spidermike007

Blazing idiots, ridiculously rich ivory tower gutter trash. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put it bluntly earlier this month when he pushed back against the idea that inexpensive products should be what Americans aspire to have. “Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream,” he said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. Mr. Bessent, a former hedge fund investor who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, underscored that point in a follow-up interview on NBC, arguing that prosperity is not about buying “cheap baubles from China.” “The American dream is not ‘let them eat flat screens,’” he said, arguing that it is instead about having good jobs that are not lost to foreign competition and wages that are high enough to afford homes. The comments renewed a debate within the Republican Party over the merits of trade barriers that in recent years has sidelined traditional conservatives who prize free trade. Former Vice President Mike Pence shot back at Mr. Bessent, asserting on social media that the Treasury secretary misunderstood the aspirations of Americans. “Tariffs are good as a means to bring nations like China to the table, but free trade lowers the costs of goods and improves the quality of life for every American,” Mr. Pence wrote on the social media platform X. But the haphazard rollout of the tariffs and the fact that any changes to the tax code will not occur until later this year have left economists, trade experts and analysts wondering about the viability of Mr. Trump’s strategy and doubtful that his administration can convince consumers that they are better off with higher prices. “My bet would be that people will not be willing to swallow higher prices, lower 401(k)s, lower wealth in exchange for the principle of a nationalistic economy,” said Stephen Haber, a professor and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Hoover Institution. “Reality tends to trump ideology for most people.” Pence is one of the few voices of reason left in the GOP. He is right. Trump and Bessent are in no position to discuss inflation, and they are dead wrong. Why would they care how these tax hikes affect us? They don't. Not one iota.

That Thais are not kind is simply not true, it applies to to a lesser extent on Phuket and Samui and areas where the locals are jaded and deal with a lot of butthead foreigners (Pattaya), but for the most part I find the Thai people as delightful as ever, they're still very light-hearted, it's very easy to get them to smile and laugh, and they're great fun. The other aspect of this is that the Thai people are fairly intuitive so what you get back is often times a reflection of what you bring to the table. If you're grouchy and ornery and overly serious, they're not going to respond to you. But if you're lighthearted with a nice smile, kind-hearted and respectful, you get all of that back in abundance. Most Thai people are quite lovely. And I love to be around them, and I love it here. And how about Thai women? Combine their innate femininity, and the level of comfort they have in expressing that, it makes them very appealing. I see a Western woman sometimes, who is beautiful, but cold as ice, and more masculine than I am, and there is no appeal, whatsoever. I think it can be described as the ability to manifest the dignity within femininity. Or, a woman who is not trying to be a man, having lost her sense of womanhood, along the way. Or a woman who is in touch with her body, and not plagued with feelings of shame and a fake sense of purity. Also, some Thai girlfriends, lovers and wives realize that a man enjoys sex, and allowing them that enjoyment, freedom and pleasure is just not a big deal. Lastly, there is a comfort level in the playing of roles here. It is an amazing quality many Thai women have. Allowing a man to be a man, and enjoying being a woman and acting like one. What is more appealing than that? And who wants to be with a woman who is more masculine than we are?

There's a fairly simple solution to a problem like this, the church has the suspect detained, and performs a public execution on live television, once sufficient evidence has been met. These are the types of crimes that are unspeakable and need to be met with extremely violent force. Inaction is almost as horrific as the crime itself.

This earthquake happened well inland and there's no possibility of a tsunami unless the earthquake happens underwater. But I guess fear has no reason, and I guess fear is one of those irrational emotions that compels people to do very strange things.

There's always an inherent obsession with growth, but the reality is that a bit of a pause in the tourism sector might not be such a bad thing. If they did indeed get 9 million tourists already this year perhaps that's simply too many, many places that have been have been quite crowded with tourists and maybe a few less tourists won't hurt that much.

What so many Trump supporters who are living under the cloud of extreme deception don't seem to understand, is that America was already on the decline. It may have been the greatest country in modern history but that's all been changing since the 1990s. America's been going downhill for at least 30 years, some would argue 40, and nothing that the goombah does is going to change any of that. The reality is that he's more than likely going to precipitate the decline with his insane and incredibly destructive policies, and his absolute foolishness when it comes to engaging all our allies in a very hostile and respectful manner. That is not going to be forgotten for a very long time, well after Trump is gone or leaves office that will still be remembered. America cannot be trusted anymore.

I can't even begin to imagine once their intellects perceive the fact that their hearts have been betrayed. It is a bit like being assaulted by a priest, I would imagine, in a sense that this was somebody that you deeply trusted and now you realize that he was a con man after all, and the Democrats were right. It's going to be very hard for most Republicans to admit that the Dems were right about Trump. And that he was not even close to the man who they thought he was, and that his agenda was incredibly sinister after all.

