Guy Chamberlin

Or if he loses.

What a willfully odd response. The "they" are the folks in the wealthiest tax bracket, as indicated, the 35%-40% is the number you specifically asked for, and no one ever suggested everyone else goes income tax free, hence the phrase "fair share." You okay?

Is there any chance that a review of The Rabbit Hole's posts won't reveal similar racially tinged posts along with posts decrying liberal race-baiting?

That video launching RFK's campaign was quite good, and he said everything you'd want to hear from an alternative candidate. You're even reminded, repeatedly, that he comes from a legendary line of America's most revered politicians. He didn't mention public health at all. So when it comes to picking a running mate, he wants a total novice whose only known political position is anti-vaxxer. What a weird cat.

If you thought RFK Jr. presented an intelligent alternative, he has apparently reached out to Jesse Ventura and Aaron Rogers -- yes, that Aaron Rogers -- to be his running mate.

Nary a peep on CNN as of 9:00 pm EST. I'm starting to wonder if Biden's Wins can be trusted.

Again, if you remember an earlier America as a Greater and more business friendly America, the top marginal tax rate on the wealthiest Americans was 81% in 1940, 84% in 1950, 91% in 1960, 72% in 1970, 70% in 1980, 28% in 1990, 40% in 2000, and 35% in 2010. Of course they fought those rates, too, and had their lawyers find every loophole possible. Some folks simply wanted Obama to restore the rate from 35% to 37% when the Bush tax cuts went into sunset mode, but Republicans s#!t bricks about the war on the wealthy. Obama chose other battles to lose. Since the wealthy were also quite wealthy in those previous decades when the American economy was cooking, it seems like 35 - 40% isn't exactly class warfare.

No one is arguing that everyone doesn't cheat on their taxes. Question is whether the rich, who already receive preferential treatment, can get even more preferential treatment exploiting loopholes many of us don't have, or know about, or have the tax attorneys to execute. It's sort of a political party thing in that one party wants the rich to pay their fair share (typically the amount the rest of us pay AFTER we cheat), while the other party wants to claim Tax The Rich! is class warfare.

That would be the moral and ethical thing to do. But even those wary former Trump voters who swear they won't vote for him again offer little resistance or alternative. There is a palpable fear of Trump reprisals, which should have fueled even stronger and better organized GOP opposition, but fear continues to carry the day. Physical fear. Hard to remember, but back in 2016 there were a surprising number of establishment Republicans and conservative media that endorsed Hillary Clinton, believing Trump to be a threat to both the party and the country. With even the most paranoid predictions proving accurate, you'd think we would have learned something. It just feels like the cement has dried and the only game left is a sectarian war, regardless of the election outcome.

And remember, if you lose your bet with me that Biden wins in a landslide, you're not going to get that hug.

The Russian strategy has always been to outlast opponents at the extreme sacrifice of its own people. But they've rarely faced an opponent that shares so much their DNA. It's not hard to imagine a long tired slog by two opponents willing to rest on the ropes between rounds.

And in fairness, Clinton is credited for tapping the breaks a little on a string of Presidents before him. Crazy, though, how one party gets labelled as the Tax & Spend excessives, when in fact the other party taxes less and spends more, making them even worse deficit panderers.

My brother always thought kick-offs should be mandatory returns — you gotta pick up the ball and see how many yards you can get. Gotta admit, it would make special teams a lot more special.

And that brings us back to the ancient question: if MAGA wants America to be great Again, what is the time period they want to get back to? Don't know how many times I've asked it, but it never, ever, ever gets answered. Because, of course, it's a trap.

It's hard for me to figure out either the groupthink or the actions required for the NBA to provide the Spurs an unearned advantage. And if that's their goal, it's not working very well. This is Pops fourth losing season. And again, if you're thinking like a business and had that kind of influence, the New York Knicks wouldn't being going on 25 years since their last Finals appearance, and 50 years since their last championship. My guess is that the League is pretty thrilled to have a very young OKC in the mix, and teams like Orlando making noise again. Of course they'd take Lakes vs Celtics every year in a heartbeat.

