156 Comments

I think the actual larger problem is not so much the oligarchs, but who we have been electing and re-electing: the dumbest among us. Here is a very shortlist of the dimmest bulbs: Tommy Tuberville, Marsha Blackburn, Tim Scott, Kristi Noem, Katie Britt, Chip Roy, Markwayne Mullin. A country does not survive, nor does it deserve to survive, if this is the best we can do.

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You've left out MTG.....the dumbest of all of them, except perhaps for Boebert....and yes, you included Tuberville.

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It is a cast of hundreds. Tragic.

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B Russell, I wrote my response to John D. before I read this comment. I must say the Qanon queens certainly are in contention for dumbest; anyone who believes any of the idiotic conspiracy theories put out by Qanon is, of course, an idiot. The problem is, that makes it difficult to get them to see the truth. That is the source of my pessimism. My optimism comes from my certainty that Trump will make everyday Magats' lives so miserable, they will turn against him and his movement.

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It's a race to the bottom

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Want to bet they will turn against him? Do not bet on it! None want to admit they made a mistake and error in choice! Remember the UNeducated and

UNinformed?

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Let's hope Anthony.

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There are plently of "kings" too.......

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Even an emperor, Elon the First!

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More like the court jester. Every empire needs a fool on staff. In this case the king will have double duty as both king and fool, so there will be a couple of clowns around.

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To me Trump is the jester and Musk is like Worm in the Tolkien trilogy, whispering in the insane-jester-king's ear.

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in his own head, and there he is emperor of the universe...

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God, I hope you’re right. I remain pessimistic, however. MAGATs are too stupid to know when they are being mistreated. And, tRump will just blame the Biden administration for anything that doesn’t work, e.g. grocery and gas prices. Biden’s latest move to ban offshore drilling will aid tRump in that narrative. Prices are down now, but the oil companies will begin jacking them up again because they want to prove tRump correct.

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You beat me to it!😂

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Agree with this John, but I'd also add, like Jim Monsees points out, that the oligarchs are the underlying problem as they own most major media outlets and thus control the narrative. Add in SM algorithms on platforms that are once again owned by oligarchs and it just makes it that much worse. When all these folks see, read, and hear is disinformation hundreds and thousands of times, how is that penetrated and countered? I agree it's ultimately the voters who are pulling the levers, but also as much if not more, who is responsible for manipulating the voters. It's an effing mess and a very dark abyss indeed.

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Agree. It is an impossible mess because it is self-perpetuating.

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"Fake news travels six times as fast as the truth"; "This is checkmate for humanity": Quotes from the Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma" (about SM algorithms")

The Social Dilemma Trailer, 2.5 min: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaaC57tcci0

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Yep, Lisa, a play on the words of Ben

Franklin!

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Repubs elected these crapolas. One of two things is true:

A. Dems are not electing anyone better or they would be winning and get rid of this chit.

B. Something is wrong with the entire system and it no longer works.

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Big money in politics thanks to SCOTUS and Citizens United. MONEY can determine who gets elected, idiots serve their purpose, so it’s what we got!

But Democrats have seen this coming and reacted too cautiously or too bipartisanly; and the MAGAts now have legitimate control of just how devastating they choose to be to the Constitution and to America.

Hopefully, enough sane people are still in office to blunt their swords.

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I point a lot to Marsha Blackburn, but she is a good example of the abyss. I invite anyone to look at her Wikipedia profile and see her policy positions and statements. She just won re-election with 60 percent, trouncing an intelligent, empathetic person, also a woman. The question is Why would people of sound mind do that? The answer is: not enough sound minds voting. Thus the abyss we face.

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I live in Tennessee, so the answer is painfully apparent. What a huge waste of hair products....

