Andy1

If trump isn’t on the ballot, republicans have a tough time getting turnout.

In the end, what you or I think doesn’t matter much. What matters is what Ukrainians want and when Putin is willing to stop killing them. Last time I saw, about 50% of Ukrainians still wanted to fight. Their president had well over 60% approval rating. Ukrainians will accept giving up some land but want a security guarantee in exchange since they rightfully have no trust in Putin. Putin is an evil butcher. He doesn’t care how many Russians or Ukrainians die. No one thinks he will stop after his Ukraine war. He may pause, rebuild his bomb inventory and then launch another offensive against another former Soviet country in the name of “evicting the Nazis” there. Ukrainians are not asking for American troops. They are quite willing and able to do the fighting. The vast majority of the support we have given Ukraine goes to American military weapons manufacturers to make bombs etc to send over there. That’s supporting a lot of American jobs. We all wish those businesses weren’t so busy and there were less killing in the world. It’s definitely not ideal. If Putin would stop the slaughter, it would end. European countries are investing in their militaries and aid to Ukraine. If Ukraine wants to continue the defense of their nation, they will have access to weapons. Putin doesn’t seem ready to stop the meat grinder. The only viable solution seems to be a DMZ between the sides with NATO troops at the new border. Let there be peace.

So tell us what you think about Russia. Friend or foe? Trustworthy? Do you support them or Ukraine? Is a USSR sticker on you car?

As Trumps America chooses isolation and a retreat from International trade and engagement, China will happily move into the vacuum to form alliances, trade agreements etc. to become the dominant world power.

So now Trump has his masked men in black pick off people from the streets, no list of names of the arrested, no legal charges, no due process. This is a terrifying use of government, like the crap that actually happens in communist Russia. No rights. No one knows where they are sent to. We are all just to trust that the government is doing the right thing, in every single case. The party that screams about communism is now fine doing what communist dictators do. Remember, whatever powers Trump claims can be used by a Dem president in the future for their political goals when the political pendulum swings back left.

So France and Germany are old bad Europe. I assume Great Britain is in that group too. Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, N. Macedonia, Finland and Sweden are new, good Europe. Got it. New Europe is in NATO because they all fear they will be the next Ukraine. I’m pretty sure, they are just fine having France and Germany as allies. Strange how MAGA hates them. Also interesting that most Americans have a much stronger affinity to bad, old Europe than new Europe.

So this is how F’n ungrateful MAGA is towards our allie’s around the world. I guess they have the memory of a flea. Where does the hate towards Europeans come from? America first means America only. 9/11 was our battle, not that of other nations but the world rallied and sacrificed the lives of their soldiers to help America. That is what strength looks like. How soon Trump and MAGA forgets the sacrifices other nations made for us. After Trump is done, we will be alone.

Cult members can’t say a bad thing about Putin. That’s Commandment #1 issued by the orange prophet.

Isn’t everyone looking forward to Liberation Day when we can all pay more taxes?

And now even US oil executives have no faith in Trumps tariff policies. If only the Republican Party would speak the truth rather than follow Trump over the cliff like blind sheep. What a mess. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-oil-executives-see-disaster-192149353.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACNDCeAFT7DViAlLezMHKn1dG9JLA-6zNxuEy42Yp5byHznAVLdS87Ml4Q0TsFmFB9GZ1TVTKil5cJPXlxHeoS1pv5em6WbitQ1WWYtXP5b_wghBryIJwGCoDxqgTMCB8D0DnDBqy1cmF0DV8JwWydxmVCH4UWmroir7XOEGpFWl

And the market has is no confidence in the Trump tariff plan because there is no sound rationale or logic behind it. At this point, its just “thoughts and prayers” for our economy.

