Walker88

Goodness! $580 million out of $916 billion.....and some of that involves removing the Enola Gay from the Dulles-area museum. Of course Hegseth did find $50,000 to repaint his official residence. What about the F-47? If we're going to buy that (so POTUS can have a jet sort of named after him), might we also contract for muskets and siege engines? Far more was cut from USAID, which spent money trying to ring fence viruses that could easily make their way to the continental US.

You live in his mind, rent free, which is why he has to bird dog your posts. The MAGAs are like those who get apoplectic over Danish cartoonists. They're up to their eyeballs in the fever swamps, unable to state facts nor offer rational answers. Some of it I understand. The 4 years under Biden were the best years since the late 1990s to get wealthy, and they missed it. Smart folks got rich, MAGAs stagnated. They also tend to be losers, the kind who weren't the football hero nor Class President nor top in their class nor able to get a cheerleader as a prom date, so they live vicariously through POTUS, who they think is getting back at the cool kids on their behalf, trying to erase an entire life of mediocrity. Also, they're too lazy to look at the numbers, noting Biden's GDP dwarfed his predecessor, along with job creation, and that rather than endlessly repeat "Next week is infrastructure week", Biden actually got a bipartisan infrastructure Bill passed. Hey, but 45 built a wall and got Mexico to pay, right? No? The MAGAs bark about "waste" and "fraud", but note only minor examples, which will never be wiped out completely. It's like trying to make a restaurant operate with zero waste. Some fish is going to go bad before it's sold. OTOH, the source of the greatest amount of fraud and waste is inviolable: defense. In a $916 billion budget, they've found only a few million of supposed waste. Perhaps if they spent a little time looking at cost overruns on obsolete weapons systems, or took exception to the new F-47, which is a manned fighter in an age where unmanned systems are quickly becoming superior and will be vastly superior before a sure-to-be delayed and costly F-47 comes online, a few hundred billion could be cut from defense, with zero loss in capability. I guess if other NATO members were as inefficient and profligate as the US DoD, POTUS could stop barking about "fair share", though that wouldn't make NATO any more effective, especially when POTUS prefers Europe's greatest threat over our actual allies. Some things I always wanted MAGAs to answer, but they never do: ---Why did 45 call his goobers to DC for 6 Jan 2021, and why did he send them to the Capitol? Was the Capitol gift shop having a sale on coffee mugs and keychains? Are MAGAs admitting that 45 is so stupid that "how could he have known" his goobers would get violent? Why do MAGAs bark about a few fringe Dems who said "Defund the police", when 47 has so little respect for police that he pardoned the terrorists who beat and bear sprayed 140 of them? ---On a personal note, why do MAGAs think it was both okay and necessary for 45 to steal hundreds of highly classified documents and keep them at his wedding planner facility, where anyone willing to pony up $200K could join and sniff around for secrets? What possible use could 45 have for Human Clandestine Sources (HCS) documents that reveal the identities of clandestine intel assets in hostile nations and terrorist organizations? If US national security is so important that 45 must keep young Guatemalan mothers and their kids from entering the US, why did he steal TS, SCI, SAP, Codeword, RD and other documents that expose everything from battle plans to weapons capabilities to knowledge of adversaries' capabilities? No doubt all this post will get from MAGAs is silly emojis, never an answer, because for the cultists, POTUS is as infallible as a Borgia Pope.