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Big money intersecting with politics used to be somewhat covert. "Wink, wink" Now we have a Presidency sold for 275M, and a SCOTUS for a whole lot less. And a Congress bent over (forwards) to secure their own little fiefdoms. Any of the previously semi-benevolent oligarchs, know which side their bread is buttered on, and are now elbowing for a place at the trough. Trump and MAGA are the apotheosis of this persistent dark side to our "shining city on the hill". I'll bet Vlad and the boys are dining out big time on how their plan has come to pass.

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Agree 💯

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“Democrats have seen this coming and reacted too cautiously or too bipartisanly”. Agreed! “Man up, Democratic men and women. If you are feeling like a wimp, listen to Steve here or James Carville!

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They obviously think acquiescense is the correct route. I do not! I learned in 7th grade to knock a bully in the dirt, if they get back up knock them in the dirt again. It is the only way with bullies. Else, you'll live in starvation.

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trust no one

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Dems mired in perspectives that are self serving and backwards looking. Our failures are as glaring as anything else going on. Keeping their heads in sand. Going nowhere. Enough Chuck Schumers. They have to stand down and let the next gen lead

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we're gonna lose the young.....young people hear how the Democrats lied (as if Donnys lies were innocent) and accuse THEM of being hypocritical about Bidens condition. The Dems can't win for losing....but Schumers pathetic performance on Meet the Press just as damning as Bidens. Hes gotta go but....

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young people grow old

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the problem is that the right wing has brilliantly gerrymandering their districts. Until it changes....

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Definitely 'a' problem, not 'the' problem, as it only applies to the House, not to the Senate, governors, or presidential elections.

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My money's on B

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You forgot MTG, Paul Gosar, and Lauren Boebert...oh, forget it; there are too many to remember quickly!

Tim Scott stands out as the most sycophantic for staring at Trump with doe-like eyes and saying "I love you."

Who is the "dimmest bulb"? I'll go with Tommy. A senator who couldn't identify the three branches of the federal government.

Craziest: toss-up between Gosar, MTG, and Boebert.

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Sad that there are literally too many to name.

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Yep🤣🤣

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We cannot forget the likes of mtg, bobo, gaetz, etc because they brought a whole new level of ignorance, arrogance, ugly, ugly inappropriate forms of obstruction, and a lack of professionalism so abundant that it exists on the negative side of a "one to ten rating" scale (as in LESS than zero).

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John D. Not an either/or. You are accurate on the “dumbest among us,” that stems from low to no to lie packed “news” as well as the steady decline in the quality of American education — from the start through high school.

We do have a serious oligarch problem. This is both/and. As Steve deftly described today, there is a confluence of greed and power grabbing that will accelerate. It will eventually consume itself. When Putin used his pandering oligarchs to establish his reign, he eventually was able to kill or gulag them, take over their operations and squelch their power. Our economic system won’t allow that… thus far. We see pandering oligarchs who expect payback and they own Trump. Eventually some non-zealots Trump voters will become aware that their lives are worse— despite the lies they are being fed.

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Yup. Intellect, knowledge & competence have zero to do with elected officials in this country among conservatives. It’s bs and idolatry. That’s what the right wingers want and then what we all end up with.

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AGREE

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You are so right, it’s hard to believe how many people vote for these dangerous clowns!

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💯

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Well said John.

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My strongest hatred is reserved for Mitch McConnell. He expertly arranged the SCOTUS we have. He refused to follow rules given to us by the Founders and get rid of Trump.

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And, he made a fortune while doing it.

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Once again, Steve Schmidt steps into the Breach!

He is among the few American Patriots with the fortitude, courage,

clarity of voice and resilience to Speak Truth to Power,

Boldly and Without Reservation!

May your example inspire many others.

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.

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"Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and all the rest of America’s oligarchs hold the American people in contempt. Because they do, they can’t see the character of the steelworker, trucker, nurse, teacher or cop. "

I'm not too impressed with the character of the millions of steelworkers, truckers, nurses, teachers, and cops who voted for Trump. I'm not too sure we can count on their "character" to save this country.

I despise and am disgusted by my fellow americans who put this monster back in office, with the undeniable knowledge of how malicious he and his minions are. I hope they get it good and hard.

