal role? You mean waiting until it became obvious that Mitt Romney was inevitably going to be the nominee before jumping in to endorse him? That pivotal role? And when has Trump ever done anything "behind the scenes?" He's been shoving his ugly mug in front of any TV camera he can find to trot out the embarrassing birther crap over and over no matter how many times he's been debunked.Engineer a victory for Romney? If Romney wins, it will be in spite of the albatrosses around his neck with names like Trump, Nugent, and Jameson.

First Lady of Porn Jenna Jameson Endorses Mitt Romney for President

"I'm very looking forward to a Republican being back in office," the ex-porn queen recently told CBS' San Francisco affiliate. "When you're rich, you want a Republican in office." 

  

Less embarrassing than Trump.

On a side note, how pathetic is it that Romney not only accepts, but actively seeks out the endorsement of someone like Ted Nugent? He had to go meet and interview with Nugent before getting the seal of approval of Mr. "Yank Me Crank Me." The man who wants to be president goes groveling to the guy who waves around machine guns while threatening the Speaker of the House and two US Senators? The guy who admits he shit and pissed himself to get out of going to VietNam?  The guy who made a living singing songs about vaginas while wearing a loincloth? That's the guy whose approval you need to run for president? What a country!

 

So how in the hell did Newsmax magazine get the idea that Donald Trump is in a position to be come some sort of a kingmaker?

The Newsmax magazine report features Klein's exclusive interview with Trump

Oh, of course. They asked Trump. 

In this week's Newsmax, our sources tell us that Donald Trump is the world's greatest lover, a world-class athlete, and is smarter than science! Yes, our source is Donald Trump, why do you ask? He's the greatest, most luxurious source the world has ever seen!

It also reveals the surprising results of a Newsmax poll that provides a unique picture of the "Trump voters" — independent voters in key swing states who listen to Donald Trump. 

Pictured: Both of them

 Newsmax includes incisive commentary from such experts as Bill O'Reilly, George Will, Kathleen Parker, Michael Reagan, Christopher Ruddy, Ben Stein, Dr. Laura and David Limbaugh — to name a few. 

Jeezus, you really got the right-wing farm team workin' for ya there. You couldn't even get the top Limbaugh.

This edition of Newsmax magazine also includes:

• Hidden welfare: disability claims soar under Obama 

You know, I've been on disability. I was laid up for a couple of months after an accident. It is NOT welfare. I paid into disability insurance before I was on it, and I'm paying into it now. It comes out of my paycheck. So fuck you, Newsmax.

• Mayors take action against bloated union pensions
• Corruption laws hurting U.S. businesses 

If our businesses aren't going to be allowed to be corrupt, how can they expect to survive? And what's with these union guys expecting to collect on the pensions they earned during their working years?

• The weight culprit: high-fructose corn syrup linked to obesity

What a scoop! Wait, this isn't 2005!

• Campaign '12: Wisconsin could go red this year

Yeah, Wisconson's totally on the verge of going red! Wait, this isn't 1955!
( you know, cuz back then, "Red" meant that. . . oh, ask your grandpa, he probably got that one)

• Mark McKinnon: GOP should woo independent voters

Brilliant! Also, the Olympic athletes should try to win medals, and vegetarians should avoid eating meat.

Ben Stein says Newsmax reveals the “unafraid, uncomplicated, bare-knuckles truth about today’s dangerous world.” 

And who would have a more objective view of Newsmax than a guy who gets paid by Newsmax? Which this Newsmax promo pointed out itself just like 2 paragraphs ago! Remember: Newsmax includes incisive commentary from such experts as Bill O'Reilly, George Will, Kathleen Parker, Michael Reagan, Christopher Ruddy, Ben Stein, 

You can't get a reccomendation from someone a bit less biased?

Mike Reagan, the elder son of the late President Ronald Reagan and chairman and president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation, says: “I guarantee that you’ll love Newsmax magazine. The liberal media moguls hate Newsmax.”

