The Trump Impeachment Thread

Quote: Dalex64

I am hoping that this second whistleblower, with first-hand knowledge, can tell us whether or not the "transcript" (or whatever you want to call it) was complete and accurate.

Quote: Dalex64

I am hoping that this second whistleblower, with first-hand knowledge, can tell us whether or not the "transcript" (or whatever you want to call it) was complete and accurate.

Quote: terapined

I am very suspicious that we did not get an exact transcript on purpose.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Here's why you're going to make it.

Quote: Babs

You'd never know joy if you hadn't hit the troughs, honey. It's the price of admission. Don't let them funnel you to the egress just yet. There's lots more joy to be had.

Quote: Face

Well, if we're just speaking anecdotally, then I can agree to a point. Especially if we're talking my direct peers, like the Senior Millennial / Junior Gen X, your late 30 / early 40, I can see that. I know very few of my peers who have any savings or retirement plan, who bought houses without down payment, who buy new 1500's and immediately throw stretch tires and lift kits and coffee can exhausts, and generally try to live the Instagram life. That certainly does exist. And I would agree with you re: personal responsibility in those cases.

But I learned that lesson before I even had finances, and while I enjoy my motorsports and day dreams, I've never been a materialistic person. Not since 10th grade have I concerned myself with new shoes or trendy shirts. I'm a big gamer, but I haven't bought a new console since... well, ever. Original Xbox was the last one I received as soon as it was out, and that was a gift. I game extensively, but exclusively buy titles several years out of date so I get them for <$20 instead of >$60. You've seen my last 10yrs of vehicles, so no question there. Spartan, bare, value over status. I don't drink. I don't have a "social life", don't party, don't go out to dinners or soirees, don't see movies or concerts. Don't tailgate the Bills or season ticket the Sabres. I was ~29 before I got my first credit card, and that was opened and controlled and used exclusively by my wife only. I've never used one myself. We saved >$25k for down payment on our first house. After the divorce, I upended my entire life to make that ~$35k debt a priority, lived a life of severely impeded entertainment and luxury, and got it off in a few years. And every single large purchase since then has been done the same. Down payment, debt a priority until it's gone. I've never missed a bill in my life (save divorce shuffle and mailbox destruction), never had actions taken (except for the ER bill I refuse out of principle), never had to take out a high interest loan or engage in predatory practices (It's my money and I want it now!), never fell for get rich quick plans, MLM schemes, Nigerian princes, or collectors fads, and save the unemployment / comp, I ain't never been on the dole, declared bankruptcy, or requested or accepted charity (except that damn ER bill attempt).

I know you can point to a bunch of leaks, but they're all accounted for. The very reason I don't, say, stop at a C-store to make a trip more enjoyable, is because I know I have a $912.50p/yr leak with my smoking habit (and yes, that's exactly my cost, because I eschew luxury so no Newports for this guy). It would make me happy to right now end this post and go play hockey, but I chose a lifestyle that requires a 12mpg vehicle, so travel restrictions are mine to own. And I do so, happily, because personal responsibility isn't a cliché, it's a lifestyle. Stop waiting for it to happen and take control, right?

That's where you lose me, and where I am lost. The preparation for adulthood came by way of experiencing my parents. That was the lens I saw everything through. As I aged and fears of adulthood came, it was them that grounded me. My parents were nothing special (on paper). Mama never went to college, she went straight into the state. Pops was a trained dentist c/o the USNavy, but likewise went right into the state after serving. Neither made leaps within the organization. Both stayed front lines for their entire careers, save the typical bump up for the last 3 years. And through all that, I never wanted for nothing. This amazing building that I call home was theirs in their mid 20's. I grew up in the back of a '72 Cuda and 5.0 Mustang. I sure remember the winter beaters in the 80's, when I was lil, when they were in their early 30s, but by early 90's when I was 12-14 and they were my age now, those cars were all new, and have been ever since. There was a 24' pool out back. A 24' cuddy cruiser, brand new. Vacations were not "grand", it was just 1 trip to Darien or Cedar Point and one trip to Allegany every summer, but they were guaranteed. Mom blew out her knee, it got fixed. Pops knocked out his teeth, they got fixed. Their kid put their car through the trees at 90mph, kid was home that night, new car was in the drive that week, and life went on. They even had enough to blow $11k/yr on my (one year of) college, put a new roof on the house, extend the driveway to two lanes, gut and replace the bathroom, get a new washer and dryer, have the Cuda rebuilt when Pops wrapped it around the tree, fix the neighbor windows I sent a rock through, replace the neighbors bike I bombed into the crick... and they all of this by just going to work. And they, like the rest of my quasi-Amish family, did not do it via credit cards or sketchy loans or hope at the dog track. They were just simple, they lived simple, and that simplicity fell below their means, just as you prescribe.

My output, in comparison, falls quite short of even theirs. My simplicity, my wants, not a single one opposes theirs. My one vacation doesn't even reach their cigarette output at 1990s premium prices. My vehicles at 38 are of the status of their vehicles at 23. Their holiday budget existed, mine does not. Their boat was the same price as mine, only in vastly differently valued dollars. Pops bought his Cuda, I built my race car. Pops paid for a new roof. I installed my own.

And again, please, do not miss my point. I don't even care that "Pops had a Cuda, I have a s@#$box CRX!", not at all (well, a little, but not my point =p) My point isn't that I can't even reach their splendor, it's that I can't manage a future, even at a self imposed reduced wanting. My parents always had health insurance, just as I do now. Know how many hundred dollar bills they got? Now compare them to just my teeth alone. Can you see what I'm saying?

I'm doing more work, vastly more what with the extra construction / mechanics / roofing / etc that I've picked up (neither have EVER had a side gig), have eschewed even further the trappings of luxury, and am STILL drowning. THAT'S my bitch, and what's got me raging. I don't want a European suit, a G7, my own island, a 918 with "Supreme" written across the hood. I just wanna know that when I stand up and can't walk, I'm not going to lose everything I own. I want to have this simple life I have, fishing pole in hand, and know my home is secure. That's it. And that, apparently, is asking too much. Worse, that all of this is somehow my own fault.

It's positively crushing.

Quote: rxwine

Since so many of you love conspiracy theories about Democrats, .............

Quote: rxwine

Since so many of you love conspiracy theories about Democrats, maybe President Erdogan of Turkey blackmailed Trump, threatened to release a phone call of him trying to make some shady deal in return for a favor. That's why he threw the Kurds to the wolves. Trump saving his own skin, would throw his own best friend under a bus without much thought.

What's hard to believe about it?

Quote: Newsweek

Trump himself has previously admitted that the towers represent a conflict of interest in dealing with Turkey. In a 2015 radio interview, he explained, ""I have a little conflict of interest, because I have a major, major building in Istanbul...It's called Trump Towers. Two towers, instead of one. Not the usual one, it's two. And I've gotten to know Turkey very well."