12/8: Books to Read

12/7: Now on Recommended Sites (access via upper right panel)

• BB's WSW: Risky Business
  US Trade Deficit Explained, Housing Crisis Solutions, Rising Insurance Costs (12/06)
• BB's Law: The Fight Over Flavored E-Cigarettes & 20:30 SCOTUS Arguments over property stolen from Holocaust survivors. (12/05)
• NPR's OTM: Donald Trump's Cabinet of Influencers. Plus, The Harvard Plan (12/06)
• PBS' FL: Revisits a conversation with famed author Walter Isaacson about his Elon Musk biography (12/06)
• PBS' WW: Romney's goodbye & Trump’s nominees (12/06)
• RNRH: Israel's Wall of Impunity (12/07)
  Former senior United Nations human rights official Craig Mokhiber discusses Israel and Gaza

12/5: Build Your Own Tax Extensions [tbr]

On December 3 the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) published Reducing the Revenue Loss of TCJA Extension. The Extension of all the individual and estate tax cuts and subsidies is expected to create a 10-year budget deficit of $3.9 trillion under reconciliation at a time now when the official national debt is approaching $36 trillion. Most economists would think an expaniding economy should be producing budget surpluses but Trump and his supporters love fiscally irresponsible tax cuts and subsidies. On the CRFB page is a table of "Options for Reducing the Deficit Impact of TCJA Extensions" which includes estimates from various government sources and non-profit 'charitable' 501c3 think tanks.

You can use the link cited above in the heading to design your own solution to the projected 10-year budget deficit. It should be noted that Republicans have repeatedly used the 10-year budget reconciliation rules to propose tax cuts and subsidies that have increased the national debt in the post-10 years. That is why we need some credible organization to evaluate the effect of all budget reconcilation tax laws on the national debt and unfunded liabilities. Our further comments will appear at [tbr].

12/1: Coming this week - A Revised Homepage

Most of the content on this homepage will be moved to the sections identified on the navigation bar and the top left panel this week. Where they will be moved is based on the tags within these two square brackets [ ]. For example, the tag [ah] will be moved to the American History. Another change will be indicating the last update to the History and Reforms sections with the date of the last update.

11/30: Bloomberg Law Weekend to Replace NPR's Left, Right & Center [or]

The Weekend Review can be accessed at Bloomberg Law's Browse All Podcasts.
This week's episode features:
- San Fran's EPA Battle over a $10 billion fine for sewage discharge into the Pacific Ocean
- Ghost Gun Kit Regulations
- A transcript at Bloomberg Law - iHeart.
Michael Bloomberg supports Everytown For Gun Safety.

11/29: Now on Recommended Sites (access via upper right panel)

• BB's WSW: Rebroadcast (11/29)
• NPR's LRC: What's the right way to cover a second Trump term? (11/29)
• NPR's OTM: How Conservative Talk Radio Came to Dominate the Airwaves. (11/29)
• PBS' FL: Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Robert George discuss the need for civil discourse. (11/29)
• PBS' WW: Trump power play & Cabinet agenda (11/29)
• RNRH: AI: Can Frankenstein Be Tamed? (11/30)
  Marc Rotenberg, founder and president of the Center for AI and Digital Policy fills us in on the latest international treaty aimed at putting guardrails on Artificial Intelligence.

11/20: Who was Pierce Butler? [ah]

11/16: Who were the Two Immigrant Founding Fathers Who Conspired to Create the Electoral College? [er-ec]

The four key delegates to the Constitution Convention in 1787 who negotiated the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Electoral College were James Wilson (PA), Pierce Butler (SC), Gouverneur Morris (PA) and James Madison (VA). See the Election Tab for more details and eventually a proposal to reform the Electoral College.

