Donald Trump’s own former national security officials sign open letter saying Ukraine whistleblower did nothing wrong and deserves protection

Dozens of former national security officials—including several who once served under President Donald Trump—have signed an open letter honoring the first whistleblower to come forward in the Trump-Ukraine scandal and demanding their protection.

Signed by 90 former national security officials, the letter came as news broke that at least one other whistleblower had come forward in the case, seeking to flag concerns around Trump’s July 25 phone call, in which he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

“While the identity of the whistleblower is not publicly known, we do know that he or she is an employee of the U.S. Government,” the letter, signed by prominent officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, states. “As such, he or she has by law the right—and indeed the responsibility—to make known, through appropriate channels, indications of serious wrongdoing.”

This is disgusting, this whistleblower followed the rules, went by the book and with zero evidence Trump and other GOP members are trying to destroy his life before he ever testifies, that is a disgraceful betrayal to someone who served this country, just because they don’t like the truth they have to tell.

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The Rich Really Do Pay Lower Taxes Than You

I think most people don’t understand how marginal tax brackets work, but basic math can help: (example using 22% tax bracket and 37%)

REMEMBER you are taxed on a margin. So you pay a fixed amount and then a percentage on a margin above the lower number on your tax bracket. Hence marginal taxation 🙂

22% $38,701 to $82,500 $4,453.50 plus 22% of the amount over $38,700

So at 50k income one will pay $4,453.50 + ($50,000 – $38,700)*.22 = $4,453.50 + $2,486 = $6,939.5

$6,939.5/$50,000= .138 or roughly ~14%

So someone making 50k per year is only paying roughly 14 percent OVERALL.

sparing the analytics, using the highest tax bracket (37%) with 1,000,000 income

$150,689.50 + $500,000*.37 = $335,689.5

$335,689.5/1,000,000= ~33%

TLDR;

Someone making 50k per year is only paying 14% per year in taxes whereas someone making 1 million is paying 33% taxes. So technically, when you use what people pay overall vs the marginal tax rate (and then forget the margins) data can be twisted to make it look like those in the higher tax brackets are paying less of a percentage than “most redditors”. I can assure you though, with simple maths, it can be shown that this isn’t true.

(I did this all using single filing from 2018. I’m just a normal person who crunched some #s, DON’T MURDER ME)

Source: quicken loan tax brackets

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John Brennan: CIA Would Call U.S. ‘Very Corrupt’ If It Were Another Country

What my country considers as bribery, ie enough to get a prison sentence, is not only entirely legal in the US, but it’s literally what allows their political campaigns to function.

People made fun of us a few years back when we had a huge corruption scandal, even calling us one of the most corrupt places in the world, but they failed to mention that what we consider illegal and prosecute people for is legal in most places around the world.

Businesses contributing to political campaign is absolute nonsense, unlimited political contributions through PACs is a very thinly veiled corruption, and lobbyists straight up giving money to politicians is literal corruption.

The US not only is one of the most corrupt places on earth, but it legitimizes corruption and defends it as “free speech”. If you look at what people who are actual free speech advocates in autocratic countries are being jailed for, calling unlimited monetary political contributions “free speech” is a fucking slap in the face.

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Trump told Republicans he doesn’t want impeachment on his ‘resume’: report

As noted many times in this thread, resignation is not even an option for the idiot. The moment he resigns, NY state is going to fuck him with indictments.

His only option is to go full throttle forward with a so-called “fight against the left”. The most probable outcome of a senate trial is that he gets declared “not guilty” which will then be spun into non-stop propaganda against the democrats by his stooges in Fox News.

His hope would then be to win in 2020 and let statutes expire as a means to avoid jail time.

Summary: Vote the motherfucker and the republican party out of existence in every single election (state, local and federal). If impeachment works, good. But never ever sit out an election. Ever.

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Former Reagan Official Blasts Modern-Day Republicans: ‘It’s Like The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’

I just posted this elsewhere but it fits as a reply to you as well.

This is from the Iran-Contra Wikipedia page – congressional committee investigation section. I think it’s worth reading for those of us who weren’t around to see this scandal play out 30+ years ago.

In January 1987, Congress announced it was opening an investigation into the Iran–Contra affair. Depending upon one’s political perspective, the Congressional investigation into the Iran–Contra affair was either an attempt by the legislative arm to gain control over an out-of-control executive arm, a partisan “witch hunt” by the Democrats against a Republican administration or a feeble effort by Congress that did far too little to rein in the “imperial presidency” that had run amok by breaking numerous laws.

It’s worth noting that our current AG – Bill Barr – advised President Bush Sr. to pardon those indicted in the scandal. Bush didn’t acknowledge the scandal and they essentially got away with a cover up – at least to their supporters.

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Zero members of Trump administration appear on Sunday talk shows

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DeVos violated a court order to stop collecting on the debts of Corinthian College students. Now, they want her held in contempt.

This isn’t material greed itself.

It’s complete emotional capture to an ideology where they believe they’re religious chosen ones.

To an outsider it’s simple material greed.

To them it’s just plain fact they’re special and should be doing as they are.

The American public needs to see this as complete corruption of these people’s emotional agency. It’s biological, their brains cannot help but retrieve the fact this is all justified because of a lifetime of being told it is.

This is pure emotional corruption driven by American cultures years of acceptance and normalizing of the domination of the globe by neoliberalism.

They’re effectively junkies.

But sit here on Reddit instead and still be amazed at these snowflakes behaving exactly like they have been for decades. That’ll get you somewhere.

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DeVos violated a court order to stop collecting on the debts of Corinthian College students. Now, they want her held in contempt.

This isn’t material greed itself.

It’s complete emotional capture to an ideology where they believe they’re religious chosen ones.

To an outsider it’s simple material greed.

To them it’s just plain fact they’re special and should be doing as they are.

The American public needs to see this as complete corruption of these people’s emotional agency. It’s biological, their brains cannot help but retrieve the fact this is all justified because of a lifetime of being told it is.

This is pure emotional corruption driven by American cultures years of acceptance and normalizing of the domination of the globe by neoliberalism.

They’re effectively junkies.

But sit here on Reddit instead and still be amazed at these snowflakes behaving exactly like they have been for decades. That’ll get you somewhere.

Real Estate, and Personal Injury Lawyers. Contact us at: https://westlakelegal.com 

Public support for Trump’s impeachment is higher than it was for Nixon and Clinton

We could be looking at the very beginning of that phenomenon right now.

There’s already a first-hand witness whistleblower to the Ukraine call. I fully predict that this will prompt a mad rush of other whistleblowers trying to save their own asses from what they view as a sinking ship.

In the next few weeks I believe things will pitch dramatically down for Trump, the only difference being he will decline to resign and so we’ll enter entirely new territory.

The pressure on Republican Senators will be extraordinary. The Fox News valves will not be able to hold back the pressure, especially if Trump flails and damages himself as he spirals further and further down.

Republican Senators so desperately don’t want to vote against Trump, but they’re going to be left with little option as his mental state and evidence of his crimes devolves beyond even their ability to excuse.

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Americans Think ICE Is the Worst Federal Agency, Poll Shows

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