From the Record:
Property taxes in NJ are still the nation’s most expensive.
Property taxes are a thorn in the side of homeowners. While many of us wish we didn’t have to pay them, we don’t have a choice. Just how much you pay depends on where you live, as taxes fluctuate from state to state and from town to town.
In the Garden State, property taxes are significantly higher than those in the rest of the country. In fact, New Jersey has the highest real estate tax rate in the nation, according to a recent report from WalletHub.
With an estimated effective real estate tax rate of 2.23% and a median home value of $427,600, the report found that New Jersey residents pay an average of about $9,541 annually in property taxes. WalletHub — which ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia by their real estate tax rates — placed New Jersey in the report’s 51st spot.
Illinois has the second-highest real estate tax rate in the nation at 2.07%. Homeowners there pay about $5,189 in property taxes annually on a home with a median value of $250,500, according to the report.
Ranking third, Connecticut has a real estate tax rate of 1.92%, with homeowners paying about $6,575 on a home with a median value of $343,200. New Hampshire and Vermont round out the remaining top five states, at 1.77% and 1.71%, respectively.
…
“Americans who are considering moving and want to maximize their take home pay should take into account property tax rates, in addition to other financial factors like the overall cost of living, when deciding on a city,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo.
1
Lots of interesting social media ‘history doxxing’ lately. Reddit filled with posts criticizing federal cuts, kids laid off, spouses laid off, relocated for federal job, sold house for federal job, left good job for federal job, etc. Tons of these tracking back not to democrats, but folks with hardcore trump/pro-repub post/reaction histories. Responses are generally pretty brutal. Seems the first thing people are doing when they are seeing these is looking through post history and calling it out. “You voted for this” – seems to be the #1 trending response on the social channels.
They voted for it, thinking it would never impact them. It would always be someone else getting a sh!t sandwich.
Grim,
Being without a job immediately is pretty brutal. The federal workforce is likely too big, but they should have done these cuts guadually. They are also probably cutting some workers in critical positions. We‘ll have to see how this plays out.
By the way, bought a bunch of Nvidia the morning of the Deepseek ‘breaking news’.
Up $3k on that. Not too shabby. Time to sell? Need to finalize reservations for Iceland in August, that place is expensive.
We‘ll have to see how this plays out.
Nobody ever considers their own job to be grift and waste, even when it is. The government has created a bureaucracy so complex, it’s probably hard for individual participants to even realize that their job is nonsensical, wasteful, and completely unnecessary. Same nonsense that kills big companies, except there is little recourse against it in the public sector. Just compounds, compounds, and compounds.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Can someone tell me what was the rush in federal job cuts?
What was the logic there? Other than just cruelty and bringing the economy to its knees as fast as possible?
Could there have been a foreign influence?
Wasn’t this modus operandi well established in term 1?
Use shock to distract from the real agenda.
What aren’t we hearing about? That’s what I’m wondering.
Trump told reporters at his Florida residence Tuesday that Ukraine “should have never started” the war and “could have made a deal” to prevent it.
Blaming the rape victim is a tactic cheeto knows very well.
Or maybe it’s as simple as being wider air cover for shredding the DEI agenda across agencies. Though, it’s hard to argue that they’ve been trying to keep that one quiet.
project2025 dot observer
grim says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:31 am
Wasn’t this modus operandi well established in term 1?
Use shock to distract from the real agenda.
What aren’t we hearing about? That’s what I’m wondering
Clearly Trump is showing signs of age related dementia. Sad that we keep electing the elderly into the presidency, can’t we get at least a few years not defined by cognitive decline in the presidency.
On a positive note, at least Trump is taking it easy and relaxing on a regular basis on the golf course.
Outsourcing the presidency to Elon, smart move.
No, but really, Ukraine started the war? The dude is becoming Biden. Huge gaffe. Maybe we need to ask for medical records to be unsealed? Special commission to review his mental competency? The old veep had a better handle on global geopolitics.
Since 1982 size of federal government has remained flat at 3 million
Techno Feudalists are in charge
grim says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:36 am
Clearly Trump is showing signs of age related dementia. Sad that we keep electing the elderly into the presidency, can’t we get at least a few years not defined by cognitive decline in the presidency.
On a positive note, at least Trump is taking it easy and relaxing on a regular basis on the golf course.
Outsourcing the presidency to Elon, smart move.
Chad Powers says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:14 am
“Grim, Being without a job immediately is pretty brutal. ”
Oligarchs don’t care. Neither do boomers, they are sitting in their paid off homes collecting a pension, social security and medicare, plus have other established income streams, and don’t need to buy a f’n thing, the car they have will take them to their grave.
Well played old assholes. You did this^^^^^^
RentL0rd says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:26 am
“Can someone tell me what was the rush in federal job cuts? What was the logic there? ”
There is no logic. Your overlords hate you. All you are is an expense on a bottom line, so are your children and your families. This is how capitalism works. Just wait till you see the destroyed families, the suicides, the murders, the workplace violence that comes from Elon’s “efficiency.” Wave the flag as you lose your job. Enjoy spending time in that undefunded government institution called unemployment. Enjoy watching your kid cry as mom screams at dad calling him a loser and your family life descends into chaos. You ain’t going to college now Junior. Money is gone. Elon is smiling, he don’t give a fucc about you. He will replace your daddy with a robot and blow his wad thinking about it.
grim says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:36 am
“Clearly Trump is showing signs of age related dementia. Sad that we keep electing the elderly into the presidency”
No one said anything about this when I have been screaming about this for years on this board. Yes, you did get what you voted for. Those lights, they are the train coming for “America.”
RentL0rd says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:32 am
Trump told reporters at his Florida residence Tuesday that Ukraine “should have never started” the war and “could have made a deal” to prevent it.
Blaming the rape victim is a tactic cheeto knows very well.
Oh, Ukraine is only a victim of being greedy and hitching it’s wagon to the USA. Now it’s sorry ass is bleeding from the rectum just like Europe’s. Enjoy your upcoming poverty there Germany and Poland, remember, you voted for it. Poland your PM what a dolt told the French they should send troops to Ukraine, but he wasn’t sending any. It’s fun watching all of those European leaders in a circle jerk for hours only to not agree on a single thing. That’s why you weren’t allowed to sit at the table, you or the Green T Shirt. All useless in getting anyting done.
Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal”.
grim says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:33 am
“Or maybe it’s as simple as being wider air cover for shredding the DEI agenda”
What is Orange CHeetoh Face doing about Nepotism, which has been, and will always be, worse. It’s like inbreeding for the workforce.
OC1 You have no idea if Harris would have surrounded herself with better people than Trump. You can say you would have hoped she would but you don’t know. Harris was very arrogant ( as per the many aides who worked in her VP office), she ignored reports and briefs/ research that was prepared for her as VP, so as President I could argue she would have done the same, and consider herself some kind of expert. As for NATO thats merely conjecture on your part, and all 33 members of NATO would have to agree. Only 9 of the 33 countries ( small Eastern European countries) are active supporters of Ukraine membership in NATO. And again conjecture on your part about Kamala being opposed to Russia s territorial conquests in Ukraine. Crimea was never going to be returned to Ukraine, Obama did nothing about that back in 2014. As for the areas in eastern Ukraine that the Russians now occupy, Kamala would not be able to oppose that either.
A fascinating view of Guantanamo Bay – a modern concentration camp, that Trump is expanding it big – perhaps for dissidents.
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/guant%C3%A1namo-is-the-place-where-presidents-abuse-human-rights
And anyone making excuses for this is part of this. I am looking at the likes if smalls, gary, 3b and others here. Shame on you!
Btw, you will not find a single white guy there.
3b, there you go with your lies crafted as logic. You are a smart fool.
Always picking on the edges and missing the main point.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6XvvZw-YDU8
People have such short memories.
Who can forget VP Al Gore in 1993 on David letterman.
“So, have you fixed the government?” Letterman asked.
“We found a lot of really ridiculous things that cost way too much money,” Gore said.
Gore brought up government-purchased ashtrays and read the federal regulations about how the ashtrays must break when dropped. Wearing safety goggles, Gore cracked the ashtray with a hammer, back then there was no social media so the message was sent out over Late Night TV.
The “New Democrat” platform that Clinton and Gore ran on was the era of big government was over.
Difference back then is they took six months to plan the buyouts and layoffs and cancel contracts. Trump this time has decided to use the wrecking ball from day one.
How the Democrats have changed. They need to pivot now or face loosing again in the midterms…..
RentL0rd says:
February 19, 2025 at 8:51 am
A fascinating view of Guantanamo Bay – a modern concentration camp, that Trump is expanding it big – perhaps for dissidents.
In America, with a pen you can make anything legal.
Elon can make a Tesla or Space X factory with a sign over the entrance with the words arbeit macht frei on it and you are all powerless to do anything about it. Gonna take on the US military when they come for you? Got any Reaper drones in your garage? Or night vision goggles? Or Pegasus to snoop on the enemy’s phones?
Don’t worry, you will comply. Technolgy will make sure you comply. Well, it will be your children that will. Boomer, you did this ^^^
Rent: You are an idiot , plain and simple. No facts to refute anything I have said in my comments, just rhetoric and BS. When you get called on it, you deflect, change the subject, and engage in name calling. You are the left version of MAGA.
Seems like the only one on the planet who hasn’t sipped from the cup of American Kool-Aid is Putin.
I guess you need to be KGB to really understand how a government works.
He isn’t gonna fall for any Trump/Musk bullshite.