This topic strikes a chord in me, so this will be long. Feel free to tl:dr. The Universe doesn't hand out things evenly, nor does anyone's deity. We all find our own way to come to terms with that harsh reality. Ideally, we understand the inherent unfairness of existence, and behave accordingly, which means never thinking we are better simply because we have more. I'm the first person to admit what I have been able to acquire is dumb luck. Some who are "Haves" like to think they worked really hard for what they achieved. Even that I attribute to dumb luck, as I believe even intellect and ambition are certainly not handed out equally, nor are physical characteristics like body shape, height, and physical appearance. Any of those can make life a heck of a lot easier to navigate. I accept that in all of human history, there has never been a greater advantage than being born a white, or mostly white, male in a developed Western nation. To NOT be flush would require some substantial effort and self-induced screw ups. All that being said, how one behaves with others is the test we all must pass. Nobody is any better than another person just because of material wealth. As a non-believer in any deities, I ignore things like "manna" or "karma". Whether it's in a 7-11, or Food Gourmet or a fancy restaurant, just treat everyone kindly and with the respect any human deserves (until proven otherwise). Yes, some people might be jealous, but most will not be, and will judge based on how one communicates with them. Also, there is a difference between flaunting one's wealth and merely having it, and perhaps having some of the things wealth can acquire. I've been more than fortunate, and for reasons of practicality I have usually employed a household staff in the places I have lived. In some places, it's also considered polite, as jobs and income are provided. So I've had chefs and cleaners and gardeners, though I do a lot of the work myself. I understand there is a natural separation and power position, but one's behavior can minimize that and make everything comfortable for all concerned. Now in Thailand, it's the first time in years I haven't employed a household staff. I do, however, run a business that provides jobs, and my staff is fantastic. I'm leaving this site soon, as it has become a bit of an unnecessary irritant seeing the mindset of the captured cult, and because I'm totally anonymous, I can say a few things. This topic---having wealth in an unfair Universe---has always been a thorn in the core of my being. I grew up in a faith, but by my teen years I realized all faiths were utter nonsense and existence is random. When I first fell into wealth, I began to give a lot away. I built some schools and funded hundreds of children who otherwise would not ever get an education. I brought many all the way through university, and those people are now totally self-sufficient and passing on some of the luck they received. I offered microloans to people with a business plan but no capital. I hired doctors to provide medical care to folks suffering from everything from malaria to TB to sepsis. I became a kind of NGO, albeit with no donations and no tax breaks. Until I excised every last bit of my faith, I used to flip the bird to the sky at the deadbeat deities who ostensibly were responsible for the things I tried to help. Many times I had to suck it up, as I saw things that made me want to cry, but I never wanted to show pity, just concern and caring. Nobody wants to be pitied. Now here's the big surprise (for me). I got more from them they they got from me. When I was on Wall Street, I might have had 200 good things happening each day and one bad thing. I focused on the one bad thing. The folks I met in the developing world had just the opposite, yet they chose to focus on the one good thing and simply endure the bad. Their circumstances had made them better people than me. I learned from them and changed. I also left my WS career behind, just so I would not revert back to (bad) form. I never use the term "hard earned" when discussing my wealth, because it wasn't, nor likely was that of anyone reading this. The last time I dug ditches, other than on my own property, was during a high school summer job. As an adult in my second career, all I did was silly parlor tricks, watching numbers on a screen and placing bets on which numbers would get larger and which would get smaller. Yes, there is an underlying value to society involved in what those numbers represent (businesses that produce goods and services and create jobs), but I did not think of that day to day. Obviously, I've strayed off topic a bit, or at minimum expanded it. If you are reading this or are simply on this site, you are lucky. Have a little humility. You had advantages many people will never have. You aren't better because of wealth or career success. If you are "better", it is only because of how you have used the gifts you got but did not deserve, and only if you refrain from doing anything that hurts anyone. That young Moslem woman wearing the headscarf in 7-11 is most likely kind and caring and just trying to get by. She deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. If she looks as if she wants to communicate, do it. She might make your day, or you might even make her day. Acts of kindness or friendliness are always appreciated, coming at you or coming from you. Be nice to those with whom you are sharing time and space in this brief and only existence.

Who is that leader whom some wag termed "The Short-Fingered Vulgarian"? It's becoming clear why some people are fans of that guy...living vicariously.

You're right, susan. I'm in Mom's basement. Made my Director's Medals on a 3-D printer. کس إختک اخ شرموطة

Under 45, total National Debt jumped by 41%, and its amount greatly exceeded the GDP change during his 4 miserable years. That means: Debt Fueled. That $8,400,000,000,000 was what caused the inflation during Biden's term, though inflation was worldwide. The US, under Biden, was the first nation to bring post-Covid inflation down. No, it wasn't the worst border ever. Besides, migrants kept the cvost of food and meat down, plus even the then-exPOTUS used undocumented workers in both Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster. As for Covid "causing the Recession", two points: ---doesn't the crybaby always have an excuse ----even before he mishandled Covid, economic performance was in the bottom 30% of all Quarters since the end of WWII. Biden produced the highest growth since the late 1990s. [MOD EDIT: Removed personal trolling slur]

A few more months at most. I smell a stroke coming that will leave him drooling and babbling. Of course, not even his 3rd wife will be able to tell the difference.