Wow. That is just, actually it's kinda sad. It's like you're not even trying. I know your target market is people with no critical thinking skills, but still, have a little fucking pride in your work.

And Sarah Palin says Newsmax is one of her top news sources and describes it as "very very helpful, valuable."  

Geez, One of her top news sources? So one of the sources included in "ya know, all of them?"
And you couldn't even get her to try and string together a complete sentence? "very very helpful, valuable" is the best word-salad she could toss for this?





Pathetic.

ABC News is Totally Objective -- Haha, just kidding, they're horrible.

From ABC's NewsOTUS blog/website/thingy:

Texas Toast: What A Tea Party Candidate's Win Means For Washington

Well, obviously it means nothing for Washington since what he's won is the Texas GOP primary and not the general election, which he would have to also win in order to go to Washington, but please, do go on.

August 1, 2012

He's already being called the next Marco Rubio. 

They said, as if that were a compliment.

Conservative Republican Ted Cruz, who scored an upset — but rock-solid — victory over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in yesterday's Texas U.S. Senate runoff is being hailed today as the second coming of the current Florida senator and vice presidential short-lister.

"Just like the upstart Rubio, who started with long odds but defeated long time incumbent Florida Governor Charlie Christ in the 2010 GOP Primary with major support from the Tea Party, Cruz did exactly the same thing in Texas," the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody wrote in an analysis of last night's results. 

And who has more credibility than a reporter from a network founded by Pat Robertson? To whom else could you possibly turn for legitimate political analysis?

 

Okay, maybe.

 By Election Day, Cruz, a former Texas solicitor general, had already overtaken Dewhurst in recent polls. Cruz had the backing of Tea Party stalwarts like Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint whereas Dewhurst won the support of establishment figures like Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the erstwhile presidential hopeful. 

Um, are we pretending that Rick Perry is not a teabagger? Did he not speak in front of those teabagging rallies? Wasn't it at one of those rallies that he talked about possible secession? 

  

“Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that.”
- Texas Governor Rick Perry hinting at secession at a Tea Party rally today 

Thank you, Donklephant.com!

And how is Jim DeMint not an "establishment" figure? He's been in either the House or the Senate since 1999! How long do you have to be there before you're "established?"

I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel! *

Is maybe the point that htere really is no longer any distinction between the Republican "establishment" and the Birthers, Birchers, Tenthers and Thruthers who gather under the umbrella of the "Tea Party?" Oris it too much to expect for ABC to connect those dots? I guess it would interfere with their whole "Tea Party - outsider - rebel - grassroots" narrative.

 So, what does one Republican's victory over a fellow GOPer in the bright red state of Texas mean in the grand scheme of things?

As Brody noted: "Eventually the media and others will realize that the Tea Party is not only far from dead it's just warming up."

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this was a "report" from a "news" organization, not  promotional material from FreedomWorks.

Also, I'm not sure that Texas is really all that bright red anymore. It's projected to be a swing state by 2016. But why would you bother checking into that? I mean it took me literally almost an entire minute to type "Texas Swing State" into the Google and come up with these:

Mon May 07, 2012 at 05:20 PM PDT
Texas marches toward swing state status. Only question is 'when?'

Obama predicts Texas will soon be a swing state
www.theblaze.com/    Posted on July 18, 2012 at 9:47am

The Next Swing States: Arizona, Georgia, and Texas
April 12, 2012

www.usnews.com › Opinion › Robert Schlesinger

So, how could I expect ABC to put that much effort into its stenography reportage?

But regardless of who wins control of the Senate this November, we know that the upper body in Washington is going to be as polarized and uncompromising as ever, notes ABC News Political Director Amy Walter. Conservative Republicans like Cruz and Richard Murdouck in Indiana won because they insisted they wouldn't be part of a "go along, get along" culture. 

Yeah, let's pretend that it's all of the Senate that is uncompromising. Let's pretend that one side hasn't bent over backwards to be accomodating while the other side has just filibustered everything time after time after time.

