Politics

[PARA45]

DOGE Finds $2 Billion in Taxpayer Funds Earmarked for Stacey Abrams-Linked Group

DOGE found $2 billion in taxpayer funds set aside for a fledgling nonprofit linked to perennial Georgia Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams. The Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration awarded Power Forward Communities the grant in April 2024 as part of the agency's...

freebeacon.com

 

[mdwest]

I appreciate that post and I actually agree with most of it. The difference for me is that when he was building his personal empire, he wasn't representing me or my country. He is now. As such I expect better/different. His narcissism won't allow for that. I will continue to hope for and embrace the good stuff at home, and pray that he won't terminally f**k things internationally during the course of his term in office.

Im actually more worried that he could f**k things up for Vance..

Trump has 3 years and 11 months left to accomplish his mission... in the scope of things that's not really nearly enough time to truly create an isolated country, completely destroy relationships between long term allies like the Brits, Canadians, etc (he could certainly do some damage.. but one term in the oval office shouldn't be enough to do irreparable damage)... most of the world leaders will simply wait him out.. ok, we have a trade war that lasts a couple of years... or, we really piss off the Mexicans for a few years, etc.. everyone will see what the results of those actions are, and will be marking time on the calendar, waiting for Nov 2028...

My concern is if he loses the faith of the American people, or enough pain is felt at home over the next 3+ years, we'll just have another 180 degree turn around when Gavin Newsome or Gretchen Whitmer gets sworn in..

we'll never find any stability or middle ground as a nation..

Id much prefer that Trump keep on doing what he's doing.. but do it in a much more controlled, measured, and surgical manner... prove that what you're doing is working.. keep exposing the insanity of the left.. keep moving the needle more and more to the right little by little.. and set Vance (or whoever else) up for a win in 2028, so that we can actually have a chance at 8-12 years of positive change rather than a 4 year blitzkrieg that all just gets reversed over the next 4 years while the left does their own version of blitzkrieg to remove everything that been done and return to DEI and all the crap that we so desperately need to be rid of..

 

[Tundra Tiger]

"I'm actually more worried that he could f**k things up for Vance.."

I almost added that... agreed.

"but do it in a much more controlled, measured, and surgical manner..."

Ah, there's the rub now isn't it?

 

[Tanks]

Just saw this today.

 

[Red Leg]

My family members in The Donbas have been attacked by Ukraine......ya, Ukraine since 2011 and much more violently since 2014. They have lost their radio and tv stations, their newspapers, their religion, their politicians, their language, and some, their lives. They had to ask Russia to save them. But the media continues BS phrases like "Unprovoked", "Premeditated" and "Full Scale".....all of which are lies. Each time I read one of you, regurgitating what MNM has been telling you, over and over, I wonder: Do you always refuse to see both sides? In life, or just in politics? Ukraine aggression fueled by USAID money started this war. They said they would. The CIA wanted it that way. NATO desperately needed it. The "Wise and experienced politicians and military leaders" that are oft cited here, are the idiots that got us into this mess. I'm happy with a change. Don't see any Russian bases in Mexico. Are there North Korean base in Canada? Think it through. Who is the aggressor world wide? Time to stop it. Be satisfied with the paradises we have made in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc ad nauseum .... ................FWB

That is as biased and self-delusional observation as I have read on this forum unless it was the Truth posting by Trump - which is saying a great deal. Shame you missed all that joyous Russian liberation of Bucha, or the hasty Russian withdrawl from Kyiv and Karkiv when all those secretly pro-Russian patriots threw the "second army in the world" into headlong retreat. Guess they all had been fooled by the CIA and NATO. Probably why Zelensky still polls better than Trump after three years of war - that CIA propaganda is an awesome force.

 

[Red Leg]

I dont necessarily agree..

The Art of the Deal really isn't anything more than an Americanized version of classic Japanese negotiations.. he just adds a lot of bombastic, abrasive, Gordon Geckko type New Yorker to it all.. and people tend to focus more on his words, rather than his actions...