Hardcore Putin is gonna be the dick to their ass. Well, it will be to all of ours. That guy means business. But most Americans are too stupid to understand that way of thinking when they don’t know what it is to go without.
This conflict was 100% avoidable, and that’s a fact.
3B – Don’t engage with Pumpkin mkay….
RentL0rd says:
February 19, 2025 at 8:51 am
“Honor bound to defend freedom”
Sign on camp you posted.
Joke, what do the Germans and Americans have in common?
They both post signs over concentration camps using the word “freedom” where there is no freedom.
You know what’s funny? The Russians that you all hate are the ones who liberated the victims in the concentration camps, not the Americans, who were slow and too lazy to show up to the party until late, then acted like they saved the world single handedly.
Well, when the Americans are headed into their concentration camps, who is going to bother to liberate you. F’n Canada hates you. Mexico hates you. Middle east hates you. Europe hates you.
Ain’t no one coming for the Americans in the future, except the Chinese that will buy the mineral rights and complete their “belt and road” along Rt.66.
BRT says:
February 19, 2025 at 9:07 am
This conflict was 100% avoidable, and that’s a fact.
Correct.
USA put in Puppet President. Hated that Russia sold gas to Europe all the way back when the pipeline was on the drawing board.
Soviet plans to build the pipeline were strongly opposed by the US-administration of Ronald Reagan.[12][13][14] Americans were afraid that Western Europe would become dependent on the Soviet gas supplies, giving leverage to the Soviet Union. They also feared the Kremlin would use the export revenue for military purposes.[15] In December 1981, the US implemented sanctions preventing American companies from exporting oil and gas technologies to the Soviet Union. In June 1982, these sanctions were expanded to cover subsidiaries of US companies in Europe.[15]
Washington’s Western European allies, however, refused to boycott the pipeline.[16][17] The foreign ministers of the European Economic Community called extension of the American sanctions illegal and sent a formal note of protest.[15] From the European perspective, participation in the pipeline project was seen as an opportunity for the depressed steel and engineering industry in Europe and as a way to diversify from the OPEC oil supplies.[15] Western European governments insisted that contracts already signed between the Soviets and European companies needed to be honored. This led to several European companies being sanctioned by the US.[18][19] Reagan reportedly said: “Well, they can have their damned pipeline. But not with American equipment and not with American technology.”[20] The efforts by the US to prevent the construction of the pipeline, and its export embargo of supplies needed to build it (1980–84), constituted one of the most severe transatlantic crises of the Cold War.[19][21]
RentL0rd says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:26 am
“Can someone tell me what was the rush in federal job cuts?”
DJT is doing exactly what he said he was going to do — and what you leftist duds said no president would ever seriously attempt to do! SlowJoe left the gov with $36trillion in debt, so thank goodness we have a prez that’s in a rush to try to do something about it. As I said, if the election were rerun today DJT would take 400+ electoral votes.
Can we get an executive order to lower price of eggs?
Millions of working class Americans suffering from the bad economy while Maga obsesses about transgendereds
This post was accurate up until after the sentence about SloJoe.
He was a no good lifer government turd that needed to be flushed years ago but America was on a rush to go to work so forgot to push the handle.
2nd time around, after being targeted by the American legal system, he came ready with a plan and Elon’s army.
Yes, he is doing it exactly like the Germans did, a Blitzkreig.
It’s efficient, but haste makes waste, and some Repukes are getting bombed by the Stuka’s flown by their “so called” friends.
Now kids, pack up your toys, the guy I voted for just eliminated my job.
Hehe. Irony. It’s a realllllllll bitch!
SmallGovConservative says:
February 19, 2025 at 9:16 am
RentL0rd says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:26 am
“Can someone tell me what was the rush in federal job cuts?”
DJT is doing exactly what he said he was going to do — and what you leftist duds said no president would ever seriously attempt to do! SlowJoe left the gov with $36trillion in debt, so thank goodness we have a prez that’s in a rush to try to do something about it. As I said, if the election were rerun today DJT would take 400+ electoral votes.
POst above, first sentence about SloJOe, second about trump.
To clarify. Oopsy.
Get a hen. Good luck though, in the “freedom” of America you probably need a 2 acre minimum to have one. Not like China where you can skin your goat at the wet market.
Dear proletariat, we don’t care about your suffering, so just shut up about it and don’t let our stormtroopers find you sleeping at the park or in your car somewhere.
America is a country of winners, we will send our stormtroopers to kill you vagrants and your children.
As far as gays and trans people, well, God and Jesus and every other “loving” religion HATES you all. Oh, and they hate poor people as well, the religions need your money to pay off the debts from the PedoPreists they so stealthfully covered for.
Very Stable Genius says:
February 19, 2025 at 9:23 am
Can we get an executive order to lower price of eggs?
Millions of working class Americans suffering from the bad economy while Maga obsesses about transgendereds
VSG
Focus on Trans People. Sick ’em boy. Get ’em Rover.
Just don’t look at me you simple creatures, as we steal every last dime from you and your children’s futures.
Americans are so easily distracted. It’s why TikTok and YouTube shorts are so effective on their simple minds. They get mesmerized by almost anything. Then you can pickpocket them with ease.
Fort Knox is next. Gold audit, first real one since the ice age. Or, is Elon going to ship all of it to his island in the South Pacific for nefarious purposes? Gert Fröbe tried it until he was sucked out of an airplane window.
Fast Eddie says:
February 19, 2025 at 9:38 am
Fort Knox is next. Gold audit, first real one since the ice age.
This is a lie.
They audited Menendez’s closet in May of 2024.
When are they going to to the same at SloJoes house. At Nancy Pelosi’s place. At Mitchy McConnells’s house?
Man, the amount of money these boomer Government lifers have stolen from taxpayers over the years is immense.
Is the ten going to continue to rise?
How will that make your azz feel if you are young?
How will that make your azz feel if you are old?
VSG
I suggest you get an instant pot or ninja foodie and learn how to cook Indian and Ethiopian dishes. Lentils, beans and split peas are still dirt cheap and are healthy for you. There’s a company that sells a wide variety of dried peas, beans, and lentils on Amazon that are grown in US and are glyphosate free and free of drying agents for $16-$20 a 4 pound bag.
Stuck a bunch of rocket fuel in my son’s Roth last year just because.
Threw mostly AI infrastructure and use case companies, along with oral GLP-1’s.
The pharma tanked, but until they publish trial results, it should be expected.
The moonshots have been Palantir and Oklo.
My son checks the App on his phone at lunch.
He’s like WTF is this?
HMB
A great post by you. Good pubilc service announcement into eating healthy.
“Instant pot” sounds like a brand name for a gummy
Hold my beer says:
February 19, 2025 at 9:52 am
VSG
I suggest you get an instant pot or ninja foodie and learn how to cook Indian and Ethiopian dishes. Lentils, beans and split peas are still dirt cheap and are healthy for you. There’s a company that sells a wide variety of dried peas, beans, and lentils on Amazon that are grown in US and are glyphosate free and free of drying agents for $16-$20 a 4 pound bag.
Phoenix
https://indiaphile.info/
Here’s the website I’ve been using for Indian recipes. Just type instant pot in the search bar. I think she also shows how to adjust the recipe for stovetop. I’ve made a few of them so far. Takes 5-10 minutes prep and sauté time and then just add the lentils and water , turn the instant pot or ninja foodie to pressure cooking and come back in 25 minutes to release the pressure.
Going to try the red lentil one today and there’s yellow dal one with spinach in it I will try tomorrow or Friday.
Need to find a similar site for easy Ethiopian recipes.
Bear in mind, we are only into the 5th week since the inauguration. Only giving an opinion. I think Trump last time was shocked at how much the bureaucracy pushed back on him last time. He had a serious plan and Elon Musk to execute it.
You can see this Trump is different. His energy level is notably less. He is calmer, but not for a philosophical reason, but rather a physical one.
Juice: I don’t believe Rent is pumpkin, but he is absolutely clueless. However, it’s good he is around as he is a perfect example of just how stupid and gullible people are on the left as any MAGA die hard. Kamala would have kicked ass on the international stage, is my favorite Rent comment. You can’t get any more clueless than that.
We need an intervention for Lib before he circles the drain.
Stu: how would you feel if we put a DOGE audit on New Jersey Transit?
HMB,
Thanks. I have an Instant pot as well.
The Chinese make things like this that make my life better.
Pressure cooking function works very well. Always looking for new recipes. Since I cannot manage stress due to work and the problems Lucifer my ex is causing my kid to have, some heart healthy food is my only hope.
This isn’t what America needed then, or now.
https://youtu.be/nAM-zic9MsU?t=29
Fast Eddie says:
February 19, 2025 at 9:38 am
“Gert Fröbe tried it until he was sucked out of an airplane window.”
Goldfingerrrrr! He’s the man, the man with the midas touchhhh…
Good analogy Eddie; DJT = Goldfinger, Musk = Oddjob. But this time the good guys will be breaking in to find out whether SlowJoe and the Dems have been shipping gold bars to their favorite NGO’s — or maybe even to their deadbeat kids.