To put it another way, as one smart Republican strategist told the Note: "The fact the Tea Party can win is the 2010 story; whether they can govern and what the 'establishment' will do to retool is the question." SARAH PALIN SEND 'CONGRATS'. ABC's Shushannah Walshe points us toward Sarah Palin's Facebook page, which includes this note: "Congratulations to Ted Cruz! This is a victory both for Ted and for the grassroots Tea Party movement. This primary race has always been about the kind of leadership we need in D.C. Our goal is not just about changing the majority in the Senate. It is about the kind of leadership we want. Ted Cruz represents the kind of strong conservative leadership we want in D.C." 

Yeah, I know there should be a paragraph break in there or something, but that is an exact cut & paste from the ABC site. But that's not the point. The point is, that in an analysis of a story about electoral politics, ABC cites a reporter from the Pat Robertson Network, a "smart Republican strategist" and Sarah fucking Palin. Now that's objectivity!

*

Way to have your priorities straight, Senator Dipshit!

It's not like there are any really pressing issues that the Senate might concern itself with at the present time, like the economy or something. So what better time for Senator Butthead to introduce this frivolous super-important bill?

Rubio bill would make Olympic prize money tax-exempt
By Chris Moody, Yahoo! News | The Ticket – 3 hrs ago

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill Wednesday that would exempt Americans competing in the Olympic Games from paying taxes on the financial spoils of their victory.

Athletes are awarded a $25,000 honorarium for first place, $15,000 for second and $10,000 for third, but under Rubio's bill, the money would not be subject to taxes currently imposed by the Internal Revenue Service.

I don't know what the logic is here. I don't know what the logic is in deciding to pursue this ridiculous bill that affects a couple dozen Americans, rather than say, passing the JOBS Act or something,  or what reasoning is behind the idea that Olympic prize money should be tax-exempt. Let's let Senator ShitForBrains explain:

"Athletes representing our nation overseas in the Olympics shouldn't have to worry about an extra tax bill waiting for them back home," Rubio said in a statement. "We can all agree that these Olympians who dedicate their lives to athletic excellence should not be punished when they achieve it."

No. No, we can not all agree. Paying taxes on your earnings is not punishment. It's the price of living in a functioning society. Why would athletes be exempt from that? And I can't imagine that any of the athletes are at all concerned with the extra tax bill waiting at home. How burdensome could the tax bill be when you've just been handed $25 grand or more for doing something that you were going to do anyway because this sport is your passion in life? If I get a bonus for being good at my job, I have to pay income tax on it. So do you, I assume. And I don't even like what I do.  And any bonus I might get is not going to be anywhere near $25 thousand.


We aren't going to pretend that Olympic athletes are sacrificing for the glory of the nation or something, are we? Do you reallynot think that these young men and women are participating in these sports because they love these sports? No 10-year-old little gymnast is getting up at 3 every morning to get screamed at by Marta Karoli while damaging every sinew in her body because she wants the United States to triumph over China in sports, or whatever. They do it because they love what they do and they love being the best and they love winning. And there's nothing at all wrong with that, but are we going to make everyone who follows their passion tax-exempt?

 

It would have been worth all the pain and the hard work if only I didn't have to pay income tax!

 Americans for Tax Reform, a group founded by conservative activist Grover Norquist, estimated that Olympic medalists face a tax burden of as much as $8,986 when they return from the competition.

Now, this may come as a shock to you, but Americans for Tax Reform is being pretty fucking dishonest about this! I know, right? I know I'm stunned.

Here's what they have to say about Olympic taxes: 

 

American medalists face a top income tax rate of 35 percent. Under U.S. tax law, they must add the value of their Olympic medals and prizes to their taxable income. It is therefore easy to calculate the tax bite on Olympic glory.

American gold medal winners will pay the IRS up to $8,986. Silver medal winners will pay up to $5,385. Bronze medal winners will pay up to $3,502.

