Politics

[CJW]

Sadly this has been a trend in US politics for quite some time now..

Obama likely would not have ever gotten into office.. but Romney was such a poor alternative that it opened the door for him..

Trump wouldn’t have gotten elected the first time… but Hillary was an absolute non starter for most of the country..

By the end of Trumps first term the D’s could have run bobo the chimp and won.. people were so tired of the antics any alternative was better…

And either a second term of Biden or a first term with Harris was such a bad option that even Trump could secure the office again..

Americans as a whole don’t vote for a candidate anymore.. they vote against the other side…

Hopefully we don't continue this trend and officially flush ourselves down the bowl by voting somebody like AOC into the presidency.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I get you’re trying to cut them some slack and not badmouth people deployed.

but six months really is not that long and not a good excuse. and I’m sure the Navy will see it the same way. If someone isn’t relieved while on deployment, they will be when they get home.

military officers are held to a much higher standard than our politicians and are held accountable.

The Truman's cruise is now in the 9th month, well beyond the normal 6 months. This same carrier already had their Captain fired/replaced for the collision incident in February.

Also, the USN Gettysburg, attached to the Truman battle group, had the friendly fire incident.

 

[spike.t]

Well, you'd better hurry the Hell up before you are too outnumbered to get it done.

Not up to me...if it was...well....

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Hot off the press

 

[Tanks]

I don't know whether they actually trust Trump. I just hope we can all somehow work out a mutually beneficial coexistence where the USA remains the dominant superpower.

It is not mutually beneficial when the "dominant superpower" is dictating terms and threatening not honoring treaties.

 

[Tanks]

In regards to Trump influencing the Canadian election. The media agrees with him.

Opinion: Donald Trump humiliated Mark Carney — The Telegraph

It was never going to be a shouting match. But the president showed Canada’s new prime minister just how inexperienced he is

apple.news

 

[CJW]

Any Indian or Pakistani involved in any of these protests, marches, demonstrations, riots or whatever in any western country should be automatically be expelled. Don't flee to a foreign country to bring your beefs with you.

The throat-slitting gesture that shows how a foreign conflict has come to Britain’s streets

As a crisis unfolds in Asia, the Met investigates a clip of a Pakistani official signalling to Indian protesters from the embassy’s balcony

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[CJW]

It is not mutually beneficial when the "dominant superpower" is dictating terms and threatening not honoring treaties.

There was a bit of tongue in cheek in there.

 

[CJW]

It will be interesting to see how Reform shakes out from here on. Are they just cannibalizing votes or is the culture actually on the way to shifting.

Sir John Curtice: The map that reveals the extent of Reform's triumph

It suggests the party was particularly popular among those who voted for Brexit in 2016 and for Boris Johnson in 2019.

www.bbc.com

 

[rigbymauser]

In regards to Trump influencing the Canadian election. The media agrees with him.

Opinion: Donald Trump humiliated Mark Carney — The Telegraph

It was never going to be a shouting match. But the president showed Canada’s new prime minister just how inexperienced he is

apple.news

Trump has experience but unable to store what he “ experience”..

 

[mdwest]

Trump has experience but unable to learn from it.

Im not sure thats correct..

In his mind, I don't think he believes he has anything to learn from it.. he believes his strategies and tactics work.. and he doesn't care who he offends or pisses off or humiliates along the way..

It took more than 2 months for the US and Ukraine to try to figure out how to reconcile things after Trump had his blow up with Zelenskky.. Trump very clearly (and very intentionally) went out of his way to humiliate Zelenskky both during their now famed meeting and for the next several weeks after...

Now that things are resolved (somewhat) with the signing of the mineral deal between the US and Ukraine.. what did Trump do during his meeting with Carney?

He made fun of Zelenskky and the fact that he humiliated him in the same room that Carney was sitting in just a few months prior..

Trump got what he wanted once it was all said and done.. that's all that matters to him.. He wont lose any sleep at night knowing any world leader (Carney or anyone else) was humiliated or felt like they weren't treated properly.. if anything he'll keep doing it.. because its got a track record of positive results (look at how he's run his campaigns... Lyin Ted.. Little Marco.. etc.. two guys he went out of his way to belittle over and over again.. that are now among his strongest advocates.. Look at how he runs his businesses.. he has a 50 year history of publicly firing, publicly calling out, publicly attacking, etc executives within his own firms.. and publicly humiliating his business opponents.. Look how he ran his last cabinet.. how he dealt with Mattis and others.. he has ZERO problem with people hating him.. as long as he keeps getting the results he desires he will continue with the same tactics and strategies.. which is what amazes me.. his tactics and strategies haven't changed in decades upon decades.. you'd think the other side would figure this out and come up with a better solution.. but they don't.. everyone else (whether we're talking about domestic politics, international politics, business, or anything else) keep playing Trumps game, by Trumps rules..