Think Reddit is bad now. The king of government subsidies is now moving onto Medicaid. Of course, this is after another big fat Trump lie where he claimed he wouldn’t touch Medicaid both on the campaign trail and after being elected. Again MAGA can do no wrong.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/31/congress/trump-love-and-cherish-medicaid-00201893
Grim, I don’t think Trump is playing the diversion game at all. It’s all a show to keep his silly supporters sated. Shit will hit the fan when goes after Medicaid and really Medicare. Then it’s social security. Ignoring these indiscriminat firings, which we shouldn’t and the many skilled department heads who are straight up quitting in solidarity, the real shame, as Smalls points out, is that great savings (ignoring the unknown unintended consequences) are likely being obtained which is absolutely a positive. But Trump is about to blow it all on his misguided tariffs and tax cuts resulting in increasing the deficit when he could have actually put a dent in it. I don’t know if you still read Crossing Wall Street, but Elfenbein has absolutely been sounding the warning bells over the last few months. The consumer spending pullback has been dramatic. Hope it’s not hitting you at the still. I really think Trump cares about only one thing. People liking him. He is following Project 2025 because, quite honestly, he has no clue how our government (or any for that matter) works. All of these illegal actions clearly prove it. Regardless, I become more and more worried about the long-term repercussions of firing the good ones with the bad ones. When corporations cull, they do it extremely carefully. Finding talent is incredibly difficult. So when a RIF occurs, the amount of time spent insuring valuable employees are kept and weaker members are dropped is time well spent economically. I fear this is not going to end well for all of us. A cheaper, malfunctioning government is no better than an expensive somewhat functioning governement, which most would have considered to be the best functioning government in the world. Of course, Trump has a history of taking things way too far and not quitting when the good is good enough in his real estate dealings. Heck, I remember when the Trump Taj Mahal was the most expensive casino built in the world. When it opened, Trump boasted. “Nobody thought it could be built. That was the biggest risk – just getting it built. But I love proving people wrong,” he said. A year later, he declared bankruptcy and had to give up 50% of the control to Icahn who eventually closed the joint down after wasting 100 million of his own money on it. It’s always a show with this guy. Always ending in bankruptcy. Hopefully the USA does not have to declare bankruptcy too by the time he is done.
Rent, I really can’t talk about my companies compensation plans for obvious reasons. I already revealed too much.
BRT, it’s easy playing Monday morning Quarterback. It’s not personal, but you have a habit of doing it to make your point. Yes, Biden should have been tougher when Putin was amassing his troops on the Ukraine border. But that does not make up for giving up future security and setting bad precedents to get us out of it.
Tangle’s excellent take on Russia/Ukraine. As usual, quite similar to my take. Short term gain for long-term pain. It’s all a show with Trump.
The administration’s opening moves in Europe are hard to parse, but we don’t think they’ve been chaotic.
Rather, Trump’s talks with Russia and Ukraine fit a pattern of Trump pressuring allies to give us more.
This could get the U.S. some short-term wins, but probably makes us less safe in the long term.
We both understand how European allies and conventional career foreign-affairs experts see President Trump dealing primarily with Putin and giving Zelensky second fiddle as pro-imperialist, anti-NATO, undermining Ukrainian sovereignty, and highly chaotic. For our own part, it’s hard to separate our view of Trump’s maneuvering from our innate support of Ukraine and the obvious fact that Putin could end this war tomorrow by simply leaving.
However, interpreting Trump as a chaotic pro-Russian imperialist is a narrow view that doesn’t fully explain the administration’s actions; as the White House and the Kremlin both noted, the talks in Riyadh this week are a preliminary step toward possible peace negotiations. Before we can weigh in on how the talks with Russia will affect European stability and U.S. national security, we have to take a step back to get a full understanding of the administration’s strategy thus far.
Right off the bat, the communication from Trump administration officials has been hard to parse, disjointed, and often contradictory. Consider this sequence of events from the past week:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addresses a NATO meeting in Brussels, saying that it is not “realistic” for Ukraine to join the alliance or for it to return to its pre-2014 borders. Hegseth then clarifies that “everything is on the table” in the negotiations. John Coale, President Donald Trump’s deputy Ukraine envoy, later tells Reuters that NATO membership for Ukraine is “still on the table.”
Vice President JD Vance tells The Wall Street Journal that “there are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” the U.S. could use against Putin, then criticizes the paper’s coverage of his comments, writing on X, “American troops should never be put into harm’s way where it doesn’t advance American interests and security.”
U.S. Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg says Europe would not have a seat at the table for negotiations, then sought to partially walk back his comments by saying he did not mean that Europe’s interests would not be “considered, used or developed.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that Europe would be involved in the “real negotiations” to end the war. President Trump separately affirms that Ukraine would be “involved” in negotiations but does not offer further specifics.
All these statements are pretty difficult to follow, but in order to put them into focus, you have to see how Trump’s approach to Ukraine and Russia fits within some broader patterns so far in his second term.
First, in his appointees, Trump has prioritized loyalty and commitment to his worldview. Vance, Hegseth, and Rubio aren’t crafting statements based on what they think should happen, they’re acting directly on the president’s behalf. That they’ve already struggled to offer a coherent message reflects Trump’s pattern of making strong statements and not committing to them — Trump’s appointees are trying to walk the line of affirming the president’s stance while maintaining a consistent message, and so far, they’ve failed.
Second, Trump has come out of the gate with far stauncher positions on our allies than our geopolitical enemies, relative to the status quo. On China, his 10% tariffs paled in comparison to the 25% threatened against Canada and Mexico. Trump has also mused about making Canada the 51st state, while Elon Musk’s involvement in a budget deal ended up rolling back restrictions on U.S. tech investment in China. The pattern carries over to Europe, where Vance is rebuking NATO allies for not upholding our shared values while Hegseth says that Putin will likely take Crimea — and more — in a peace deal.
Third, Trump has been transactional, looking for something in return from our allies by pushing what the U.S. could get from them then settling for something smaller. We’ve seen this almost daily since Trump’s inauguration: He wants Greenland and the Panama Canal, but seems to be settling for smaller strategic gains (for now). He’s pushed for broad tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but has settled for small troop deployments to their U.S. borders (for now). At the same time, he’s embraced the idea of territorial expansion as part of other peace deals. His approach to Russia and Ukraine has not been any different — the administration is pushing for 50% ownership of the Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in return for security commitments while signaling that it will pressure Ukraine to accept some territory losses in a peace deal.
In that context, it seems that Trump is less pursuing a peace deal with Russia than communicating a threat to our allies: If Europe doesn’t step up their military commitments and Ukraine doesn’t give us half of their mineral rights, we’re willing to give more to Russia.
Will it work? In the short term, maybe. European allies met in Paris on Monday and seem poised to increase their military investments (a win for Trump and the U.S.). Pairing concessions to Putin in Ukraine with mutual denuclearization with Russia would trade an enormous Ukrainian loss for the winding down of a major conflict — but that loss could well be inevitable, and Trump may be conceding it for another short-term win.
However, the Trump administration’s initial approach also cedes an awful lot from a position of power. While Russia has the capacity to continue fighting, its economy is beginning to flash warning signals, Russian soldiers continue to die in significant numbers on the battlefield, and gambits like using North Korean soldiers on the frontlines seem to have had little impact. Nearly three years after starting a war that he expected to win in a matter of weeks, Putin has led Russia to a weaker and less stable position.
On the other side of the table, Zelensky is not asking for much. NATO membership for Ukraine is likely to be the sticking point of any deal, but the Ukrainian president has already said he would be willing to cede territory to Russia as part of a peace deal, and his primary concern seems to be having a seat at the negotiating table — an entirely reasonable expectation. If, as Trump says, Ukraine will be “involved” in peace talks, why make a point of publicly excluding them from the start of that process? Appealing to the Kremlin’s messaging about the war may well achieve some wins, and doing so without Ukraine could give the impression of faster progress, but pressuring Russia’s weak points with Ukraine could deliver stronger short-term wins along with real bilateral progress towards peace.
In the medium-to-long-term, we’re more pessimistic. While ambiguous messaging can be an asset in some aspects of foreign policy, the comments from the Trump administration towards our European allies have created a lot of collateral confusion. Trump’s desire to move quickly is understandable given the ongoing cost of the war, but the potential short-term gains could be entrenching long-term risks.
Non-aggression pacts among enemies have a historical record of not working out. Furthermore, weakening trust with our allies could lead to more widespread global insecurity. As David French wrote in The New York Times, “Will our abandoned allies be content with vassal status in the face of aggressive, nuclear-armed powers such as Russia, China and (to a lesser extent) North Korea… Why wouldn’t South Korea pursue a nuclear deterrent? Could an enormous strategic shift overcome even Japan’s deep-seated resistance to nuclear weapons? Poland is in the middle of an intense and expensive military buildup, but wouldn’t an atomic arsenal make it even more secure?”
Trump has an opportunity to press current advantages towards both short- and long-term wins for Ukrainian and European stability, but his posture so far has been one of deference to a debilitated negotiating partner.
Fortunately, we are still early in the peace process, and the Trump administration has time to reestablish a strong footing, starting with the talks in Riyadh this week. Instead of giving a knee-jerk reaction to how the administration has entered Europe, we should wait to see how the results shake out in the coming months. However, Trump’s opening salvo raises legitimate concerns about the kind of deal he’s after. Will a deal that prioritizes warmer relations with Russia and a reduced U.S. presence in Europe make the continent more stable and America safer in the coming years? Sadly, we don’t think so.
Better yet, do one one the whole State of NJ Government.
Chicago says:
February 19, 2025 at 10:23 am
We need an intervention for Lib before he circles the drain.
Stu: how would you feel if we put a DOGE audit on New Jersey Transit?
Too late Chicago. Too late. And my Apple Watch tells me I’m just fine.
Stu: how would you feel if we put a DOGE audit on New Jersey Transit?