Read more: http://atr.org/win-olympic-gold-pay-irs-a7091#ixzz22LB8C2S9

There's even a handy little chart that I can't seem to copy here, but suffice it to say that ATR is basing their calculations on the idea that Olympic medal winners would pay 35% on their prize money. Which seems pretty unlikely, given that most of them don't have day jobs, and the 35% tax bracket only applies to income over $388,550. So, sure the basketball team will have to pay the full 35% minus whatever loopholes their army of accountants can come up with, so will Micheal Phelps, but your average Olympian amateur athlete, not really.

Single Filing Status
[Tax Rate Schedule X, Internal Revenue Code section 1(c)]

    10% on taxable income from $0 to $8,700, plus
    15% on taxable income over $8,700 to $35,350, plus
    25% on taxable income over $35,350 to $85,650, plus
    28% on taxable income over $85,650 to $178,650, plus
    33% on taxable income over $178,650 to $388,350, plus
    35% on taxable income over $388,350.

Now, Olympians are also apparently charged tax on the value of their medals, and that is bullshit, because they aren't really getting any income from that. They aren't going to melt down their gold medals and sell them to Glenn Beck or whoever. But the medal tax is really not a whole lot, even according to the ATR, which lists the tax on a gold medal as $236, which is still assuming a 35% tax rate.

Aaaaanyway. . .

Even Rubio can't think that this stupid piece of legislation has any chance of becoming law, so why is he wasting his time on it? Is he just trying to prove his anti-tax boner fides (see what I did there?) to Grover Norquist? Is it just that he hopes Democrats will vote against it so he can claim that they hate America's athletes? Is he just a moron? I'm going to go with all of the above.

Stay Classy, Yahoo! News

Really classy coverage of the 2012 games, there, Yahoo! News.





Beach volleyball secret signals decoded

Curious readers want to know: What do those well-placed hand signs really mean?
A photo tour










Olympians reveal their tattoos
Sporting the colors of the country they represent is gratifying enough for most Olympic athletes. For others, an ink gun provides the opportunity to express themselves in a more permanent way. -- By Armando Botello II, Yahoo! Sports

Asshole Minister is an Asshole

Rev. Kevin Swanson,
pictured here fantasizing about stoning people to death

(via Raw Story)
Pastor: Kermit deserves ‘death penalty’ for taking ‘sodomy route’

During his Friday radio broadcast, Kevin Swanson said he wanted to see “Miss Piggy on a bun” because The Muppets had dumped Chick-fil-A after restaurant founder Dan Cathy insisted the company was “guilty as charged” of funding anti-LGBT organizations. 

Um, you know she's a fictional character, right? But if you really want a foam-rubber sandwich that badly, don't let me stop you.

“A Christian perspective ultimately brought the death penalty upon homosexuality between roughly 350 AD and roughly 1850 or so, for about 1,500 years that form of life had pretty much been eliminated except here and there, it was in the closet, but it was almost unheard of for over 1,000 years, until recently,” Swanson explained. 

A Christian perspective? Which Christian perspective would that be? Would that be the "love your neighbor as yourself" perspective? Or the "judge not, lest ye be judged" perspective? Or maybe the "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" perspective? Or maybe you're talking about the perspective based on what Jesus so famously said about the gay people, and I quote: "_________."
What aspect of Christianity do you feel would lead to the practice of murdering people because of whom they find attractive? I think what you go there is an Old Testament perspective, or maybe a Medieval fundamentalist Muslim perpective.

“And Kermit the Frog is not eating Chick-fil-A either,” Swanson continued. “Maybe Dan Cathy should consider doing a frog filet for one of the sandwiches.”

Ooh, yeah! That would show 'em! Take that, ghost of Jim Henson!

“Dave, you know that Sesame Street and the Muppets are going to take the sodomy route,” 

 

“Dave, you know that Sesame Street and the Muppets are going to take the sodomy route,” he said, adding that the puppets may also support the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a pedophilia advocacy group.

Ah, there's the Dickbag Express, right on schedule. Because you can't hate on the gays without accusing them of pedophilia. Nor, apparently, can you hate on anyone who is gay-friendly without accusing them of being pro-pedophilia. Because how else would we know what a colossal  asshole you are?

 

That big, huh?