11/7: ElectoralCollege.org is disappointed with the outcome of this election. [2024]

11/7: Elon Musk's Fraudulent $1 million a day Seven Battleground State Lottery [2024]

11/3: Why a Vote for Kamala Harris is a Vote For Civility? [2024]

11/2: The Harris Campaign Did Not Have an Ad during the Army v. Airforce Game [2024]

10/30: Recent News Articles of Interest [2024]

10/29: What's at Stake on State Ballots [2024]

10/24; Responses to Questions [2024]

• How did the Founding Fathers respond to "Taxation Without Representation"? [ah]
  At the time of the Constitution's adoption in 1789, most of the 13 original states restricted voting rights to white property owners who paid taxes.
  In the South property included slaves.
• Who are the Three Worst Current U.S. Citizen Immigrants who Oppose Democracy? [ir]
  • Rupert Murdock (Australia), owner of Fox News, NY Post, and The Wall Street Journal. [mr]
  • Elon Musk (South Africa), owner of X (formerly Twitter) has a dark side when it comes to politics [mr].
    • X promotes "free speech" that he agrees with.
    • His foray into politics has been called 'really off-putting' by his biographer Walter Isaacson.
    • He's knowingly violating the voting laws with his $1 million bonuses to Trump voters
  • Peter Thiel (Germany & New Zealand), believes that democracy is incompatible with his libertarian views of freedom
    • Why New Zealand? There is no tax on capital gains. It's his exit strategy from U.S. taxes.
    • Favors systems that give more power to wealthy individuals and corporations while limiting the influence of the broader electorate.
    • Converted his IRA into tax-free Roth IRA that is now worth billions. [tbr]
    • First outside investor in Facebook and board member.
    • Founder and largest individual investor of Palantir.
    • Investor in Rumble, a social media "free speech" network that caters to far-right users.
    • Mentor to JD Vance. How much is Vance's Roth IRA worth? [tbr]
• Who was the Best U.S. President after FDR for Social Security Recipients? [ssr]
  Richard Nixon introduced: automatic annual COLAs to help benefits keep pace with inflation, automatic increases in the maximum earnings subject to FICA taxes, and early retirement at age 62.
• Who are the Two Worst U.S. Presidents for the Future of Social Security? [ssr]
  George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Both substantially reduced the taxes on gifts and estates.
  In 2006 Bush signed the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act (TIPRA) of 2005 with an effective date of 2010 for the backdoor Roth IRA. This delay was designed to avoid recognition of the substantial future revenue loses to the U.S. Treasury.
  Our proposal to save Social Security will include the entire value of Roth IRAs in estates, limit the tax-free amount in Roth IRAs, and require annual minimum distributions.
• How does "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" apply to Tax Reform Laws? [tbr]
  • The Good: Tax reform that reduces the national debt.
  • The Bad: Tax reform that favors unearned income more than earned income.
  • The Ugly: Tax reform that increases the national debt.
• Which of the Two Presidential Candidates is Most Likely to Lead U.S. into Bankruptcy? [tbr]
  This is of course is Donald Trump. You may want to read why the voters rejected him in 2020. We're watching Trump's 7th bankruptcy unfold.
  Voters should reject him again now.
  Do you really want to give him another chance to mishandle the economy?
  His tariff proposal will be inflationary.
  He plans to use budget reconciliation to increase the national debt to finance tax cuts that primarily benefit the rich.
  The Democrats need to win the House to stop him.

10/4: Research: The GOP Wants to Defund Social Security [ssr]

Most people who are familiar with the history of Social Security are aware of Thomas Paine's 1795 pamphlet entitled "Agrarian Justice." He proposed to use a 10% tax on inheritances to provide an annual benefit to be paid to every person age 50 and older, to guard against poverty in old-age. You can verify this by visiting the Social Security Administration History Page on Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine is known for being the author of "Common Sense" that was featured within the last 12 months as the first book to read on C-Span's Books That Shaped America. Early in his writing career Thomas Paine used the pseudonym Common Sense. Mr. Common Sense certainly had a common-sense proposal to tax inheritances to fund an old-age pension for the poor.