Why bother, engineers, currently averaging 130K a year are demanding 180K plus. For fucks sake, you don’t even have to steer. The hardest thing about driving a train is trying not to fall asleep. Now with the ATS installed, heck, they don’t even have to stay awake. And those numbers above are base pay. Since there is a shortage, they average nearly 15 hours in overtime. Crunch those numbers. Think you picked the correct career path?
That is a specious argument. You should look at the trading floor of the NYSE in 1982 and then if you told me the same thing about the NYSE i would be laughing at the obvious waste.
Very Stable Genius says:
February 19, 2025 at 7:36 am
Since 1982 size of federal government has remained flat at 3 million
Crossing Wall Street got a big shock on Friday with the latest retail sales report. According to the report, retail sales fell 0.9% last month. Bear in mind, that’s not adjusted for the 0.5% inflation we saw last month.
That retail sales report was much worse than expected. Wall Street had been expecting a modest decline of 0.2%. The number for November was revised to 0.7%.
This suggests that consumers are holding back on their shopping. I can’t blame them. Consumers are getting squeezed by higher prices – eggs are up over 50% over the last year – and also by small wage gains. Consumers make up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. If shoppers aren’t happy, the economy won’t prosper.
Excluding autos, prices fell 0.4%, also well off the consensus forecast for a 0.3% increase. A “control” measure that strips out several nonessential categories and figures directly into calculations for gross domestic product fell 0.8% after an upwardly revised increase of 0.8%.
With consumer spending making up about two-thirds of all economic activity in the U.S., the sales numbers indicate a potential weakening in growth for the first quarter.
Receipts at sporting goods, music and book stores tumbled 4.6% on the month, while online outlets reported a 1.9% decline and motor vehicles and parts spending dropped 2.8%. Gas stations along with food and drinking establishments both reported 0.9% increases.
Some folks are saying the report really isn’t that bad. Some of the drop is due to bad weather. Also, auto sales fell after delivering a big gain in December. Maybe so, but those factors were known prior to the report and it still fell far below expectations.
The retail sales report is especially worrisome because it comes after another bad inflation report. It’s becoming very clear that inflation isn’t going away. Core inflation is holding steady around 3.3% or so, which is much higher than the Fed’s target.
The Budget Deficit Soars
Yesterday, the government said it ran a budget deficit last month of $129 billion. Holy moly, that’s big! The deficit is up significantly from the $22 billion deficit it ran for last January.
It’s not hard to pinpoint the problem. For January, receipts grew 8% to $513 billion, but outlays were up 29% to $642 billion.
The Treasury said there were some technical reasons for the big increase such as benefit payment calendar shifts. Also, payments of $87 billion worth of February benefits were paid out in January. Treasury said the adjusted deficit increase for the month would have been $21 billion instead of the reported $107 billion.
Still, that doesn’t exactly put me at ease. For the first four months of this fiscal year, the U.S. Treasury reported a deficit of $840 billion. That’s up 58% from last year. For the year so far, receipts are up 1% to $1.6 trillion, but outlays are up 15% to $2.4 trillion. For the new fiscal year, individual income taxes are up 6%.
Customs receipts were up 12% but that’s a very small portion of receipts. This doesn’t yet reflect any of the new tariffs on Chinese goods that went into effect recently.
The most concerning number is the interest payments on the debt. You can’t escape those. So far this year, interest expenses are up 10% to $318 billion. Social Security outlays, which is the single-largest item on the budget, are up 8% to $529 billion. Military spending rose 13% to $318 billion.
I try not to be an alarmist on these matters, but if we’re in better fiscal shape, that gives the Fed a lot more room to lower interest rates. The rolling 12-month deficit is now running at 7.3% of GDP. Ideally, that should be cut in half. These deficits are having an effect. Consider that over the last 16 months, the price for gold has gained close to 50%.
I’m not sure where VSG finds his talking points from, but he really should subscribe to Tangle at least. It’s free if you don’t want the big Friday and Sunday (fun) edition.
Lib: The time to have been firm with Russia was in 2014, when they annexed Crimea, and provided support to Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The U. S. and Europe failed to do so. The Europeans also need to increase their spending on defense, even the remaining neutral countries , Austria, Ireland, and Malta. The world is a more dangerous place than it was, Russia, and China, which long term is even a bigger threat to world peace. As well, you still the Islamic militant lunatics in the Middle East, the Iranians and the North Koreans. The Europeans need to put their big boy pants on now and start acting in a unified manner, and not just solely relying on the U.S. and then at the same time blaming the U.S. As I have noted multiple times, they did nothing when Yugoslavia imploded and fell apart, and nothing when the Serbs were bombing Kosovo. I say this as a fan of Europe, which I love, the history , culture, cuisine etc. We could learn some things from the Europeans, but that said they need to move forward and take the lead in Europe.
I try not to be an alarmist on these matters, but if we’re in better fiscal shape, that gives the Fed a lot more room to lower interest rates.
I try not to be an alarmist on these matters, but if your body was in better physical shape, that gives the doctor a lot more room to lower your blood pressure meds.
Lib,
You are right about one thing, it’s going to get much, much worse.
For the poor and middle class that is. One thing about you is that you are humble and have morals. I admire that.
*Dismantling the judiciary
*Persecuting the transgendered
*Firing all government workers
These actions have absolutely no relevance to millions of people struggling to make ends meet. Millions of hard working patriots who can’t afford eggs anymore. Current administration has no economic plan
3b
Enjoy your new dick tater Trump. You think this dolt is going to fix things?
Peace through strength is a “reasonable” concept, until you become corrupt and a dick tater country.
Who the fucc does America think it is flying it’s drones around the world killing people it doesn’t like? What gives America the right to fly drones over Mexico? I guess the same rights it gives Mexico and Canada to put Chinese made hypersonic nuclear weapons pointing at all major American cities.
No actually, they have more of a right to do that. And thanks to Trump, more of an incentive to want to.
America’s biggest strength was it’s consumer. Well it’s consumers are hemorrhaging out and without Chinese help ain’t gonna be buying shit much longer except for booze, e-cigarettes, and THC products. Oh, and chips to go with that.
Lock your car doors, put up more cameras, and guard your eggs. Don’t be surprised when you buy that hen you wake up in the morning and it’s gone, and not from a fox stealing it.
Boomer, you did this ^^^
Very Stable Genius says:
February 19, 2025 at 11:00 am
Current administration has no economic plan.
Oh yes they do. Never let a good crisis go to waste.
The plan is to steal your children’s future, and make your kids slaves to them.
Started out with slavery, will end up in slavery.
DEI is out, Nepotism is at “notch 8”
If I were Trudeau or Sheinbaum and were threatened by America, I would reach out to China and make deals with them for economic and military protection from their hostile neigbors on their borders.
Angiogenesis has taken over America and it is beginning to become a hostile cancer that has intentions of taking over the entire world using it’s financial system as a weapon to control anyone it doesn’t like.
When you are the cancer, you don’t see it, you think you are heroes.
But when you are the rest of the world, it becomes very obvious soon that you are being attacked and if you do nothing, you will be dead soon.
I know someone that worked for NJT. They would hop off the train and go work their side hustle and hop back on when it came back.
Canada would make a very nice road.
And Mexico, being on the oversized waistline of overweight America, would be the perfect metaphor for a belt from the Chinese “belt and road initiative”
Mabye Canada and Mexico could team up and even make some suspenders to keep up the pants of Porky America.
Lib 10:30, Understood about disclosing Across the board, every company is following the Musk’s own mandate and chopping off people like chicken. Especially publicly traded ones.
Private owners who are not in the public eye are better at keeping their employees happy and at the same time extracting the most from them.
Smalls, moving fast comes at a big cost. Cheeto is not going to achieve what he wants (he may actually know this and it could be intentional). Jn the end America ends up like a Frankenstein monster.
A great economy that’ll be destroyed. You may not want to believe it, but Putin has a big role in all of this. Just like he does with other eastern European countries.
We know musk was deeply involved with putin before the election. Sorry 3b … but you are in love with the enemy.
Phoenix
I’ve got this one cooking right now for lunch.
https://indiaphile.info/masoor-dal/
Took about 20 minutes prep and sauté time for my first attempt.
Here’s a picture of today’s MAGA
https://imgur.com/gallery/vWwGibP
Typical American fashion, corrupt courtoom behavior.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14413289/judge-ends-karen-read-murder-trial-hearing-evidence-bombshell.html
Phoenix: He ain’t my dik tater as you say. I abstain from voting in Presidential elections, due to the awful choices we have had over the last decade.
I am just pointing out the reality on Ukraine, and some historical background as to how we got to where we are today. I won’t go through it all again, as it’s tiresome. But, if Americans and Europeans ever really wanted Ukraine to win, and that means driving the Russians out of all Ukrainian territory including Crimea, than the U. S and Europe should have declared war on Russia and provided the thousands of troops needed to defeat the Russians. That’s the reality. The rest is just talk, and talk is cheap.
Trump, Biden, Harris, they all suck, as in all politicians suck. Does Trump suck more yes in many ways. Did Biden and Harris yes, also in many ways. Would Ukraine get a better deal with Harris as President, as some Democrats seem to think? I don’t know, it’s just conjecture on their part. Whether Trump or Harris, I believe the deal would still entail no NATO membership for Ukraine. Russia keeps Crimea. Possibly, under Harris Russia would pull out of more of eastern Ukraine than under Trump. But, that’s conjecture on my part. Either way or either one as President, Ukraine would have to agree to a painful settlement.
