Politics

[Lone Star Bluegrass]

Remember last year when Biden delivered his final state of the union address and the whole thing was judged on his ability to walk in and out of the chamber without falling over?

 

[fourfive8]

They sat so still the whole time and they were wearing so much pink it was like half the chamber was filled with yard flamingoes.

Yes! A whole flock of brainless, tone deaf flamingos surrounding Pelosi, the queen flamingo. Think about how disgusting they really are!… with every Dem senator voting against the bill that would have protected women’s rights in sports and the original intent of Title 9. Just one issue among many. I say let them continue right through ‘26 and ‘28.

 

[mdwest]

Best speech he has yet given. For once he was on script and he made the democrats look absolutely petty. As powerful a thing as I have seen.

Now if he will just not screw up Ukraine.

In a strange way, I wonder if last night won’t help resolve Ukraine more quickly.

What is apparent to me after listening to Trump, listening to the news afterwards and the interviews of key senators and congressmen and listening to the rumble of citizens across the web is..

The D party is completely lost… and the R party is still standing unified behind Trump..

The D’s continue to double down on the old playbook with theatrics.. Green getting ejected, holding up signs, marching out mid speech, etc.. but offer no substance..

Zelenskyy, if he’s paying attention, will likely not take advice or counsel from anyone on the left again.. he might not see eye to eye with Trump on a matter.. but figuring out how to navigate to resolution won’t be something he would ask a Schumer or Pelosi how to do.. he probably won’t try to get counsel out of Starmer, Trudeau, Macron, etc either…

There was zero “unity” in last nights speech.. there was no “crossing over the aisle”…it was 100% - this is the direction we are going, and if the other side doesn’t like it (to include other countries), rain on them…”

There’s value in that sort of clarity in message…

I’m hoping Europe and Ukraine saw it similarly, and we can get Ukraine resolved quickly..

 

[275r7x57]

In a strange way, I wonder if last night won’t help resolve Ukraine more quickly.

What is apparent to me after listening to Trump, listening to the news afterwards and the interviews of key senators and congressmen and listening to the rumble of citizens across the web is..

The D party is completely lost… and the R party is still standing unified behind Trump..

The D’s continue to double down on the old playbook with theatrics.. Green getting ejected, holding up signs, marching out mid speech, etc.. but offer no substance..

Zelenskyy, if he’s paying attention, will likely not take advice or counsel from anyone on the left again.. he might not see eye to eye with Trump on a matter.. but figuring out how to navigate to resolution won’t be something he would ask a Schumer or Pelosi how to do.. he probably won’t try to get counsel out of Starmer, Trudeau, Macron, etc either…

There was zero “unity” in last nights speech.. there was no “crossing over the aisle”…it was 100% - this is the direction we are going, and if the other side doesn’t like it (to include other countries), rain on them…”

There’s value in that sort of clarity in message…

I’m hoping Europe and Ukraine so it similarly, and we can get Ukraine resolved quickly..

Agreed.

I know some will cry about this, but I see no reason for unity with evil. That is all the other side stands for, promotes and represents.

It is about time that we put America first here in our own country and America first on the world stage.

 

[Red Leg]

In a strange way, I wonder if last night won’t help resolve Ukraine more quickly.

What is apparent to me after listening to Trump, listening to the news afterwards and the interviews of key senators and congressmen and listening to the rumble of citizens across the web is..

The D party is completely lost… and the R party is still standing unified behind Trump..

The D’s continue to double down on the old playbook with theatrics.. Green getting ejected, holding up signs, marching out mid speech, etc.. but offer no substance..

Zelenskyy, if he’s paying attention, will likely not take advice or counsel from anyone on the left again.. he might not see eye to eye with Trump on a matter.. but figuring out how to navigate to resolution won’t be something he would ask a Schumer or Pelosi how to do.. he probably won’t try to get counsel out of Starmer, Trudeau, Macron, etc either…

There was zero “unity” in last nights speech.. there was no “crossing over the aisle”…it was 100% - this is the direction we are going, and if the other side doesn’t like it (to include other countries), rain on them…”

There’s value in that sort of clarity in message…

I’m hoping Europe and Ukraine so it similarly, and we can get Ukraine resolved quickly..

I still haven't bought into either side playing into some sort of strategy in the Oval Office, no matter who claims to know what went on in anyone's mind. I think three type A's started responding to each other and it quickly spun out of control. The last few pages of this thread illustrates that sort of thing.

But, I totally agree that Zelensky needs to manage his relationship with Trump on a set of terms that work for him, Trump, and his nation. I hope, and actually believe, they are both capable of doing that. Trump's very careful quote from Zelensky's message was an important step as was the message itself.