 

[BSO Dave]

let me then ask you this do you think the rest of the world trusts trump?

The fact that you still take 100% of Trump's rhetoric seriously and literally at this point in time cracks me up! His unpredictability in regard to what is rhetoric and what is a viable threat is a deliberate tactic, by the way, that is obviously effective... Sorry you are not appreciating and enjoying it as much as I am...

The trust of others is irrelevant and pretty much unnecessary in his negotiating style... The pesky little fact that Trump and all the other world leaders know is that they will continue to align with the U.S. and do business with us because they have to... We are still the dominant superpower in the world with the most powerful military, the largest economy, and most import consumer buying power...

I've said it here and in other threads many times that they all hate us until they need us, and then they love us again... That remains true regardless of who resides in the WH... It is for these precise reasons Canadians can sleep soundly at night with a military of only 68,000... You're welcome by the way...

 

[Wheels]

Along with what @mdwest just said.

China won’t start negotiations until Trump removes all tariffs. Now China just happens to be in Switzerland when Bessent is in Switzerland so they will start talking about making a deal. Now we get niceties from the Chinese Embassy.

Personally I don’t see a deal with China made for quite awhile. ie: Bessent says stop all fentanyl and the chemicals that make up fentanyl for six months. Let’s see if it really stops then we can start getting serious.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1920147490919096696

 

[Wheels]

The fact that you still take 100% of Trump's rhetoric seriously and literally at this point in time cracks me up! His unpredictability in regard to what is rhetoric and what is a viable threat is a deliberate tactic, by the way, that is obviously effective... Sorry you are not appreciating and enjoying it as much as I am...

The trust of others is irrelevant and pretty much unnecessary in his negotiating style... The pesky little fact that Trump and all the other world leaders know is that they will continue to align with the U.S. and do business with us because they have to... We are still the dominant superpower in the world with the most powerful military, the largest economy, and most import consumer buying power...

I've said it here and in other threads many times that they all hate us until they need us, and that remains true regardless of who resides in the WH... It is for these precise reasons Canadians can sleep soundly at night with a military of only 68,000... You're welcome by the way...

Game Theory calls it Strategic Confusion. Bessent calls it Strategic Confusion or Strategic Chaos. Trump probably doesn’t know the terms but he has been negotiating this way for over 50 years and knows it works. The EU, Trudeau government, etc has either not figured it out or want to play to their constituents. Carney is smart. He understands what is going on even if he doesn’t like it and knows he is now stuck with getting a deal done. Canada is now way ahead of the EU which can’t come to an agreement on how to start negotiations.

 

[rigbymauser]

Im not sure thats correct..

In his mind, I don't think he believes he has anything to learn from it.. he believes his strategies and tactics work.. and he doesn't care who he offends or pisses off or humiliates along the way..

It took more than 2 months for the US and Ukraine to try to figure out how to reconcile things after Trump had his blow up with Zelenskky.. Trump very clearly (and very intentionally) went out of his way to humiliate Zelenskky both during their now famed meeting and for the next several weeks after...

Now that things are resolved (somewhat) with the signing of the mineral deal between the US and Ukraine.. what did Trump do during his meeting with Carney?

He made fun of Zelenskky and the fact that he humiliated him in the same room that Carney was sitting in just a few months prior..

Trump got what he wanted once it was all said and done.. that's all that matters to him.. He wont lose any sleep at night knowing any world leader (Carney or anyone else) was humiliated or felt like they weren't treated properly.. if anything he'll keep doing it.. because its got a track record of positive results (look at how he's run his campaigns... Lyin Ted.. Little Marco.. etc.. two guys he went out of his way to belittle over and over again.. that are now among his strongest advocates.. Look at how he runs his businesses.. he has a 50 year history of publicly firing, publicly calling out, publicly attacking, etc executives within his own firms.. and publicly humiliating his business opponents.. Look how he ran his last cabinet.. how he dealt with Mattis and others.. he has ZERO problem with people hating him.. as long as he keeps getting the results he desires he will continue with the same tactics and strategies.. which is what amazes me.. his tactics and strategies haven't changed in decades upon decades.. you'd think the other side would figure this out and come up with a better solution.. but they don't.. everyone else (whether we're talking about domestic politics, international politics, business, or anything else) keep playing Trumps game, by Trumps rules..

