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#2426 2023-12-27 09:27:55

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 9,337

Re: Politics

Spanish PM open to creation of new EU mission to protect vessels in Red Sea
https://www.reuters.com/world/spanish-p … 023-12-27/

Venezuela-Guyana: Regional Politics or Geopolitical Chess?
https://www.energyintel.com/0000018c-91 … c3d84f0000


a NewYorkTimes Article

'Ukraine Doesn’t Need All Its Territory to Defeat Putin'
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/opin … y-aid.html

Putin is not trustworthy, but if he turns out to be serious, Ukraine should not pass up an opportunity to end the bloodshed.

Africa Buckles as French Flee Niger and the War In Sudan Worsens
https://www.nysun.com/article/africa-bu … an-worsens


Blinken, Mayorkas to travel to Mexico as pressure grows on Biden to act on border
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/blinken-mayor … 43315.html


No difference between Netanyahu and Hitler says Erdogan
https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/sta … 2041960530


Red Sea crisis: Indian tea exporters to Europe and US stare at massive losses
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ec … 672050.ece
Tea exports from India to Europe and the US are getting badly impacted and exporters are staring at massive losses

Vessel with 20 Indians on board hit by drone; Navy, Coast Guard step in
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ … 668728.ece

Australia to send military personnel to help protect Red Sea shipping but no warship
https://www.thehindu.com/news/internati … 661159.ece

Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for Red Sea container ship attack today
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea … 023-12-26/

Iranian drone behind attack on chemical tanker in Indian Ocean, Pentagon says
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/israeli-affil … 00724.html

Iranian Radars Target Ships in Red Sea and Indian Ocean
http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2023/12 … d-sea.html

Iran and the Houthis have been tapping into the Automated Tracking System (AIS) to locate and attack ships

U.S. assets, to include the USS LABOON (DDG 58) and F/A-18 Super Hornets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, shot down twelve one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two land attack cruise missiles in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by the Houthis over a 10 hour period which began at approximately 6:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) on December 26. There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries.
https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1739746985652158755

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-12-27 13:02:45)

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#2427 2023-12-29 08:20:23

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 9,337

Re: Politics

Russian air strikes pound Ukrainian cities in countrywide attack
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/2023 … ide-attack

How are 'kamikaze' drones being used by Russia and Ukraine?
https://www.aol.com/kamikaze-drones-bei … 44004.html

The US has supplied Ukraine with Switchblade kamikaze drones, but it is not known how widely they have been used

Russian poet sentenced to 7 years in prison for reciting verses against war in Ukraine
https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/1 … in-ukraine

Iran Threatens to Take Red Sea Disruption to New Waters
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/28/ir … s-attacks/

'Skepticism Grows Over Israel’s Ability to Dismantle Hamas'
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/worl … itary.html
Israel has vowed time and again to eliminate the group responsible

Venezuela Launches Military Exercise Over British Warship 'Threat'
https://www.barrons.com/news/venezuela- … t-24274c63

India pays in rupees to buy crude oil from UAE
https://www.siasat.com/in-a-first-india … e-2941868/

Mexico says a drug cartel kidnapped 14 people from towns where angry residents killed 10 gunmen
https://apnews.com/article/mexico-killi … fabb2a6ef1

Moron Shoots His Buddy's Foot Off
https://funker530.com/video/moron-shoot … -foot-off/

It's not clear exactly why or how this could have happened, but based on the clothing attire, the video takes place in Yemen where over 30% of marriages are between close blood relatives. Inbreeding, especially multi-generational inbreeding, which is extremely common in Yemen, results in offspring with significantly lower IQ and mental retardation. This is likely the underlying reason for what occurs in the accompanying footage.

Russia In Africa: Coups, Anti-Western Messaging Offset Setbacks From Ukraine War, Prigozhin's Demise
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-africa-w … 49091.html

2023 in review: World events as told through Tribune editorials
https://news.yahoo.com/2023-review-worl … 00356.html
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-12-29 08:27:36)

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#2428 2023-12-30 06:19:31

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 9,337

Re: Politics

Houthi attacks: a threat to global shipping?
https://www.thehindu.com/news/internati … 683206.ece

Anti-ship missile attack or drone attack on the Chem Pluto. The United States Department of Defense announced that this was a direct attack by the Iranian military but the Iranian foreign ministry denied that they were responsible.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67811929

The ship is owned by a Japanese company, Rio Brillante, and operated by Ace Quantum Chemical Tankers which is based in the Netherlands and associated with the Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. The ship was registered in Monrovia to give it a Liberian flag of convenience.
https://www.ft.com/content/31c19892-15f … a076783258

Fragments recovered from the ship indicated that the missile may have been a HESA Shahed 136 drone.

