The Rational Independent

As neither a Republican or a Democrat I find myself both perplexed and amused at the sideshow that the Hunter Biden issue has become within Congress. In a cute stunt, Hunter Biden crashed the committee hearing voting on whether or not to hold him in contempt of Congress. I guess it must be nice to be the son of a powerful man. After all, couldn’t we construe an event like this as “obstructing an official proceeding”? That’s what many J6 protesters were charged with. Just my 2 cents. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4400047-hunter-biden-contempt-of-congress-hearing/ Follow TRI on other platforms Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

Trump now faces ballot challenges in Illinois and Massachusetts. I’m assuming the Supreme Court will take up the open cases soon, although I’ve been surprised by them more than once. It’s curious to me how the people who howl the loudest to support “our democracy” are afraid to have Donald Trump included in the democratic process. The cleanest way to show everyone that the bad orange man doesn’t deserve to be president is to beat him by a wide margin in an open and fair election. Perhaps Democrats think they can’t accomplish this?

Also, we discuss legislation introduced to both houses that seeks to tax unrealized capital gains. This is a horrendously bad idea, supported primarily by the most ardent supporters of ‘equity’. If such an idea were ever implemented, it would mean the destruction of the American economy. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/04/politics/illinois-voters-ask-elections-board-to-take-trump-off-2024-ballot/index.html https://www.commondreams.org/news/rich-untaxed-wealth Follow TRI on other platforms Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

In an opinion piece from the LA Times, columnist Robin Abcarian decries waning support for Joe Biden among young voters. After all, isn’t it terrible that Trump’s Supreme Court prevented us from killing inconvenient babies and Biden hasn’t stopped ‘Israel’s war against Palestinians’? Not an impartial description of her views, but her opinions are framed so emotionally it’s difficult to grapple with them rationally. In a clever bit of narrative setting, Business Insider implies that Trump wasn’t willing to call for peace on January 6th, that an aide had to convince him to send a tweet calling for peace. Ignoring the fact that when Trump addressed the crowd prior to any events at the Capitol he called for them to “peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard”. And lastly, the Biden administration is mucking around with labor laws again. This time they’re changing a Trump era regulation around who is/isn’t a contractor. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-01-03/polls-election-younger-voters-abortion-student-loan-climate-joe-biden-donald-trump?utm_source=reddit.com https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-didnt-even-write-his-own-jan-6-tweets-report-2024-1?utm_source=reddit.com https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-admin-announce-independent-contractor-rule-that-could-upend-gig-economy-2024-01-08/?utm_source=reddit.com Follow TRI on other platforms Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

Several articles accuse Roger Stone of plotting the assassination of Democrat Congressmen. Roger Stone denies it, claims it audio was created using AI. While not terribly likely, it is certainly possible. We consider a near future where AI generated audio and video will remove our ability to judge the veracity of what we see and hear. How do we avoid ripping our society apart when we literally can’t trust our own eyes and ears? Also, CNN journalist/anchor verbally berates a minor Republican official, scores points for making him lose his train of thought. Journalisming at its finest. Gross. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. https://newrepublic.com/post/177935/roger-stone-audio-assasinate-democrats-swalwell-nadler https://newrepublic.com/post/177928/missouri-gop-secretary-state-panics-reason-remove-biden-ballot Follow TRI on other platforms Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

We have a partial release of decade old court documents identifying a handful of Epstein associates. Funny enough, Reddit seems to only care insofar as we can make Epstein associated with Trump. Also a brief bonus discussion about Congressional corruption and MTG. https://newrepublic.com/post/177828/conservatives-meltdown-trump-epstein-list https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/01/03/jeffrey-epstein-list-clinton-trump/72086945007/ https://www.newsweek.com/everything-jeffrey-epstein-documents-reveal-about-donald-trump-1857624 https://newrepublic.com/post/177822/trump-idiot-lawyer-admit-may-guilty-insurrection Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/dec/23/reptim-burchett-jeffrey-epstein-flight-logs-not-re/ Jeffrey Epstein was a bad guy. I think we’re all on the same page there. There are a lot of powerful people who will be embarrassed if their association with Epstein is made public. Powerful people have influence in Congress. Is it any wonder that years after the fact we still don’t have public information released on who Epstein’s clients were? This is a corruption issue, not a partisan issue. Term Limits!! Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2024/01/02/trump-lies-voter-fraud-2020-impact-2024-election/72057016007/ Interesting Opinion piece in USA Today on 2020 election voter fraud. Author gets himself in trouble stepping outside his expertise and making global claims about election integrity. We use the piece as an opportunity to review the issues from 2020. These are still relevant because as we stare down the barrel of the 2024 election we still face the same issues. Issues don’t go away just because you muzzle the people willing to point out the issues. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