That could have been boiled down to "the man is driven by a strong ego wrapped in Stars & Stripes".

 

[Wheels]

What a difference a new administration makes. From forgiving student loans to garnishment. People are now held accountable for their actions. How novel.

Crackdown On Student Loan Defaulters To Begin With Benefit Seizure, Then Wage Garnishment | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

 

[rigbymauser]

The fact that you still take 100% of Trump's rhetoric seriously and literally at this point in time cracks me up! His unpredictability in regard to what is rhetoric and what is a viable threat is a deliberate tactic, by the way, that is obviously effective... Sorry you are not appreciating and enjoying it as much as I am...

The trust of others is irrelevant and pretty much unnecessary in his negotiating style... The pesky little fact that Trump and all the other world leaders know is that they will continue to align with the U.S. and do business with us because they have to... We are still the dominant superpower in the world with the most powerful military, the largest economy, and most import consumer buying power...

I've said it here and in other threads many times that they all hate us until they need us, and then they love us again... That remains true regardless of who resides in the WH... It is for these precise reasons Canadians can sleep soundly at night with a military of only 68,000... You're welcome by the way...

Apparently some voters did believe Trump. Why shouldn`t others believe him too?.

In regards to Trump or not the markets may react differently than what the world politicians believe. They need predictability just like any household economy.

 

[OxfordTheCat]

"Conservative" isn't synonymous with "libertarian", "Republican", or "populist"

Churchill would be well left of US Democrats and unelectable other than in a novelty manner like Bernie.

It's just that the US spectrum is shifted so far to the right.
I don't begrudge Americans for it: The same isolationism that keeps less than half of them from owning a passport also reaches to the more educated in a different form of isolationism and general ignorance. US defaultism.

The type that now insists that running massive deficits, instituting tariffs, abandoning free trade, and just being generally boorish on the world stage is now the default "Conservative" position.

Perhaps in the continental US, but the rest of the world shrugs and looks forward. You'll have to excuse me for being a conservative of the traditional stripe. Not the one that was minted in 2016 and worships a cult of personality. We'll have to agree to disagree.

I'll take a move to balanced budgets with appropriate taxation, a market solution to climate change, agreeable pro-business and pro-development policy, a deference to constitutional laws and norms, and a solid commitment to a free trade agenda in the vein of traditional European conservatism as opposed to what is passing as "Conservative" south of the 49th.

Globally, Canada will pursue closer trade and ties to the UK, EU, China, and India. We'll be better positioned for it in the 21st as China and India rise, and the US wanes.

By all means, you can have the MAGA hats and pats on the back in an echo chamber.

 

[mdwest]

That could have been boiled down to "the man is driven by a strong ego wrapped in Stars & Stripes".

theres no doubt that Trump is full of ego..

that said.. show me a person serving as a head of state that doesn't have a strong ego.. they all do.. doesn't matter if they are a despot ruling over some bankrupt developing country in Africa.. a liberal sitting in a prime ministers position in Europe.. or an overweight new yorker that's tasked with running the country with the worlds largest economy.. ego is a common trait among just about all national leaders..

Ramaposa is full of ego.. Starmer is full of ego.. Carney is full of ego.. no one loves Macron more than Macron does.. Xi and Putin think they always know whats best for the world, etc..etc.. and so does Trump..

With Trump you also get a full dose of NYC persona on top of it is really the only difference.. which is what most people don't like (loud, aggressive, pointed, etc)..

Wrapped in the stars and stripes I'd think most Americans would absolutely cherish.. of course Americans are going to want a leader that's driven to do what they believe is in the best interest of their country, that is patriotic, that loves his flag, etc..

I would guess that the typical Sweede, Swiss, Belgian, French, German, (or anyone else) would want the same thing from their leaders... I would guess Germans would hate the idea of Merz wrapping himself in the stars and stripes.. but would love to believe that he is wrapped in the bundesflagge..

The problem in the US is not all Americans believe that Trump is wrapped in the stars and stripes.. they instead suspect that he is wrapped in his own self interests and desires (I personally believe he is indeed wrapped in the stars and stripes.. I just don't agree with how he conducts himself of all of his ideas on how to best achieve our national interests)..

No different than many Canadians question Carneys motivations.. anyone in Canada that's even a tiny bit right of center that I am aware of believes Carney is wrapped in Carneys personal bank accounts and could give less than a partial damn about the maple leaf flag..

 

[Tundra Tiger]

That could have been boiled down to "the man is driven by a strong ego wrapped in Stars & Stripes".

This could have been boiled down to "the man is driven by a strong ego."