the Yemeni civil war an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014,

Yemeni–Ottoman conflicts were a series of conflicts between the Turk Ottoman Empire and tribes in Upper Yemen, which began in 1538 and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Daan, another Turkish Ottoman attempt to conquer Yemen occurred in the 1630s, in year 1849 Ottoman Turks attack again but this time they captured Al Hudaydah,  rebellions reported in year 1891 and 1904, another rebellion occurred in Yemen
https://ghostarchive.org/archive/202205 … 92451.html

Yemen’s Socialist Experiment Was a Political Landmark for the Arab World
https://jacobin.com/2022/08/socialism-a … en-history

Stalemate with rival factions fighting? The Egypt government was involved at the time and denied using poison gas, claiming that Britain and the US were using the reports as psychological warfare against Egypt. During the ColdWar a civil war fought in North Yemen from 1962 to 1970 between partisans of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom and supporters of the Yemen Arab Republic.  The royalist side, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel supplied military aid, and Britain gave covert support, while the republicans were supported by Egypt (then formally known as the United Arab Republic) and were supplied warplanes from the USSR Russians or weapons from the Soviet Union. British had withdrawn from the Federation of South Arabia, which had now become South Yemen. The Houthi takeover in Yemen, also known as the September Revolution (by supporters) or 2014–15 coup d'état (by opponents), was a popular revolution against Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led by the Houthis and their supporters that pushed the Yemeni government from power.  In year 2015, the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen began with airstrikes and a naval blockade to restore Hadi's government to power. Gulf Arab states have accused Iran of backing the Houthis financially and militarily, though Iran has denied this, and they are themselves backers of President Hadi. https://web.archive.org/web/20180728081 … t-29319423 The United States and the United Kingdom both support a political solution in Yemen.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080906003 … istory.htm


France doing what France does?


Cracks Form In New Naval Coalition, Drone Strikes Spread To Indian Ocean
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/c … dian-ocean
Some of the United States’ closest allies are not agreeing to put their ships under U.S. Navy command for Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-12-30 06:22:34)

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#2429 2024-01-05 06:32:23

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 9,337

Re: Politics

Iran mourns those slain in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts as death toll rises to 89
https://news.yahoo.com/iran-mourns-thos … 38842.html

Israel outlines Gaza's future once war is over: 'Limited Palestinian rule'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl … ntrol.html

Gaza could remain under Israeli 'security control' after Hamas defeated in war, defence minister says
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gaza-could-re … 00818.html

'Ethiopia’s gambit for a port is unsettling a volatile region'
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-a … ile-region

Nigeria massacre sees over 100 Christians dead: ‘Killed for sport’
https://nypost.com/2023/12/30/news/nige … for-sport/

Fury as massacre of almost 200 Christians is partially blamed on climate change
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/18 … ate-change
A Roman Catholic priest has voiced his anger that major news outlets haven't described the situation in Nigeria as a genocide

Venezuela says troops will stay deployed until British military vessel leaves waters off Guyana
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi … -106012271

Ukraine and Russia announce largest prisoner swap since start of war
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video … -war-video

N Korea fires artillery shells towards border island
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-67889551.amp

S. Korea orders civilians on Yeonpyeong Island to evacuate amid apparent N.K. provocation
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20240105005300315

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#2430 2024-01-08 06:03:58

Calliban
Member
From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,449

Re: Politics

Interesting piece from Peter Zeihan regarding the Colorado decision to prevent Trump from appearing on the ballot.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-uFjRZ5R5pU

A lot of people on the right are up in arms about this ruling, but fail to understand how it could play into the Republicans hands.  Given how unpopular Biden has become, if this ruling stands it would all but guarentee that Ron DeSantis will be the next president, with Donald Trump as one of his leading advisors.  He shares most of Trump's political interests and would probably be a more capable president in terms of enacting them and dealing with the left.  Banning Trump from the ballot is one of the more stupid things that any legislature has done this past decade.  It turns a probably unelectable presidential candidate into a political martyr.

Last edited by Calliban (2024-01-08 06:13:23)


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#2431 2024-01-08 23:55:35

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

Calliban,

The left created President Trump.  He was a lifelong Democrat until 2015, but governed more like a President Kennedy or a President Reagan.  I was not the least bit worried about how he would govern, only the Democrats and NeoCons bat guano crazy reaction to their defeat.  A lack of decorum is par for the course when Democrats are in charge, and President Trump did not disappoint in that regard.  They like to ruffle feathers.  President Trump's a symptom of the problems Democrats and many, if not most, Republicans created.  Neither party accepts that there is not a role for government in every aspect of American life.  They want a single party political system providing the false illusion of choice for low-information voters, but no actual choice in representation apart from insincere speeches given to television cameras, wherein Democrats promise more government spending and Republicans promise more tax cuts.  They only actually want to lord their unearned power and privilege over the people they're supposed to represent, as if they're some sort of oligarchs or kings and queens.  There is no correlation between the popularity of a policy with the electorate and whether or not it becomes law or policy, unless rich people are involved, and then there's a direct correlation between how full the campaign coffers are and whether or not a law or policy or war takes place.

