Politics

[cwpayton]

At the very least I am very impressed by how fast the plastic surgeon was able to fix it

Regardless I wonder why ICE or DHS did not shared the information about this internal bleeding earlier to put a lid on speculation instead of waiting until it became much more protesting.

It might very well be true but holding on the information for this long makes it so it looks a little like it was "invented" as a last ditch effort to change the story line.

In America medical records are "supposedly" private ,require permission to release. Unless he has signed some pre-agreement or other legal manifest.

 

[cwpayton]

I think we’ve all learned to distrust the pollsters completely…

The polls told us Hillary would be president in 2016.. and we all believed it… they also told us that Trump would retain the white house in 2020… and we all believed them…

They largely got it right in 2024… but that was so obvious that Ray Charles could see it.. no one needed a poll to know what the outcome was going to be…

November is a long way away…

What will drive November will be the June-October economy…

The MSM will continue to wail about how tariffs don’t work… all Joe six pack cares about is gas is 50% of what it cost at the peak of the Biden administration…

Krazy Karen will continue to interfere with ICE.. and all middle America cares about is that their 401k’s are performing again…

There’s a reason that within literally hours of the woman being shot in the head by ICE that there were hundreds of memes condemning her, making fun of her, etc flooding the internet, going viral, etc..

Canadians might be concerned… but look at this thread… the overwhelming majority of Americans are somewhere between neutral and completely not giving a shit…

It’s not just conservatives… the middle, the centrists, and the independents have little to no concern… they all want the illegals gone… if an extreme leftist disagrees and acts in a way that causes her to lose her life, it gets about a millisecond of their attention, and they move on…

It will make zero difference in the election..

Which is about 25x more difference than Carney wanting to increase trade with China..

No one south of your border cares…

As long as our economy keeps chugging along, the typical US citizen could care less if the Canadian economy prospers or fails.. they think about Canadian success and Canadian opinions of the US as much as they think about bio nuclear physics and its impact on mosquitos in Indonesia (not at all)…

I almost agree, Mdwest except I want ALBERTA and BC annexed so theres no Border to cross to alaska,

 

[cwpayton]

Yes, but a big city jury would walk her. Small town she would max out.

Shes dead , dead ,! tried ,convicted and executed. time to move on.

 

[cwpayton]

Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act to invade Minnesota with Guards because an ICE goon got whacked with a broom handle. But he had lunch while watching on TV as his "demonstrator" pals destroyed the Capitol building on January 6th. Didn't even need to invoke the Insrrection Act to do something about it because D.C. is a federal reservation. But he did nothing. Double standard. D.C. was his bailiwick and Minnesota is a Democrat's bailiwick.

Now Trump is making petty legal threats to the Chair of Fed Reserve because he won't agree to lower interest rates ... and launch hyperinflation. How childish.

Hmmm, I thot Trump tried to call out national guard but Polisi refused, and I thought he told the protesters to stand down in an announcement. Hmmm I thot you supported protest? so you dont support the arrest and deportation of Child molesters, pedophiles ,rapist, murders, those with an deportation order from a judge and total thievery of Somalis stealing millions in scams, you arent against that, You dont support Federal agents arresting these scum to try and save our great nation? Maybe you are better off in Canada or come on down to Minnesota and tell em, you tell em .https://apnews.com/article/capital-riot-congress-republican-committee-9472c5c04a6c578d0b60b0a224508452

 

[Tanks]

Amazing, not a cop in sight.

 

[Hank2211]

Yes and my point was that, regardless of Trump for just three more years, we can’t be isolationists when China and Russia are actively courting other countries. I’m quite sure that the USA is the lesser of the evils. It’s easy to bash the USA but we have also done a lot of good in the world with food assistance, medicine and other foreign aid. Trump has reduced some foreign aid but it had obviously become wasteful and ridiculous in many cases.

Quebec can not separate from Canada, most of its money comes in the form of transfer payments from Alberta’s resource taxation. It gets the most dollars and pork of any province from the federal government.
If Alberta separates and takes Saskatchewan with it , it will be a country of its own. It’s not going to give up the third largest oil reserves in the world to anyone, they are tired of Libiturds giving all of their money to Quebec, they aren’t giving it to the USA.
But all of that is moot as we are being sold to the CCP as we speak, skidMark Canage is there now on his knees begging to be taken over as the Orange Man is bad. I firmly believe Canada is the greatest threat to USA security, we have become a 3rd world country, importing millions of people with absolutely no vetting. The government is doing its best to disarm the population that will put up resistance to full blown communism.
If the US is truly concerned with security forget Greenland and take Canada first, you share a large border with an agent of the CCP.

