Tea Parties Forever »
Posted By GWHayduke 7 months, 2 weeks ago in Political NewsToday's G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party. It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.
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Former Netscapian and Propellerite. Monkeywrencher.
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tanglang7 months, 2 weeks ago
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mesodude7 months, 2 weeks ago
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"The problem here is that the Tea Parties having no party affiliation. They are about AMERICANS who are angry at a government that has spent more money in the last few months than it has in the last 10 years."
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--No, tangy...Obama's approval rating is in the high 60s. This is a bunch of bitter, sore loser cons who can't accept that they no longer have a President who will spend money on wars and tax cuts willy nilly. What part of Election Day don't cons grasp?! You LOST. The VAST MAJORITY of America has spoken and they REJECTED the policies Bush and the GOP brought us over the last 8 years. Deal with it. -

sinophil497 months, 2 weeks ago
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tang - Nothing like a little lie to get your blood boiling, huh? Obama has not really spent much of anything yet. You are talking about the stimulus bill and the budgets that have been passed and yet to be spent.
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As a matter of fact, Republicans have criticized Obama both for asking for too large of a budget AND for not getting money into the economy fast enough to stimulate spending and help resuscitate the credit and housing industries.
It seems no matter what Obama and the Dems do, the Reps find something to criticize.
Does the term obstructionist come to mind? Or maybe just sore losers? -

toph19737 months, 2 weeks ago
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"The problem here is that the Tea Parties having no party affiliation. They are about AMERICANS who are angry at a government that has spent more money in the last few months than it has in the last 10 years"
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Your fuzzy math doesn't work at all. Bush added 5 trillion to the national debt. Then you have to add in the 6.24 trillion for the last 6 years of the war. Which isn't in any budget. You want us to believe that Obama has spent over 11 trillion on a couple of months? Not too sure who would believe any of this.
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capecoralMComment removed: Retracted by user18 Replies
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Goppy7 months, 2 weeks ago
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That's pretty funny beav.
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What analogy would you ascribe to Right Wing Media in America ... ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, SBC ... and the dozens upon dozens of rabid Right Wing Radio Talk Dis-Info-Tainers?
How about a clock with it's hands removed?
Yeah ... that's it.
A clock with it's hands removed ... you can look at it all day long ... and it just stares right back atcha ... and one can simply inject all one's own bigotry and prideful ignorance into that face.
Got it.
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pokydoke7 months, 2 weeks ago
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I'm sorry but I've had the impression that these "tea party's" are a conservative invention. The only people promoting them are GOP conservatives. I have heard warnings that Liberals and Democrats were going to try and slip in undercover and cause problems. I also notice that the only ones trying to debunk this article are conservative posters.
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tadair9197 months, 2 weeks ago
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sorry pokydoke. There were indeed liberals and progressives at my Tea Party. I admit that the vast majority of them were Republicans but this is not a right or left issue.
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I shook hands and made friends with a self-proclaimed "Socialist," who (in his words) didn't like the type of totalitarian socialism that was on the horizon.
I was there. -