I've certainly heard of the concept of a sore loser in the past, but I've never really seen a great example of a sore winner. I'm seeing an awful lot of gloating and it's of a rather nasty variety. It just seems to be the continuation of the kind of division and hatred that the fake master has forged, and established, and his devotees seem to be continuing to run with the torch, and doing a great job of continue the animosity. It's precisely the opposite of what he promised which was to unify the country, however many of us knew this was exactly what was going to happen. Anytime Trump says something you can more or less predict the exact opposite is going to happen. Any sort of individuality and any of your own opinions are not welcome within the maga movement. You have to subscribe to the policies of the master and if you disobey, if you disagree you are thrown under the train, or you are considered to be disloyal.

This horrific creature is getting his butt whooped by the rebels. Yet, he chooses to continue to bomb his people after the earthquake. Pure vermin. Hope he enjoys alot of pain and suffering from a long and protracted disease.

Musk claims to be saving a lot of money, but he has completely avoided any level of transparency, which makes me and many others very suspicious of his claims. Like Trump, Musk is the opposite of a patriot. It is all about Don and Elon.

People seem to forget what he did not accomplish in his first term. He is a guy who promises alot, and delivers very little. Only 13 Presidents failed to get re-elected. Only 5 Presidents failed to win the popular vote. Only 4 Presidents have been impeached or resigned. Only 1 President has ever been criminally indicted. And only ONE President has done ALL FOUR. - DJT didn't lower taxes (He deferred them) - He didn't get Americans that healthcare coverage - He did not unite the USA, he divided it - He didn't lower prescription drug prices - He didn't get roads or bridges built He didn't decrease the deficit - He didn't end the opioid crisis - He made over 250 visits to his golf clubs costing us taxpayers $150 million - He didn't revive the coal industry - He didn't make covid-19 'disappear' He didn't make Mexico pay for the wall He is ranked the worst President in history He added $2 Billion a month in tariff costs to the American consumer He has a net-negative jobs creations for his administration He decreased corporate taxes, passing the tax burden to the workers He added $ 7.8 Trillion to the deficit - a full 25% of the total deficit He incited an insurrection against our government He is the only president to never achieve 50% approval. He didn't put "America first" and he sure didn't "Drain the Swamp... He left office with the worst job numbers of any President since the Great Depression with a net job loss over his term He is the first former president to be a CONVICTED FELON (34 times). The presidency is very much about character. Trump is a lowlife convicted felon.

A friend of mine was looking at a condo in Miami Beach recently, and if he paid cash for it, the homeowners association fee and property taxes would be $4,500 per month. Insanity? A massive balloon filled with helium, on the verge of explosion? An economy that could not be sustained in the long term? Many of us think so. And many of the economic policies of the creep are only making America weaker, less influential and less dynamic. Woe is America.

Well, at least you are man enough to admit you admit you don't support his every move. Alot of cowards out there, these days.

If they don't like it, I tend to want to do it, never really been into social norms, never been into dressing to impress, especially when it comes to strangers and even more so when it comes to the supposed "hi-so", who in my opinion are the true dregs of Thai society.

That's a very good point and a very good argument, he has more or less positioned himself as a savior and some of his followers actually consider him to be a saint, and some even make the mistake of presuming that he's truly Christian and spiritual in nature, which could not be further from the truth. If anything the man appears to be a devotee of Satan.

Well I'm not sure if doomed is the correct word for it, but America has been on the decline for at least 30 years, it's a much lesser version of itself than it used to be, the quality of life is diminishing by the day, prices are skyrocketing, and unless you own a home free and clear you are completely screwed in America. America has the highest number of homeless and houseless nomads in the entire world. What does that say about the nation? And now with the goombah and his ridiculous policies, things are only going to get worse, he is never going to make America great again, he is going to continue to diminish America, and he is going to precipitate that decline dramatically. Donald Trump is making America less relevant each and every day.