One must ask: "Have any members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security considered a common sense proposal to use a tax on estates to support Social Security?" They certainly should be presumed to be aware of what Thomas Paine proposed in Agrarian Justice.

On January 18, 2024, Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-4). a Republican member of the Subcommittee on Social Security proposed H.R. 7035, the bill to Repeal the Estate Tax. The names of the GOP House Members who are co-ponsors of this bill are listed on two pages of Defund Social Security. I hope this list will be downloaded and used to defeat these GOP members who want to Defund Social Security.

9/27: Forthcoming Updates (Dates will appear here and above when updated)

• American History [ah]: Our, and Possibly Your, Relationship to the Founding Fathers and Mothers (9/29)
• Election Reform [er]: Two Founders Who Might Have Been Responsible for the Electoral College and the Limitation on the Direct Tax (9/29)
• Immigration Reform [ir]: Why we don't need Illegal Immigrants (9/27)
• Judicial Reform [jr]: Term Limits and Ethics Reform
• Media Reform [mr]: The Need for Disclosure
• Social Security Reform [ssr]: The Republican Plan to Defund Social Security Via the Roth IRA and the Repeal of the Estate Tax
• Tax & Budget Reform [tbr]: How Budget Reconciliation Favors Capital and Increases the National Debt

9/22: At 3 pm the About Tab Was Updated

There is now a link within About to Zyntax, Inc: Two AI Chat Summaries of My Work Effort and Images

9/10: News [2024]

9/10: What Have Biden and Harris Accomplished? Look at These 10 Metrics [2024]
By Bloomberg Opinion Columnists, 9/10/2024, At bloomberg.com
Biden — and by extension, Harris — has outperformed Trump on a number of fronts, such as job creation, health care and crime. But not all.
The Metrics: Immigration | Crime | Health | Jobs and wages | Inflation | Energy transition | Household wealth | Markets | Income inequality | Job approval

9/10: EC Opinion: Common Sense Questions

• What About the National Debt and the Solvency of Social Security? [ssr tbr]
• What actions did Trump and Biden do or not do to cause inflation?[2024]
• How did Trump Administration's Doha Agreement with the Taliban Enable the Taliban to Control the Afghanistan People? [or]
  • Hint: The Doha Agreement Required the Afghanistan Government Release 5,000 Taliban Terrorists.
    Was one of the 5,000 Taliban Terrorists who were released, The Terrorist who killed 13 Americans?

9/7: AI Questions for Today [2024]

Today, there was this headline at msn.com: Liz Cheney's Four-Word Message for Texas Voters
The four words were "Vote for Colin Allred", who is the Democrat running against Texas Senator Ted Cruz this year. Cruz has called Liz Cheney the "poster child of flip-flopping."
Opinion: Cruz, the Cuban-American, showed his true lack of integrity when he "flip-flopped" from criticizing Trump to praising Trump. He is a member of the sycophantic crew of other "Trump flip-floppers" like Nikki Haley, JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Lindsay Graham.
The AI questions are:
"What is a synonym for a flip-flopper who becomes a sycophant?"
 =Opportunistic or Toady
"What are the psychological traits of someone who becomes a sycophant after flip-flopping?"
 =Lack of Core Convictions, Moral Flexibility, Unprincipled...

9/1: A New Look with a Navigation Bar to Reform Sections

Click on the title below the Navigation Bar Section to open the homepage of the section. Eventually each section will contain multiple pages. Content is only available now in the About, American History, Immigration, Social Security, Tax & Budget, and Other sections. To return to the homepage of ElectoralCollege.Org click either the image or the title under the Home section.