Goppy7 months, 2 weeks ago
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You are right pokydoke.
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This is purely a Republican invention designed to vent outrage and frustration at the end of a long and disastrous political run for Republicans in America.
You want to know what is ironic about this "Tea Party"?
Cutting the Military Budget in half would WIPE OUT the massive debt that these BAILOUTS have caused.
But of course, you will NEVER hear a Modern Republican clamor for THAT!
It's because ...
... The Modern Republican LOVES BIG, EXPENSIVE GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS ...
... The Modern Republican LOVES BIG GOVERNMENT ...
... The Modern Republican LOVES HIGH TAXES ...
... The Modern Republican LOVES QUASI SOCIALISTIC GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS!
If The Modern Republican DIDN'T Love the above ... they would DEMAND that our nation lower it's spending on Military Contractors.
I mean ... after all ... as a nation ... we spend right about the same on our nation's military ... as the Rest of the World COMBINED!
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See? When tadair says that liberals and progressives were at the "Tea Party" ... what he's recognizing is that Modern Republicans are MORE in favor of Socialistic-type Government than Liberals. ...
By the way ... has anyone ever mentioned that it was GEORGE W. BUSH who initially DEMANDED the Bailout Money? Or that Ben Bernanke has been pushing this through TWO administrations now?
Clearly, it's a bi-partisan effort.
Now ... whether it's good or not ... I don't know ... I'm inclined to trust our President. But like I say ... we can ALWAYS cut our Military Budget and make up any difference in a couple years. ... That is ... as long as Modern Republicans can stomach a SMALLER Government footprint.
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ConquerorWyrm7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Oh, I will admit right now to planning, due to no other commitments that day, to infiltrate any such "tea bagging" in the town I'm in...We have a nice little courthouse yard that is known for attracting public displays and this is going to be fun. My town is the town McCain made his last stop in the night before the election and that night was fun...very fun! Oh, I can't wait...mostly gonna go right along with them until it becomes time to assess direction of blame...and then, well, what party held total power during six of the last 8 years? What party took us from a surplus to the largest deficit in the history of this nation? Yeah, this is going to be so much fun...
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Oh, I'm also going to be promoting very heavily the concept of a THC Party...you know, using Cannabis to solve the economic and social problems that have developed over these last 8 years (deficit, porous border, ect...)
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tadair9197 months, 2 weeks ago
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The opening statement reads: "This is a column about Republicans - and I'm not sure I should even be writing it."
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Oddly, that's where the truth ends and the bullshlt begins
This is just an angry hit peice that flings attacks at the Tea Parties.
Krugman laughs at the audacity of the Tea Party protests and suggests that the GOP needs to "grow up."
Reminds me of when the GOP ostracized the protests against the Bush 2000 Election Fiasco in Florida. The right denounced the left as a bunch of cry babies that needed to grow up. Get a job, they said.
Krugman is just as pathetic as the rest of the bobble-heads. -

Charlson7 months, 2 weeks ago
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GOP, the party of NO, are just about marginalized to the extent that what ever they say or do is met with a huge bit of sarcasm and derision. They should give up their mo'-money-for-the-rich-because-you-might-one-day-b... and just start earning it like the rest of the middle class. Cutting taxes for the rich just doesn't work for a viable economy because the rich are some of the most selfish, elite, snobs alive.
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NoWayMan7 months, 2 weeks ago
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y'all can try and kill the messenger (paul krugman) on this one but it doesn't matter since his main point is relevant: these tea parties are a joke.
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FTA: "Last but not least: it turns out that the tea parties don’t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They’re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News."
all true, and just a tiny bit of research on google will prove this out.
these parties don't represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. they are staged, bought and paid for by the right.
and the simple fact remains that a healthy majority still backs Obama and his policies, the same healthy majority that fairly, democratically elected Obama in the first place.
which means there's no taxation without representation here. there's no tyranny here.
(and since when did the raising of the taxes of the very very top money earners from 36% to 39% qualify as tyranny? cause thats just stupid)
the champions of these tea parties are doing nothing but a disservice to a pivotal moment in our nation's history (the real boston tea party) by degrading its meaning in this way for their own political motivation.
and for all of you who are trying to push the notion that these tea parties are non partisan and anything but political manuvering from the right, its time to quit lying (out loud for sure, but more importantly, quit lying to yourselves).
this is just more bullsh*t and shrillness from the sour grapers who have mistaken losing for tyranny, an attempt by the GOP to stay relevant in a world that sees them as increasingly irrelevant. -