Hard not to love Anthony Edwards. Easy not to love Rudy Gobert. Totally excusable to wonder if Karl Anthony Towns will ever live up to his potential.

Just think, if Bill Clinton had declared himself President for Life, he could have continued his reign for the next 24 years and still be younger than Trump and Biden..

OKC vs Denver would be a fun match-up. Clippers could make it interesting. Those seem like the best in the West to me. My Warriors have too much hill to climb and I can't quite believe the Timberwolves based on history. I still don't get the Pelicans. Don't want to see the Lakers at all. Suns and Mavs keep playing like the slightly over .500 teams they are, but they wouldn't be boring.

I honestly can't keep score anymore. Democrats have held the same line and rhetoric on illegal immigration forever, and for years they could swap lines with Republicans because it's the easiest political position to take. The Obama/Biden administration was often derided by the Latino community for being deportation happy. Talk was cheap and action was wildly expensive and problematic. So when political and drug-cartel violence in Latin America sends the number soaring, the solutions get even dicier. Trump scores electoral points with doomed over-reaches like walls and mass deportations, fed with the ugliest possible stereotypes. Democrats naturally denounce all things Trump and start quoting the Statue of Liberty, declining to acknowledge that they've spouted the same boilerplate tough-on-immigration/pathway to citizenship position for years. Something has to be done. Republicans use the situation to demonize immigrants and scare voters. Democrats get to say "hamana-hamana-hamana" as they dare Republicans to pass the tough immigration rules that will give Democrats the credit in an election year. If nothing is done, the chances of the immigrant surge receding and things going back to much as they were in the still-problematic and largely bipartisan past remain high.

There's zero doubt that the Biden Team is playing with numbers to put the rosiest picture on things, which often mean pretending the global pandemic had nothing to do with it. But the global pandemic obviously had a massive influence, including major supply chain disruptions with lag times, which Biden opponents are also keen to ignore. An inflationary period was 100% predictable. If both sides stopped pretending that these numbers are comparable to "normal" economic metrics, we'd be left with the fact that lingering inflation drags down some of those rosy numbers for average Americans in a very real way. We'd also be left with the fact that whatever the U.S. did in response to COVID, America has emerged economically stronger that virtually all our allies and rivals. We're really s#!tty at mixed messages in this country, but if you had to pick a POV at election time, the latter is a better indicator of policy and prognosis moving forward.

Yep. It was a combination of the automobile and white flight that sent people, money and development out to the suburbs, a move very much supported and engineered by politicians and business interests. Once in the suburbs, you still had to travel by car to the malls that were springing up. Those new houses typically got rid of the front porch and allowed you to drive into your garage and enter your house without being outside. Architecture played to the private rather than the public sphere. There's been a movement to change that. One of the struggling malls in our bedroom suburb plans to follow a new template where they replace the anchor retailers at each end of the mall with apartment units. The pedestrian part of the mall is turned into a park or greenspace. That greenspace is lined with the mall stores much like before, but now it looks like a small town and has the residents/pedestrians already built in. Anyone remember the film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Obviously a big silly comedy, but the plot was closely based on the true story of how political and business forces in Los Angeles sabotaged public transit in order sell cars, suburban tract homes, and huge highway developments.

Snappy comeback, Mav.

Katie Britt and Lara Trump will have the same effect on Donald Trump's support as the 1,328 other jaw-dropping deal breakers since 2015.

I do think Pop is one of the great NBA coaches of all time, but like you I'm a bit mystified by his inability to get more from less, or simply improve when handed the rookie superstar who, by all indications, is the real deal. There was some sniping that other Spurs players weren't assisting Wemby out of spite or hazing, and it's hard to imagine Pop letting that happen. Not sure where you're going with the "entertainment value" comment, though. Sure it's entertainment, but it generally comes from great players earning it on the court. Lotta hyped players lose their minutes to less-heralded guys playing their asses off, which includes fundamentals like ball hawking and defense.

Wemby had a bit more hype than Zion Williamson, a bit less than LeBron. Lotta hype for all three. If we're talking about generational, franchise altering #1 draft picks a team would be willing to tank for, those are the only three I can think of in the last 20 years or so.