Hillary Clinton basically wanted to be ordained as Queen, rather than elected President, while talking down to at least half of the electorate.  Those coal miners were going to "learn to code", in roughly the same way that coders are going to "learn to mine coal".  Is it any wonder that she lost?

You're a "basket of deplorables" if you don't vote for me. - Hillary Clinton
I will do everything in my power to deliver what I promised.  What the hell do you have to lose? - President Trump
If you don't vote for me, then you ain't black. - President Biden

One of those messages is not like the others.  That is how and why President Trump came to power.  You can't badmouth the people voting for you forever and still expect to win every election, even when you're a Democrat candidate.  Democrat politicians think their voters are stupid, and they make it a point to say so, repeatedly.  Republicans typically think they have to live up to some party platform ideals, which means they can at least be shamed into doing the right thing for the people.  I'd rather have someone in charge who has some basic moral values, even if they require constant reminders, which is why I vote Republican.  I'm not laboring under the belief that any of them are role models or paragons of virtue, but don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.

Democrats have no shame and no definable moral standards that they even attempt to adhere to.  Democrats are either the darling child of the political / media / culture aristocracy, which despises the very existence of the average American, or they make up some reason to get rid of you because you're guilty of wrongthink.  Wrongthink changes moment by moment.  Even if you would've been a Democrat at one point, such as myself when I was young and in the Navy (as my own father was), where I refrained from voting or merely voicing an opinion out of respect for the wishes of the people I swore to serve, you can never follow Democrat Party policy because it's constantly changing.  They're rudderless.  No morals, no ideals, and no party platform policies not based upon taking from others whilst proclaiming that "someone was bad in the past".  It's basically, "let's exact revenge on anyone not in our little clique, so we can pit brother against brother as we rob them blind while pretending to care about them".  What kind of evil cretinism is that?  When there are no boundaries, anything goes.

If Democrats think they can make up reasons to keep President Trump off the ballot, then it's only a matter of time before Republicans boot President Biden or other Democrats off the ballot.  To "save our democracy", we're going to somehow remove actual choice by deciding who you're allowed to vote for.  They want communist party Democracy, Soviet style.  You vote for who we tell you to vote for, comrade, or you go to the gulag.  That's real disenfranchisement of voters, as opposed to the fake kind, which relates to presenting valid government identification to vote.  Since we can't have any real choice, what does it matter if we require ID cards to vote?  Why not just tell us who our new Premier will be?

President Trump made a lot of Democrats and Republicans look stupid, not because he's some kind of genius, but because they are so insufferably stupid or outright evil and self-destructive.  He merely pointed out simple truths in the most crass and rude way possible, which was sorely needed in our politics.  For example, when he stated that he would send troops to "protect the oil", his honesty was like an arctic blast of refreshing honesty.  I'm sick of us lying about what we're really doing.  If Democrats and NeoCons need to hide what they're actually doing, then maybe we shouldn't be doing it.  That's the real reason he's being politically persecuted.  Even CNN polls say what's being done to him is nakedly political.  Most Democrats simply don't care.  Why would they?  They view the entire world as "me" / "not me".  If it benefits their team, they don't see any problems.  I used to think we were all still Americans, but that's not how leftists view themselves.

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#2432 2024-01-09 06:44:23

Calliban
Member
From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,449

Re: Politics

Yes.  I have met more than my fair share of far left activists.  All of them are obsessive, mentally ill control freaks.  They cannot tolerate being in the same room as people that disagree with them.  So this decision to ban Trump from running the presidency is not surprising.  But it is an unbelievably stupid tactical error.  Biden's approval rating is low even amongst his own party.  But there are enough voters on the left that hate Trump enough, to actually vote for Biden just to keep Trump out.  Trump is the only candidate that Biden has a chance of beating.  They have now removed him from the running.

Do they really think that Trump is the only presidential candidate on the right, who holds political views that don't align with theirs?  Trump changed the political landscape forever.  But he is an old man now and less of a threat to them in office than some of the other candidates could be.  Preventing him from running will not dampen his support.  By preventing him from running, they are making way for other candidates that are younger and more dynamic than he is and will basically enact all of his plans.

Zeihan's latest video probably has it about right.  Trump has no chance of winning the next election.  So by preventing him from running, they are only making way for a Republican candidate that can and doesn't have Trump's baggage.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AIX2nXeKW0M

Last edited by Calliban (2024-01-09 07:08:53)


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#2433 2024-01-09 17:48:14

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

Calliban,

I'm mostly baffled by what Democrats like Peter Zeihan actually think, because publicly they make statements with no tangential bearing on reality.  There must be an entire alternate universe between their ears, where up is down, left is right, and ignorance is truth.  They seem to think if they can assert absurd claims with enough conviction, meaning a "good enough act", that everyone else will believe them.  I think we've already seen that within their own party, based upon very public statements made on national television, none of their mayors or governors think that's true.  They've screwed up the border and immigration situation, the economy, and the national transportation system.  They gave hundreds of billions of dollars to their campaign donors, but produced no infrastructure improvements or repairs to speak of.