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Exactly. We are all adults and know right from wrong. I see no character in any Trump support: poor…middle class…rich.

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My response disappeared? Ugh. 75+ million who didn't vote for this will also get it good and hard in this coming nightmare and will be collateral damage.

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Exactly.

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John, I totally agree with you. What “character”? I’m stunned by the lack of foresight and character of this nation. The US is a sick country. And has elected a sick cadre of corrupt and mean and callous “leaders”. And now we’re ALL going to get it good and hard.

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Yes, the USA went from being a world leader for Democracy to bonkers and corrupt.

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My view as well.

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Low to zero information voters… the impact on their lives will hopefully sink in

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I wish I could “heart” this a million times. I’m so disgusted by half the people in this country. For the first time in my 66 year old life, I’m embarrassed to be American.

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Jan 6
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Okay, please try another comment. No need to post the same thing in every response. We got it the first time. 3 times and counting is a bit much IMO. Please??!!

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Yes, the oligarchs are disgusting. But more repulsive is the 77 million people who voted for Trump, and even worse is the 90 million people who did not vote. The Greatest Generation would be appalled. Over 400 thousand of them gave their lives to defeat fascism, yet here it is now in America because of stupidity and complacency.

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👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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🎯👏🏻

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Isn't it disgusting that the man responsible for one of the most horrendous days in our history will be sworn in as president four years later? Truly, truly disgusting.

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Exactly.

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Trump's claim that his Jan 6 was "a day of love" just proves how truly SICK he is. 77 million Americans voted for a dangerous, delusional maniac? This era of our history will be known as The Hoodwinking of America.

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Now, the acting President elect, Elon Musk, is interfering in politics around the world. He wants to use his shadow presidency to control other nations. That is why he is interfering in politics of Great Britain and Germany. Some people just don't get, but Steve summed up the motive of these parasites perfectly: "They are locusts preparing to swarm to engorge themselves even though they feel no hunger and want for nothing."

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What a perfect metaphor… the engorging locusts. A passing but hideous plague

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Yes. IT's even better than MAGAts, because maggots can serve a useful purpose.

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How does the world's richest man come about, and why does that greedy character come about and get created right here in our country?

Why here? Steve never answers that. As anyone can tell, it is a rhetorical question, from my very obvious point of view.

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And he ended up buying our whole country for $277 million.

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Our biggest sin in this nation is having a Rich class and an Uneducated, gullible class, who were deliberately bamboozled by the billionaires..

The cause for the bamboozling and Rich class vs gullible class is CAPITALISM, and I repeat again-CAPITALISM,

How many of you out there realize that? If you do, speak up.

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Hmm. I think the core life strategy he developed happened in South Africa. He saw an opportunity in Canada I believe, and took it. Then, he saw an even bigger opportunity in the USA and took that. I believe his past successes lead him to believe he can control the globe.

Funny thing is, he seems to be as immature as TFG is stupid. I base my thoughts on his dancing and jumping on stage at that rally, carrying and displaying his young son on his shoulders at MAL party, his having to be the center of attention, and his disdain for the average worker. He treats his employees like chit.

Now that we see the billionaire ploy, we better take action to collaspe all of them. Else, we all are going to be living the serf's life.

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What do you think we can do?

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I think our biggest problem is education. I don't like the voucher and privitization philosophy. Its just my opinion that people raised in the 50's to 80's are much better educated as a whole, were trained in exercising their civic duty, and are better stewards of the earth. Some time between the 80's and now we raised a bunch of ignorant, non caring individuals who need to be coddled and have their daily dose if drama and adrenalin rush. Its resulted in a weak populace who are magical in their thinking and easily hornswaggled by the elitist class.

Life is a long term exercise, not a sports game that ends in 2 hours. Think long term and focus on education in every facet of life, not just STEM and sports.

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I am reading Virginia Woolf's " Three Guineas". For me she is the greatest genius since Flaubert. She deals with what we are talking about. It has been hailed a masterpiece for 100 years now.

