impulse

What surprises (and dismays) me is that the media and lefties seem to claim that Musk is clearing out USAID. He's not. He can't. He's just identifying the deadwood that the proper authorities can clean out, within the system of checks and balances. Of course, it'll all be tested in the courts, but that's all pre-baked into the soup. The sooner the cases move through the appeals process and the high courts decide, the better. But it is fun to watch them stomp their tiny little feet in the meantime.

I thought that was Big Mike. Trump was Prez in 2018.

That's just the special China-only section. On top of normal duty rates. Most of them (China special duties) implemented in 2018. Who was president in 2018? Edit: On an aside, I got a kick out of the HTS codes (and not in a good way). If my suppler described the goods as "spare parts for submersible pumps" there was no duty. If they described the exact same parts as "steel tubes" the duty was horrendous. Customs inspection is a black art. I'm in awe of anyone who can keep it straight.

Once again, you forgot the word "additional". China already gets slapped with special tariffs on (count 'em) 250+ pages of HTS codes. Look to the US HTS web page. Take your No-Doz, because it's a lot of detail.

Thanks for that. After posting the same evidence a dozen times over many threads, I just kind of lost interest in the discussion. Especially now that I can't figure out how to post a clickable link.

On predictions political, I bow to his superior knowledge. It's a hoot watching him cringe over the state of the DNC.

Boy. Look who's dusting off the crystal ball. James Carville is my source. Yours?

James Carville. It's not a crystal ball, looks more like a cue ball. I got a kick out of his recent warning to the Dems. Google Level Of Jackassery

Let 'em keep bashing on. It'll lose them the midterms. Then 2028... Voters aren't buying the ole tripe.

Maybe they should charge him with inciting Michigan state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky to sterilize herself out of fear of having kids in a Trump world. And they say the syndrome isn't real. I'll let you Google it.

Lefties can always justify why it was okay for Biden to ignore or defy the courts, but not okay for Trump to do it. MSDNC and Politico are masters at it. (The USAID revelations explain Politico, eh?) There are some interesting arguments that have been brewing for quite a while whether district courts should have the power to dictate policy across the entire nation. Google FRPC if you're interested. But you may have to hold your nose and look beyond the MSM.

I've got a fat head, and most hats don't fit. I won't buy one before I try it on. Which means most stalls in Bangkok will never sell me a hat. They won't let me try them on. I suspect it's the same with shoes. IMO, the prudent thing to do is to settle on a price, then try it on. I do agree that the price should be negotiated before the try-on. It must be exasperating to do all that, and then the customer wants a ridiculously low price.

But mRNA's aren't traditional vaccines. Their intended mechanism isn't the same as a traditional vaccine. We're in uncharted territory.

And Biden gave away $billions in student loan forgiveness after the SCOTUS told him not to. How do the Dems like them apples? If they don't like what Trump's doing, I suggest they either pound sand or take it up with the voters who elected him. Better yet, take it up with the Dem Elite who put Harris up against him.

Under the topic "In case you missed it", Twitter made EBITDA of $682 million on $5 billion of revenue, pre-Musk. Now it's making $1.25 billion EBITDA on $5 billion of revenue. Almost twice the profit on about half the revenue. That's the guy I want consulting on gub'ment efficiency. In Case You Forgot When Every Financial Writer Mocked Elon Musk’s X Purchase | The Daily Caller

And there's been no updates since 2002.

They just don't give up, do they? Even when there's videos, receipts, bank statements and whistleblowers out the wazoo.

The sad reality is that anyone who tells you they know the definitive long term answer is lying to you. It hasn't been long term yet. We won't know the long term effects for years, decades and maybe generations. In the meantime, what we do know is being hidden from us under the guise of "media fact checkers" who are no more credible than the media they're checking. I got to see a life sized dose of that when I went to the ER after my 2nd Pfizer and the doctors told me they don't know what caused my symptoms the day after, but it definitely wasn't the Pfizer. Over 2 years later, I went to the ER again for lingering symptoms that wax and wane, and the nurses and one doctor told me that they've been getting a lot of reports of my symptoms post Pfizer. But it was in hushed tones when nobody else was in the room. Selfishly, the more people that suffer the symptoms I've lived with for almost 4 years, the more they'll spend on finding solutions for us.

Yeah. 'Cause every country wants their media to be biased US paid stooges, and their elections rigged. They've been fomenting corruption all over the world. With my money.

There's hungry people in the USA, too. Seems like there may be a silver lining. Might even drive some of that Bidenflation out of the system. I'm struggling to understand why everyone's complaining about the high cost of groceries when commodity prices are low. Or is that just the MSM trying to find more to bitch about with Trump?

That was my biggest disappointment with Obama. He campaigned on increasing transparency, and he sorely disappointed on that front, going in the opposite direction. Scott Jennings at CNN described it best. Trump's program is Radical Transparency. Whether he'll deliver or not is anyone's guess. But I wouldn't bet against him.

I read a more comprehensive telling of the story and it seems there are all kinds of exceptions for families with kids in school, health care issues, and a number of other circumstances, in addition to assignments that are considered critical to US interests. But if you're organizing Drag Queen story hours in Lower Slobovia, it's time to pack.

Messing with simian DNA... Isn't that how the Planet of the Apes movie franchise started? Life imitating art.

The European Commission has approved a new food ingredient made from dried and ground mealworm larvae, the young form of beetles. The larvae will be treated with ultraviolet (UV) light, a process similar to how sunlight helps human skin produce vitamin D. The approval is part of the EU’s plan to introduce more sustainable protein sources and allows up to 4% of the insect-based powder in products such as bread, cheese, pasta, and jams. The regulation takes effect on February 10. The EU official website is a little sketchy about labeling requirements... approval insect novel food - European Commission

I get that you like all those features, but do you really use the goodies that are only available on the Top of Line iPhones? Or could you be satisfied with a less premium iPhone? Like I said in the OP, there are no wrong answers. Just looking for personal observations. And I'm almost hoping someone can convince me that I'm missing out on something and I should amend my cheap ass ways and splurge when the A05s goes tits up. So far, I get that there are features, but I'm not convinced I'd benefit from them. At least not to the tune of $500-$1000 additional. Edit: But a Pox (in advance) upon anyone who convinces me to go Apple. Even though I almost cried when my company made me switch from Apple to Windows in the '90s.