Bloomberg has many billions of dollars, probably a lot more than President Trump.  None of his money made him popular enough to win his Presidential primary election bid in his home state, which is predominantly Democrat.  As people see their skyrocketing bills coming due, and that they're ultimately on the hook for the money spent by our government (this false idea that government spending doesn't affect your bottom line unless you're "rich", because no Democrat actually understands or accepts that "inflation" = "reducing purchasing power"), then no amount of promising "free stuff" is going to affect who wins future elections.  The people will finally understand how government colludes with business to make them all poorer.  The common refrain from the Biden Administration is that, "Wall Street is doing great".  Yeah, they said that under President Trump, too.  They totally missed the fact that wage growth, very briefly, out-paced inflation under President Trump, due to a reduction in excessive government spending.  This was not elimination of government over-spending, merely a minor reduction in the level of absurdity.  None of that "the stock market is up" resonates with people who will never own stock, when they can't afford to drive to work or put food on their table.  If the stock market is up, unemployment is actually low and not simply people giving up on looking for work, wages out-pace inflation, and debt remains at a tolerable level, then and only then is the economy firing on all cylinders.  We had a brief taste of that under President Trump, but no such luck under President Biden or President Obama.

Democrat Economics:
We spent 500% more public money, we took in 10% more, we raised your wages by 50%, and then we increased your cost of living by 200%+.  Isn't your "kitchen table economics" doing great?

Republican Economics:
We spent 10% more, we took in 5% more, we raised your wages by 5%, and then we increased your cost of living by 10%.  Isn't your "kitchen table economics" doing great?

I give a hard "no" to both assertions, but one proposition is more tolerable than the other.  Make no mistake, both parties spend way too much money, but the Democrats go completely overboard with spending because in their minds it's someone else's money so they don't care as long as their electorate remains "sold" on the insufferably stupid idea that they're not actually playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes with their own money.  The only thing they're doing is bankrupting themselves and everyone else, but I've never met a Democrat voter who was capable of accepting basic monetary theory and policy when they're playing with other peoples' money.

In the same way that President Trump is his own worst enemy, so is President Biden.  I've never seen a Democrat explain why Trump is a problem when they voted for someone who can't complete a thought or a sentence and can't remember who he's talking to.  That tells me they don't care about who is actually in charge or their ability to govern, merely that someone from "their tribe" is in charge.  Oddly enough, for normal rational people who are not in the media or culture war sphere, that sort of thinking has its limits.  When you can't afford to eat, as a direct result of bad policy on public spending, you tend to vote out the incumbent political party doing the spending.

There's nothing I've seen from President Biden that makes me think he's anything more than a sock puppet posing as a figurehead for a "team" (I use that term in the loosest possible way when Democrats are involved) of incompetents and evil clowns.  They've spent far more time trying to enrich themselves or screw with their political opponents than they have governing, which they seem disinterested with.  A lot of regular Americans noticed that the results weren't desirable.  All the adults left the room when President Trump left office.  People like Peter Zeihan are not actually adults, merely children who don't throw tantrums when they don't get their way.  Their understanding of the world is still childish beyond belief when it comes to their ideology.

Beyond that, sock puppets at least do what their manipulator makes them do.  President Biden can't even do that, so he's a poor excuse for a sock puppet.  The Democrat politician / media / culture freak show has embraced moronism and gaslighting because they have no policies that are not designed and intended to hurt their fellow Americans, and ultimately themselves, or people from other countries who are our allies.  We've already seen what angry Democrat voters do to their own elected officials in places like Portland, Oregon.  I shudder to think of what they'll do when enough of them realize that there is no more "other peoples' money" to play with.

If DeSantis or Ramaswamy manage to win instead, then as you pointed out, they will only do what President Trump has done, but more effectively.  Here's the issue, though.  Neither of those candidates are going to win in the primary election.  In all probability, SCOTUS will rebuff the assertion that Democrats get to pick and choose who Republicans are allowed to vote for, without due process of law.  Otherwise, Republicans can make the same baseless argument about who Democrats are allowed to vote for.

If SCOTUS doesn't overturn this latest Democrat freak-out, then it will be used to ensure that Biden doesn't win, either.  Here in Texas, we can claim that Biden's refusal to uphold our immigration laws is an act of insurrection, without convicting him of any such charge, but that would disenfranchise Democrat voters.  I think this anathema to an actual democratic elections process, though.  Texas has a pending claim over border enforcement that amounts to a valid assertion that the US federal government is refusing to enforce immigration law and actively breaking numerous codified federal laws.  Since I actually believe in our Constitutional Republic, I'm inclined to think that's fair play, but a foul at the same time.  President Trump has never been charged with / indicted for insurrection, so making claims against your political enemies is not an acceptable substitute for evidence leading to indictment and a conviction.  They had 4 years to build that case and file charges, yet they never did, because there's no evidence supporting that claim.  The court of public opinion also has nothing to do with the law.