As for the rest of Trump and his administration, it could end up being a massive disaster all around and the Republicans get destroyed at the midterm elections, and the Dems coming roaring back to the Presidency in 2028, with their brand of BS.
If it all turns to crap , I can always relocate across the pond.
Phoenix
If you like Korean food here’s an easy kimchi stew recipe for the instant pot
https://www.koreanbapsang.com/instant-pot-kimchi-jjigae-stew/
She also has a bunch of easy to make kimchi and other dishes with substitutes if you want to make them vegetarian
If you don’t live near an hmart you can get the ingredients at kam man and Amazon.
HMB,
Let me know how it comes out. Looks like something I would enjoy. I just have to make smaller batches of things so I don’t get tired of it. No big family to share it with here.
In other news some big Rughy matches coming up this weekend!
Gonna bookmark these websites. I don’t live near an HMart but I drive past a few on the way to work. It’s doable.
3b,
In other news some big Rughy matches coming up this weekend!
I watched England vs. France two weeks ago, before the super bowl. it was awesome!
Does anyone wonder why Biden didn’t help this Rat?
Zelensky made a name for himself in the United States in September 2019, when it was revealed by a whistleblower that he engaged in a phone call with then U.S President Donald Trump on July 25, 2019, just days after the July 21 parliamentary elections in Ukraine that swept Zelensky’s party, Servant of the People, had been swept into power, winning 254 of 450 seats.. In the July 25 telephone conversation betweenTrump and Zelensky, Trump asked Zelensky to do him a favor by providing damaging information on Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden.
Lyrics to Cars by Gary Numan?
Phoenix says:
February 19, 2025 at 11:08 am
Lock your car doors
put up more cameras
and guard your eggs.
I was bored during a meeting.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qtJQS8WxvABz7jdEA
In a post Wednesday on Truth Social, Trump went on to describe Zelensky as “a Dictator without Elections,” who was soon going to lose his country.
Oh, Snap!!!!!
Trump to Green T Shirt.
It’s funny how Trump demands loyalty from his servants, but when it comes to reciprocation the only reciprocation is his hand on his dick.
Hey, buddy, help me out to get elected. Got any dirt on the BidenClan?
Hey, buddy, GTFO. Don’t need you anymore. You are useless to me now.
Can’t make this shit up.
Sure he can replace you. Musk has a son X Æ A-Xii who would like his own kingdom as a playground.
With Musk’s genes, he is ready to be a leader of Ukraine. Hehe.
Zelensky shot back at Trump’s claims that his ratings stood at 4 percent, calling it disinformation “coming from Russia.”
“If anyone wants to replace me right now, then it just isn’t going to happen,” he said at a news conference Wednesday. “I wish Trump’s team had more truth. Because none of this is having a positive effect on Ukraine.”
Phoenix,
How quickly we have all forgotten that Trump called election officials in Georgia to ask for more votes. And MAGA is okay with that. Some Patriots they are. In MAGAland, anything goes if you kiss the flag first.
Q. What do Trump, Biden, Harris, Green T Shirt Guy, Putin, Pelosi, and McConnell all have in common.
A. No honor amongst thieves.
Lib,
You are preaching to the choir.
Our kids are going to live in one f’d up world.
Boomer, you did this ^^^
Phoenix says:
February 19, 2025 at 11:08 am
“Enjoy your new dick tater Trump…same rights it gives Mexico and Canada to put Chinese made hypersonic nuclear weapons pointing at all major American cities….America is beginning to become a hostile cancer that has intentions of taking over the entire world ”
Lib may be deranged — he is — but no one is as dark as Phoenix. Change your moniker: Dark Phoenix
All politicians are in it for themselves. If you want to fix government, take away campaign financing, lobbying, put in term limits and you can’t serve on corporate boards post office-holding. There. Now the only people who would run would be people interested in fixing things besides their net worth.
In Mississippi Burning the 2 fbi agents talk about it
Phoenix says:
February 19, 2025 at 11:13 am
Very Stable Genius says:
February 19, 2025 at 11:00 am
Current administration has no economic plan.
Oh yes they do. Never let a good crisis go to waste.
The plan is to steal your children’s future, and make your kids slaves to them.
Started out with slavery, will end up in slavery.
DEI is out, Nepotism is at “notch 8”
fbi won’t be allowed to confront the kkk
they are firing agents who arrested the Jan 6 insurrectionists
Patriots
Church Goers
Do Gooders.
HeeRoes.
I know what real heroes look like. Work with many.
Some really incredible humans. Who actually give a fucc about other humans.
That don’t see race. Or religion. And fucc’n produce. Work hard every day to make someone else’s life better. Do it with precision. Are constrictive, not destructive. Fix others mistakes.
Do they take a cut? Sure. But most of it is deserved, most underfunded. Gave up their weekends with kids, on call, woke up in the middle of the night. No pensions. No government bennies, work till the job is done. Others blood, viruses, bacteria on them, working around sharp objects, other people wielding sharp objects, hoping they don’t get stuck. No sleep. There on holidays. Shit vacation time periods. High stress. Lawsuit magnets.
I’ve seen enough to know what is real and what isn’t.
Message recived.
Dark Phoenix it is.
Phoenix
I made the masoor dal/ red lentil instant pot one. The three of us thought it was great. I diced up the ginger and used ghee.
HMB
Will try it. Maybe this weekend. Lucifer doesn’t have my child to torture since I am off work.
Maybe take a trip to HMart.
Never stepped foot in one. Or Trader Joes. Or Whole Paycheck.
I guess I could consider it a vacation to the Korean Peninsula, if I could only go there in real life.
One day perhaps. Thank you.
Never even had Korean BarBQ.
The children I work with go all the time.
Know all the best places in Bergen County.
Maybe I should try that too. In moderation. No Ozempic for me. It’s good for some, but I saw a young woman almost die from it. Of course, she drank while on it and overdosed it.
Why don’t people follow instructions?
RentLord,
Can someone tell me what was the rush in federal job cuts?
—————————
Pushing out the 200,000 or so Federal workers who are in their probation period is fairly easy. They have much less protection at this point. Trump wants them out before their probation period ends. Other employees Trump wants out because they are from the Deep State and are a threat to Trump just like they were during his first term. Prosecutors installed by Biden are a possible threat, as are those in the FBI, CIA, DOJ, etc, etc. As they say, You come for the King you best not miss. I don’t think it is so much revenge that Trump wants, more doing it for his own survival. Also, he has the political capital to do whatever he wants right now. Maybe his approval rating will be in the basement by the time the midterm elections are here.
See my map for your answers.
One deep state replaced by another. That’s MAGA progress.
In non trump news, my oldest got into a PhD program at Carnegie. Thank god for private universities which are better funded than public.
We over funded our 529… by a lot (over 500k). Not sure if we want to leave it for the next gen.
Any ideas on taking it out without the 10% penalty. The Roth conversion option is peanuts.
Maybe his approval rating will be in the basement by the time the midterm elections are here.
And maybe there won’t be any appendages left once the septic shock is under control.
Holy Grifting Batman. So what if he doesn’t take a salary. He has hundreds of thousands of shit for brain MAGA supporters sending him checks.
Look what I just got in my email.
Dear Friends,
2024 was an incredible year here at the Trump Media & Technology Group. In its first year as a public company, TMTG closed 2024 with a strong balance sheet comprised of $777.6 million in cash and short-term investments, strongly positioning the Company to advance its immediate goal of enhancing and expanding all our platforms — Truth Social, Truth+, and Truth.Fi.
TMTG has achieved this result after launching its first product less than three years ago, amid severe repression of free speech across social media platforms, with the mission of opening up the Internet and giving people their voices back. Now, the Company has established a strong cash position to pursue further expansions and acquisitions, has opened up new frontiers for an iconic brand and has attracted approximately 650,000, largely retail, shareholders, as of October 15, 2024.
——-
And now for the analysts opinions of Truth’s 2024: I only found two ratings. Both Fs of course.
Keep in mind, DJT lost over 400 million last year. This is a SPAC formed company with a market cap of 6 billion. No one in their right mind would purchase a share of this flaming tire fire. Except for MAGA for some reason. Hmmmm.
So just another monstrous business failure in the making completely supported by MAGA idiots.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DkfIJ9SAY360yLV7LOf0mocQvqhyc0lr/view?usp=sharing
Market Edge, which is a technical analysis based rater says this about DJT:
What we think about DJT on 02/14/2025
Stock is a Short Sale Candidate.
If you are Long; close position or monitor stock closely.
Again, lies and shows. THIS is MAGA. It will backfire soon enough. And then I will tell you I toldja so.
What fucking POTUS issues a SPAC? Only in the United States of Shit For Brains.
Trump ended congestion pricing. I’m sure to get back at Hochul. Finally, a Trump accomplishment I can get behind.
Allah, I meant America is Great. Oh, how similar they sound.
In other news the U. S. Deputy of Transportation pulled their approval of NYC s congestion pricing program. And I just paid the 13.50 till this morning. It does not registering automatically on EZ Pass NJ , you need to have EZ Pass NY, not that it matters now.
Phoenix
Hmart is a fun trip. Most either have a little food court in them or there a a few Korean restaurants in the plaza. And there’s usually a Korean French style bakery. If you’re allergic to shrimp be careful of side dishes. They use little dried shrimp as a spice. It’s in a lot of the cabbage kimchis.
I decided to see if there was a single insider purchase of DJT. Of course not. Only shares disbursed to the ring kissers which is morally ireprehensible in itself.
