The Trump 2nd Term

[Dilip Panjwani]

Taking to X on Monday, top Indian-American advisor to President-elect Trump argued that “a band of small-government revolutionaries” can “save our nation".
Responding to Ramaswamy's remarks, “Absolutely!” Musk wrote.

In addition, Musk also reposted another post by Ramaswamy that described the Republicans' overwhelming win in US elections as a “once in a century” chance to “radically downsize the size, scope, and mission of the federal government.”

[Bob Armstrong]

Foreign Policy

1. Doesn’t like alliances, especially big multilateral ones.
2. Doesn’t like multilateral trade deals. He wants to get out of them and then make them bilateral ones.
3. Admires authoritarian regimes.

Bloomberg Media - Weekend Edition Newsletter - 24/11/10
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsl...paign=sundaynl

Ukraine / Russia

"Donald Trump wants to end the war in Ukraine. Various proposals are being floated, but a consensus seems to be developing: The territory conquered by Moscow is to be lost, and Europe must invest more for peace."

NZZ - Global Reporting Newsletter - 24/11/11

Immigration

"Since 2015, Trump has made curbing illegal immigration a cornerstone of his campaigns. As president, he built or reconstructed about 400 miles of border barrier along the U.S.–Mexico border and implemented a number of rules curbing illegal migration into the country.

During the campaign, Trump often said that he would initiate the largest “mass deportation” effort in U.S. history if elected. Recently, he also warned Mexico that he would impose a 25 percent tariff targeting the country if it fails to curb illegal immigration and that he would raise that tariff if Mexico doesn’t comply.

Also, he’s suggested more enhanced screenings for immigrants, ending birthright citizenship—which may require a constitutional amendment—and reimposing certain policies enacted during his first term such as the “remain in Mexico” protocol.

Tom Homan, a former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who is expected to join the new administration, told media outlets last year that the scale of deportations depends on what resources are available.During a “60 Minutes” interview in October, Homan was asked about whether families would be separated. Homan responded, “Families can be deported together.”

Vice President-elect JD Vance said in his debate with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Oct. 1 that deporting criminals would be a second Trump administration’s initial focus.

Taxes and Regulations

Throughout the 2024 campaign, Trump has promised to curb federal regulations that he said would limit the creation of new U.S. jobs. He also has pledged to keep intact a 2017 tax cut that he supported and signed while in office.


His team has also proposed a further round of individual and corporate tax cuts beyond those initiated in his first term.

Trump has pledged to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent for companies that make their products in the United States. In a bid to win Nevada, Trump earlier this year pledged to end the taxation of tips and overtime wages to aid some service workers and waiters.

He has pledged not to tax or cut Social Security benefits. Trump also has said that as president, he would pressure the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates but wouldn’t make any demands on the central bank.

Tariffs

In multiple campaign stops this year, Trump floated the idea of a 10 percent or more tariff on all goods imported into the United States, which he said would eliminate the country’s trade deficit.

He has also said he should have the authority to set higher tariffs on countries that have put tariffs on U.S. imports. He has threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on some imported cars, saying he is determined in particular to keep cars from Mexico from coming into the country.

Trump has targeted China in particular. He proposes phasing out Chinese imports of goods such as electronics, steel, and pharmaceuticals over four years. He seeks to prohibit Chinese companies from owning U.S. real estate and infrastructure in the energy and tech sectors.

“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariffs,’” Trump said in an interview with John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, in October. “It’s my favorite word.”

He added at the time, “You see these empty, old, beautiful steel mills and factories that are empty and falling down,” referring to facilities that used to make goods in the United States.

“We’re going to bring the companies back. We’re going to lower taxes for companies that are going to make their products in the USA. And we’re going to protect those companies with strong tariffs,” Trump said.

Micklethwait said that some economists have projected that the former president’s economic policies, including tariffs, could add trillions to the U.S. deficit. But Trump said that a number of countries, including “allies” have “taken advantage of us, more so than our enemies. ”

Social Policies

Trump has pledged to require U.S. colleges and universities to “defend American tradition and Western civilization” and to purge them of diversity and inclusion programs, which he and Republicans have said are leftist in nature.