When the people lose even the illusion of choice in representation, then you're going to see a very different political landscape in America.  That will not be a good day for any of us Americans, although the petty tyrants from both political parties will rejoice.

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#2434 2024-01-11 10:57:35

Calliban
Member
From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,449

Re: Politics

Interesting analysis from Jim Rickards on the likely outcome of the 2024 election.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u-UtnDlU40E

Rickards expects Biden to announce that he won't be standing in the 2024 election.  His mental and physical decline would appear to make him untenable.  If he does withdraw, Gavin Newsom will probably be standing against Trump.

What many analysts don't consider is the impact of third parties like the Greens on voting outcomes.  Rickards thinks that up to 20% of traditional democrat voters could be heading in this direction in 2024, due to widespread dissatisfaction with their party's performance.  If we get a financial crisis and / or a recession in the next 10 months, this becomes even more likely.  We shall see.  US politics is interesting this year!

If Trump does win, will he be more competant and effective this time?  Rickards makes the point that he talks the talk, but really doesn't seem to understand how his own government works.  He left most of the deep state Obama appointed stooges in place.  But there are tentative signs that he has learned from this mistake.

Last edited by Calliban (2024-01-11 11:00:32)


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#2435 2024-01-11 15:13:31

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

Calliban,

President Trump's mistake during his first term in office was getting bogged down in the Democrats' Russian collusion hoax and all the fake scandals that were related to him ruffling feathers over merely enforcing the law and carrying out the policies that he specifically ran his campaign on.

For some reason, most of the people around him, especially those who came from President Obama's administration, thought that despite never being elected dog catcher, they were supposed to tell the man in charge what America's policies were supposed to be.  Bless their hearts, but they weren't elected.  We had 8 years of "get the terrorists" under President Bush, then another 8 years of "we're going to pretend we're not going after the terrorists" under President Obama.  President Trump came in and said, "Why have we been bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan for 20 years?"  A great nation should not have endless war.  I firmly believe that simple statement of truth.

Almost everyone in President Trump's administration thought that their personal beliefs or attitudes towards their jobs were an acceptable substitute for asking President Trump, "Mr President, what are our policy positions on X, Y, and Z?"  If they didn't like his answers, they thought they had authority to do whatever they wanted to do.  They had the right to resign, if they felt they couldn't carry out the policy.  President Trump thought he was elected, because he was, so he had them fired, which is what all competent Chief Executive Officers should do to insubordinate employees.  If you order your employees to build a car, but they return with a bulldozer or airplane, then they're not helping the company carry out the mission that the shareholders voted on.  From people on his economic team, he did listen to and considered input from people who wished to provide constructive input, but then he alone made decisions he thought were best for America rather than some monied special interest group.

I want it made crystal clear to all unelected officials that their over-arching policy decisions WILL fall in line whomever the actual elected official happens to be, such that the people know where all policy decisions originated from.  We shall have no more fiefdoms in government run by career petty tyrants.  Those people think they can make up the law and regulation as they go along.  That's a recipe for dictatorship and tyranny.

I voted for:
1. No new wars, and to end any existing wars
2. Improve our economic outlook with policies that benefit American workers, rather than international corporations
2. Dismantle the out-of-control administrative state, wresting power from people who were never elected by we, the people
3. Impartially enforce our laws, including immigration laws (Congress has the power to change them if they so choose, which is the right way to increase legal immigration, because two wrongs don't make a right)
5. Implement better energy policy that acknowledges current reality (we're dependent upon oil, like it or not)

To this day, I have never sat through an entire Trump speech.  I don't care about what he says, only what he did or attempted to do while in office.  All actual policy positions were functionally identical to those of President Clinton's administration.  That means Democrats either hate their own party and policies when it comes from someone without a "D" next to their name, or they can't articulate what they actually want.  I still can't believe I have to vote for a reality TV show star to get boringly sane, rational, and intellectually defensible public policies, but it is what it is.

If President Biden had furthered all those same policies, then I could vote for a "real" Democrat.  Their party lost the plot.  They don't see themselves as Americans, and cannot define what it means to be American.  Here's a hint.  What it means to be American will not be found in our differences or grievances or what we're against.  I disagreed with President Obama on many of his policies, but never thought his administration was utterly unable to run the country.  As far as "seething with anger" is concerned, I'm not President Obama's wife, either, so I never experienced that while he was in office.  I thought there was a lot of gaslighting and fake outrage over nothing, same as when President Trump was in office.