He also has a problem with speaking in a way that the message people hear, isn't the actual message he is sending... (an example "Mexico will pay for the wall"... people thought that meant Mexico would be writing a check and actually paying for the wall to be built on the border.... that's not at all what he was trying to say.. what Trump was saying was he'll take funding that otherwise was going to Mexico, and divert it to the wall if that's what needs to happen..)...

When he says "Ukraine started the war".. what everyone hears is the exact words he used.. and believes he means that Ukraine declared war, made the first act of aggression, etc..

What he thinks he is saying is Ukraine could have avoided the war by being better negotiators with the Russians, or by coming to the US in advance and being better negotiators, or by not trying to align itself with NATO and aggravating the Russians, etc..etc..

Dont get me wrong, Im not advocating for Trump.. He drives me freaking nuts most of the time.. Hes not a stupid man (you don't graduate from The Wharton School, build a multi-million dollar business into a multi-billion dollar business, etc.. as an idiot).. you'd think he'd learn, figure out how to speak in a way that actually communicates what he is trying to say, etc..

Thats where I think his ego becomes a problem.. I don't think he cares if you understand what he is trying to communicate.. or whether or not you think what he is doing is right or wrong.. he believes he has all the answers, and everyone else just needs to shut up and color..

but I don't think his negotiations tactics rely on others buying into his brilliance at all.. the rest of the worlds leaders have been calling him an idiot since 2016...

he negotiates from positions of power and leverage.. he firmly believes in "going big" or don't bother going at all (small negotiations arent worth his time or attention).. and exactly as he wrote in Art of the Deal, “The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to peoples fantasies”...

Nothing he is doing is new.. and nothing he is doing should be surprising to anyone.. he told everyone as far back as 1987 exactly how his mind works, why he operates the way he operates, and gave several examples of where he has applied his tactics and strategies effectively and ineffectively (Grand Hotel, Manhattan Convention Center, Trump Tower, USFL, etc..etc..)..

If I were Zelensky, Netanyahu, Putin, Rocket Man, Trudeau, or any other world leader that thinks they will have any cause to deal with Trump, I'd be reading Trumps book cover to cover a couple of times before we met.. he's told you exactly what he is going to do, how he's going to do it, and why he's going to do it.. and hasn't deviated from that methodology in literally 50 years..

I love you and your postings, but this may be the most tortured rationalization that I have yet to hear or read assuming to explain what Trump actually meant. I do not know him that well. I can only go by what he says, and I would suggest that is the case for the rest of the planet as well. I am not sure his ghost writer, Tony Schwartz, knew him that well either.

 

[Red Leg]

Im actually more worried that he could f**k things up for Vance..

Trump has 3 years and 11 months left to accomplish his mission... in the scope of things that's not really nearly enough time to truly create an isolated country, completely destroy relationships between long term allies like the Brits, Canadians, etc (he could certainly do some damage.. but one term in the oval office shouldn't be enough to do irreparable damage)... most of the world leaders will simply wait him out.. ok, we have a trade war that lasts a couple of years... or, we really piss off the Mexicans for a few years, etc.. everyone will see what the results of those actions are, and will be marking time on the calendar, waiting for Nov 2028...

My concern is if he loses the faith of the American people, or enough pain is felt at home over the next 3+ years, we'll just have another 180 degree turn around when Gavin Newsome or Gretchen Whitmer gets sworn in..

we'll never find any stability or middle ground as a nation..

Id much prefer that Trump keep on doing what he's doing.. but do it in a much more controlled, measured, and surgical manner... prove that what you're doing is working.. keep exposing the insanity of the left.. keep moving the needle more and more to the right little by little.. and set Vance (or whoever else) up for a win in 2028, so that we can actually have a chance at 8-12 years of positive change rather than a 4 year blitzkrieg that all just gets reversed over the next 4 years while the left does their own version of blitzkrieg to remove everything that been done and return to DEI and all the crap that we so desperately need to be rid of..