Just when you thought it was illegal to send gifts to US politicians, well unless you are a Supreme Court Judge like Thomas who ten million of them. Trump has figured out a way to do it. And his supporters (all retail investors since no instituitional investor would get near it with a ten foot pole) are all but happy to part with their hard earned dollars to pay for their cult leader.
The level of immorality here is simply immeasurable. Go send in a check. The former director of the World Wrestling Federation needs your hard earned dollars to run the Department of Education.
You really can’t make this shit up anymore. We are living in the MOST STUPID times ever imagined. And what’s really even more incredulous is that everyone is sitting by and letting it happen. Just like they did during the rise of Nazi Germany, the Khmer Rouge and during Stalin’s reign in Russia.
Just keep on ignoring the reality of it all. Trump is slowly dismantling our republic for his massive personal gain (with the help of his richest man in the world sidekick) and everying is just falling for his show. Man are we a stupid species.
Fast: Two forty minute halves, intense physical game, and with the exception of mouth guards and head gear, and support sleeves almost no protection.
Phoenix
The hmart by me has a few k pop store in its plaza too for merch and cds.
My nephew played Rugby at Rutgers. I love the sport and H-MART. :P
Not the KPOP again.
Libturd says:
February 19, 2025 at 1:32 pm
“Trump is slowly dismantling our republic for his massive personal gain…”
Oh, the drama! And speaking of massive personal gain, why no complaining about SlowJoe having sold his office(s) for the benefit of his crackhead son and other family members — and then having pre-emptively pardoned all of them to prevent justice from being served? Oh, I remember, it’s your TDS.
The time to have been firm with Russia was in 2014, when they annexed Crimea, and provided support to Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.”
The best time to have stopped Hitler would have been when he remilitarized the Rhineland. Then there were multiple (missed) “second best times” after that.
You what they say about those who forget history.
I’m pretty confident that Harris wouldn’t have blamed Ukraine for being invaded.
OC1 : Unless you want to send U.S. and European ( NATO) troops to Russia as in declaring war on Russia then it’s just talk. That’s the reality.
OC1: I agree she would not have blamed Ukraine for being invaded, and it was wrong for Trump to say that, but that’s neither here nor there at this point. In the end she too would have negotiated a settlement with Russia, and at Ukraines expense. If you support the U.S. and NATO declaring war on Russia and sending thousands of troops to Ukraine, then you should say so. Otherwise, it’s just talk. I am not being difficult, just pointing out the reality.
Leave it for the next generation.
If you have that kind of money laying around, then that is certainly the LAST place you should go for the remainder of your life. It is the perfect estate planning tool, because from a tax perspective it is considered a “completed gift” and out of your estate, but unlike almost anything else you own, you still have control over it. It is also permanently tax-exempt.
If needed, break it down into multiple accounts and rollover the contents however you wish to your heirs. You continue to own it, but make each heir the contingent owner. Consider it prefunding of your (eventual?) grandchildren’s college education. As an example, Cornell, which is in super inexpensive Ithaca, is $375,000 for a Bachelor’s. NYU is already north of $400,000…… and it is a runaway freight train. Get out in front of it.
Review carefully the qualified distributions, and remember beneficiaries can be changed at any time.
If you are really not interested in the above, then go FORM over SUBSTANCE. Use your arbitrage. You have a tax-exempt asset….. offer the benefit to someone who could use it for cash or barter for services.
RentL0rd says:
February 19, 2025 at 12:49 pm
In non trump news, my oldest got into a PhD program at Carnegie. Thank god for private universities which are better funded than public.
We over funded our 529… by a lot (over 500k). Not sure if we want to leave it for the next gen.
Any ideas on taking it out without the 10% penalty. The Roth conversion option is peanuts.
The best time to have stopped China was when the Oligarchs of America shipped all of the jobs overseas to them.
You reap what you sow. Manufacturing won WW2
Who manufactures now bitch?
OC1 says:
February 19, 2025 at 1:55 pm
The time to have been firm with Russia was in 2014, when they annexed Crimea, and provided support to Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.”
The best time to have stopped Hitler would have been when he remilitarized the Rhineland. Then there were multiple (missed) “second best times” after that.
You what they say about those who forget history.
BTW – I just wrote that completely off-the-cuff….. check with your CPA and/or lawyer, but I think everything I wrote is accurate.
Sorry Swiftie. Its always kpop.
“Libturd says:
February 19, 2025 at 1:40 pm
Not the KPOP again.”
OC1 says:
February 19, 2025 at 2:02 pm
I’m pretty confident that Harris wouldn’t have blamed Ukraine for being invaded.
Would have been too busy primping herself up, pretending she was the Oprah of the government, and cackling all day about putting her brothers in jail for stupid things like weed charges.
The democraps must have really worked hard to find a loser candidate like her. Or just really (stupid) lucky.
Go Kelce or go home.
Hehe. I’m on team K-Pop.
Hold my beer says:
February 19, 2025 at 2:14 pm
Sorry Swiftie. Its always kpop.
“Libturd says:
February 19, 2025 at 1:40 pm
Not the KPOP again.”
The speed with which all of this is unraveling in this second term – checks watch, yep it’s only February – is truly humbling. So much sht stirred up in just weeks. First hundred days indeed!
What’s happening is also testing decade long online bonds as well. This board has never been more polarized.
Geezus, you guys are apocalyptic. The guy is in office for 28 days but not only that… you all expect the world to be in an order of YOUR liking. Decades of theft and gluttony and you want him to take it slow? Maybe appoint committees to assign consultants to do assessments outsourced by contract? Yes, let’s return to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Let’s elect Camulla who’s as dumb as a fucking butter knife and that bobble head as her VP. If you didn’t cringe watching those two then you’re even dumber than they are. And I love the what if scenarios, the Monday morning QBs and experts who know. Ask yourself again why the left holds no power in any branch of government despite a billion dollars floating down from the ivory balconies of justice and left-leaning media blitzkrieg? All talk, no action, symbolic gestures, fake emotion and delusion.
Sorry Gary, but that might be one of your dumbest posts. That is saying a lot.
Boomer: It’s because for a lot of people here everything is seen through the Trump/ Biden/Harris/Democrats lense. Nothing is viewed on its own merits, or as a stand alone topic. That was not always the case here, and in fact it was the opposite. It’s too bad, but that is the reality. If it can no longer be done in this tiny little community, with knowledgeable , ( with a couple of notable exceptions), people, whatever their political beliefs or lack thereof, then it will certainly not be done in the outside realm.
“SlowJoe having sold his office(s) for the benefit of his crackhead son and other family members — and then having pre-emptively pardoned all of them to prevent justice from being served? Oh, I remember, it’s your TDS.”
You have a short-term memory. I did complain about such things. I said it was pure lunacy that not only was Biden being immoral allowing a crackhead son to do any international dealing while dad was in the White House, but I also said it was insane to give anyone with such a drug addiction any chance to make his father look bad. I know if I was POTUS and I had a drug addicted son, I would have surely given him a few million to spend on hookers and blow to keep him out of trouble for four years. As for the pardons, I stated that I lost all respect for Biden when he lied about it. As for the premeptive strike. Normally, I would be a bit morally outraged about such a thing, but it’s clear our legal system is completely broken thanks to a corrupt man that uses qiud pro quo, blackmail, and every illegal option at his ready to cheat, steal and strike revenge on anyone not kissing the ring. Now, we have a government lead by idiots and morons who believe in the flat earth, getting felt up in public and that the measles vaccine is not necessary. Certainly, Trump would have inflicted the same pain on everyone within seven degrees of separation of Biden that the Dems did on Trump in the courts. Sadly, Trump was actually guilty of all of these crimes. Quite honestly, Trump’s choice to pardon every J6 member after being impeached for it spoke volumes of his assured plans. We have a maniac running the country. You would have done the same if you saw what was coming. It’s said that he had to do this. And it’s not like he pardoned anoyone who say, killed a cop?
3b-
Most wars end with a negotiated settlement.
To get the best deal you need to negotiate from a position of strength.
Maybe Trump needs to go back and read his book “The Art of the Deal”.
Personally, I enjoy the politics here. It’s important for the right to understand what’s really going on behind the endless lies.
What’s sad is the lack of so many here to admit even a remnant turd trail of their massive bowlpainting snakes stink.
Gary, Smalls. You still cool with blaming a plane crash on DEI?
See example A above.
OC1: And that’s what you fail or choose to not understand, Ukraine was never in a position of strength. Perhaps, they could have been in a better position had Biden and the Germans in particular provided all the arms and military equipment they needed in a more timely fashion. And, as I have mentioned multiple times before perhaps if the Ukrainians were allowed to use the American provided long range missiles from the beginning, and repeatedly struck targets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and thus bring the war home to the Russian people, Ukraine today might be in a better position.
The U.S. and the west did not provide the support needed to actually give the Ukrainians a fighting chance, because they were afraid of the war expanding.
Got hammered by the media, dragged through mud, shot, indicted, and made the greatest political comeback in history.
Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! I want! I want! I want!
Let’s see you all step up and go one better. I ain’t no hero and by the sound of you guys, you ain’t either.
Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!
Yeah. I have no issue with Trump winning. It’s what’s he’s doing with his mandate that should have everyone concerned. He paints a pretty picture. Too bad the canvas is your soul.
Oh, that’s deep!
Libturd says:
February 19, 2025 at 2:47 pm
“You still cool with blaming a plane crash on DEI?”