America has been running on autopilot since President Trump left office.  No, scratch that.  Most of the world has been running on autopilot since COVID ended.  I don't view manning the helm of our ship as an optional activity.  Real pilots / navigators are required at all times.  Hollyweird's "Weekend at Bernies" movie was funny because it was a movie with an all-star cast of comedic weirdos.  What's going on right now isn't funny because it's not a movie.  This is real life, with a President who can't speak or walk or remember much of anything.

Apart from Bobby Kennedy Jr and Tulsi Gabbard, I've not heard other Democrat candidates for President articulate sensible and responsible policy positions.  They give meaningless flowery speeches and then deliver death and destruction to the very people they're supposed to defend.  That is not planning for success, it's planning for doom and misery.  We've had enough of that.  I would happily accept Bobby Kennedy Jr or President Trump as our next President.

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#2436 2024-01-14 09:40:14

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,960

Re: Politics

Its time again to argue the points of whom should and should not be president in the next 4 year cycle for the US. My vote is against both for a number of reasons so once again we are left for a vote of whom we feel would be better and not for the worst.

NH is the first in the Nation primary with Iowa being the first caucus. Biden has said he will not be a part of the NH event which slights the states small but mostly accurate selection based on the small number of voting people.

The Complete 2024 Presidential Primary Schedule by State

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#2437 2024-01-14 21:24:34

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

SpaceNut,

When President Trump left office, America's state-of-affairs was as follows:

1. We had no new wars, our existing wars were winding down in an orderly manner, and there were not tens of billions of dollars of American military hardware left in Afghanistan for our enemies to use against us.

President Biden decided to arm the Taliban by refusing to collect and destroy or move American military equipment out-of-theater.

2. Our borders were not being overrun by never-ending human waves fleeing their own democratically-elected communists.

President Biden's administration reversed President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy, actively destroyed the border wall that had been built, and destroyed the materials to be used to complete the wall which had been positioned at our border, ready to be used.

3. Our Democrats were still focusing their never-ending racism on white people instead of Jews.  Trump is worse than Hitler, as we all know from our racist Democrats, but somehow "Hitler had a point", according to some of our "honest" Democrats, who now support Hamas and other assorted terrorists who hate Jews and America in general.

The Democrats' demand for more racism exceeded the available supply from the Republicans and political right, so Democrats had to create more of their own racism where none previously existed.  If there's not an existing problem, then create it.  That sums up the Democrats' only strategy for winning votes from their low-information voting base.

4. American wages still out-paced inflation, so even if Wall Street was some fractional percentage point lower, Main Street people were still living indoors.

4 years of President Biden have destroyed all wealth generation amongst the middle class via inflation.  Inflation is the devaluation of money through the excessive printing of money.  Inflation does not mean all that "free stuff" I voted for, as a Democrat, was actually "free".  The majority of Democrat voters are still dumb enough to think that we can somehow print our way to affluence.  We've printed more money in the past 4 years than under Presidents Trump and Obama to pay for all the Democrats' latest ridiculous spending projects to line the pockets of their campaign donors.

5. Slowly but surely, manufacturing and heavy industry was returning to America, which provides a helping hand up the rungs of the economic opportunity ladder to poor and working class white and black people who can't go from "no money", to Harvard-educated racist who hates America and loves the environment / climate their "lifestyle choices" are actively destroying, without a stepping stone.

That's why Democrats had to destroy the value proposition  to the American worker by importing millions of foreigners to force them out of consideration for those jobs.  Without the social pressure from President Trump to "shame" American corporations into behaving as if their own people had value, they immediately reverted back to acting like evil clowns.  "Make America Great Again" is about making American attitudes and business practices respectable again.  It's also about the establishment and protection of social morality.  Democrats don't have morals, so they can't be shamed into acting in the best interest of their own voters.

President Trump was and is a breath of fresh air from all the reprehensible schemes dreamed up by Democrats and their Republican enablers.  Electing more Democrats like President Biden or Gavin Newsom is like watching the next episode of Jackass.  It's only funny when you're watching someone else deal with the consequences.  The rest of your time, you're left wondering what kind of idiocy you're dealing with.

Tulsi Gabbard and Robert Kennedy Jr are Democrats with morals, which is why they were driven out of the Democrat Party.  I'm waiting to see how long it takes before John Fetterman is driven out of the Democrat Party, since he also seems to think America comes first and has basic morals that places human decency above politics.

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#2438 2024-01-15 15:19:26

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,960

Re: Politics

His actions while in office for the Jan 6th and Georgia strong arming for 10,000 more votes are crimes and and would not be covered under immunity.
Donald Trump’s Immunity Argument May be Falling Short: Judges Signaling to Proceed with Prosecution

The more the votes are looked into the Stunning Republican Probe Finds 4,000 Missing Votes From Trump-Biden Election — Votes TAKEN FROM Biden

now facing dozens of felonies related to his attempt to overturn that defeat. His challenges have been defeated in court dozens of times, and rejected even by the Supreme Court justices he placed on the court.


of course, the criminal hush money payments and sexual acts in Manhattan is coming to an end as the cases of civil before is not covered under immunity Trump lawyer Tacopina withdraws from Manhattan legal team
Trump loses another 2 lawyers as quitting attorney takes colleagues with him: report

Donald Trump case tracker: where does each investigation stand?