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I am reading Virginia Woolf's "Three Guinea". She talks with genius about all the things we are sharing here.

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DC. Yes Steve, the Dukes of Billions came crawling to drink the ftrump zipper goo thinking it was the KoolAid of Kings.

And yes Joe and Mika were early but could only play with the ball sack. After all, Don is King Scrotum.

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"Don is King Scrotum."

Agreed. Just look at TFG's neck. If that isn't scrotal tissue I don't know what is.

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Trumpler is

a reptile.

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I agree that it will be ordinary people who lead the resistance. I wish that you and the other political commenters would start referring to the 1%, the billionaires, as what they are - parasites. They are the parasitic class in truth and fact. I'm an old lady in a red state who is prepared to stay. To stand. And to.Speak.

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I just used the same word, parasites, to describe them in a comment above, only to find you had beat me to it!

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MAGATs!

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I stand with you Stacy, but weaving a bit from the darkness. Yes Steve, the Dukes of Billions came crawling to drink the ftrump zipper goo thinking it was the KoolAid of Kings.

And yes Joe and Mika were early but could only play with the ball sack. After all, Don is King Scrotum.

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I disagree with Steve on one thing. The ordinary American, steelworkers, cops etc. won’t crash MAGA. They are why it still exists. As long as they ignore the news, or just get their news from Fox, Newsmax etc. Trump and his spinoffs will flourish. The only thing that will crash this effort is when tariffs and poor policies impact them personally in a negative way.

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There is another oligarch for whom we should have particular contempt. Rupert Murdoch. Without him, none of this would have happened.

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Amen. He's was one of the originators of ALL of this.

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I thought about “breaking trumpf” as I tossed and turned last night trying to go to sleep. I think I got about 45 minutes. I came to the conclusion that the only thing powerful enough to do that is MAGA. He needs to piss magas off so much that they turn against him. I think it is happening. It’s within reach. It could happen.

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It could happen that red hatters turn against Donald. But it is unlikely. Maga is a cult; they’ve pledged allegiance to and monetary support of trump.

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Yes, MAGA bought the t-shirts...and the gold shoes, coin, hero-cards, B.S. etc. etc.

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Agree

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Thank you Steve! Your posts are that light on the porch.

May the Bible burn Trump's perfidious palm on January 20th.

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"What is less obvious is the strength of the American people."

It is going to be a hell of a fight. I only have two words. Bring it!

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I won’t lionize the “one sixers.”

They attacked our country, offended our Constitution and trampled on decency.

I have no need for Tesla, WAPO, Facebook and the like; no one does. I’ll shop elsewhere.

I choose not to support convict Trump, genuflecting cowards, brainless spinal cords or self-serving election deniers. They have my contempt.

I’m aware the soulless and morally disengaged psycho f**** exist, but they are a damned minority.

“Of all base passions, fear is the most accursed.”

— Shakespeare

“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Well said.

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I am deeply depressed about WAPO. When Marty Baron left the Globe for DC, we all felt he would keep WAPO as effective and ethical as it had been. And he did. If you read Baron's book, he speaks about what it was like to work under Bezos. Surprisingly, Bezos, according to Marty, left Marty alone. Although he was a strong force in meetings and stretched thinking at the paper, I heard no real negatives. A strong CEO isn't a bad thing. Now, what we all were concerned about when he bought th paper has come true. His ego requires him to fight for #1 in the world. It is a sickness we've seen many times before in history. He and Musk. What a pair.

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PT Barnum was right: there’s a sucker born every minute. I’m not sure how many minutes have elapsed since he said that, but it must be in the millions. As is clearly and unmistakably evident.

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Thx for the circus metaphor. Refreshingly accurate

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"Panem et circenses"

Bread and circuses...

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Never did like circuses.

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Melania documentary - LMFAO! "I really don't care, do you?"

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She is pure trash.

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100%!

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