Alan Zweibel

Sometimes for reasons of space allowed for headlines by the forum, it's necessary to abridge a headline But in this case 6 Dem Senators urge Military to refuse illegal orders, News, would have fit in the allotted space with no problem. So why the omission of illegal?

As I recall, you had a problem with using the GDP rate as a measure of the economy. I assumed that jobs might be more important to you as an indicator.

That report from The Economist was dated May 11, 2025. Here's some info that offers a better historical perspective Here's the US inflation rate: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi Here's the eurozone inflation rate: https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/gdp-growth Was the eurozone inflation's rate Biden's fault too? And here's a link to a graph comparing US GDP to Eurozone GDP: https://statisticstimes.com/economy/united-states-vs-eu-economy.php As you will note the US GDP growth for that time period greatly outpaced that of the Eurozone.

For which he was harshly criticized by progressives.

The Trump administration is overhauling the State Department’s annual reports on global human rights, emphasizing entitlements “given to us by God, our creator” and issuing new guidance for U.S. diplomats to scrutinize the prevalence of abortion and gender-transition surgery among children. The new instructions, issued Thursday, instructed all U.S. embassies and consulates to begin preparing the annual country reports under these and numerous other guidelines that stand in sharp contrast to their historical focus on torture, politically motivated killings and persecution of minority groups. The first documents to incorporate the Trump administration’s requirements will be published next year. https://archive.ph/Gl5Im I wonder who is going to be God's liaison for this campaign.

But all means, produce one of the alternative models that the Pentagon created. Until then, their existence is just hypothetical.

Here are the unemployment figures for Obama's second term and for Trumps up until covid makes its effects felt. Again, if you see some marked change in the slope, it's time for a vision check. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE

The question you should be asking is "If very little change, why give credit to Trump/"

Clearly, you don't understand the difference between calling people nasty names and giving people commands.

U.S. Ran a War Game on Ousting Maduro. Venezuela Fell Into Chaos. As President Trump pressed during his first term to oust President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. officials ran a war game to assess what the Venezuelan strongman’s fall might unleash. The results showed that chaos and violence were likely to erupt within Venezuela, as military units, rival political factions and even jungle-based guerrilla groups jockeyed for control of the oil-rich country. Those unclassified findings, supported by other expert analysis, underscore the risk associated with Mr. Trump’s second-term push against Mr. Maduro. https://archive.ph/6xjAp

In fact the judge did not assert that Halligan was a puppet. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff asked Comey’s defense lawyer if he thought Halligan, the prosecutor who brought the indictment against the former FBI boss, was acting as a “puppet” or “stalking horse” of the commander in chief, during a hearing in an Alexandria, Va., courtroom... In response to Nachmanoff, Comey’s attorney, Michael Dreeben, declined to call Halligan a “puppet” but argued the prosecutor “did what she was told,” according to the New York Times. https://nypost.com/2025/11/19/us-news/lindsey-halligan-fires-back-at-james-comey-judge-who-claimed-shes-a-puppet/

Based on what? Her manifest incompetence in the Comey and James cases? Which suggests that her looks must be the reason why she was appointed to the position.

How many people did they have to kill to accomplish that? Did they ever stop any boats that didn't have cocaine in them? Did they blow them up with the crews on board anyway?

And then there's your selective amnesia. Obama inherited the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDP You notice the massive boost that the economy got after Trump assumed office.? If you do, better get your vision checked.

Yes, it was definitely Biden's fault for inheriting an economy racked and distorted by Covid. The economy was clearly a complete disaster https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDP

What you don't note is that inflation was expected to go down, but instead bounced back up. Ultimately, what's going to damage the economy more is not tariffs, but the harsh restrictions on the labor force. While tariffs increase economic inefficiency with some loss of productivity, they basically reallocate economic activity. But labor shortages directly reduce labor productivity.

Your credo appears to be: If you have nothing of substance to say, then launch a stupid insult instead.

Yes, he mentioned the deficit. And he promised that his tax cuts would reduce the deficit. Just like George W. Bush did. Just like Ronald Reagan did. How has that worked out?