Lightning round discussion of three top articles on Reddit today. GOP Fascism, Israel v Palestine, J6 Officer Wrongful Death Lawsuit. There’s something for everyone to disagree on today! https://newrepublic.com/article/177796/polls-republicans-trump-maga-fascism https://themessenger.com/politics/bernie-sanders-calls-on-congress-to-reject-unconditional-military-aid-to-israel https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/federal-judge-quickly-disposes-of-trumps-immunity-claims-while-ruling-in-favor-of-brian-sicknicks-estate-in-jan-6-lawsuit/ Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4379039-kinzinger-says-christians-who-back-trump-dont-understand-their-religion/ https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-gas-price-stickers-i-did-that-1855752 Digging through some more examples that show the media bias when creating a politically expedient narrative. If you want me to stop supporting Trump, how about contesting what he actually said, not misquoting him and arguing with a position he never took? Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://truthout.org/articles/alaska-considers-joining-colorado-in-disqualifying-trump-from-primary-ballot/ Depending on the echo chamber you listen to, J6 is either an overblown political stunt or the worst thing since the civil war. What leads the news on Reddit today is an article about removing Donald Trump from the ballot in Alaska. I suggest we should zoom out to realize that the roots of today’s conflict lie in how you perceive J6. Our perception of J6 is heavily influenced by who curates our news. To think clearly about such a divisive topic we need to do our own critical thinking about what we’ve been shown and what else might be out there that we haven’t seen. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/10/04/trump-poison-blood-quote/ Fact checking the fact-checkers. Snopes is notoriously leftist but to their credit offers some accurate research and reporting on the words that came out of Trump and also Hitler. They then do a slimy trick where their fact check seems designed to smear Trump while including enough legal weasel words as to avoid a defamation lawsuit. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.salon.com/2023/12/18/echoes-hitler--and-maga-hears-it-loud-and-clear/ https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/10-best-stock-traders-in-congress-in-2021-spoiler-nancy-pelosi-isn-t-no-1-1031153996?op=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC0Wj8SiMPY&list=RDNSVC0Wj8SiMPY&start_radio=1 https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/10/04/trump-poison-blood-quote/ My screen capture crashed, my apologies for the lack of visuals. That being said, the overarching question when looking at the mainstream media is this:

Are you willing to be lied to?