That seems to be the case. The helicopter that flew into the plane in DC was piloted by a gal, and apparently the Delta belly-flop was an all-gal crew. So if these reports are accurate then yeah, DEI it is.
By the way Ed, excellent summary of the useless lefties at 2:22.
SGC. Alpha Male. He picks things up and puts them down.
MAGA, the party of mean strikes again.
Need to replace a 6’ fence. 250’, one double gate, entire back yard, a big rectangle.
Wood or vinyl? Price on the first estimate is close enough that it doesn’t really matter, though vinyl was about 10% more. Fence guy recommended vinyl, probably has a bunch left over from another job.
Vinyl often looks dirty, see so many with green mold, and my house faces north. Wood is a maintenance hassle.
Libturd says:
February 19, 2025 at 3:01 pm
“He picks things up and puts them down”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFrdqQZ8FFc
Hughesrep says:
February 19, 2025 at 3:04 pm
“Wood or vinyl? Vinyl often looks dirty, see so many with green mold…”
Vinyl. You simply need to regularly power wash the north face. It is what it is.
Remember when Don Corleone slaps Johnny Fontane?
Boo Hoo, wadda am I gonna do!! Trump is mean! Trump is bad!
Day after day of weepy muppets.
Curl up in a ball and cry. Go ahead. Put a lace comforter on your bed. Want some makeup? What are you feeling like today? Plum rouge? You want some ice cream and the Hallmark channel? I’ll turn the heat up for you.
Hughes.
You pretty much covered the issues perfectly. If you have a good pressure washer, the green mold comes off pretty easily. But you have to spray it at least twice a year. Personally, I opted for wood over vinyl based on aesthetics. Maintenance didn’t turn bad until about the tenth year when I had to start replacing some individual pickets. Then over the next couple of years, entire sections started needing replacing. At the time of purchase, wood was way cheaper. Wood has gained dramatically over vinyl since then. Really, a good question is, how long do you plan to live where you’re at? If under ten years, I would go with wood which will be maintenance free for that time period and is much more aesthetically pleasing. And keep it simple.
3:10 No actually he’s what is known as a “useful idiot”. That in itself is terrible for the Country and our standing in the World. Low information voters made that possible. So, Pat your self on the back
Two more planes crashed in Arizona today. Must have been a couple of closeted faggots flying. Am I in?
2:59 Oh, I dunno. I think you are pissing in the wind here.
I am curious. How soon before we can stop blaming the woes of the economy on the prior administration? I would just like to know. Don’t answer since I know when that is already. When things stop turning to shit after mid-terms.
Lib – better check your 10 ft pole. You very well might be a DJT bag holder.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DJT/holders/
Didn’t we learn the identity of Sully a lot quicker than we have learned who flew this Toronto crash-landing plane?
Sully was a good movie BTW.
This Pakistani newspaper doesn’t mind speculating about who flew it.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2529602/delta-upside-down-plane-crash-allegedly-involved-all-female-crew
Some people speculating on faulty altimeter readings, leading them to think they were further from the ground than they were.
That was potentially also an issue in the opposite direction with that blackhawk that was flying above its allowed height where the crash happened. If they stayed below 200ft, no collision.
It’s a job that requires concentrating on multiple inputs at once and mentally projecting vectors.
Which ties back to a recently popular “shape rotation” meme. This came from a Yale article:
“Shape Rotator Meme and 3D Rotation in Men Minds
A recent study conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Utah has found that men’s minds are better able to rotate shapes in three dimensions. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used brain imaging techniques to measure how different sexes could mentally rotate objects.
The study results showed that men were better at mentally rotating objects in three dimensions than women. The researchers believe this difference may be due to the way males and females are wired differently in the brain. Previous studies have shown differences between how male and female brains process information.”
But this deals with averages, not individual cases. I’m sure there are good women pilots and bad male pilots. Just as there are some girls who like playing with cars and boys who like playing with dolls. Yet perhaps not an equal sized candidate pool from each sex for each activity.
Lib: The airplane crash in Arizona was in an open field airport, with no control tower.
Lib what woe doe you speak of S&P is up and climbing still. Unemployment is 4%.
“The United States saw double the number of fatal plane crashes under President Joe Biden’s first four weeks in office compared to the same time period under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
There were 10 fatal plane crashes in the United States between Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Case Analysis and Reporting Online, or CAROL, which has recorded aviation accidents since 1962. There were four fatal plane crashes recorded during the same time period under the second Trump administration — from inauguration day to Feb. 18.”
Lib: Come on buddy, were you not blaming Trumps first administration for the issues in Biden’s administration, like inflation, and Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal? And you used as evidence a 12 page prepared Biden White House report that said it was all Trumps fault? Just trying to ensure you are consistent when it comes to criticism.
I am curious. How soon before we can stop blaming the woes of the economy on the prior administration?
You tell us. I think 1 day into it the TDS infected individuals started screaming about egg prices.
There have been fewer aircraft incidents YTD than there were last year.
However they have been far deadlier than prior years.
Which in turn, likely has boosted media coverage and awareness of all incidents, converting bad luck into higher concern.
https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/have-there-been-more-plane-crashes-this-year/
With better luck, the Blackhawk might have gotten a helicopter pilot severely reprimanded due to a near miss incident, that would have barely gotten media attention. The upside down flipping after landing is also something to gawk at, a lot more than a typical “hard landing” mistake that would have also been classified as an incident.
The two small Arizona planes were going out of a field without air traffic control at all.
I wouldn’t fly in small aircraft unless absolutely necessary. Worse odds.
Carrier flights are much safer. Think about how MLB has been flying for all these decades and we’ve never lost a team. But that history was built on traditional staffing practices.
Juice,
Wow. I am very surprised by the institutional holdings. Thanks for fact checking. Still, it’s a tiny number, but it’s not zero. I suppose there are some Trumpy fund managers out there. No one ever said you had to be smart to be on Wall Street. Just look at Murphy and Corzine.
Plane crashes should be measured by fatalities. Not number of crashes. Attributing either to the POTUS is almost as stupid as blaming the crash on the gender of the pilot.
Juice,
The S&P, for now at least, is still moving upwards but not quite as quickly as it was during the prior year. Economic data tends to take two to three months (after the stupid revisions) to reveal the truth and often for the market to react to it.
Again, we’ll see how this all plays out. Trump was friendly to the market last time as all of the savings from his tax cuts were used by public companies to buy back their own shares resulting in improved earnings per share. The majority of equity investors are wealthy. That’s who will reap any potential gains again.
Inflation was the fault of Trump 3B and Biden presided over getting it back down. And quicker than any other country in the world.
Remember ZIRP and those checks sent to 99% of the population when only 20% at most were negatively impacted by Covid.
Re: Vinyl often looks dirty…
Class up the joint… Brazilian Ipe Wood Plastic Composite fence panels.
Lib: Inflation was not at 9 percent when Biden took office like he repeatedly claimed, and then finally had to admit he was lying. As for Trump and Covid and the checks , I will give him a pass on that because of the circumstances, as in pandemic etc, and I would give the same to Biden or any other Democrat or Republican who was President during the COVID period. As for Biden and inflation during his term he was responsible for it but only partially. But, Americans always blame the sitting President for a bad economy/ inflation.
No One says:
February 19, 2025 at 3:41 pm
“traditional staffing practices.”
You’re not going to make any friends among the lefties with that kind of talk. But at least you won’t get a knock on the door from the Thought Police like you would in ‘liberal’ Europe. In any case, as Lib suggests, plane crashes really shouldn’t count if caused by a pilot from an under-represented, marginalized or victimized group.
Trump spewing Putin misinformation is probably a new low. Enjoy bottom feeding.
“OC1: I agree she would not have blamed Ukraine for being invaded, ”
How can you say that, you don’t know that for a fact!
See how it works. thats what he’s calling you out on.
Fab: It is a reasonable assumption on my part that Harris would not have made that comment. I will modify my response so that it is more agreeable to you.
While I can’t say for sure what Harris might say as far as where the fault for the war in Ukraine lies, but I would agree with you that she probably would not have made the comment that Trump made that it’s Ukraines fault. Of course, we will never know for sure simply because Harris is not President, but I would agree with you that she most probably would not have made that comment.
“Trump spewing Putin misinformation is probably a new low.”
Give him another 15 minutes.
Just throwing a question out there:
It it turns out that a woman was piloting both the Blackhawk and the Delta Toronto flight, should this be interpreted as an incredible coincidence (given the low percentage of female pilots to total pilots) or a sign of some other factor’s influence (such as something Trump or Musk did, or that female pilot performance has been somehow degraded by Trump being in office, or that a push for diverse pilots leads to negative consequences).
The null hypothesis would be that these events are random, and have no factor cause. Unless there is a lot of causal evidence, two incidents are almost never enough to support any statistically meaningful inference.
Chi 2:08 – thanks. I read that a few times and I think I understand. But like you say, I’ll also consult a pro.
3b
and its a reasonable assumption that Harris would have surrounded herself with better people than Trump. Just look at who was on the campaign trail. Maybe we would have Buttigieg still at Transport.
Lest anyone accuse me of being a MAGA supporter:
The WSJ is doing a decent job of pointing out his actual stupidities, rather than falling into the TDS trap of crying about every single thing he does or doesn’t do. The only balanced newspaper I see. Most are going full opposition, all bad, no good. Fox as usual has their seeing all good, no bad.
Trump is going full Trump, living in a fantasy world of his own making, the belligerent baby who is always right, always the best, always blaming other people, other countries for his and our ills. And as usual, he attacks friends while cozying up to authoritarians.