<8/17: Other News of The Week [2024]

• Kamala Harris, like Trump, proposes no tax on tips. [ssr tr]
  -Does this include all income and payroll taxes?
  -Will state and local governments follow?
  -How will this affect the worker's entitlement to Social Security and Medicare benefits?
• Kamala Harris tries to outpromise J.D. Vance and the Republicans on the Child Tax Credit (CTC) by promising $6,000 for the year of birth of a child. [tbr]
  -J.D. Vance promised a $5,000 CTC. He may next promise the CTC to start when the mother gets pregnant. [tbr]
  -Don't both parties realize that the U.S is heading for bankruptcy and that promising an expanded CTC also encourages children and families to cross the southern border? [ir]
  -These border-crossing families are also promised by decisions of the Supreme Court to get free schooling and free medical care that are paid by state and local taxpayers with no reimbursement from the federal government. [ir]
  -Sixteen states, mainly blue states, and the District of Columbia allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. [ir]
  -Maine now has a program to provide free or heavily subsidized housing for asylum seekers. [ir]
  -When are we going to have a National ID so we know who is here and their legal status? [ir]
• Trump holds news conference at his New Jersey residence in Bedminster. [ah]
  -Displays groceries that have risen in price since and due to the Covid-19 epidemic that he ignored
  -Trump's greatest megadonor, Miriam Adelson, introduced him at the event.
  -His property in Bedminster is part of a parcel of land that was owned from 1726 to 1760 by our cousins Major Daniel and William Axtell. Their ancestor, and our great uncle, is Colonel Daniel "The Regicide" Axtell.1622-1660, who was executed for his role at the trial of Charles I of England in 1649. [ah]
• Who is Miriam Adelson [ir tbr] and how much estate tax did her husband Sheldon's estate pay when he died in 2021 with an estimated net worth of $30 billion? [tbr]
  -She is the wealthiest Israeli citizen with a current net worth also estimated to be $30 billion. [ir]
  -She has been described as an Israeli-American with dual citizenship. [tbr]
  -She has promised to donate to the Trump campaign $100 million in return for his supporting the annexation of the West Bank. A survey has indicated that 67% of the Americans polled oppose this. [er or]

<8/16: Past Noteworthy News

• 8/16: Public Citizen's Robert Weissman Calls for Ten Crucial Public Congressional Hearings [er]
  Do corporations have too much control over our lives? Twenty-four years ago 70% said YES in a Business Week poll. Now their control is much greater. The Peoples' Congress needs to act.

<8/10: Other News of The Week [2024]

8/10 - Jesse Ventura Rips 'Rich White Boy' Donald Trump as 'Biggest Draft Dodger' by Mandy Taheri at Newsweek.com
Speaking with CNN's Laura Coates on Friday night, Ventura, criticized the GOP presidential candidate and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, for their character and values, particularly referencing military service.

8/9 - Riggleman on Some Republicans Endorsing Kamala Harris  Denver Riggleman, Former Republican Representative of Virginia, speaks with Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg's "Balance of Power."

• 5 reasons for Republicans to Vote for Harris and not Trump.
• Trump promises a peaceful transfer, if there is an honest election.
• Trump's campaign manager, ex-Marine Chris "The Swift Boats Liar" LaCivita, orchestras an attack on Jim Walz who has served this country in the National Guard honorably for 24 years.
  Ex-Marine JD Vance, who was a combat correspondent in Iraq for six months, amplifies the attack with his own lies.
  Lying is considered a violation of the Marine Corps' code of conduct, both during and after service, as it undermines the principles of honor and integrity that are central to Marine identity.
• It should be noted that AI indicates that no one in the public media has yet questioned Chris LaCivita about Donald Trump's derogatory statements about the military and his avoidance of military service.
• When will the media have the courage to ask JD Vance, who served in public relations while in Iraq, .why he supports Donald Trump, who has made derogatory statements about the military and his avoidance of military service.

8/6: Kamala Harris picks Tim Walz as her VP
8/6: Missouri (CD-1) Rep. Cori Bush Becomes Second Squad Member to Lose to a Moderate Democrat

<8/3: Other News of The Week [2024]

8/2/24: Who is JD Vance? (Update 9/3/24) [2024]

On 8/2/24 the title was "Our Choice For Harris' VP - Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear." This column has been revised to contain only comments that were made about JD Vance.