It could be as early as next year in the House - particularly if inflation continues to grow or we stumble into an overdue recession.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Kash Patel confirmed as FBI director

 

[Wheels]

It could be as early as next year in the House - particularly if inflation continues to grow or we stumble into an overdue recession.

A recession is definitely my biggest concern in derailing what is going on now. The covid stimulus money and the inflation reduction act probably staved it off from happening in Biden's term. If it happens hopefully it happens soon so there is time to recover like Reagan's first term.

 

[Russ16]

There is no reason why we can’t return to manufacturing products here.

We dk t even have the raw materials to satisfy the needs for everything we currently consume and certainly not at current prices.

 

[rookhawk]

I want an opinion from everyone. If the US persues isolation how will it effect the dollar.

No such thing as isolationism in the literal sense. Last time that happened was in Japan centuries ago.

So the topic on the table is would we as a nation be prone to more military isolationism? That shouldn't have much impact on the dollar. Economic Isolationism (cannot happen) would destroy the dollar as the defacto international trade currency. Trump and the rest of our bipartisan political apparatus will make life miserable for any nations that try to trade in other currencies or create other currencies to circumvent the buck as the reserve currency of the world.

 

[spike.t]

We dk t even have the raw materials to satisfy the needs for everything we currently consume and certainly not at current prices.

No point....

 

[steve white]

Three murdered members of the Bibas family returned to Israel today after a disgusting spectacle put on by the people of Gaza. They were the focus of one of the most disturbing videos from Oct. 7.

I sincerely hope that the mother had a rape test performed. No use hiding just how low these cretins go.
prayers for the family and nation of Israel.
Wipe out Hamas completely.

 

[mutedblade]

Many here forget why the USA was such a powerhouse during WW2 and why we need manufacturing to come back to our shores. Being able to re-tool and whip up a tank, jeep, or M1 Carbine was key. We don't have that anymore, but we surely need it, and so does the rest of the world! We in the US can't even make a stainless tumbler which I'd think is simple, but our Asian counterparts can, cheaply and easily. Same goes for electronics. Never mind the fact that if it's made in PRC, the government there is capturing technology that could be used against us. Honestly, I think this is more a fault of past policy and greed by politicians, but it's not in our or any other nations best interest to keep manufacturing offshore. Unfortunately unions here in the US don't comprehend how bad it can be to drive labor overseas, especially to potentially hostile countries.

My guess for military spending is that Didn't Earn It (DEI) programs will be the first to go. Then we'll probably see a cut to MBT's and probably attack helo's, which we are finding aren't exactly useful on today's battlefield. Drones, mobile anti-tank missiles, and improvised devices are decimating armor in Ukraine (both sides) and Israel, so going forward, I wouldn't expect us to sink tons of money into platforms which may be obsolete. The F-35 program will likely get revamped too, if not scrapped outright. What a boondoggle.

 

[spike.t]

Many here forget why the USA was such a powerhouse during WW2 and why we need manufacturing to come back to our shores. Being able to re-tool and whip up a tank, jeep, or M1 Carbine was key. We don't have that anymore, but we surely need it, and so does the rest of the world! We in the US can't even make a stainless tumbler which I'd think is simple, but our Asian counterparts can, cheaply and easily. Same goes for electronics. Never mind the fact that if it's made in PRC, the government there is capturing technology that could be used against us. Honestly, I think this is more a fault of past policy and greed by politicians, but it's not in our or any other nations best interest to keep manufacturing offshore. Unfortunately unions here in the US don't comprehend how bad it can be to drive labor overseas, especially to potentially hostile countries.

My guess for military spending is that Didn't Earn It (DEI) programs will be the first to go. Then we'll probably see a cut to MBT's and probably attack helo's, which we are finding aren't exactly useful on today's battlefield. Drones, mobile anti-tank missiles, and improvised devices are decimating armor in Ukraine (both sides) and Israel, so going forward, I wouldn't expect us to sink tons of money into platforms which may be obsolete. The F-35 program will likely get revamped too, if not scrapped outright. What a boondoggle.