The democrats looked beyond salvation. Dana Perino's post speech quote last night captured it perfectly. "“The Democratic Party still has no common sense. They have no ideas and they have no heart. They couldn’t even stand for the most inspiring moments of the speech.” Even at the height of democrat animosity for Regan, the whole room would have stood and applauded for that child and West Point appointment. Harold Ford, Jr. a pragmatic, moderate democrat was practically despondent.

I would be surprised if their truly radical element represents 20% of their party. But they are clearly still calling the shots. It is almost like the pandemic. Once committed to a course of action it became impossible for them to change or adapt.

The "Democrats Stand for Nothing" commercials will write themselves.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Well, my take away was, I saw Justice Kennedy clap at the end of the speech. I suspect Trump may get two more appointments.

Since Kennedy is retired, I guess he is allowed to clap?

If Trump gets two more appointments, are the most likely retirees to be Thomas and Alito? Maybe Sotomayor. I saw an interview she gave and she admitted to being tired and sounded like she's ready to go.

Replacing Thomas and Alito won't change the SC balance, but will lock in the conservative balance for quite awhile.

 

[mdwest]

Harold Ford, Jr. a pragmatic, moderate democrat was practically despondent.

As a side note... Ford Jr is from my hometown... his family is notoriously corrupt.. and notoriously radically left.. (and has dominated the Memphis and West Tennessee political scene for decades).. We're also roughly the same age (Im less than a year older than him)... so I ran across him and his crowd at different times when we were younger men..

When he first entered politics I was EXTREMELY suspicious of him and absolutely everything he did.. I figured he was just going to be the Tennessee version of Maxine Waters or Al Green, etc..

He has proven me wrong..

While I don't necessarily agree with him on most political ideals.. I actually have quite a bit of respect for Ford Jr.. He is reasonable, rational, and knows how to deliver his message well.. to my knowledge he hasn't participated in anything that even remotely resembles corruption.. and hasn't allowed himself to be tarnished by much of the silliness that the D party loves to participate in... Im not close to him, and dont really know him on a personal level at all.. but I get the impression that he is likely a genuinely good man that simply has different ideals than I do... he's the sort of democrat that I'd actually like to sit down, eat a meal with, and have a long discussion about things..

 

[275r7x57]

I would be surprised if their truly radical element represents 20% of their party. But they are clearly still calling the shots. It is almost like the pandemic. Once committed to a course of action it became impossible for them to change or adapt.

The "Democrats Stand for Nothing" commercials will write themselves.

Agreed. Well said.

 

[Lone Star Bluegrass]

In a strange way, I wonder if last night won’t help resolve Ukraine more quickly.

What is apparent to me after listening to Trump, listening to the news afterwards and the interviews of key senators and congressmen and listening to the rumble of citizens across the web is..

The D party is completely lost… and the R party is still standing unified behind Trump..

The D’s continue to double down on the old playbook with theatrics.. Green getting ejected, holding up signs, marching out mid speech, etc.. but offer no substance..

Zelenskyy, if he’s paying attention, will likely not take advice or counsel from anyone on the left again.. he might not see eye to eye with Trump on a matter.. but figuring out how to navigate to resolution won’t be something he would ask a Schumer or Pelosi how to do.. he probably won’t try to get counsel out of Starmer, Trudeau, Macron, etc either…

There was zero “unity” in last nights speech.. there was no “crossing over the aisle”…it was 100% - this is the direction we are going, and if the other side doesn’t like it (to include other countries), rain on them…”

There’s value in that sort of clarity in message…

I’m hoping Europe and Ukraine so it similarly, and we can get Ukraine resolved quickly..

You’re absolutely right. This is a presidential term the likes of which we’ve never seen.

Trump has been president before and isn’t caught up in the normal “new to the office” friction, how to deal with Congress/Pentagon/NSC/Cabinet, etc. This also means he’s not awed by the trappings of office (Obama jetting to NYC every other Friday for dinner, etc.).

But most importantly…

He knows he has about a year to get as much done as he can. Next spring most of Congress has to go home to run for reelection, so the next 12 mos where he’s going to try to do the most. Trump is a much older man, so a year is a much “shorter” period of time to him than it is for a president who is 50 or so. (If the Democrats are smart they can use this to their advantage.) Consequentially, it also probably means he doesn’t have the patience for spending two months on Ukraine. I think this strategy of expediency in all things has been communicated to the Cabinet as well. He has an impressive team but history shows he has zero qualms about firing people. Dissension, at least publicly, will not be tolerated and will be addressed swiftly.

 

[barryk]

https://archive.ph/

I use this multiple times per day. Just copy paste article url in the top box.