The Worst Lie the Righties Told: 2020 election was stolen Oh, and guess which POTUS got the most votes in any election in US history? Joe Biden, 2020 Poor 47 can never break that, as he's 2 and done.

Lots of great things Biden could do that POTUS never could: ---Make the economy grow throughout his term, fastest since under Clinton ---Actually pass an infrastructure Bill ---Preside over the creation of 16.6 million jobs, while POTUS47 was the first since Hoover to leave office with fewer Americans employed than when he entered ---NOT preside over the start of a Recession; POTUS 45 got one started and left it for Biden, and POTUS47 is starting one now and will leave it for AOC to fix ---Make the US admired and respected ---See his own junk, as POTUS' belly is way to big for him to see what's way too small

You mean like the guy who stole hundreds of highly classified documents, including those that noted the identities of foreign clandestine assets in hostile nation, and kept them in his country club where anyone---foreign or US---could join and have access? Or the guy who tried to overthrow the 2020 election and still lies about it being "stolen"? Or the guy who pardoned terrorists who beat and bear sprayed 140 police and threatened to hang the Vice President? That is what you call a "true American"? That guy also ordered the firing of anyone who investigated the 6 Jan 2021 terrorists. I bet those fired DoJ and FBI folks see that the US to which they took an oath no longer exists, so they might as well use the classified knowledge as a 401K.

More MAGA drivel, though not unexpected. Why not post some images of your combat ribbons and citations. Don't have any? Maybe you can post X-ray images of your bone spurs. I noted this before to you MAGA cowards.... Drive through rural France. Almost every small town or commune has an obelisk near the Mairie's office listing the names of those who sacrificed in WWI and with the Resistance and Free French in WWII. Had you ever served, especially if you had dealt with French soldiers, you would know no military person considers them anything but skilled, courageous and lethal. You'd disgrace your panties if even facing a trained French female soldier. Your messiah never served, and is not only a coward, he called those who served "suckers and losers". So willfully ignorant is he that when he was on a launch at Pearl Harbor with Gen Kelly, heading out to the USS Arizona memorial, as asked Kelly, "So what is this boat all about?"

Yes. That's the easiest way for Republicans to keep them Red.

"I love the poorly educated" He certainly does. And they love him, too.

The Obama Administration had some people who understood the world. The current POTUS does not. The JCPOA was working just fine. Iran---having learned US cyber capabilities when it was hobbled by Stuxnet---made a choice to give up nuke development. Enrichment reactors were filled with cement. High speed centrifuges---smashed via the Stuxnet worm---were abandoned. Inspectors were allowed to go anywhere at anytime to check if Iran was in compliance. Via HUMINT and SIGINT, the agency reported every six months on Iran's compliance. The Iran nuke program halted 100% (despite Netayanhu trying a cover op and releasing Iran nuke documents from 2003). The JCPOA has two objectives. The first was to halt Iran's nuke development. That succeeded 100%. The second was to use the JCPOA as a stepping stone for additional negotiations on Iran funding of Shi'a terror groups. The assessment was that the mullahs were aging and the majority of Iran's young wanted to join the international community and become prosperous. Sadly, when 45 abrogated the treaty, not only did Iran re-start enrichment of U235, the aggression of 45 turned an increasing percent of the populace away from the West. Even those who didn't like the mullahs, were outraged both with the way 45 spoke of Iranians (all people have some pride, including those with a history 25 times longer than the US' history) and when he ordered Gen Suleimani assassinated. Now the clown seems to realize Obama was right, and halting the nuke program is in everyone's interest. When you "fix" what ain't broken, you look like a fool. Nobody is better at looking like a fool than the current POTUS. Somebody ought to tell the clown: if you "solve" Ukraine but attack Iran, NO PEACE PRIZE FOR YOU!.

