Polls: Society & Politics

​​After the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the oligarchs who rose to power in the former Soviet republics looked to park their illicit money in western democracies, where the rule of law would protect their investments. Once invested in the United States, they favored the Republicans, who focused on the protection of wealth rather than social services. For their part, Republican politicians focused on spreading capitalism rather than democracy, arguing that the two went hand in hand.

The financial deregulation that made the U. S. a good bet for oligarchs to launder money got a boost when, shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act to address the threat of terrorism. The law took on money laundering and the illicit funding of terrorism, requiring financial institutions to inspect large sums of money passing through them. But the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) exempted many real estate deals from the new regulations.

The United States became one of the money-laundering capitals of the world, with hundreds of billions of dollars laundered in the U. S. every year. Congress addressed this threat in 2021 by including the Corporate Transparency Act in the National Defense Authorization Act. It undercut shell companies and money laundering by requiring the owners of any company that is not otherwise overseen by the federal government (by filing taxes, for example, or through close regulation) to file with FinCEN a report identifying (by name, birth date, address, and an identifying number) each person associated with the company who either owns 25% or more of it or exercised substantial control over it. The measure also increased penalties for money laundering and streamlined cooperation between banks and foreign law enforcement authorities. That act went into effect on January 1, 2024. Now FinCEN has firmed up rules to add anti-money-laundering safeguards to private real estate and private investment.

I actually think it helps. It shows how much medical assistance -2 years worth- is needed.

I am having a lot of health issues form or become worse, both mentally and physically. My stress levels are through the roof. I am having frequent headaches, heart palpitations, and feel like my body is deteriorating. I am only 29. Turning 30 next month.

• Access to adequate and timely healthcare has been an immense struggle. A physician told me recently, in her 40 years of being a doctor, she has never seen insurance coverage this bad. She believes health insurance is working against us. Wait times are long to see any specialist. Copays are crazy if they even do accept insurance in-network. I have severe mental illness and getting affordable mental health care here locally is a nightmare. I am a complicated case with medications.
• I just recently as of a month ago lost my job. I witnessed two mass layoffs at my company in my short tenure there
• I am struggling to acquire new employment in my industry. In addition, I am having to distinguish between legitimate job postings and recruitment scams. Scams and fraud... it is everywhere.
• All these illegals are pouring in everywhere. In addition, people are moving here in the drives from up north and California. My assumption is they are trying to escape the high taxes, woke politics, and corrupt governments in their states. They are overwhelming our resources here and my hometown is struggling to adapt and accommodate a massive influx of people. Knoxville, TN was listed as the second most in-demand housing market in the nation. Our state does not collect state income taxes.
• I was mistreated horrendously at the hospital ER when I had my kidney stone. I was placed out in the lobby in my underwear writhing in the most severe pain I experienced in my life.
• People are mean, self-centered, and greedy. Family units are falling apart and support systems are diminishing.
• Everything is so expensive. I payed $80 for 3 bags of groceries a couple days ago. That was WITH my value card. Skimpflation and shrinkflation is running rampant.

President Trump introduces a new IVF policy that will take place under his next term. “Government will pay for, or your insurance company will be mandated to, pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment." Are you for or against this?

Just recently, it was the lie about the helicopter ride with Willie Brown. Then the lie about inflation being the worst ever. Now Trump said people are leaving Minnesota and Minneapolis burned down and has not been built back. Both blatant lies. But his supporters will never, ever admit Trump is a liar.

And spare me the "all politicians lie," line. It's like me pointing out Louisiana has a high gun crime rate, and you dismissing it by saying "all states have gun crime."

Trump on Tim Walz: “His state is in a state of shock from his governorship … Minneapolis is burned down, they never built it back.” pic.twitter.com/x9swFctylT

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 29, 2024

Do you agree with this

For example, you and your cousin go out to a restaurant. You’re a liberal Democrat and they’re a conservative Republican. They’re wearing a shirt that says, “Straight, White, Conservative, Christian, Male. How else can I offend you today?” And someone, a complete stranger, comes up to you both and starts yelling at your cousin over the shirt. What do you do?

The mass media has reinvented themselves and gone from horrible to beyond deranged by how they manufactured out of whole cloth the so called “excitement” for Kamala Harris. Like she is new and “fresh faced” despite being are sitting vice president for the last 3 years and 9 months.

Now Kamala is running away from interviews and debates and that’s no coincidence. Here is the mass media’s plan (and they concocted it lightning quick):

> promote this bullshit narrative about how “wonderful” she is (when she is actually incompetent and worthless).

> give her scripted interviews and never ask her a hard question lest risking her laughing like Joaquin Phoenix in “the Joker” in response.

> deflect any criticism of Kamala as “sexism” or racism.

> create a human centipede bullshit loop among the DNC and the whole mass media network. Promote a false image her (same way they do in communist countries) hoping that impressionable low information voters are stupid enough to vote her in. The mass media believes the average American is a naive moron.

Kamala had a 28% approve just six f’ing weeks ago! What happened since then to boost her approval? Did she invent the cure for cancer?

Anyway if you are a hardcore democrat (who of course hates Trump) and would vote for a blue coffee cup with a D on it then fine. Go ahead and vote for Kamala despite her incompetence. Just go ahead even though her economic policy will likely hurt you as well (hyperinflation). Be woke and “feel” the joy.

But if you are undecided please use your brain and look at what’s going to impact your very life: policy. Look at what America was like (economy, crime, border) when Trump was in office vs when Biden is in office (and Kamala was VP). Talk is cheap. Policy is what matters.

Kamala has answered literally zero questions about policy because she doesn’t f’ing have one. And for the things she is “promising” why hasn’t she got anything done in the last four years while she was VP?

RFK wants fewer chemicals, seed oils, and additives in our food.

Trump says he wants healthier kids.

So will Trump support more FDA bans and regulations after all his talk about how much regulations stifle business.

I don’t particularly care for it. It’s a waste of money as there’s no real threat that anyone can intelligibly explain.

But Biden’s presidential proclamation on the Border (after Repubs blocked the bill?) has achieved a dramatic fall in illegal crossings that outdoes anything Trump did in his term.

Illegal crossings are down to record low levels, lower than any Trump could do with his stupid wall that remains 1/8 built.