Thank you, Razorback.....solved the problem!

 

[Datchew]

Get more than fifty miles from the border and you’ll find a lot of Canadians who know what to do with a gun and a knife.

I'll buy them beer as well anytime.

 

[skydiver386]

As much as I approve of what Trump has been able to accomplish, and his speech last night, his course on the war in Ukraine is not well thought out.

The idea to put American Civilians into a war zone, or an area of potential future conflict is a horrible idea.

If a terrorist organization or unfriendly government did anything remotely like this, we would accuse them of using human shields.

 

[mark-hunter]

The idea to put American Civilians into a war zone, or an area of potential future conflict is a horrible idea.

I think the idea is stability in international relations, with trade agreements. Also, Russians will think twice before attacking American engineers and industry expat professionals. (they would not think twice on engaging army in current war conditions in Ukraine)

Remember Captain Phillips and the pirate story?
No other nation went so much length to protect their citizens when hijacked by pirates. (maybe Israelis act in similar way)

 

[Brent in Az]

Interestingly enough, Arizona ranked 27th in estimated highest percent of uninsured drivers in 2022.

Not an accurate statistic, as they have no way of tracking unregistered/uninsured vehicle numbers, unless there is a police report involved.

In the last 3 years, I have been involved in 2 hit & runs.
The first, I was stopped for a school bus and was rear ended. The other driver was a dirt bag with a rap sheet of misdemeanors 2 pages long going back 20 years. His vehicle was unregistered, uninsured, and no valid drivers license. He called a buddy on the phone, jumped in his truck and fled the scene. He was arrested 6 months later.
I was subpoenaed by the county DA as a witness for the state. The dirt bag has not shown up for multiple court appearance, and has another pending warrant out for the arrest of this societal wart.

The second hit & run involved an illegal alien from Cuba or Puerto Rico I think. I chased them down and at the end of the chase my gun was drawn. I could not get the worthless Tucson police to even show up to process anything. Good luck calling 911 in this city.
Fortunately, the owner of the car whom they had borrowed it from had insurance, and I at least got reimbursed for the minor damages.

 

[YancyW]

As much as I approve of what Trump has been able to accomplish, and his speech last night, his course on the war in Ukraine is not well thought out.

The idea to put American Civilians into a war zone, or an area of potential future conflict is a horrible idea.

If a terrorist organization or unfriendly government did anything remotely like this, we would accuse them of using human shields.

Americans and American industry are present in many dangerous places, you can't function in this world otherwise. That is why is imperative the consequences for causing them harm is so great, it is never worth it to others.

 

[Red Leg]

As much as I approve of what Trump has been able to accomplish, and his speech last night, his course on the war in Ukraine is not well thought out.

The idea to put American Civilians into a war zone, or an area of potential future conflict is a horrible idea.

If a terrorist organization or unfriendly government did anything remotely like this, we would accuse them of using human shields.

One would assume, none of that production goes into effect until after conclusion of hostilities - whether a ceasefire or actual treaty. After all, the most heavily armed ceasefire border in the world is South Korea. We are heavily engaged throughout the S. Korean economy.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

As much as I approve of what Trump has been able to accomplish, and his speech last night, his course on the war in Ukraine is not well thought out.

The idea to put American Civilians into a war zone, or an area of potential future conflict is a horrible idea.

If a terrorist organization or unfriendly government did anything remotely like this, we would accuse them of using human shields.

I see @Red Leg beat me to the punch... Not dispute in his fine assessment.
Here's my farm boy, prior enlisted take on this,

@skydiver386 my friend, American businesses operate all over the world. Their employees working in dangerous areas are normally well compensated. Also, I believe it is the first $80k of their salary is tax free. At least it was a few years ago.

I think US companies mining minerals in eastern Ukraine will be a strong deterrence to Russia getting to bold. Remember the Russian Wagner group in Syria? They bothered US forces. US told Russia to knock if off...
Russia responded to US they had no troops in that part of Syria. Several hours or a day later the US responded to Russia that they were correct. "There are NO Russian troops in this part of Syria".

 

[fourfive8]

I misspoke about flamingos. Comparing pink clad dems would be insulting to actual flamingo birds.

 

[spike.t]

Your loss

Jeez don't try to encourage him....

 

[Scott CWO]

Serious question though, why does no one bring up going after business owners who hire illegals? If you remove the reward, the risk of making the trek north seems a lot less appealing.

Seize assets, jail time, throw the book at them. They’re the ones supporting the whole house of cards

Biden was actually providing support. Many don’t have a job other than crime or day work but yes, enforce the employment laws for sure.