Mmmm.....in manufacturing I think the horse to be blunt fkd off a long time ago ....and you ain't getting it back in the stable.......must say the lack of reality of some people totally confuses me .....

 

[Hunt anything]

In the modern world, has any nation ever been 100% self sufficient? I would think not. It’s a global economy and there is no way a country can not import something for their own good. We can always manufacture widgets here but to get it assembled it will most likely rely on some imported components to get the product out.
Around our house electronics and appliances are built overseas. 90% of our furniture was built by my father except antiques that have been in the family since they were brought over from England in the early 1800’s. So I guess they were imported.

 

[YancyW]

Kash Patel confirmed as FBI director

I saw him last night, he looked as untroubled as a man can be.

 

[Tanks]

Unfortunately unions here in the US don't comprehend how bad it can be to drive labor overseas, especially to potentially hostile countries.

Paying union rates even if logistically possible an iPhone most likely would cost at least double, ditto for all the other stuff coming from overseas.

 

[Red Leg]

Many here forget why the USA was such a powerhouse during WW2 and why we need manufacturing to come back to our shores. Being able to re-tool and whip up a tank, jeep, or M1 Carbine was key. We don't have that anymore, but we surely need it, and so does the rest of the world! We in the US can't even make a stainless tumbler which I'd think is simple, but our Asian counterparts can, cheaply and easily. Same goes for electronics. Never mind the fact that if it's made in PRC, the government there is capturing technology that could be used against us. Honestly, I think this is more a fault of past policy and greed by politicians, but it's not in our or any other nations best interest to keep manufacturing offshore. Unfortunately unions here in the US don't comprehend how bad it can be to drive labor overseas, especially to potentially hostile countries.

My guess for military spending is that Didn't Earn It (DEI) programs will be the first to go. Then we'll probably see a cut to MBT's and probably attack helo's, which we are finding aren't exactly useful on today's battlefield. Drones, mobile anti-tank missiles, and improvised devices are decimating armor in Ukraine (both sides) and Israel, so going forward, I wouldn't expect us to sink tons of money into platforms which may be obsolete. The F-35 program will likely get revamped too, if not scrapped outright. What a boondoggle.

I am very much afraid that the new administration may be reaching the same conclusions you are. Neither Ukraine nor Russia has the capability to use combined arms as we do. We do not send out tanks in ones and twos or infantry in squads. In a battle on the Ukraine steppes we would employ them in the hundreds with supporting mounted infantry, massed artillery fires suppressing little techies in their drone goggles, and advancing into a beaten ground heavily targeted by American air superiority and attack helicopters.

How exactly is the most modern fifth generation fighter that is rolling of the assembly lines in numbers a boondoggle? Serious question. The number of nations buying the Lightning now stands at 20 counting the US. That makes it one of the most successful fighter programs in history. Did it overrun initial cost estimates? Of course, they all do, because initial budgeting as per the contract award is never fulfilled which delays the program. Those delays cost money per airframe and also provide opportunities for the purchaser to insert newer technologies that add more cost and more delay. But the F-35 is flying combat now with the IDF and is not something with which a MIG would want to share the sky.

This sort of logic is what is so depressing about DOD's pending massive cuts. The only way that is achieved is by killing critical warfighting programs (platforms and weapons) the requirements for which are developed by very able and experienced teams that actually know something about warfighting, and by gutting force structure - combat units, air wings, and ships. People who make assumptions based upon no such expertise will cheer them until we have to eventually roll into combat once more in a modern day Kassarine Pass or deploy a woefully equipped and trained future Task Force Smith.

 

[Hunt anything]

I would hope someone in the administration would realize they can’t take the same blow torch to the DOD as they have to the rest of the government agencies. Find the waste, get rid of it and make sure we still have the most powerful force on earth and space. If it’s 1% waste or 20%, get rid of it but don’t muck around with the war fighting capabilities.
This may be asking a little bit too much of these people.