GLee7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Goppy7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Hey, weren't you one of those that was whining about how Obama insulted the Special Olympics participants with his self effacing joke on Jay Leno?
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Yes ... I think you were.
I guess that just goes to show that your credibility is like dust in the wind - blown about - by whichever way the wind blows.
Like Most Modern Republican Followers.
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Goppy7 months, 2 weeks ago
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What do you have against our soldiers, Bucotch?
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Don't you LIKE our soldiers? Are you like Rush Limbaugh - calling them PHONY?
Are you calling all of our boys and girls, men and women who get government checks LEECHES?
WHY do you say that?
You do know that it's the MILITARY that is the most expensive government program ... right?
You SAY you don't like government programs ... then DEMAND that Obama CUT the military budget ... instead of INCREASING it 4 percent.
But hey ... I realize this is probably too much for you to digest. You're too busy regurgitating Rush Limbaugh's dis-information.
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hamy7 months, 2 weeks ago
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I hope that when you retire, you have no government programs to rely on yourself. I hope that if some catastrophic illness affects your family that Medicare isn't there to help. I hope that when you are disabled and can't work anymore that someone slams a door in your face.
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You deserve it.
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scott42617 months, 2 weeks ago
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God bless Paul Krugman. He is correct, of course, but I wish his assessment of the "tea parties" went further to explore the original Boston Tea Party, which was organized to protest the lowering of tarriffs for the East India company in the face of raising taxes from the England as a result of the the repeal of the Townshend Acts by the British Parliament in 1770.
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http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h646.html
The Boston Tea Party was in 1773 and was one of the catalysts in the run up to the Revolutionary War. This was a POPULIST backlash against the aristocracy of British empire which is a critical piece in our fight for an independent nation.
I would recommend listening to today's Thom Hartmann program...especially the first hour...because he lays out the points very well:
http://www.620kpoj.com/cc-common/podcast/single_po...
The Boston Tea Party has been hijacked by the right. And worse, people like Glen Beck are bastardizing the memory of Thomas Paine....and anyone who has ever read The Right of Man would know that the best description of Paine would be that of a Democratic Socialist.
Krugman makes some good points here, but the history is really needed to fully appreciate what he is saying....-
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HOUSEMD7 months, 2 weeks ago
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paul klugman is a shill for the dems and ny times...however i do agree with you as to the widespred and cohesive protests that are called "tea parties". they represent the utter disgust for the present administration's policies. they are disloyal and against the constitution of the united sates. i think his last play to the europeans rises to the level of an impeachable offense.
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the "republican"party is not the party that i want to vote for this next election, we need a new voice and a conservative platform right now
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tchef7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Yesterday I read an article about these tea parties that said that basically for the most part they aren't about the federal government as much as they are about the state and local governments. In general federal taxes have been lowered for the middle class. It's the state and local taxes that have gone up considerably. Everything from property tax to sales tax. Then there are the sin taxes on things like cigarettes. So basically those who try to focus these things on the Federal Government are missing the point.
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quackpot7 months, 2 weeks ago
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GWHayduke7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Yes, it really is funny in a warped kind of way.
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The opponents of deficit spending in a time of unparalleled crisis insist that "doing nothing" is a legitimate strategy.
They would suggest that inaction and the ensuing inertia would be far superior to making ANY kind of attempt to revive this cardiac economy.
A thoughtless, effortless, hopeless attitude serves no one with anything.
Thank God we have an administration willing to act rather than let failure happen.
We are living the result of the opposite strategy. -
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jovial7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Nicely put. The only thing they have is trying to put down Obama. They soooo wanted the economy to fall apart, but it made a rebound. They soooooo wanted Obama to fail on foreign policy, but that's not the case either. If it's any consolation, they know how to beeatch all the time. If America ever needs a bunch of beeatches, we can always call on the GOP. LOL!
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cowboygrandpa7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Bunch of freakin' Fascists trying to pose as patriots. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ??? Where have we seen this before ??
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http://www.publiceye.org/eyes/whatfasc.html
"Fascism's approach to politics is both populist--in that it seeks to activate "the people" as a whole against perceived oppressors or enemies--and elitist--in that it treats the people's will as embodied in a select group, or often one supreme leader, from whom authority proceeds downward. Fascism seeks to organize a cadre-led mass movement in a drive to seize state power. It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organizations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition, although the scale of violence varies widely.
Fascism is hostile to Marxism, liberalism, and conservatism, yet it borrows concepts and practices from all three. Fascism rejects the principles of class struggle and workers' internationalism as threats to national or racial unity, yet it often exploits real grievances against capitalists and landowners through ethnic scapegoating or radical-sounding conspiracy theories. Fascism rejects the liberal doctrines of individual autonomy and rights, political pluralism, and representative government, yet it advocates broad popular participation in politics and may use parliamentary channels in its drive to power. Its vision of a "new order" clashes with the conservative attachment to tradition-based institutions and hierarchies, yet fascism often romanticizes the past as inspiration for national rebirth."
Your tea parties remind me of this you Fascist loving confused ones.
You run scared because you fear the people and their individual rights.
You want to protest taxation without representation you are a presidency to late. -