Please.

Just as our American friends have a diversity of views ranging from one end of whatever spectrum we’re talking about to the other, so do we in Canada.

I would caution most readers from assuming these sentiments represent the views of anything but a small minority of Canadians.

 

[Red Leg]

Interesting data summary.

Average IQ by Country 2026

Interesting data on the average IQ by country, offering insights into the average intelligence levels of populations through various tests and sources.

worldpopulationreview.com

 

[Alistair]

“It’s the economy, stupid” - James Carville

The stock market is way up, inflation is way down, and there are promises of tax cuts that would greatly benefit the middle class.

Unemployment is low and interest rates are dropping…

As long as those things remain true… the majority of American citizens aren’t really going to give a shit about much else..

Extreme leftists can continue to act insane and turn themselves into meme bait, and the MSM can continue to rail against the administration and only create even greater distrust within the American public (if that’s even possible)… Europeans, Canadians, and other “developed” nations can continue to cry out against Trump..

None of it amounts to anything more than a fart in church.. a disruption that gets attention for about 5 seconds… and then the preacher keeps preaching…

Until the economy tanks, nobody cares…

To be honest mdwest, I have a very, very different opinion on the current economic environment than you do.

Additionally, you are the only person all year who I've experienced having this particular opinion. I say that very seriously.

From where I'm sitting, things are only really 'good' for those who have large amounts invested in the stock market, and rely on that as their primary source of income. I'm doing ok in that environment, and I'm sure you are as well.

But I also work for a beer company, and trends there paint a different story. Same as for every FMCG company.

To put it simply, 'Joe 6 pack' can't afford a 6 pack anymore. Or at least, doesn't feel secure enough in his finances, or his job, to buy one.

Why does that matter? Well, FMCG is a pretty good measure of consumer sentiment for a couple of reasons.

1. The category is universally consumed by all socioeconomic classes.
2. It's a repeating purchase item. People need to buy groceries, what are they buying? Are they trying to economize? what discretionary items are they willing to buy?
3. Beer specifically is a good marker for 'vibes' as well. Are people going out for a beer with friends? Are they hosting a cook out? Are they watching sporting events? Do they feel comfortable spending money on 'fun'?

For beer, the industry is down about 3% this year, some companies more than others. Craft has been decimated. It's the expensive premium choice, and people can't afford it anymore. Input prices are through the roof as well, aluminium tariffs alone are a couple cents a can in additional pain, if nothing else.

https://www.brewersassociation.org/association-news/the-2025-year-in-beer/

The company whom I work for is doing a little better because we have a strong portfolio of economy brands, which many of our consumers who used to buy 'premium domestic' are trading into. As a result, we've only cut headcount by 8% this year...

Other FMCG companies are seeing the same thing.

Here's Q&A for KraftHeinz in Q3 25: https://ir.kraftheinzcompany.com/me...5_KHC_QA_Transcript_v1.pdf?disposition=inline

Here's Coca Cola (The BofA question on page 16 is telling): https://ir.kraftheinzcompany.com/me...5_KHC_QA_Transcript_v1.pdf?disposition=inline

PepsiCo (The WellsFargo question on P15 is informative): https://www.pepsico.com/docs/pepsico-5v9wci20/media/Files/investors/q3-2025-pep_transcript.pdf

Mondelez (Up in every business unit, except the US): https://ir.mondelezinternational.co...ondelez-international-reports-q3-2025-results

P&G: https://us.pg.com/blogs/pg-earnings-third-quarter-2025/


Predictably this has lead to a couple of CEO changes, and pretty much universal lay offs across the food and beverage industry. But if people don't have expendable income, and have no confidence in the economy, or job security, or the future, then what can you really do?

United States Michigan Consumer Sentiment

Consumer Confidence in the United States increased to 54 points in January from 52.90 points in December of 2025. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Consumer Sentiment - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction...

tradingeconomics.com

Americans making more than $100,000 are quickly losing faith in the economy—and it's a red flag for the white-collar job market | Fortune

Worries over job security are fueling declining confidence among the well-off.

fortune.com

https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-in-america/2025

This isn't exclusively a 'Trump' thing, 2024 wasn't a good year either. But this idea that 'things were terrible 12 months ago, and now they're great' is pure fantasy. Or at least pure political bias. Nothing has materially changed. Or at least, nothing has changed for the better.