"Obama told a reporter to “get to the back of the line” and mocked CNBC’s Jim Rickards on live TV." Telling someone to get to the back of the line is your idea of an insult? That's what Trump should have said. And I've searched high and low for any evidence of Obama mocking Jim Rickard and found nothing. Care to share your evidence with us? LBJ made a comment about reporters in general. He didn't insult one personally. Biden got caught out in a private conversation re Peter Doocy. He didn't say that to Doocy. Once again, you're reaching. And no, Biden didn't call a Fox reporter "a lying dog faced pony soldier." You got that badly wrong https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-jokingly-calls-new-hampshire-voter-lying-dog-faced-pony-n1133246 And no, Biden didn't tell a report to "shut up" in 2021 He was firm in his comment to "Be quiet". Shut up is rude. Be quiet is not. And of course, this is far from the first time that Trump has insulted reporters during his second term. You had to do an awful lot of deep digging to come up with a lot of fool's gold. Trump during his first term is a lot different from Trump in his second term. And given the willingness of his administration to push limits of governmental control of free speech, who knows what liberties he's willing to overrule. For someone with malign intent, the FTC rules aren't nearly so rigid as you believe them to be. You can't see how Trump could have his people bend these rules? Failure to serve the public interest: Broadcasters are expected to serve the "public interest, convenience, and necessity," which includes addressing the needs of their local community. While this is a broad standard and is rarely used, a severe and ongoing failure to do so, such as demonstrated discriminatory practices, could lead to revocation Willful and repeated violations: This refers to a consistent pattern of breaking the law or the commission's rules, such as misrepresenting information or failing to follow technical and operational standards.

It's useful to remember that Pete Hegseth pushed strongly for the pardon of a soldier named Clint Lorance who was convicted of murder. This guy was so evil that he was turned in by his own men. It's part of a larger trend by the Trump administration to pardon soldiers convicted of war crimes. Hegseth has also eviscerated JAG, which among other duties, advises the military on Constitutional constraints on their use of force.

The Biden Administration tried and got convicted Democratic Senator Robert Menendez. Donald Trump has been pardoning corrupt Republican politicians and their relatives. Why would the Justice dept even bother to investigate Rebublican politicians as long as Trump is able to pardon them?

Thanks for pointing out this issue. For an opposite take on the issue, here something from AFR.com, the Australian financial review. Why China’s state control is a hidden advantage in global AI race While Western tech giants struggle with AI safety, China’s top-down, censorial approach might be creating more trustworthy systems for business use. https://www.afr.com/technology/why-china-s-state-control-is-a-hidden-advantage-in-global-ai-race-20250212-p5lbnp

Who should be investigated? And for what?

US to Own Nuclear Reactors Stemming From Japan’s $550 Billion Pledge The US government plans to buy and own as many as 10 large nuclear reactors, projects that could be paid for by a $550 billion pledged investment fund being offered by Japan. The new details of the unusual arrangement were outlined Wednesday by Carl Coe, the Energy Department’s chief of staff, who provided more contours of non-binding commitment made by Japan in October to fund $550 billion in US projects, including as much as $80 billion for the construction of new reactors made by Westinghouse Electric Co. “The role of having the government involved in private markets is sacrosanct— you just don’t do it,” Coe said at an energy conference hosted by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council. “But this is a national emergency.” https://archive.ph/Iwa6p#selection-1579.0-1593.227 Because big government knows best: Except the electric utility companies don't seem convinced: Cost-conscious utilities resist Trump’s push for nuclear revival https://www.eenews.net/articles/cost-conscious-utilities-resist-trumps-push-for-nuclear-revival/ There's a lot to digest in this article but this part deserves emphasis. It's about the massive cost overruns and delays at the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia: "Overruns didn’t upend Southern Co.’s balance sheet because the utility was able to pass upfront costs onto ratepayers. Now, other states are aiming to get laws on the books, known as construction work-in-progress rules, that allow their utilities to do the same. A bill in North Carolina attempts to do that. "

This kind of pushy behavior has always been common for such reporters. Other Presidents have managed the situation without resorting to nastiness. But during this incident, not only did Trump insult a reporter for ABC, but said ABC should have its license taken away. Government punishment of free speech, which is what Trump endorsed, is a clear violation of the First Amendment. That's a lot worse than any personal insults the President might have offered.