frctm57 months, 2 weeks ago
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The tea party movement, and what a wimpy name by the way, is not a grass roots movement as pointed out in this article. It being bank rolled by billionaires. Republican populism has one unifying principle. Its phony as a three dollar bill.
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THOMNH627 months, 2 weeks ago
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I wouldn't really expect anyone here on Libscape to understand. The people here are mostly unemployed rag heads sitting around waiting for the next government hand out. Thinking that being a democrat is noble and some how they will be part of saving the world. What they don't realize due to not being very well educated in American history and economics is that lower taxes has always brought this country back to greatness. You can not tax the rich and feed the poor eventually you run out of rich people and you have to tax everyone. Obama has buried this country in a mountain of debt 10 times what GWB did, so all of you who want to blame Bush it is not working anymore, this is Barry's time and his spending but the debt will be our children's. Do you morons really understand what 10 trillion dollars is. We have to stop the madness that is the left wing, spending is choking this country. You won't be laughing when it finally comes around to your door, how do you smokers who voted for Barry feel about the new cigarette tax .62 per the highest single jump by 10 in US history. All of the poor who thought he was going to take from the greedy rich and give to you, where are your free cigarettes. This is the biggest single swindle ever.
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Dave597 months, 2 weeks ago
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Fact is that the income taxes aren't being raised. They are being allowed to return to the rate they were at before the Bush cuts were put in place. Those cuts have an expiration date. The cut will not be renewed. Another thing you might want to look at when yelling about tax increase is that the upper tax rate was higher under Ronald Reagan (1982-1986 top rate was 50%) than they are now. So in essence the upper incomes will have to pay three percent more and people below 250,000 income will get a tax cut. That does not sound like a huge increase to me. Simple math tells me that 39 is less than 50. The wealthy are actually better off than in the 1980 to 1986 period.
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Your assertion that anyone who is leans left or disagrees with you is not very well educated seems to be an attempt to prove your point by inferring you are the educated one and therefore must be right. Again you land in the fail column. You have proved nothing except you can be insulting and ignorant because you have no idea what education I or anyone else here might have.
. For instance you claim tax cuts bring the country back to greatness. Kind of a general claim but I can address it. No they do not. According to the Congressional Budget Office legislation since 2001 has added about $3.0 trillion to the deficit between 2001 and 2007. 48% of that amount comes from tax cuts. 35% from increased defense and homeland security, 10% for entitlements and 7% domestic discretionary programs.
The claim that tax cuts pay for themselves also is contradicted by the historical record. In 1981, Congress lowered marginal income-tax rates on the well off, while in 1990 and 1993, Congress raised marginal rates on the well off. The economy grew at virtually the same rate in the 1990s as in the 1980s (adjusted for inflation and population growth), but revenues grew about twice as fast in the 1990s, when tax rates were increased, as in the late 1980s, when tax rates were cut.
So would you care to explain just how your tax cut theory works in light of the CBO and Treasury numbers showing the exact opposite?
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Albmore7 months, 2 weeks ago
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I guess the Libs here have NO children or dont care about them if they do. Otherwised they would be just as upset over this spending. The more I read here on propeller the more I believe they see Obama as the messiah and will follow him to death. They complained about Bush"s spending (Inwhich they were 100% correct to do so) but Obama has a open bank account. We see Dodd straight out lying and they dont care. We see Biden lying and they dont care. Dems are Hypocrits on this site. They are doing everything they complained about Bush for.
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I thought we would see NO change. I was hoping to be proven wrong. Dems or Reps neither are worth a thing and will NOT change. Power hungry game playing liars who pull down our nations. Vote them ALL out!!!!! -

lloydm657 months, 2 weeks ago
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Please all you Obama,Polosi worshipers,where are the jobs where is one job.I can't understand how you can give the banks,and wall street one point three trillion dollars,and turn around and give the people the finger.Obama promised to put chain on Americans ,and by god he is keeping his word.We won't come out this until he's gone are we are.
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lloydm657 months, 2 weeks ago
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Thanks wolfie,it's good know we are not alone.Even some in my own family have been mesmerised.Sometimes the mind just snaps.I don.t know how old you are,but if you haven't seen the movie ,"Elmer Gantry". you need to find it and watch closely You will Think you are watching a white Obama.
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kfolive7 months, 2 weeks ago
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After hearing one of these so called protests on CNN today I honestly believe that these people are nuts! The lady with the bullhorn stating how upset they are about the money Obamas spending to fix the problems he's caused???? What in the world are they talking about?? I know they think he who screams loud enough gets their way but when my child does that I ignore her as I can only hope all will do with these children.
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RedRiverJ7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Hate to inform you guys but some of the people in the tea parties are D-E-M-O-C-R-A-T-S that are fed up with Obama just like many others in the USA. It's not a party issue it's an American issue, wipe the hatred out of your eyes and you can see.
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