He said he would direct the Justice Department to pursue civil rights cases against schools that engage in racial discrimination. At K–12 schools, Trump would support programs allowing parents to use public funds for private or religious instruction. Trump also wants to abolish the federal Department of Education and leave states in control of schooling.

Regarding abortion, Trump has said that a federal ban on abortion is not needed and that the issue should be resolved by states. He’s also said he backs rules that advance in vitro fertilization, birth control, and prenatal care.

In campaign events and interviews, Trump has been critical of schools allowing transgender individuals to compete in women’s sports, saying that he would impose a ban on such practices.

The Epoch Times - Epoch Top 5 Newsletter - 24/11/10




24/11/11 (2) Helms Deep Update

Bob A (Democratic Marxist)

[Bob Armstrong]

USA - China

Trump may impose 60% tariffs on all imports from China!

"Such a move would decimate commerce between the two nations, drive up inflation, and force a whole new rewiring of global supply chains. That makes the related question of what China would do in response equally pressing.

We got a clue as to China’s initial reaction to Trump’s victory when officials on Friday announced details of a 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 billion) lifeline for indebted local governments but held off from any fresh stimulus blitz. Finance Minister Lan Fo’an promised “more forceful” fiscal policy next year, signaling bolder steps could come after Trump’s inauguration in January.

In short, Beijing is sticking with Plan A for now, seeking to fix shaky provincial government finances so basic services continue and asset sales can be avoided while trying to stabilize the property market. Continued export strength is giving officials cover to tend to those domestic frailties while overall economic growth remains roughly on track to meet this year’s target for an expansion of around 5%.

But 2025 looks altogether more challenging. Wang Tao at UBS expects the new Trump administration will impose additional tariffs on most imports from China in a staged manner starting in the second half of next year. That would lead China to respond with greater policy support to boost domestic demand and offset the external shock, she said, cutting forecasts for GDP growth to around 4% for 2025, and lower in 2026."

Bloomberg Media - Economics Daily Newsletter - 24/11/11

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsl...m_campaign=nef



24/11/11 (1) Helms Deep Update

Bob A

[Vlad Drkulec]

This seems to indicate that a constitutional amendment is needed to abolish convicted felons from running for President.

Good luck with that. You need a three quarters majority of the state legislatures to agree and a super majority two thirds of the house and senate.

It looks like the time setting on the forum has not corrected for Daylight Sevings Time's end.

[Vlad Drkulec]

I don't agree with Bob Gillanders that Bernie Sanders could have defeated Donald Trump in 2016. I do greatly respect Mr. Sanders, however.

Concerning Trump, before he gets to his second term inauguration, set for Jan. 20, 2025, he has a not-so-small matter of a Manhattan court hearing on Nov. 26, for sentencing in his 34 New York felony conviction case.

This is NOT a federal matter, so the federal Department of Justice in Washington cannot automatically shut it down. And it is not a prosecution of a sitting president, nor a prosecution of someone who was president when the offences occurred, which was in the autumn of 2016, before the election in November that year. So, the Supreme Court rulings of this past summer should not come into play Trump was extraordinarily abusive to the New York judge and the court process while the trial was in progress, and he has greatly benefited from several delays in the sentencing. It will be highly interesting to see what Judge Juan Merchan decides to do; the world will most certainly be watching. Trump could receive up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges, in addition to fines.

It is a small matter because the Stalinist kangaroo court that convicted him to provide a talking point for the Democrat candidate of 34 or whatever felon y convictions knows that the case will be reversed on appeal. While it is a state court the verdict is so tainted as their current theory of the case is that they elevated long past the statute of limitations misdemeanors to felonies by alluding to but never identifying a federal law that was violated. Trump can simply pardon himself for the alleged unspecified federal crime and the case falls apart. There were many reversible errors in the trial assuming the various state appeals courts are honest not the least of which is that the prosecutors were allowed to allude to unspecified crimes in support of their novel theory of the case.The judge prevented the defense from having an expert on election law testify and the prosecution did bring up points that were never brought in the trial.