Breaking down the 91 charges Trump faces in his four indictments They include 44 federal charges and 47 state charges, all of them felonies. Trump has denied wrongdoing in each case.

Tracking the Trump criminal cases

A Guide to All of Trump’s Indictments—and Where Each Case Stands

Donald Trump Could 'Absolutely' Be Convicted, His Former Lawyer Says

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#2439 2024-01-15 17:33:58

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

SpaceNut,

They really really really "got him now".

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#2440 2024-01-17 00:55:31

clark
Member
Registered: 2001-09-20
Posts: 6,362

Re: Politics

kbd512 wrote:

3. Our Democrats were still focusing their never-ending racism on white people instead of Jews.  Trump is worse than Hitler, as we all know from our racist Democrats, but somehow "Hitler had a point", according to some of our "honest" Democrats, who now support Hamas and other assorted terrorists who hate Jews and America in general.

I mean, this kind of says it all. Never ending racism should be directed at Jews, not "white people".

So cool beans kids.

kbd512, i want to believe you aren't a racist at heart, so take care in how you express your demagoguery when expressing your point. You tripped up here in word choice.

Unless of course this was entirely conscious and you somehow feel Jews should be the focus of racism. I mean, if you feel that way, okay, just say so and we can certainly as a group move forward with the understanding on what level of racism you support.

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#2441 2024-01-17 04:30:51

Calliban
Member
From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,449

Re: Politics

Once again clarke misses the point of the discussion.  The point Kbd512 is making, is that the Dem crowd is full of people that support Hamas and hate Jews.  That is self evidently true.  These people do not hide their feelings.  Before launching into a tirade and throwing accusations, maybe you should read more carefully what is said?

Clarke's contribution to this board is limited to the politics section.  He turns up like one of those annoying shitflies that appear out of nowhere whenever an animal drops one.  His posts are vitriolic and insulting.  His presence an annoyance.


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#2442 2024-01-17 18:22:55

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

Don't point out my favorite political party's genocidal-level hatred against anyone who they perceive as "not them", or I'll call you a racist. - clark

I wanted to believe you're someone who can correctly interpret a running theme when it's on public display at all times.

Demagoguery - political activity or practices that seek support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.

First, Democrats hated black people.  Democrats gave all sorts of reasons for their hatred of black people, but all of their reasons boiled down to, "I don't like them because they're not just like me in every possible way."  Then, Democrats hated white people.  Right now, Democrats hate Jewish people.  Give them a minute, and Democrats will find someone else they hate, "because reasons".  Over time, leftists / Democrats have learned to attempt to conceal their hatred by projecting it onto people who don't share their warped perception of reality.

If you have any logical and rational arguments for why your fellow leftists / Democrats are publicly shouting "gas the Jews" in cities across the western world, then I'd love to know how that sort of justification works inside your heads.

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#2443 2024-01-18 00:07:00

clark
Member
Registered: 2001-09-20
Posts: 6,362

Re: Politics

I apologize, i wasn't as well educated at uni, like my friend Calliban. I missed out on rhetoric and maths and histories and how to parse subtext and disassemble strawman arguments predicated on misapplying the contextualization of facts to further undermine legitimate discourse. I've never thought much of you Calliban, so I appreciate that your continued posts provide for a consistent experience. It's like smelling a fart on the wind, while my face may sour, some asshole is smiling far away.

And dear, dear kbd512, it's amusing how you quote a quote I can't recall or even for that matter, find. I mean, maybe it's something I said, but it's probably taken out of context if it is, which only makes it ironic given the point you clumsily try to make. You used to be better than that, but i guess, times they are a changin.

I don't speak for the leftists. or the dems. or anyone. just me. You made a bad comment. Probably a typo. Own it. Fix it even. Clarify. Or go on record that you think Jews are the problem. The language is the problem, so fix it. Or don't like a moral coward who can't take accountability for a simple mistake.

Democrats don't hate Jewish people anymore than republicans hate Mexicans. Each party just wants the vote, like whores, and they don't care about race or creed. The politicians running are the ones that do the calculus to figure out who they can include/exclude to garner enough votes. So yeah, hate the player, not the game.

Cheers!

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#2444 2024-01-23 08:38:10

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,960

Re: Politics

I am sure this will not stay the day of voting, Nikki Haley sweeps first New Hampshire primary votes in midnight tradition

not many choices
BB1h6UFa.img?w=768&h=479&m=6

Why New Hampshire, Iowa don’t make sense as opening rounds of presidential campaigns unquestioned influence of the two states raises serious concerns around fairness, diversity and political representation.