Because I can prove that you are being lied to and misled consistently across a broad range of publications. So if I prove you’re being lied to, what are you willing to do about it?
 Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-18/donald-trump-promises-largest-deportation-operation/103241936 Australian ABC website tops Reddit today. Headline is Trump proposing ‘largest deportation operation in american history’. We discuss the immigration issue in our video today, along with a few of the spicy comments from Reddit. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.salon.com/2023/12/14/paul-ryan-goes-off-on-podcast-trumps-not-a-conservative--hes-an-authoritarian-narcissist/ Gossip-rag Salon spills some Republican tea. Former Speaker Paul Ryan calls Trump the exact same mean labels as leftist media use. Isn’t it odd how the establishment swamp creatures from both parties don’t like Trump. You can tell the left is desperate to resurrect an irrelevant politician to parrot their talking points. Also, worth taking a few minutes to point out the irony that Paul Ryan endorsed Trump but now hates him…I wonder what changed?
 Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-statement-impeachment-republicans_n_657a45a6e4b020f3b673d42c https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-ukrainian-prosecutor_n_657910fde4b0881b7918ec16 Mockery and dismissal of the House impeachment today. Par for the course for HuffPost, so we take the time to talk about some of the bigger picture issues. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-says-world-leaders-keep-telling-him-you-can-t-let-trump-win-b2463005.html Leading the Reddit boards: a 10 paragraph article stating (without any corroboration) that all foreign leaders who talk to President Biden begged him to ‘vanquish Trump’. Pure pandering to the Democratic base, and yet it’s the most popular article on r/politics at the moment. What on earth will these outlets do when they can’t use Trump for clicks? Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/special-counsel-asks-supreme-court-immediately-decide-trump-immunity-q-rcna129088?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&taid=65774b0cd4b6c200010d421a&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter With apologies to everyone who can’t think their way past ‘orange man bad’, the pending federal indictments against President Trump present genuine constitutional concerns. I think it’s wise for the Supreme Court to weigh in and I think it’s trash to present only one side of this issue (looking at you Jack Smith). Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.salon.com/2023/12/12/an-iowa-fight-over-a-satanic-display-reminds-us-believe-free-speech-is-only-for-them/ Salon seems to enjoy employing writers with a flair for dramatic verbiage and an aversion to rational argument. At one point this article says that instead of “arguments over … defining ‘genocide and ‘free speech’ , the important issue is: Republicans are lying hypocrites”. If you want to be lied to, Salon is willing to supply the liars. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/house-speaker-mike-johnson-moses-speech-rcna128126 MSNBC parrots the current talking points. No surprise there. They attack the new Republican House Speaker as a Christian Nationalist who wants to hold together an ‘army’ of likeminded violent extremists. (See what I did there MSNBC?) Also, many examples of the oldest trick in the book. Quote a phrase, then fill the rest of your paragraph with your own characterizations. Slimy. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/12/05/trump-dictator-day-one/71816204007/ It’s amazing to me how predictable the left is. It’s why Donald Trump has always been able to make them dance to his tune. In response to recent mainstream news articles claiming Trump will be a dictator, Trump was asked if he plans to be a dictator at a recent event. Setting aside the silliness that an actual dictator wouldn’t answer that question truthfully, Trump used the question as the opportunity to draw a chuckle from his crowd by admitting he’ll be a dictator on day 1, only long enough to close the border and open up drilling. Now, if you take Trump literally you just heard him admit he plans to be a dictator. If you take him seriously than you heard him say that border security and energy security are important to him. Guess which angle USA Today took. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/06/realestate/wall-street-housing-market.htm There’s new legislation, introduced by Democrats in Congress, seeking to ban Wall Street firms like hedge funds from participating in the single family home market. Seems like a good idea on its face, right? But if there is one immutable law of the universe, it is that government actions always have unintended consequences…usually bad ones. Instead of trying to manage the demand side of this market, one not look for ways to expand the supply of housing in America?
 Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.salon.com/2023/12/05/americans-are-sleepwalking-into-a-dictatorship/ https://thechaunceydevegashow.libsyn.com/ep-253-ibram-x-kendi-explains-how-to-be-an-antiracist The same author from Salon who conjured up visions of a Christofascist plutocracy led by dictator-in-waiting Donald Trump continues his tirade today, also in Salon. Rather than stick at the level of Salon reporting we take a closer look at the author, Chauncey Devega. I selected a podcast episode from 2019 that ostensibly hosts Ibram X. Kendi although today’s episode takes us an hour and we haven’t made it past the pre-guest intro. Buckle up, this one is…interesting. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/12/01/dozens-of-troops-suspected-of-advocating-overthrow-of-us-government-new-pentagon-extremism-report.html Military.com has an article today designed to scare you into believing the unfalsifiable lie that the greatest threat to America today is the white supremacist neo-Nazi’s under the bed. They show statistical evidence that ‘extremists’ (I hate that label because it’s too vague) among the military are extraordinarily rare, yet they use that data to incite the fearful belief that there is a coordinated effort among military personnel to overthrow the government. Hogwash. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.businessinsider.com/ocasio-cortez-life-completely-transformed-nancy-pelosi-step-down-2023-11?utm_source=reddit.com Not a partisan video today. My main takeaway is that Corruption is widespread in congress. If only term limits were a thing! Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-caught-moving-money-around-to-pay-massive-tax-bill Dailybeast continues the pile-on / piggybacking on the Trump click machine. Today they’re calling out Donald Trump for paying his tax bill, paying the jury award in his sexual harassment case from May, paying his insurance and his defense attorneys. Now, apparently it’s a previous sin not to tell the court appointed auditor that you’re paying your taxes, but the whole thing is making a mountain out of a mole hill. Like the video if you agree…comment if you don’t. Follow TRI on other platforms for livestreams and conversation. Twitter: @TRIDaily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TRIDaily Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRationalIndependent/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/rationalindependent