There is a primacy clause which indicates that states cannot pass laws which contradict the constitution or even federal laws. If they push this eventually the Supreme Court may decide that he can indeed pardon himself for state crimes which would certainly upset their apple cart. The whole point of the trial was to hobble Trump. It probably worked somewhat reducing his winning margin to a narrow but sufficient one from a Reagan-like landslide. They lost and the lawfare probably contributed to Trump's win. This strategy was an epic failure. The Democrats glorify and protect criminal activity and they have received significant pushback with even California electing a Republican prosecutor in Los Angeles to replace the Soros funded DA Gascon who lost by a significant margin and the referendum that reinstated punishment for shoplifting and repeat offenders passed by 75%.

The so called low propensity voters were rousted by how bad things had gotten and they were reached by the Trump election machine and persuaded to vote. The public is center right and the election reflected that fact.

[Tom O'Donnell]

From what I've seen, Homan would be an excellent choice. Without strong borders, you do not have a country. Without the ability to keep criminal invaders out, you cannot have national security.

[Bob Armstrong]

The Jan. 20/25 Trump Admin is taking shape (It is the prep for projecting policy).

"On Sunday, Trump announced Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of ICE in his last administration, will be in charge of the nation's borders.

He also offered Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik the job as US ambassador to the UN, sources told CNN."

https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/mes...=1731324893207

His Campaign Manager has become the White House Chief of Staff.



Bob A (Hunkered down in Helms Deep for at least the next 2 years; it will be extended when Mini-Trump becomes PM of Canada - coming soon to a theatre near you......)

[Sid Belzberg]

This seems to indicate that a constitutional amendment is needed to abolish convicted felons from running for President.

When I last checked, the constitution began with "We, the People." The People are not interested in such an amendment.

[Pargat Perrer]

Frank, your analysis is based on fanciful thinking. The Supremacy Clause is found in Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution. It establishes that the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the "supreme Law of the Land" and take precedence over state laws. President-Elect Trump has a clear mandate from the American People with a clean sweep of the executive office, the Senate, and the house that is now only a seat away from Republican control after the concession tonight by a Democrat in Colorado in a House race.
The Supreme Court would never allow this case to interfere with a smooth transition of power and the functioning of the US government. At best, this case is deferred for four years until Trump is out of office.

This seems to indicate that a constitutional amendment is needed to abolish convicted felons from running for President.

[Sid Belzberg]

I don't agree with Bob Gillanders that Bernie Sanders could have defeated Donald Trump in 2016. I do greatly respect Mr. Sanders, however.

Concerning Trump, before he gets to his second term inauguration, set for Jan. 20, 2025, he has a not-so-small matter of a Manhattan court hearing on Nov. 26, for sentencing in his 34 New York felony conviction case.

This is NOT a federal matter, so the federal Department of Justice in Washington cannot automatically shut it down. And it is not a prosecution of a sitting president, nor a prosecution of someone who was president when the offences occurred, which was in the autumn of 2016, before the election in November that year. So, the Supreme Court rulings of this past summer should not come into play Trump was extraordinarily abusive to the New York judge and the court process while the trial was in progress, and he has greatly benefited from several delays in the sentencing. It will be highly interesting to see what Judge Juan Merchan decides to do; the world will most certainly be watching. Trump could receive up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges, in addition to fines.

Frank, your analysis is based on fanciful thinking. The Supremacy Clause is found in Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution. It establishes that the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the "supreme Law of the Land" and take precedence over state laws. President-Elect Trump has a clear mandate from the American People with a clean sweep of the executive office, the Senate, and the house that is now only a seat away from Republican control after the concession tonight by a Democrat in Colorado in a House race.
The Supreme Court would never allow this case to interfere with a smooth transition of power and the functioning of the US government. At best, this case is deferred for four years until Trump is out of office.

[Frank Dixon]

I don't agree with Bob Gillanders that Bernie Sanders could have defeated Donald Trump in 2016. I do greatly respect Mr. Sanders, however.

Concerning Trump, before he gets to his second term inauguration, set for Jan. 20, 2025, he has a not-so-small matter of a Manhattan court hearing on Nov. 26, for sentencing in his 34 New York felony conviction case.

This is NOT a federal matter, so the federal Department of Justice in Washington cannot automatically shut it down. And it is not a prosecution of a sitting president, nor a prosecution of someone who was president when the offences occurred, which was in the autumn of 2016, before the election in November that year. So, the Supreme Court rulings of this past summer should not come into play Trump was extraordinarily abusive to the New York judge and the court process while the trial was in progress, and he has greatly benefited from several delays in the sentencing. It will be highly interesting to see what Judge Juan Merchan decides to do; the world will most certainly be watching. Trump could receive up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges, in addition to fines.