He should either resign or be fired. In many nations he would be facing a firing squad for this incredible betrayal of National Security. I would imagine the soldiers and pilots are quite upset with him and my guess is that he never had any confidence of the military. Now he has even less, the man is a silly caricature, a drunkard, a morally bankrupt soul and he does not and has never had the ability to lead an organization of millions, much less even 100 people. Is a very typical bottom of the barrel pick, and Trump selected him for his fealty, obedience, and his telegenic qualities, and certainly not for his experience or wisdom.

it seems like he's hellbent upon bringing chaos down upon the US and world economies. Which makes him very dangerous too. Overall he's a stain on the face and the history of America. Saint Donald. Total revisionist history, a complete reformation of his entire career, and a total erasure of his past crimes, moral terpitude, and a total and complete willingness to overlook a lifetime of moral bankruptcy. I do have some friends that will come right out and say the man is a butthead, he's an idiot, and he's an absolute clown, but I like his policies. Those are the Republicans I admire. With many people, once they got attached to a theory, it was hard to get them detached. They’d screen out unhelpful facts, invent favorable ones, and ignore contradictions in their own claims. Look at those Sandy Hook, multiple fraud convictions, and Jan. 6th truthers, babbling about false flags and crisis actors and all the rest. When people were motivated enough to believe something, they were going to believe it no matter what. There was no such thing as a bridge too far.

Without charm is putting it very mildly, did you see the clip on YouTube of him visiting that donut store? Not only is he without charm, but without the ability to even relate to a human being earning less than a million dollars a year. This guy is bad news, and he was a horrific selection for VP. His bluster, his arrogance, and his incompetence is showing itself daily, he is an embarrassment to the US. He is an abomination.

This is absolutely the case, never before has an administration been filled with appointees based solely on the criteria of fealty to their political master, without any consideration for experience, talent or intelligence. The only exception to that might be Bondi, at least she has some experience. Hesgeth is a national disgrace, he should be locked up or facing a firing squad, Patel is a caricature of a man, Gabbard is proving herself to be not only incompetent but a clear and present danger to the National Security of the US. And then there is Trump who day by day is demonstrating to both his supporters and his opponents why he should not have been elected, and why he's the wrong man for the job. The man could not negotiate his way out of a paper bag and he is allying himself with despots and dictators. He does not support democracy, or freedom of the press. He seems to be willfully tearing the American economy apart with his completely ridiculous tariffs which are never going to work, they are simply going to further alienate nations around the world, who are going to defy America at every opportunity, and I support them in their behavior. I'm sorry to say that I say this as an American, what we're seeing right now is beyond tragic, it is Shakespearean in nature. I am sure Trump's defenders will jump on the bandwagon and call me anti-American and an America hater, but that simply betrays their cluelessness. The list goes on and on and on, this Administration is dangerous, I cannot think of a way to stop them because even impeachment would simply enable Mr. Just Dull.

He does have unusually high disapproval numbers for a president this early in his term, but I certainly understand that. He's despised like few have ever been in America and around the world and for very good reasons. He is destroying long-held alliances, he is belittling our closest allies and he is using a wrecking ball to the American economy. My guess is that millions of jobs will be lost, unemployment will spike and inflation is already on its way up. This numskull somehow needs to be stopped and I think impeachment is probably a good idea at this point. The only problem with impeachment is that we then have JD Vance who is as bad as Trump. Two peas in a pod, two absolute morons who know nothing about improving the well-being of America, it's all about themselves and their rich cronies.

From what I have read there are four major fault lines that run through Burma, and this happened along one of those major faults at the depth of only 10 km, therefore for a 7.7 it was more severe than usual and it spread much farther than usual. Hence the damage in Bangkok. Bangkok is built on relatively unstable soil so it is surprising that there wasn't more major damage and it's fortunate that the number of fatalities were relatively low.

I would like to report a man that I saw on the street the other day vaping, he was not supporting your horrific and toxic tobacco monopoly and therefore I would like to report him. All the money needs to go to the government, there's no reason why private individuals should be able to make money on vaping. Lock them up.

Not to sound too cosmic, but one often wonders how this drama of life is set up. It almost seems as if ugly, despotic and horrific people are supported by the universe, and normal good-hearted kind people are not. I mean that in a sense that why couldn't some of the buildings that the nasty junta housed in have collapsed killing waves and waves of top officers? It was a perfect opportunity for that, and yet the poor people of Burma continue to suffer one atrocity after another, being oppressed by their ridiculous army and now having to deal with the consequences of this horrific earthquake. How much can these poor people bear, and why are they made to suffer like this.?

As you can see there is very little tolerance and a lot of very thin skin when it comes to MAGA supporters, and the slightest bit of criticism of their political master results in name calling and ridiculously juvenile tactics like labeling someone an America hater. Since the vast majority of republicans themselves are not willing to criticize the goon, even when he does things that are completely inane, so when anybody else uses common sense and reason to complain about bad policy, verbal grenades are lobbed in their direction. It is so sad and so pathetic. It's just dumb, it's just silly, and it's very demonstrative of the lack of critical thinking on the part of people who throw these kind of labels around.