The result of tariff wars is usually lose-lose for both sides. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tariff-war.asp

I’m still waiting for a rational explanation for the need for the Trump tariff taxes. No respected economist endorses the Trump tax as a cure for the American economy. Hell, I don’t even know what the problem is aside from some inflation in America which has also happened in every other developed nation. If there was any sound economic reasoning for the tariffs, any rational sane president would explain to the country why tariffs are necessary and why America will benefit from them. They would be implemented in a planned manner to minimize financial losses to American businesses. There would also be a “Buy Made in America” PR campaign to raise support for the policy. Instead, Trump lies to Americans that other nations will be paying the tax money to America, like his “Mexico will pay for the wall” fantasy. There is no logic to how they are implemented. They are On, Off, On again, Off, maybe On again in the future…He gives no or very little advance notice to the American businesses affected. Clearly he is not doing this in a way to help businesses adapt or minimize the negative financial impact to our economy. So why the hell is he doing it? No one in the government can give a rational answer yet the Republican Party seems all for it since no one objects. Ostensibly, the administration claims the tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada are necessary until those evil countries stop the illegal fentanyl and migrants crossing the north and south borders. Illegal immigration is down 94% from a year ago so that doesn’t make sense. Over 90% of the fentanyl enters the country through legal border crossings with the vast majority being carried by American citizens. Why should all Americans pay thousands $ more each year to live because some stupid people choose to do drugs? Even if the most gullible person believes the immigrant/drugs BS, it doesn’t explain why tariffs are needed on products coming from other countries. Here is the bogus White House fact sheet explaining why tariffs are needed: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-tariffs-on-imports-from-canada-mexico-and-china/ There is no reason on this document to rebuild American manufacturing industry. There are no government incentives for businesses to build manufacturing plants in America. So it’s not about that. So why the hell is he doing it? Here are the options I’ve got so far: 1. This point is from Frankish Reich: Tank the economy, make a great recession and take the opportunity to use the bogus Emergency powers. I guess this theory would be to cause maximum stress and pain for Americans, divide the nation more than ever, get people marching in the streets, then he can claim the powers he so desires. Plausible. 2. Trump is a demented psychopath who enjoys using his power to inflict pain on others. He wants and gets off on other billionaires coming to him to beg for tariff relief for their business. He likes having the leaders of other nations calling him, asking for a policy change. His ego is happy when he sees others in pain. 3. He is trying to break and poison our relationships with our traditional trading partners and allies. His expansionist plan to take Canada and Greenland are consistent with this plan. Like WTF, who can be angry with Canada? He is preparing to leave NATO. America vs the world! America alone, or with our great ally Russia is best. These are all the desires of daddy Putin whom he is always trying to please. 4. Tariffs are a source of entertainment for him and his feeble brain. He loves the publicity and attention he gets from it all. He just wants to see what happens if he goes all in on tariffs, just because he can. Basically like a mad experiment on the economy. 5. Tariffs are a means he can use to extort millions of $$ from businesses owners for his personal enrichment. Corruption to the max. 6. He wants Americans to pay more to live so he can pay for his future tax cut for his billionaire friends. This is often speculated but I don’t think Trump cares about paying for anything. He never has cared about paying his bills. 7. The MAGA dream: Tariffs are bargaining chips the master deal maker will use to create a better world than any of us can imagine. 8. #s 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 above. That’s all I got. If you have a rational reason, voice it.

While that may be the game, it was an amateur F up. Re the second part, I can understand that but Trump ain’t the answer. I too hope the Dems move to a more centrist position on many social issues. A third party would be great but doesn’t seem viable the way our government is run.

Typical MAGA response. For anyone in the intelligence community, this is a huge deal. Russia, Iran and China now know that our military and intelligence officials communicate on Signal. They were probably using personal phones. They have their personal contacts lists. They can use those contacts to hack administration officials phones. They know the lack of competence of these people. The cyber division of their militaries is working overtime now with this treasure trove of information. Our government has secure communication platforms to use. Trump officials are likely not using them because those communication channels are subject to records preservation laws. Instead, they obviously prefer Signal since the messages disappear, thus erasing a communication trail for accountability. They will continue to use Signal because of this. Our enemies now know this.