Putin and Xi are “strong leaders” while Zelensky is the “Dictator” in his dictionary. Typical of his amoral approach to world relations. Though more deranged than ever, with his Canada as state idea, or Gaza as luxury property development idea.
Mexico “rips us off” by selling us avocados, while Japan and Germany “rips us off” by selling us cars and buying our rising debt.
Not content to just cut government waste, he now starts fantasizing that the US’ bloated welfare state of tax and transfer can be cut without his welfare-queens feeling the consequences.
Trump was the one too timid to stand up to the COVID lockdown-promoting bureaucrats, so he still blames it on Fauci.
He will blame the consequences of tariffs on someone else as well, while taking the credit from the few that benefit. I actually don’t mind it that much, it’s like a consumption tax, which progressives don’t like, because they call it “regressive” rather than “progressive” but I’ll bet that government spending will rise rather than fall under the Trump administration, so it will be an additional tax not a replacement for existing income taxes.
I hope he will cut a lot of stupid regulations. He should start by having his agencies declare CO2 a non-pollutant, so they stop using that as an excuse to regulate virtually all human action. It would be nice if my taxes actually fell during his next “tax cut”. But unless the government stops spending and borrowing, it won’t matter for long.
Two plans collide in Arizona, should this be interpreted as an incredible coincidence or should we ground all flights in that state?
No One: The WSJ is the only mainstream news outlet I utilize. I was concerned when Murdoch bought the paper years ago, as he thought he would turn it into some Brit type tabloid, but fortunately has not happened.
I am no MAGA/Trump supporter either, although I have been accused by some of being one, because I view issues with out the emotion that some do. I am more interested in why Trump won again, after the chaos of his first administration, and the circus it was, even allowing for Covid, why were so many turned off by Biden/ Harris and decided to vote for Trump again. I think more Democrats need to ask that question too. Of course we have some that light to think it was just all racist uneducated toothless blue collar obese people that voted for him, but that is simply not true. I don’t know how it all turns out , but I hope for the best.
I do find it ironic though that the left is now screaming about tariffs , but Biden not only kept most of Trumps first round of tarriffs he increased/ added more. As far as I can recall the media and press were not screaming about those tariffs during Biden’s administration. I hope that at some point we can get back to the center in this country, but unfortunately I don’t see that happening.
Fab: It’s conjecture on your part that Harris would have more reasonable people surrounding her as President, she had qualified people surrounding her while she was VP and she blew them off. Harris always struck me as quite full of herself and arrogant, so I don’t agree with your conjecture. As for Buttigieg he does not stand out to me as being an effective Secretary of Transportation. Time will tell whether or not Duffy is.
Of course we have some that light to think it was just all racist uneducated toothless blue collar obese people that voted for him…
The democrats lost Black, Hispanic, 18 to 30 year olds, moms and blue collar voters. The democrats held and gained the wealthy elites and college educated voters because those groups know what’s best for America.
btw, 2% was never hit and those last few “decreases” were obtained by flat out manipulating the health care contribution costs yoy claiming a 34% decline.
Fast: Lots of uber wealthy educated people in Bergen county voted for Trump as I have noted multiple times. I was quite surprised to see how well he did in these towns. I would say it’s reasonable to assume he did well in other highly educated and wealthy towns across the U.S. although as you note the majority still voted for Harris .
Lets be honest. Trump won because he had support from Musk – with dollars, and Putin – with an effective misinformation engine.
Majority of MAGA actually are not ready for the reality of what they voted for. So that proves that they were misinformed or miseducated… not that it is hard to be miseducated when you are uneducated.
3b,
Trump gained a few upper crust types in unicorn towns but the dems expanded the NPR crowd. Trump supporters are generally rac1st and h0mophobes and would never welcome the lesser fortunate or “undocumented migrants” in their gated communities. I mean, that’s if the deplorables and garbage people lived in gated communities as we all know is not the case.
No One at 4:44,
Based on the number of dents and scratches on both the car of my mother-in-law as well as my wife‘s car, I think you might be on to something.
6:03 it’s like talking to a cult member.
It’s all you got. “…we owned the libs…”
What you don’t realize is the folks you actually owned….are Youselves.”
Watch, Dey cuttin da Miltwary now, ya’ll dint want dat
Trump declares himself king, posts picture of himself as king online.
Hehe.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14414605/donald-trump-king-congestion-pricing-new-york.html
I wanna party wit daaaark phoenix
Boring old caterwauling folks.
All the best….
6,000 IRS employees to be fired as DOGE continues sweeping slashes.
Does this mean I don’t have to file my taxes this year?
A must see:
https://www.facebook.com/DudeHumorHub/photos/d41d8cd9/1204595444357979/?_rdr
“It’s conjecture on your part that Harris would have more reasonable people surrounding her as President”
No that’s not conjecture that falls under fact.
The comparison you are trying to make is who is surrounding them. For that we can look at the fact of who they surrounded them during the race.
You keep pointing out issues in the VPs office, she doesn’t listen to anyone. Conjecture (note that) is, that it was due to the Chief of Staff who was replaced. In he end for the most part, it’s irrelevant. Conjecture, is Donnie actually listening to Rubio etc? Or is it “Go do what Elon or Project 2025 tell you to do and mind your place.”
For me I am counting the Scarumucis Hesketh lasts before he implodes. Functioning Alcoholics like that don’t last when put under this much pressure. But Hey Conjecture? https://www.yahoo.com/news/assessing-claims-pete-hegseth-drinking-183804527.html
Most of the dolts asking whether they have to pay are too poor to not pay their taxes.
Trump is in Miami, just ranting, live stream is over an hour long, he’s just meandering through his thoughts in the form of a monologue… it’s wild.
One thing missing from this is that when Putin rolled into Ukraine, he expected them to rollover in a few days. They put up that resistance with no US support. Years later do you think they are giving up now.
https://x.com/RihardsKols/status/1892288564920308056
Rihards Kols @RihardsKols
The facts.
🔹 Zelenskyy’s approval rating is 57%
🔹 Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, at 4.00 a.m. — committing a crime of aggression
🔹 Total Military & Non-Military Assistance from US to Ukraine: $118 billion
🔹 Total Military & Non-Military Assistance from the EU to Ukraine: $151 billion
🔹 Zelenskyy is the democratically elected President of Ukraine
🔹 Ukrainian constitution does not allow to hold national elections while martial law is in effect.
And, in my humble opinion, Zelenskyy was a rather good comedian, with a law degree, and an incredibly strong leader of Ukraine.
Go to: https://doge.gov/savings
Click on the Wall of Receipts and click on the savings. Navigate around the whole site. This is unprecedented. The level of transparency is absolutely stunning. Musk and Trump are performing a magic this government has never imagined. Trump’s cabinet overall is doing work that is simply astonishing.
“Lots of uber wealthy educated people in Bergen county voted for Trump ”
Yes they did and they are not in the FAFO demographic. They voted their interested and Donnie will reward with Tax cuts.
Gary,
The transparency of why it’s a saving seems to be missing on the wall of Savings.
I suppose putting “we don’t know how a datetype works in Cobol” is not a message they want out there.
Here’s some transparency I would like to see. What are these Doge programmers competencies. I hope its not just Code Academy Python.
Fab: For others it’s conjecture, but when you speak it’s facts.Why am I not surprised. Always right, always all knowing
But, you are in fact engaging in conjecture. You have no idea who Harris would have surrounded herself with. Much as you physically and mentally cannot bring yourself to acknowledging it, Harris was a ding bat, and that’s being kind.
And she is arrogant and full of herself. And, no it was not just her chief of staff she had a huge turnover rate in her office because she was difficult to work with and for. Her staff spent hours working on reports/ briefs / research for her, and she just bless them off, and winged it. No surprise considering how absolutely horrendous she was in her public speaking engagements as VP.
As for the staff turnover from her office , those stories were from both the WSJ, and the NYT. You can keep defending Harris , but even the Democratic Party leadership and heavy hitters quietly acknowledge she was a bad candidate. So bad in fact that millions voted for Trump rather than vote for Harris. She should be embarrassed.
Here’s a song on my Record player tonight that always puts a smile on my face. Excuse the cultural appropriation, it was the 90’s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA2V7fIzoOY
By transparency, you mean lies?
Fab: It’s conjecture on your part that they all voted solely for their interest and will be rewarded with tax cuts.
Democrats: “Oh sure Superman, you made the world spin backwards but let’s see you do it blindfolded, hopping on one leg while playing Mozart’s violin concerto in D major, backwards, while eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! And besides, you’re unelected so that disqualifies you from saving democracy!!”
“It’s conjecture on your part that they all voted solely for their interest ”
Yes it is, it is also conjecture that many voted as they have always voted GOP and can’t pull a lever for a Dem.
“But, you are in fact engaging in conjecture”
Now we are getting into the difference between Conjecture and Opinion.
Now when you say ” I view issues with out the emotion” does that include Harris? Because I see a lot of vitriol coming out of your keyboard, not just for her but Dems in general.
” You can keep defending Harris ”
On this issue we are discussing (if Harris would have surrounded herself with better people than Trump), absolutely as we have the fact of who Donnie chose and its a train wreck.
The Ukrainian people are no more responsible for Zelensky than we are for Biden.
In fact, they elected Viktor Yanukovich as their president until Nuland and Biden and Brennan and USAID etc decided that “atta boy” they needed to be nudged toward a puppet government.