They don't represent the country

White, non-Hispanic residents make up 84% and 89% of Iowa and New Hampshire respectively, compared with just 58% of the nation as a whole. Iowa and New Hampshire are not representative of the United States, particularly on the basis of race.

This matters because the presidency is a national office that affects everyone. Because of the boost in political momentum, media coverage and donations that a win in Iowa or New Hampshire can provide, their choices have a bigger effect on the race than most other states. Candidates recognize this and campaign accordingly: Nearly 80% of all Republican candidates' events through mid-January had taken place in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Hogwash

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#2445 2024-01-23 09:02:48

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 17,310

Re: Politics

For SpaceNut re #2444

How insightful of you!

Hogwash is ** every ** color ** except ** white!

(th)

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#2446 2024-01-23 16:06:21

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

clark,

Even though you purposefully ignored what was so obvious to others, I'll state my opinion once more.

I think leftists / Democrats are the problem.

I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see what mental gymnastics you'll employ to contort that statement into an issue about race.

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#2447 2024-01-24 15:30:20

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

It's been confirmed by mainstream media that Arizona Gubernatorial candidate, Kari Lake, was offered a bribe by Republican Party Chairman, Jeff DeWitt, not to run for the Senate.  He further stated that if she continued her run, she would be assassinated, and that if he went public with who was offering the bribe, then he would also be assassinated.  The Chairman stated in the audio recording Kari Lake made, that the election results were manipulated to prevent her from winning her race for Governor of Arizona.  When Mrs Lake asked who those people were, the Chairman only responded with, "powerful people back east" who "didn't want her".  Kari Lake provided the audio recording to the media, which they independently authenticated, and then Mrs Lake called for the resignation of Arizona Republican Chairman, Jeff DeWitt.  If American elections are no longer decided by who has the most votes, but by who has the most money and power invested into their candidate of choice, then we don't even have a democracy (mob rule), let alone a Constituional Republic.  This should disturb anyone who wants their vote to count for who it was cast for, Democrat or Republican or Independent.

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#2448 2024-01-24 22:12:15

clark
Member
Registered: 2001-09-20
Posts: 6,362

Re: Politics

Ha. Democrats are the problem while Republican Party Chairman looks to undermine democracy through bribery and subversion. Do you even follow your own train of thought kbd512?

And if your reference for "what is obvious to others" is our racist associate in england, your credibility is lacking.

Maybe you can join that fanciful dream of Texit, and live happily ever after. Cheers.

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#2449 2024-01-25 09:28:48

kbd512
Administrator
Registered: 2015-01-02
Posts: 7,440

Re: Politics

clark,

The Democrat Party directly benefited from the subversion.

Kari Lake refused the bribe offered to her, because she has personal integrity that is lacking amongst most Democrats and Republicans.

Jeff DeWitt resigned from his position as Arizona Republican Party Chairman yesterday.

What do Democrats do when it's made publicly known that they're breaking the law?

They double-down on their lawlessness, lies, and subterfuge.  President Biden publicly stated that there's a problem with our Southern Border.  Secretary Mayorkas and Karine Jean-Pierre continued to assert that there is no problem.  How are those statements compatible?  President Biden thinks there's a problem, he's the President of the United States, the head of the Executive Branch, but the people appointed to his administration won't acknowledge what their own President publicly stated.

If Mayorkas and Jean-Pierre don't work for President Biden and don't implement the policies he sets forth, then who do they actually work for?

The people elected President Biden to implement his policies, not the policies of Secretary Mayorkas, nor those of Jean-Pierre.

When Democrats aren't busy subverting Republicans, they're subverting each other.  If you don't see that as subverting the will of the people and actual elected officials, then you either agree with or implicitly support the subversion.

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#2450 2024-01-25 23:10:54

clark
Member
Registered: 2001-09-20
Posts: 6,362

Re: Politics

The Democratic Party benefited from publicity of Republican led and authored corruption? Not sure it makes entirely too much sense to somehow accuse the Democratic Party for the ineptitude of dipsh*t republican party members, but you want to draw those associations, QANON is always a great place to hang out.

And Kari Lake, your beacon of "integrity" goes on the record 10 months after the fact, after the audio is released. I mean, sure, great, she said no to cash. But it's not like she actually did anything remarkable. She used the ammo at an opportune time just like any other political hack. The fact you go along with this theater is sad.

As for Mayorkas and Jean-Pierre, they serve the president, but that doesn't mean they give up their own right to speak their own minds. I can't explain the disconnect. I assume that they are executing the will of the president, and if they are not, he can sack them. What they say, in contradiction to the president is obviously embarrassing for the administration, but they are civil servants, not the military.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to monitor the myriad of cases where the last sitting president broke the laws, either federal or state, and think fondly of how "democrats" double down.

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