Interest rates ARE down, no denying that, so that's one win... but debt loads are climbing.

Household Debt and Credit Report

Unique data and insight into the credit conditions and activity of U.S. households

www.newyorkfed.org

Wages aren't growing. Inflation has slowed, but it's still driving up prices for consumers who still haven't caught up from the last 5 years. Nobody has any confidence in the economy. Job security is shaky. Nobody has expendable income. Unemployment, whilst still low, is rising.

But so long as the AI bubble keeps propping up the stock market, most on this forum will continue to be increasingly comfortable. Good for us.

I'd note that's been true through 2023, 2024 as well, when you lot were all saying how terrible the economy was. If I was mean, I'd call that hypocrisy.

But either way, the top couple of % of households doesn't make up an economy...

 

[wesheltonj]

Interesting data summary.

Average IQ by Country 2026

Interesting data on the average IQ by country, offering insights into the average intelligence levels of populations through various tests and sources.

worldpopulationreview.com

If that true, we are doomed, and not the bug spray.

 

[WAB]

I almost agree, Mdwest except I want ALBERTA and BC annexed so theres no Border to cross to alaska,

Well you’d better grab the Yukon too!

 

[Scott CWO]

At the very least I am very impressed by how fast the plastic surgeon was able to fix it

Regardless I wonder why ICE or DHS did not shared the information about this internal bleeding earlier to put a lid on speculation instead of waiting until it became much more protesting.

It might very well be true but holding on the information for this long makes it so it looks a little like it was "invented" as a last ditch effort to change the story line.

Probably discovered later.

 

[barryk]

Amazing, not a cop in sight.

Stealing weapons out of FBI vehicle...did I see this correctly? Time to bring out the dogs (BIG DOGS...with gleaming white, gnashing teeth) and fire houses. Anarchy violence would scatter and be stopped very quickly. Could make a real mess out of things with freezing temperatures.......... or we can watch the country burn down.....again. Same old blithering stupid crap, decade after decade. And please, don't anyone be an idiot and compare this to, and say this is just like J6.

 

[275r7x57]

To be honest mdwest, I have a very, very different opinion on the current economic environment than you do.

Additionally, you are the only person all year who I've experienced having this particular opinion. I say that very seriously.

From where I'm sitting, things are only really 'good' for those who have large amounts invested in the stock market, and rely on that as their primary source of income. I'm doing ok in that environment, and I'm sure you are as well.

But I also work for a beer company, and trends there paint a different story. Same as for every FMCG company.

To put it simply, 'Joe 6 pack' can't afford a 6 pack anymore. Or at least, doesn't feel secure enough in his finances, or his job, to buy one.

Why does that matter? Well, FMCG is a pretty good measure of consumer sentiment for a couple of reasons.

1. The category is universally consumed by all socioeconomic classes.
2. It's a repeating purchase item. People need to buy groceries, what are they buying? Are they trying to economize? what discretionary items are they willing to buy?
3. Beer specifically is a good marker for 'vibes' as well. Are people going out for a beer with friends? Are they hosting a cook out? Are they watching sporting events? Do they feel comfortable spending money on 'fun'?

For beer, the industry is down about 3% this year, some companies more than others. Craft has been decimated. It's the expensive premium choice, and people can't afford it anymore. Input prices are through the roof as well, aluminium tariffs alone are a couple cents a can in additional pain, if nothing else.

https://www.brewersassociation.org/association-news/the-2025-year-in-beer/

The company whom I work for is doing a little better because we have a strong portfolio of economy brands, which many of our consumers who used to buy 'premium domestic' are trading into. As a result, we've only cut headcount by 8% this year...

Other FMCG companies are seeing the same thing.

Here's Q&A for KraftHeinz in Q3 25: https://ir.kraftheinzcompany.com/me...5_KHC_QA_Transcript_v1.pdf?disposition=inline

Here's Coca Cola (The BofA question on page 16 is telling): https://ir.kraftheinzcompany.com/me...5_KHC_QA_Transcript_v1.pdf?disposition=inline

PepsiCo (The WellsFargo question on P15 is informative): https://www.pepsico.com/docs/pepsico-5v9wci20/media/Files/investors/q3-2025-pep_transcript.pdf

Mondelez (Up in every business unit, except the US): https://ir.mondelezinternational.co...ondelez-international-reports-q3-2025-results

P&G: https://us.pg.com/blogs/pg-earnings-third-quarter-2025/


Predictably this has lead to a couple of CEO changes, and pretty much universal lay offs across the food and beverage industry. But if people don't have expendable income, and have no confidence in the economy, or job security, or the future, then what can you really do?