What you call "irrational hatred", sane, intelligent and rational people call "patriotism". See, some of us not only went to school and learned about the ideals for which the US stands, but also studied the Constitution and understand the Founders' concept and intent of "free speech", "freedom of the press", "freedom of assumply", etc., know that POTUS is against everything the Founders intended. They knew too much power in one place led to oppression as well as self-dealing, so they set up 3 equal branches of government. The current POTUS prefers autocracy and imagines himself a king with unrestrained power as well as protection from lese majeste laws. Last Friday he admonished attorneys at the DoJ to look into his critics---such as major media---because "it must be illegal". Some of us served. Some of us also lived in or dealt with foreign entities that were autocratic. We know the dangers first hand, and those leaders are anathema to us. That is not what the Founders intended, nor is it what many of us went into harm's way to defend. You never put yourself on the line for the US, so you are incapable of understanding, just as you are incapable of understanding what the Founders intended when Madison and Jefferson put their thoughts and intentions into words. Democracy does allow the ignorant and the willfully ignorant to vote. Sadly, more of them voted in 2024 than intelligent people, so we are living the prediction of H.L. Mencken about the common people someday getting their wish and the White House occupied by a moron. For the time being, the ignorant have won. This will pass, though it is those every same ignorant who will suffer most from the coming economic collapse and the abandonment of the allies who have kept keep the world pretty safe and pretty prosperous for the last 80 years.

What a coincidence....NOT! The State Senator who introduced this silly Bill is not under arrest for soliciting sex with a "girl" he knew to be underage. No need for a Bill to define that illness and crime. It's called pedophilia. Scratch a MAGA, find a pedo or whackadoodle. What's that saying..."Physician, heal thyself". https://www.yahoo.com/news/minnesota-republican-state-sen-justin-161125506.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

No, it's called FACTS, not some silly made up affliction. You should learn the difference between reality and your fantasy.

As the late Karen Carpenter sang, "We've only just begun". Even Gandhi gave up his non-violence during Partition. As the fascist scum embark on the destruction of everything brave men and women spent 250 years fighting for, the gloves are going to come off. And contrary to the MAGA belief system, there are plenty of real patriots trained and tested in service to the nation, and who also have long taken advantage of the 2nd Amendment. Call them "Nutters". I imagine King George called Patrick Henry and Nathan Hale nutters, too. There are things worth fighting for. Teslas are not one of them, but liberty, the 1st Amendment and rule of law are worth fighting for. If the fascist clown begins to do what he said last Friday at DoJ, regarding going after media critics who broke no law and who are free to criticize even a bozo who considers himself King, real patriots will rise.

In MAGAstan, violence is condoned, even pardoned, if it is in service to the cult leader. The cultists are so quick to go after Tesla attacks, but are silent when the subject of hanging the Vice President comes out. In MAGAspeak, that terrorism was a "lovefest". Turnabout is fair play. Wait until people get really upset. Wearing a red cap could obviate one's life insurance.

Goodness! Next those "lefties" will be storming the Capitol, sh!tting on the floor, beating and bear spraying cops, and trying to hang the Vice President! Oh wait, that's "approved behavior" by the fascist in chief.

Effects are always on the margin. Fewer exports mean fewer jobs, which casts a pall over the economy and gets even employed workers to pull back. Even worse, the attitude toward the US has sunk to its lowest nadir in years. What's more important than exports is funding the 30% of the deficit foreigners currently fund. If they boycott USTs, either rates soar or the Fed has to print 24/7, which is inflationary. I appreciate MAGAs, like their messiah, are willfully ignorant about economics. I guess when they are all unemployed and begging for SNAP and SSDI, Elon will tell them to go to the devil.

But he's a coward. He will make threats and identify family members, and have his minions doxx judges who offend him, all in the hope one of his MAGA goons will engage in violence against his critics or guardrails. It's exactly what he did on 6 Jan 2021 to get his goobers to attack the Capitol. He knows how to manipulate his ignorant cult. He's pure cowardly scum.

Yes, political idiotology over science. That's a sure fire way to get ahead in the 21st Century.

In point of fact, it was the CIA that POTUS hates that developed a good many things in use today. The agency was using things like scanners and lithium batteries and GPS years before they were commercially available. The agency S&T Division did not patent many of its inventions, as it did not want word to leak out about what the agency could do. Agency imaging technology via the Keyhole satellite system was decades ahead of anything commercially available.

By 'real Americans' I suspect you mean fat old guys living on a small pension in Thailand, guys who have no skin in the game. Other Americans who work for a living and who produce goods and services that are exported, do care. By the way, your messiah got his flabby butt kicked in 2020. If you have proof to the contrary, why didn't you forward it to the 60 court cases his minions filed and lost. Oh, and Elon is going to take away your social security. How are you going to live then, pork? Play guitar in front of a Big-C? Gawd, MAGAs are just what their messiah said: poorly educated.