JD Vance is the guy who once compared Trump to Hitler and is now Trump's VP. JD Vance has roots in Kentucky, but was not born there. Vance was born in Ohio to parents who came from eastern Kentucky. Many people believe that Vance's book "Hillbilly Elegy" has called the hardworking people of eastern Kentucky, 'lazy and ignorant.'

What many people don't know. but should know, is Vance's relationship to one of the most dangerous billionaires in America, Peter Thiel.
-Thiel who was born Germany is a brilliant and weird guy who does not believe that "freedom and democracy are compatible".
-He was a founder of PayPal, the first outside investor in Facebook (now Meta) and is now chairman of Palantir which specializes in big data analysis of federal government data.
-The key to AI is data and data analysis.
-Palantir was backed by the CIA's venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel.

You can use AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity.ai and Google's Gemini to know how Peter Thiel is a threat to democracy and avoids paying taxes.
-Here are a few questions you may want to ask:

• What are Peter Thiel's views on democracy?
• What is the connection between Peter Thiel and Joseph Bankman?
  Joseph Bankman is the father of crypto crook Sam Bankman-Fried.
• What is the connection between Thiel and Palantir?
• What are the ways that Peter Thiel uses to avoid paying taxes?
  His concept of freedom is to not to pay taxes.

8/2/24: How to use AI chatbots to understand the misinformation and lies promoted by all political campaigns in 2024 [2024]

• What is the difference between a pathological liar and a compulsive liar?
  -Then ask these follow-up questions like: "Is Donald Trump a pathological liar?" and "What are the risks of having a president who is a pathological liar?"
• What was the main cause of inflation that many Americans have experienced during the last 4 years?
  -Hint: It started in mid-December 2019 and continued throughout 2020 when Trump was president?
  -Biden's American Plan Act of 2021's $1.9 trillion stimulus was partially responsible for inflation.
• Was Kamala Harris the "Border Czar" who is responsible for the border chaos?
  -One reliable AI chatbot response was: "Harris was charged with addressing 'root causes' of migration from Central America, not directly overseeing U.S. border security operations."
• Did Donald Trump actually have nothing to do with Project 2025?
  -Chris LaCivita, his campaign manager, stated a few days ago:
  "President Trump's campaign has been very clear for over a year that Project 2025 had nothing to do with the campaign, did not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or the President in any way."
  -Who is Chris LaCivita?
  -He was responsible for the unfair and untrue Swift Boat attack on John Kerry's war record by a group of Vietnam veterans who had not served with John Kerry. Their version of Kerry's war record was claimed to be a lie by veterans who served with Kerry.
  -So how can you believe that Donald Trump had nothing to do with Project 2025?
  -Check it out by using AI chatbots.
• Why is the Heritage Foundation and most of the other non-profit advisors to Project 2025 qualified to be classified as Section 501(c)(3) organizations? [tbr]
  -Isn't it about time that those of us who pay taxes, don't want the government to support any organization that engages in political advocacy?
  -The charitable contribution deduction should be limited to helping the poor and furthering medical research and not helping the rich avoid paying taxes to defend America and support the common good.
• Why is a political party and campaign entitled to be subsidized by low-cost nonprofit postage stamps? [tbr]
  -The normal first class stamp is now 68 cents when the nonprofit stamps might be less than 10 cents
• Why are contributions to foreign organizations and U.S. nonprofit organization provided more favorable tax treatment than state and local taxes (SALT) paid to help U.S. citizens and residents [tbr]
• Why is the SALT deduction limited to $10,000 for single individuals and married couples filing jointly [tbr]?
  -Isn't this a marriage penalty?
• Why doesn't the federal government reimburse State and Local governments and hospitals for the costs they incur to support refugees, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants? [ir tbr]

2/18/24: Proposal to Save Social Security [ssr]