United States Michigan Consumer Sentiment

Consumer Confidence in the United States increased to 54 points in January from 52.90 points in December of 2025. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Consumer Sentiment - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction...

tradingeconomics.com

Americans making more than $100,000 are quickly losing faith in the economy—and it's a red flag for the white-collar job market | Fortune

Worries over job security are fueling declining confidence among the well-off.

fortune.com

https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-in-america/2025

This isn't exclusively a 'Trump' thing, 2024 wasn't a good year either. But this idea that 'things were terrible 12 months ago, and now they're great' is pure fantasy. Or at least pure political bias. Nothing has materially changed. Or at least, nothing has changed for the better.

Interest rates ARE down, no denying that, so that's one win... but debt loads are climbing.

Household Debt and Credit Report

Unique data and insight into the credit conditions and activity of U.S. households

www.newyorkfed.org

Wages aren't growing. Inflation has slowed, but it's still driving up prices for consumers who still haven't caught up from the last 5 years. Nobody has any confidence in the economy. Job security is shaky. Nobody has expendable income. Unemployment, whilst still low, is rising.

But so long as the AI bubble keeps propping up the stock market, most on this forum will continue to be increasingly comfortable. Good for us.

I'd note that's been true through 2023, 2024 as well, when you lot were all saying how terrible the economy was. If I was mean, I'd call that hypocrisy.

View attachment 739440
View attachment 739441
View attachment 739442

But either way, the top couple of % of households doesn't make up an economy...

I think you have some very valid points.

At a bank meeting a fees weeks ago, the analysis was the stock market is to inflated and to transition to fixed assets. This is the back room take, the word on the street is everything is great.

A business partner just attended a big hotel convention and they are predicting low lodging numbers and some tight years ahead.

 

[barryk]

Stealing weapons out of FBI vehicle...did I see this correctly? Time to bring out the dogs (BIG DOGS...with gleaming white, gnashing teeth) and fire houses. Anarchy violence would scatter and be stopped very quickly. Could make a real mess out of things with freezing temperatures.......... or we can watch the country burn down.....again. Same old blithering stupid crap, decade after decade. And please, don't anyone be an idiot and compare this to, and say this is just like J6.

After thought.....Walz and Frey need to be arrested and charged with inciting insurrection. But they need to be tried by a jury of their peers in a small, rural, town in Minnesota.

 

[cwpayton]

Amazing, not a cop in sight.

Just peace full protest, no need for violent cops.

 

[cwpayton]

Well you’d better grab the Yukon too!

Yes but dont want to be greedy, they have that rail Dawson tto Whitehorse, which is on my list of far off FORIEGN places to visit.. LOL

 

[cwpayton]

Greenland with a fight, seems like its heating up , heard one report that the Danish troops have arrived ,a battalion to Greenland with orders to fire on the Americans if needed, sounds like hype to me. Interesting too see if article 5 invokes as the prior seems to be jumping ahead. France as well is throwing a tantrum. I think Trump has finally got his overload in deals to be made, Also seems Ukraine is on the low importance list for NATO as Greenland is now so important. Throw in Canada, Iran ,Venezuela ,Columbia, A tea spoon of Africa and Syria and Minnesota, 2026 is indeed going to be Interesting.. Personally I think the real enemy is China, followed by Putin's regime.

 

[rigbymauser]

If that true, we are doomed, and not the bug spray.

Many western countries have their national IQ lowered due to influx from african and muslim countries. That pulls down a lot.

 

[Foxi]

I would not recommend anyone that is not working in the USA and has a European passport to get a US citizenship. Tax obligations, and FBAR filings are not worth it.

Tanks,
Your president makes exceptions with the stroke of a pen.
The whole of Europe is puzzling over how this is always possible without a parliamentary decision.
Turbulent times.
Foxi

 

[Foxi]

Amazing, not a cop in sight.

It's unbelievable.
But that's how it looked for us on New Year's Eve in Berlin (a shithole town) also and Leipzig city.
It's a mystery to me why Trump keeps taking on more and more foreign policy problems.
He has enough to do cleaning up domestically.

p.s.

no Danish troops will shoot on US soldiers.
Don't eat every bone that is thrown at you.