[Dilip Panjwani]

Thank you for the link, Bob G.
Bernie clearly states that while Trump gave an explanation for why the working class people are hurting, the Democrats did not. Bernie also points out that Trump's explanation of putting all the blame on illegal migrants is not correct. But he did not say, rightly so, that the the stinking rich of this country cheat or steal in the businesses they do, to make their billions. What he did say is that the top 1% spend billions on politicians, which is the real explanation... the corrupt politicians reward them by making laws which prevent the rise of millions of competing entrepreneurs in the country, which would increase the demand for workers multi-fold, translating into a similar rise in the wages, and bring down inflation, and the entrepreneurs would end up making only a very decent living, not stinking billions... In other words, Libertarianism would really solve the problem! The Marxist approach of simply stealing more and more from all the hard and smart-working entrepreneurs (for the sins of the top 1% and the corrupt politicians), only makes the problem worse; and in any case, two wrongs do not make a right...

[Bob Gillanders]

If the Democrats had given Bernie a fair shake in 2016, he could have beaten Trump.
Bernie fights for the working class, but was shunned by the party elite.

Biden gave him a key post in 2020, and Bernie was a loyal supporter for 4 years, but now he is speaking out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVlu...ewithBillMaher

[Sid Belzberg]

Hi Tom:

I agree that investing is wise financial planning.

Problem: More than 50% of Canadians have $ 200 or less in their savings account for emergencies. They live from paycheque to paycheque, often working multiple part-time jobs.

Their income does not allow for putting away savings for investing.



Those of us Canadians who have been able to do that are fortunate (And I willingly acknowledge that they may have had better paying jobs, and may also have been more frugal in spending, making savings the priority early on.)

Bob A

Bob, the reality is that both in Canada and the USA in the last five years, inflation has been so bad that one in five Canadians have been forced to humiliate themselves by relying on food banks, and in the USA, fifty percent more Americans now use food banks,

These food banks are not government-funded; they are funded privately. Governments printing money to solve problems sadly results in what we are seeing in Argentina. It was painfully obvious that Millei was faced with a Faustian bargain of either reducing government spending and jobs or continuing with the democratic Marxist status quo where those with jobs were no better off They were working hard for worthless currency, a problem that both the USA and Canada are rapidly devolving towards.

From 2016 to 2019, when Trump was in, I had long discussions with many ordinary working-class people who were taking home more pay and were far better off than under Obama.

I hold the Democratic administration entirely responsible for the Pandemic, and unequivocal proof of this can be read in RFK Jrs heavily referenced book "The Real Dr. Fauci." Both the Chinese Communist Party and the Democrats (In Canada, the Trudeau Administration together with the Winnipeg Biolab) committed an act of bioterrorism and death by iatrocide, especially of elderly people, to give the appearance of the deadly virus that, left untreated early was for the elderly hence drugs like hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin were and are still suppressed using state-sponsored disinformation lest the elderly take these medically harmless compounds and be cured and go on to live a happy, healthy life.
They falsely claimed no cure and pushed biological weapons falsely called "vaccines" that are especially harmful to the elderly but also were designed to sterilize the younger; hence, birthrates are now at an all-time low around the world while the formerly rare heart condition myocarditis (50% of myocarditis patients dead in five years) is commonplace with 35% of those that took boosters afflicted with it. Doctors in our fascist-like society can not diagnose this, or else they lose their medical license with the fascist College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The bottom line is that even Trump is better than these filthy, genocidal, corrupted murderers who masquerade as caring governments for the average working person. I am delighted that RFK JR joined with Trump and will likely organize accountability for these state-sponsored butchers.

[Dilip Panjwani]

Problem: More than 50% of Canadians have $ 200 or less in their savings account for emergencies. They live from paycheque to paycheque, often working multiple part-time jobs.

Their income does not allow for putting away savings for investing.


Bob A

Even this group of citizens would theoretically benefit from a rising stock market, because the government's tax collections would increase, which would then be passed on to them (albeit in a very inefficient and wasteful manner).